Boy Talk at Boqueria

It had only been three weeks since I saw Marcy (aka: Brutus), but in that time enough transpired that we were in desperate need of some cocktails, a good meal, and some good old fashioned boy talk.  I was in the mood to check out someplace new so I sent Brutus a long list of restaurants I hadn't tried yet.  One of the places on my list was Boqueria, a tapas bar and restaurant that's been around for a while.  Brutus had been before and loved it so she immediately made it her top choice.  They don't take reservations so we decided to take our chances and meet at their Flatiron location at 8 PM.

The wait was only 30-45 minutes, so we put our names on the list and walked next door to Flatiron Lounge.  I have always loved the Art Deco aesthetic, so I like walking into this bar with it's arched ceiling, blue lights, and velvet booths.  This setting, with the soothing sounds of Jazz in the background, is perfect for enjoying a true cocktail just as they did back in the day.  There is a long list of drinks and each liquor seemed perfectly paired with fresh flavors to match the season.  I don't usually go in the gin direction, but there was a cocktail on the menu made with gin, ginger, cucumber, and a few other ingredients.  I wish I could fully remember it or at least find a menu, but trust when I say it was crisp and delicious.

Art Deco lights above the bar at Flatiron Lounge

We headed back to the restaurant and only had a few minutes to go before our table was ready.  Unfortunately, that additional time did not help us narrow down our choices because everything on the menu looked amazing.  We ended up ordering six dishes, including dessert and all but one came from the [long] specials menu.  Boqueria is named after a famous market in Spain where patrons can pick up the freshest of seasonal ingredients so it seemed only fitting that we order the special dishes that were of the season:  

• Crostini of shredded salt cod with tomato, pickled shallots, and black olive oil: Wonderful, light, and not at all fishy
• Pan roasted brussels sprouts with Hudson Valley braeburn apples, dijon mustard, pine nuts: The sweetness from the apples played well off the dijon - I wish they gave us a little more of those sweet braeburn slices
• Housemade flatbread with sautéed wild mushrooms, serrano ham, idiazábal cheese, caramelized onions, and quail eggs: The quail egg is similar to a regular egg just tinier and seemed to me to have an even richer yolk.  In this case, richer = better.
• Braised veal cheeks with potato purée, caramelized pearl onions, and red wine jus: Good, but probably the least memorable.  The flavors didn't jump off the plate like they did with the other dishes, though the fatty cheeks cut like butter.
• Dates stuffed with almonds and valdeon, wrapped in bacon: This was the only regular menu item and it was delicious.  I loved the surprise crunch of the almond in the middle and the crispy bacon on the outside.  The dates were super sweet, so I wish the valdeon was a little stronger, but overall it was great.
• Whipped fresh cow's milk ricotta cheese, honey, candied walnuts, berries, and strawberry coulis: Were they milking the cow while we were eating our dates?  This ricotta was thick and dreamy with just enough honey and coulis to sweeten it and plenty of berries to keep it light.

Now that I've [finally] been there, I can see why Boqueria is consistently filled with people and earned itself a 2-star review by the Times..  Everything we ordered elicited "mmm" noises and it came at a fair price.  The dishes range in price from $6 to $13 and having been to several tapas places recently where $13 is on the low end, this is a steal.  That price makes you believe you really are eating bar snacks in Spain.  And if the cost doesn't give you that authentic feeling, the seating will since every chair in the place is bar height.