I’ll be living closer to yer faire city in the fall, and am hopeful to visit more often than I’ve been able to, which is why I am following this thread with gusto 
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Claro (Gowanus) - Oaxacan, Michelin 1 star that looks like any other rustic, neighborhood joint. One of those rare flawless meals. Good pace, service, all kinds of great flavors and textures.
Tuna Tostada was quite fresh, more of a salad with quite a few top notch ingredients. Excellent Garnachas de Venado - thick fried corn tortillas shaped like small hockey pucks, topped with braised venison. What made the dish was the sick Curtido (fermented cabbage) in between.
Outstanding Black Bass with green mole, topped with smoked Trout roe (because its Michelin), and another beautiful concoction of Brussel sprouts, cabbage, and more. The Mole Negro was a masterpiece. More like a dish for two or 1.5. Bone Marrow with crispy fried mole, short rib on a bed of their famous mole, and perfectly cooked Beef Tenderloin. I dont recall the last time I ate a more flavorful piece of beef. Comes with Negi Onion (fancy for scallions), and exceptional tortillas from the imported Oaxacan corn.
Arroz con Leche with pineapple was the perfect finish. Not too sweet, and not soupy.
Mezcal, and Mezcal based drinks another specialty. I really liked the clear JUNGLA - MILK PUNCH, and she loved the SAN PASCUALITO REY. Pricy (Michelin tax) but one of those meals
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walked by OM, an indian restaurant on the ues and it was packed, looked at the menu online, turns out the same chef as forum fav indian table!
https://omindianfood.com/about/
“OM is focused on some of the Unique and forgotten regional and costal delicacies.”
I dunno, looks like a standard indian restaurant menu, maybe I’m missing it.
My wife wanted flor de mayo on Amsterdam for her bday dinner, I love the cumin dusted fried chicken chunks with mixed fried rice, I’m sure I’ve posted this dish before.
They had a 45 min wait when my son arrived and put our name on their list, I read a NYTimes article that tiktok videos had resulted in long lines but they quoted the owner saying they alway have a table at the ready for long time customers.
Unsure how to navigate this or if they’d recognize us, I decided to ask how long our wait was, I guess they recognized me, the woman seating people led us to a table.
Not sure how I should feel about cutting the line, my son was upset…thoughts?
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I’m not really surprised, although I hadn’t heard a whisper. Everyone at Indian Table has had some connection with Tulsi, the restaurant that he (Chef McCarthy) took over after Hemant Mathur left. Now, Om’s “About” section says that this, along with Indian Table, is part of the “Tulsi Cooperation Management” group. (I think they mean Corporation?). At any rate, I agree that the menu at Om (at least the one on line) doesn’t seem at all special, but it does remind me of how Indian Table looked when he took that over. I wonder what the crowd was all about though - could it have been a soft opening with invites?
This is on my list. Same folks as Angkor. Also, I was in Cambodia in early 2024, so eager to try this. Maybe my Friday night destination.
I had a memorable birthday dinner in their garden at the heart of the pandemic and have wanted to get back since. I’m not sure if they had their star then or not, but I think compared to the Mexican place in LIC(?), Claro just has more interesting, delicious food. Thanks for braving (and writing about) the starred place; I know not usually your thing!
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Well we all know restaurants set aside tables for celebrities and real regulars, maybe he’s just didn’t know this about you 
Same location. Same almost everything. They had to close because of the pandemic, went and cooked elsewhere to stay afloat, and are now able to be back in their own place.
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Ooh. This is an interesting development.
You know what it reminds me of, in a good way? Baluchi’s. Every indian person I know in nyc still laments the loss of Baluchi’s. Good, standard Indian food that tasted right
I’d guess they’ll revamp the website and menu in time, given that it’s very rudimentary compared to Indian Table’s.
In the meantime, I want to try the $18.95 special to see if it’s indeed like Baluchi’s.
Perhaps I miscommunicated, OM has been in business for some time and a quick google search reveals McCarthy has been the exec chef for over a year.
It’s been fairly empty most of the time when we’ve walked by but for some reason it was packed the other night. Anyhow, we’re def gonna give it a try!
I had been to baluchis and liked it but having a hard time placing where it was, somewhere near work in the fidi?
Best,
After a closer look, they actually lost their star last year, along with Casa Enrique. That means Oxomoco is the only fancy Mexican left with a star. I dont mind the stars so much, as long as they dont change too much after receiving them. Maybe thats why they lost it. Refused to change to match Michelin expectations.
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We’ll be at Indian Table later this week so I’ll be sure to ask them about Om. As for Baluchi’s well, as one of the many NYC restaurant historians on this board (that means I’m officially old & dine out a lot) , I’ll remind you that it was actually a small chain, with restaurants in several NYC locations (including a brief stint in Brooklyn). The partnership also owned Devi (everyone thought that Suvir and Hemant did) and, when Devi closed, it became a Baluchi’s for awhile. I’m sure that there’s a similar story behind this “Tulsi Cooperation Management” that Om & Indian Table are part of.
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I do recall a chain but pretty sure the one I went to was soho, maybe when we did a project for moodys. Wow, haven’t been back to the Odeon since those days, they used to have an incredible lamb sandwich.
i negotiated two memorable deals there, should really head back for old times sake. One deal was so favorable, after the client signed I excused myself, walked to the bathroom and screamed 
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Yeah, there was eventually a Baluchis in many neighborhoods. Even though it was a chain, they were consistent — I don’t know if they made the base sauces in a single location, but I didn’t have a bad experience ordering from any of them.
I’m curious about what Steve will learn about Eric’s involvement at Om. The UES would be a lot more convenient to me for an Indian Table quality meal 
A shout out to Japan Village, which I have now visited three times for events showcasing various specialty foods. Lots of free samples, and little prizes for stopping by all the vendors (I was recently the recipient of some cheese-flavored rice puffs, and I could not be happier about it). And sometimes I actually buy things, like miso paste or a smoked saury. Or this madai sashimi and scallop sashimi from Hokkaido, which was pretty spectacular.
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So, another really nice meal at Indian Table tonight. All tables full, but I still got to interrogate Sameer about Om. He started by saying that, although it’s now a sister restaurant with similar back office folk (& I gathered ownership), Eric is still spending his time cheffing at Indian Table. Funny enough (well, to me anyway), he then explained that Om was pretty much a stock menu “like the Baluchi places were… you remember, with lunch specials and things like that” (I swear, without me ever mentioning Baluchi) and that the ownership is pretty satisfied with keeping it that way for now.
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Those LOOK spectacular!
The madai was blow-torched a little, which really brought out the flavor of the skin.
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With your range of insider contacts, do you know anything about the ownership of Saar (on 51st)? Hemant Mathur started it and he may still be in the picture, but I am not sure. Their kebab apps are very good, not tikka-cutter Indian, and have not budged from their $15 price in 6 years. That’s astonishing.
