Whether we live to eat or eat to live, the fact remains: Food has found a place in our everyday lives and taken on both ritualistic as well as iconoclastic status. In the quest to find the somewhat mystical line where a meal becomes more than just a jumble of ingredients shrouded in often debatable nutritional value, this die-hard foodie continues on an epic gastronomic adventure for the Mother-ship of all meals.
Clearly, the Holy Grail of meals is highly debatable and perhaps perfection is never truly attainable, but on a recent rainy night in New York City I must admit that the stars aligned and somewhere between brussels sprouts that were this side of heaven and an order of sour apple cotton candy I experienced my own slice of heaven at BLT Fish
(21 W 17th Street in Chelsea ) allowing my taste buds to continue to relive the experience as they recover from what can only be deemed as rapture.
The success of the restaurant seems simple enough... The highest quality ingredients with enough sauces and sides to keep even the most discerning palette happy and allowing for the frequent diner to return and put a new spin on the same foundation of the meal, the fish.
While on the subject of fish and seafood, BLT offers some of the freshest I have tasted in the city and I highly recommend starting with the Nantucket scallop appetizer with port-soaked figs, cheese and walnuts followed by the salt-crusted pink snapper or crispy red snapper.
Executive Chef Amy Eubanks is a delight both in the kitchen as well as table-side creating dishes that allow the complex flavors of the fish and seafood to speak with just enough flair to allow the meal to remain edgy without being overpowering. Dessert is available but the in-house cotton candy is the perfect ending to a remarkable ride on the Gastro-Express -- making BLT Fish a must visit and revisit for both visitors and natives alike.
NOTE: In the spirit of full disclosure, I have no commercial connection to BLT Fish nor was I paid for my review.
