Txikito

Joined a friend for lunch at Txikito. The couple used to work the kitchen at Tia Pol and I loved the tapas there. Some translated perfectly here like the slated, roasted peppers (piperrak). I eat them like popcorn and become a tad bit sad when the last stem is in my hand. I'd already ordered and eattne a half-order before my friend arrived. Sorry, couldn't wait.

We started with the blood sausage fried spring rolls (morcilla). I found them just a tiny bit greasy but crisp. I expected more firy flavors but they were more firm and muted and monotonistic in spice. I ordered the stew of the day (putxero dia) - chickpea and cod. My friend had the much-hyped burger (Ed Levine, Serious Eats picture). I loved mine. The chickpeas were perfectly cooked and I mistook the cod for a low-flavor firm-yet-soft cheese. Adding a few springs of wilted dark greens helped complete this perfect winter comfort food.

The burger was messy and very complex in flavors. The cheese, a smoked goat variety, complemented the more earthy and rustic meat. It comes in a two patty form while i would have prefered a single, thicker patty. They were still able to keep the middle more medium rare but the edged were a bit too cooked for my tastes yet sruprisingly greasy. Maybe not greasy, but the entire mass was messy and drippy and the juices couldn't all be from the special sauce.

Skip the dessert of goat milk 'custard', honey and walnuts. The concoction doesn't gel thus it's texture is like running, clotted mucus and even a good flavored based struggles to overcome that mouthful feeling. The honey sits on top thus clings ot the spoon instead of being incorporated into the milk custard. This required licking the spoon on occassion, like a lolipop, to try to infuse the sweet flavor into the milk mixture - frustrating and uneffective. The nuts would have provided more interest, as the earth, meaty balance to teh sweet milk stuff, had they been toasted or flavored with a contrasting spice, perhaps. Ah, well, not my recipe to muck with.

Overall the winners for me were the salted peppers and the stew. Perfect break on this cold, winter day in NYC's NW Chelsea neighborhood.