NYC Guide: IRIS Aegean Mediterranean
Address | 1740 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
We spent a few days in the city and I was craving Mediterranean cuisine, so we decided to book a table at Iris Aegean. This relatively new restaurant in NYC is created by Chef John Fraser who trained under Thomas Keller at the French Laundry, before moving to Paris working at Taillevent and Maison Blanche. Near Central Park South, Iris is located unassumingly on the ground level of a 26 story office building, offering both indoor and outdoor dining. We opted for indoor dining and were seated in a romantic banquet with a nice over view of the restaurant. Below is what we ordered and my thoughts on the menu…
To start, the sommelier suggested a nice Greek rosé, En Oeno. The name references an Ancient Greek proverb “En Oeno Alethea,” which means “In wine, there is truth.” With light peach notes it was a perfect accompaniment to our meal.
For starters, we selected the Summer Squash Flatbread—goat cheese, basil. The cheese was very mild and had a nice texture.
We also decided to share the Grilled Octopus—candied citrus, Antep chili, as a starter. This was very well-prepared. A follower asked if it was overcooked, due to the color, but it’s the pimenton coating that makes it darker. The texture was perfect and the flavors were really nice.
Prior to meeting me, my wife never cooked and the first thing I taught her to make was Branzino (one of her favorite dishes). She ordered the Branzino Filet—squash, scallion relish, muhammara, and when I had a bite she was pleased to hear me say, “yours is better”. No shade, Iris made a nice Branzino but the skin was a bit soft and could have been better seasoned. The scallion relish and muhammara were tasty.
For my main I ordered the Roasted Chicken—saffron and yogurt marinated, summer squash. This was a nicely executed dish. There was nothing outstanding about it, but it was enjoyable.
The flavors on both desserts that we ordered were excellent. The flavor of the ice cream paired excellent with the Baklava. This is the Baklava—parparoussis ice cream, Antep pistachio, Greek honey.
My wife ordered the Rice Pudding—grilled Apricot, tarragon, raspberries. The flavors were good.
Finally, our dear friend joined us at the end of our meal and we decided to sit awhile longer over tea and coffee. The mugs were brought to our table heated and the staff were lovely about letting us linger in conversation.
