EN Japanese Brasserie

Two friends and I had dinner at EN Japanese Brasserie on Wednesday evening. EN is part of the city’s new hip trend for big-box Japanese restaurants with Nobu-inspired menus. It is one of the pleasanter destinations in that genre. Our reservation was at 6:30, a time when the restaurant is still comparatively empty. However, we were impressed with the high ceilings and the wide spacing of the tables. Even at peak time, I suspect my companions and I wouldn’t have had to shout (as we did at the comparatively claustrophobic BLT Prime).

Service was about as efficient as one could hope for. Obviously it helped that the place was nearly empty at that hour, but a sparsely-populated dining room is never any guarantee of the server’s undivided attention.

As at other restaurants in the genre, you’re encouraged to order a variety of small plates, and share. One is never sure precisely how many of these plates are enough to make a meal. Our waiter naturally advised us to err on the high-side; his upselling wasn’t unctuous, but certainly we were aware of it. Anyhow, we chose four items, and once those were finished, ordered a fifth.

We had two types of sushi rolls with different tangy dipping sauces, shrimp fritters, a tempura sampler, and the obligatory miso black cod. The latter didn’t erase memories of the signature dish at Nobu, but all were wonderfully prepared. The tempura batter was crispy and light; the sushi rolls crisp and flavorful. This is definitely the way to order at EN, as I don’t think any of these dishes would have been nearly as successful as one’s only entrée.

If we had any complaint, it was the speed at which the dishes arrived. The trend at these “small plate” restaurants is to deliver the food at the chef’s convenience, instead of the customer’s. After we ordered, it seemed we barely had time to blink before the food came trooping gaily out of the kitchen. It’s not that they needed our table; I just think it’s the way the restaurant is put together.

EN has one of the most ridiculously over-engineered, yet simultaneously unhelpful, websites . The menu shown there is far from complete. Frank Bruni complained of “an extremely long, confusing menu” in his one-star review. It appears there has been some simplification since then. The menu is now a single page, which makes it shorter than the Nobu menu.

As at any Japanese restaurant, it’s easy to spend a ton of money in a hurry. But our experience at EN showed that it is by no means necessary. We were out of there for $35 a head, including tax and tip, but without any alcohol.

EN Japanese Brasserie (435 Hudson Street at Leroy Street, Hudson Square)

Food: **
Service: *½
Ambiance: **
Overall: **

BLT Prime

Note: Click here for a more recent visit to BLT Prime.

I dined at BLT Prime last week. Laurent Tourondel has now refined the BLT formula to a science, and the third restaurant in the chain is a triumph. (See also BLT Steak and BLT Fish.)

We started with two ‘bread’ amuses. The first was a sourdough bread with chicken liver paté. Second was a very fresh, soft garlic bread roll. For appetizers, two of us had the Grilled Double Cut Canadian Bacon ($9). These bacon strips are similar to those at Peter Luger. They aren’t quite as thick as at Luger, but you get four of them on the plate, and they are lightly seasoned. My other colleague ordered the Tuna Tartare ($14), which was also an enormous helping, and he pronounced himself satisfied.

BLT serves its porterhouse pre-sliced, as in the Luger/Wolfgang’s model. Unlike those restaurants, it is offered only for two. As there were three of us, we ordered the porterhouse ($79) and the 12 oz. kobe ribeye ($72). We divided on which was the more flavorful, although the porterhouse, which feeds two with some left to spare, is clearly the far better deal.

For side orders, we chose the onion rings ($8), the bleu cheese tater tots ($7), and the asparagus ($8). The menu at BLT Prime seems almost diabolically designed to encourage you to over-order. I don’t believe a person with a normal appetite can finish an appetizer, their share of a porterhouse, and one of these ample side dishes, especially if you’ve also ordered wine. We ended the meal happy, but with quite a lot of food remaining on the table.

Only one of us could even dream of entertaining dessert. My colleague ordered the banana cream pie, which he said was heavenly. I strenuously resisted his suggestion of after-dinner drinks, but he insisted, so we finished the evening with 18-year Highland Park whisky.

For future reference, I’d say that three people of normal appetites would have plenty to eat if they ordered an appetizer apiece, and shared the porterhouse and two sides between them. Occasional glances around other tables confirmed that portions are enormous, practically no matter what you order.

All three of the BLT restaurants have been instant hits. BLT prime was full to the gills, and it was hard to carry on a conversation over the din. That’s about the only negative at a restaurant that clicks on all cylinders. Incidentally, BLT Prime is now the #1 steakhouse in the city on Zagat. It is tied with Peter Luger with a 27 food rating, but has higher service and decor ratings (23/23 respectively for BLTP; 19/14 for PL).

BLT Prime (111 East 22nd Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, Gramercy)