We had a leisurely evening free before a weekend chock full of opera and Broadway and settled on HAVE & MAR, owned by the famed Marcus Samuelsson but helmed by James Beard Award nominee Chef Fariyal Abdullahi. We arrived for happy hour at the bar and chose their signature HAV & MARtini drink made with Tito's vodka & gin, pickled red onion, gentian, vermouth & blue cheese olive which I loved, but Will was not nuts about. The dozen oysters were superb as well.
We settled into our table and Kent proceeded to explain the menu and what he suggested. There was so much to choose from we simply opted for the Chef's Four Course tasting for $95 and gave him some of our favorite likes. We ordered a bottle of Domain Reverdy-Ducroux Beauroy Sancerre which was superb and went with all the various items that came first, but before that, Kent hauled us to the kitchen to meet the chef who was an absolute gem. She hails from Ethiopia but is well-versed in dozens of cuisines which really showed on our journey through the evening!!
Frist came warm Teff (the world's smallest grain!) Biscuits with honey butter that melted in our mouths(all fotos on FB). First came Tuna Tartare with miso, shishito aioli, aji amarillo, crsipy injera and walnut oil which was accompanied by Hamachi with Black Ceviche(basically the black ash oil from what is scaped off the oven!!), cippolini onions, Granny Smith apple and fennel. We loved them both but the hamachi really won if comparing.
Pan Seared Scallops with Sunchoke Puree, crispy sunchokes, celeriac, turmeric, pickled fresno chile was a revelation as the richness of the puree was foiled by the kick ass spice of the fresno pepper! At this point we switched to a red wine, but I seem to have failed to note which one. It should be noted the wines all run $60-80 by the bottle.
Our "mains" were many from the HAVatini which is bucatini pasta with crab, shrimp and an uni butter truly decadent and rich rich sauce! Banana Leaf Snapper came with Coconut Rice, Dill Salsa Verde ad crispy Brussels sprouts and treated the fish like royalty with a wonderful crispy skin. A side of Oxtail Rice with Fermented Beans, egg, sesame oil, chile and teardrop peppers was a complete revelation when it comes to rice; we had specifically asked for this. Addis York is Ethiopian fried chicken where Chef Abdullahi is not afraid to splash on the chilies. It comes with Doro Wat which is stewed chicken inside a sauteed or fried injera that was like a spring roll on crack, ayib (Ethiopian cheese) & soft-boiled egg and was a dish we shall always go back for again and again.
Chocolate Layer Cake and Yuzu Lime Tart were both delectable desserts that we could not resist, but to soften the sweetness, Will had a Lagavulan, and I had Carcavelos 1997 Quinto Dos Pesos dessert wine.
The location just off the Hudson River on 11th Avenue is quiet and offers super high ceilings but that did not make it too noisy. There is a huge bar in the center and that Happy Hour runs from 5-7pm!! Oysters are $3 each!
Kent was a superior server giving us tons of time in between the courses and the entire team was really perfect. Easily on of our new NYC faves!!
