50 Commerce Street (between Barrow and Hudson Sts.) 212-524-4104 www.fiftyrestaurantnyc.com
Contemporary American. Once in a while you try something and think, “this is a whole different level of flavor”. The combination of tastes so extraordinary, you would swear you have discovered something otherworldly. This happened to me not once, but three times during the evening I spent at Fifty. That’s dumb luck. It’s utter genius.
My first brush with greatness occurred via the mini lobster rolls. They appear as modest brioche, but lurking within the house made bread is celery, herbed aioli and exquisite seafood, all conspiring to successfully blow your mind. I next encountered the Mediterranean octopus (cilantro, chickpea, kalamata, red pepper) and house made burrata (cranberries, basil, lambrusco vinaigrette). Both were wonderful and memorable and entirely delicious. I was sure they would be hard to beat until I dined on the shrimp & calamari black rice. It sounds deceptively basic, but do not be fooled. Their invention, in concert with sofrito, mizuna, and lemon aioli, will jumpstart every taste bud in your mouth. It is simply impossible to oversell this extraordinary dish.
If the server then slapped you in the face for dessert, you would still leave floating on air, so amazing is each creation. Stick around and you might treat yourself to the chocolate cake with candied peanuts and whipped cream. I got lost in every bite and was soon calculating the odds of them finding me, should I hide under the table to avoid having to leave. You might think this sounds like exaggeration. That is, until your first visit to Fifty.