We wanted simple food close to home. We wanted it for sustenance more than glory. We wanted to go somewhere we haven't been or at least not in a while. It was 7:30 on a Thursday. We were doomed.
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The restaurants on Alex Ureña’s resume read like a Who’s Who of the dining industry, from the River Café in Brooklyn, to Bouley, Blue Hill, and Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli in Spain. Earlier this year, he finally opened his own place, the aptly named Ureña, which we visited on Saturday evening.
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Just on the heels of the Spain’s 10 Event at the FCI, and having had a taste of some really good tapas there, I had a hankering for some more. Aside from the fact that the restaurant just recently was ranked the #3 best new restaurant in the newly published 2007 ZAGAT survey, I had heard many good things about Alex Ureña’s food through a number of sources, including my friend Daisy Martinez who told me quite bluntly in her Brooklyn way, “his food is off the hook” and I had to go and try it, post haste.
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Every so often I will give a list of restaurant recommendations based on notable and recent dining experiences I've had. These aren't reviews. No one I know speaks in terms of stars ("Babbo is so three star - you should go!"), so I won't either.
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Ureña is the latest restaurant to open in Murray Hill from David Bouley’s apprentice and Dan Barber’s partner (of Blue Hill). The restaurant has been dubbed one of the ugliest when it opened but it was obvious that they’ve listened to the critics when we visited. They’ve softened the lights to tone down the harshness of the yellow walls and swirl-patterned carpet. The bar is still by the door but New York City real estate doesn’t come cheap and I can imagine that it will stay there.
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It is said that half of newly birthed restaurants do not celebrate their second birthday. I question the basis for this somber and dispiriting statistic. Perhaps it is proclaimed by chefs who wish to raise the drawbridge after they cross. This is one of the army of factoids too good to be false.
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There is a progression in the development of a great chef that follows three basic steps. First, you work in the kitchens of other chefs, within the parameters of their culinary decisions, to make sure the restaurant you are responsible for follows their vision.
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