Nathan Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 come on - be serious for a moment. He's got a bio-mass generator fired off the animal waste to drive the turbine. someone who I know and I like floated the idea of a galician seafood place to me. I think its a lovely idea until you realize you'd have to charge high-end sushi like prices to make economics work. I'm thinking that's the real problem of any ingredient-driven cuisine...certainly in transporting it internationally...but even regionally....why aren't there any Louisiana-ish restaurants outside of Louisiana? but then you realize how expensive it would be to actually import all those ingredients to NY.... this where the Batali - treating the northeast as a region of Italy - style makes sense.... The transportation costs aren't the issue at all. The issue is that people in nyc don't like paying for food - they'll pay for booze, they'll pay for brand names, but in general they won't pay anywhere near the prices of good fish and seafood. but the ingredients are expensive for multiple reasons.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony Bonner Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 come on - be serious for a moment. He's got a bio-mass generator fired off the animal waste to drive the turbine. someone who I know and I like floated the idea of a galician seafood place to me. I think its a lovely idea until you realize you'd have to charge high-end sushi like prices to make economics work. I'm thinking that's the real problem of any ingredient-driven cuisine...certainly in transporting it internationally...but even regionally....why aren't there any Louisiana-ish restaurants outside of Louisiana? but then you realize how expensive it would be to actually import all those ingredients to NY.... this where the Batali - treating the northeast as a region of Italy - style makes sense.... The transportation costs aren't the issue at all. The issue is that people in nyc don't like paying for food - they'll pay for booze, they'll pay for brand names, but in general they won't pay anywhere near the prices of good fish and seafood. but the ingredients are expensive for multiple reasons.... yeah but the galician stuff is crazy expensive in galicia. it takes a lot percebes to amortize the cost of a dude drowning. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wilfrid Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I am willing to go there for Spanish cider which I like very, very much. I think you're in a tiny minority - 99% of his potential diners are going to try Spanish cider exactly once. I fully agree. The characterization of the place is pure gimmick. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
g.johnson Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Is Spanish cider a peculiarly acquired taste? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wilfrid Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 It's quite sweet. Sweet, slightly fizzy apple juice. Apple-flavored Babycham is the best I can do. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
changeup Posted August 9, 2011 Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 BTW, this is definitely going into the old La Palapa space. Looks darn near ready to open too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yvonne johnson Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 It's a lousy stretch of 6th Ave. Let's see. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Suzanne F Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 BTW, this is definitely going into the old La Palapa space. Looks darn near ready to open too. Yup. Photos here make it pretty clear. And the address on the Tertulia website is the same. Articles linked to say August 15. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
changeup Posted August 9, 2011 Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 Nice - a menu. I'm guessing the Boqueria owner (that said Chef Mullen pushed things too far) drew his line in the sand somewhere just shy of a dish like this: tosta erizos – 12 Sea-urchin, goat’s milk butter, grilled jalapeño Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Orik Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Nice menu, unrealistic prices though, probably planned to go up 50% Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oakapple Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Nice menu, unrealistic prices though, probably planned to go up 50% And even before then, if they're portioned like true tapas, the bill can get big in a hurry. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wilfrid Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 I have a dollar says the surtido de embutidos isn't what it says. It will be some ham, some lomo, maybe one sausage if you're lucky. Spanish sausages are not easily sourced here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
changeup Posted August 9, 2011 Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 My first thought was "good opening prices". Then I got to the bottom and saw the cost of the entrees, and changed that too "oh, we're gonna be hearing complaints that the tapas are tiny". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sneakeater Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Tertulia is a pretty solid hit. It's probably the closest New York has come to an actual Spanish taparia. (Forget the "sideria" promotion -- I didn't see any particular mention of cider [although there's a very solid wine list].) You won't think you're in Spain. But you also won't think, as is usually the case, that this place is impossible (or at least implausible). Tertulia is in fact in the old La Palapa space on Sixth Avenue near Waverly, right next door to Soto (which, given that it's unmarked, is a pretty useless landmark). Pretty total redo, as far as I can tell. The dining room seems pleasant, although of course I met a friend at the bar. The menu ranges from "Embutidos, Quesos, y Tostas" to "Tapas y Sartenes" to "Platos Familiares". They get the sizes roughly right -- items aren't huge the way they are most New York places -- but they mess up portioning in another way. Everything comes in twos, so even though the individual tapas and tostas make sense as portions for one person, you can't order only one of them. The "family plates" are huge. I like the food here much more than at Chef Mullen's prior ventures. (Boqueria's flaws were obvious, but I wasn't that big a fan of his work at Suba, either.) He acknowledges tradition here, but he's not hidebound. Dishes have tweaks that make them interesting, but they're recognizably Spanish. And based on opening night performance, execution is really fine. Probably my two favorite things were tostas: "tosta matrimonio", black and white anchovies on toast with roasted tomato, a mild sheep cheese, and sweet vinegar; and "tosta huevo roto y jamon Iberico", creamy slow-cooked egg, ham, and I think some potato as well. There was a house-smoked Spanish mackerel on fava beans that was just wonderful. And the lamb meatballs in red sauce with queso fresco were also exceptional, for what they were. A share plate of chorizo (and stuff) with chickpeas exemplified the general approach here: mixed into the chickpeas was a mild Cabrales, a nice touch that added just the extra flavor to set the dish off. Our barmates forced us to try their dessert, flan with chocolate-covered coffee beans. The bittersweet beans prevented the pudding from cloying, as it often does. Another example of the beneficial "interventionist" approach here. The wine list is very well curated. They left all the boring stuff out, leaving a good selection of "interesting" Spanish wines -- we had a Monje from the Canary Islands, one of my current fave wine districts -- as well as mainstream faves like old LdH Riojas. Mark-ups were reasonable. I enjoyed Tertulia a lot. I have a feeling that, come September, it will be impossible to get into, so I might not be able to make it a regular hangout till winter. I have no doubt it'll be around for a while. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yvonne johnson Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 That's very good news. We need something to liven up that part of the West Village. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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