Komi

Egad! I can’t believe I haven’t updated this in so long. Komi is now on my regular, albeit long-range, restaurant rotation. Johnny Monis is no longer a “promising young chef” — he’s now a major talent and a major player. I won’t rehash my last several adventures here, since kobi offers such an excellent descrption, but: if you enjoy fine dining, if you’re serious about food, go. It isn’t inexpensive, but it is an incredible bargain for the quality you’ll receive.

[earlier notes follow] Thanks to the talents of a promising young chef, Komi is off to a good start. The interior is simple almost to the point of plainess, but comfortable. The rather short menu is full of the latest and trendiest, along with some foods whose time I wish would go already (I just don’t get arugula), and some very homey touches.

The house made breads (ciabatta and foccacia) were outstanding, served warm with sun dried tomato butter. Kobi’s pizzetta had a wonderfully thin and crispy crust, topped with good cheese and just a bit of tomato, and of all things baby basil. And I do mean baby: these were the week old shoots of the plant, with the cotyledon and one tiny pair of true leaves. (As a gardener, this amazes me that either baby basil is commercially available or that someone at Komi is sowing seeds and harvesting them so soon after germination). The really interesting thing, though, is how clean and pure and intense a taste these basils have. I’d call it a revelation if Phyllis Richman hadn’t beaten that word into the ground during the 1990s. (Yep, you’ll never catch me using the word ’revelation’ in a food review. Not me.)

Baby basil is not the only bizarre touch at Komi. I ordered the delicata squash soup, which was served with cashews, a light sprinkle of cinnamon, and... a marshmallow. But it worked, in exactly the same way that the maple cream on the squash soup at Chef Geoff’s doesn’t (and I bring this up because apparently the chef at Komi used to cook for Geoff).

On the homey front, a side of creamed collards with pozole was smokey with bacon, the type a dish only a Southerner could love, but I don’t like my greens cooked that long. I’d have to say it was well-executed, but not the kind of thing I like.

For dessert, we both had Mexican hot chocolate, served in small bowls, with doughnuts. The doughnuts were a bit dense, but in a good way, with a hint of nutmeg and a crispy sugary exterior, and still warm. The chocolate was deliciously rich and soothing.

The dinner menu offers a small variety of fish and meat (hangar steak, rabbit, arctic char) that I’m looking forward to exploring.

[originally written 1/11/04; additional notes follow]

Went back for dinner last night, had asparagus salad with hen-of-the-wood mushrooms and microbasil; main course was arctic char with cherry tomatoes and figs. Both dishes well conceived and executed, flavors nicely balanced, etc. I read recently that there is an industry in producing “microgreens”, which are said to be more intense and pure in flavor. Certainly true of that basil. Dessert was “chocolate four ways”: chocolate mousse with chocolate shavings, flourless chocolate torte, a smidgeon of white chocolate mousse in a dark chocolate shell. Lovely, and enough for two to share.

Praise: presentation. I like how the ingredients are arranged on the plate.

Quibble: noise. That spare interior gets awfully loud at dinnertime. I was trying to catch up with someone I hadn’t seen socially in a long time; conversation was difficult.

Komi is all grown up.

I’d chosen Komi partly out of pragmaticism- I was in class until 21:15 in Dupont, and I wanted to go someplace that would deliver a nice dinner for me for my birthday and yet not be more than a few blocks away from either my class or my destination. But also I’d been wanting to see how the place had blossomed; this was a good excuse. Komi at 21:30 it was.

Komi had been closed for renovation at the beginning of the year; the result is rustic and spartan, with warmer walls and lighting from candle sconces, a farm table to greet you, and two solitary cabinets standing sentinal at distant posts, one guarding the wine and the other the glassware. Spaciousness abounds- the venue has been pared down to the bare essentials.

Halfway through the meal it struck me- the dining room resembled nothing so much as a stage set. It is a theatre for food and you, the diner, are center stage.

And what a performance it was. As it was the weekend, there is a five-course prix fixe tasting menu, so there wasn’t much to dither over. Komi has always been a commitment in terms of time, but with the tasting menu the pacing is perfect. We had a thoroughly wonderful meal, and emerged shortly after midnight.

I could blather on over the specifics, and I probably will when I’m feeling better- but everything was perfect- the service, the setting, and the food. I haven’t had that good a meal in a long time.

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2004-01-12

Ebeth already reviewed my lunch, but I will add this: I felt the pizza was slightly less than the sum of its parts. I guess I wanted the flavours to pop more. Actually, I have a confession: I took home half of my pizza, and had a cold slice the next day... and the flavours finally came together fully. There have been studies on why cold day-old pizza tastes good- and yes, it really did taste better.

The warm bread was spectacular, and as I will devour just about anything with tomatoes, the butter was a huge hit. Mmmm.

Also, I hereby disagree with Tom Sietsema: The hot chocolate was not thin, it was properly frothed mexican hot chocolate. Mexican hot chocolate has a completely different structure than american cocoa, so it isn’t fair to compare the two, especially if the former has been frothed. There was too much whipped cream on top. Also, the dougnuts are dense, but they are dense in the way that all home-made doughnuts I’ve had are dense. They’re made for dipping in that nummy chocolate.

I don’t know why I rarely agree with Mr. Sietsema on restaurants. Actually, his lukewarm review was the spur to my finally going.

Summary: It was a very enjoyable and tasty meal. Unfortunately, even though I live right around the corner, it isn’t priced so that I will go very often. Which is a shame, because I feel the neighborhood could use more reasonably-priced good restaurants. But with rents skyrocketing, that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.