First Bite: Porsena Extra Bar

Welcome to First Bite, in which Digest NY brings you a look at some of the city's newest restaurants shortly after they open.  We'll go, eat some food, take some pictures, and report back to you.  This go round it's Porsena Extra Bar, the third project from chef Sara Jenkins that opened on East 7th Street last week.

Every neighborhood needs a counter like Porsena Extra Bar.  It's an escape from the hectic city.  An L shaped bar runs through the small space and can seat up to about 16.  Any stool is a good spot to people watch as New York's East Village carries on outside the big front window.  Extra Bar is an extension of Porsena, Jenkins' pasta centric restaurant that opened at the end of 2010.  The two spaces now share an address, a chef, and a kitchen.  There's a heavy focus on seasonal ingredients and Chef Sara Jenkins' small plate dishes carry bright flavors.

The menu is different for lunch and dinner.  Right now, each menu offers 14 options.  The lunch menu is broken down into three sections: Pane e Companatico, Salads, and Pasta.  Prices range between $7 and $12 for lunch and $4 to $16 for dinner.  Here's a look at what we had for lunch:

The Little Gem salad ($9) is Extra Bar's take on a classic caesar.  There's kippered herring, croutons, and grana padano cheese.  Kippered refers to the technique of preserving fish.  As a verb, to kipper is to preserve (anything) by rubbing with salt and then open-air drying or smoking.  In this instance, the herring are gutted, salted, and then smoked.  And then eaten.

Grilled "Kimcheese" ($8) is a fast hit at Extra Bar.  White american and aged cheddar cheeses are melted with kimchee and toasted between Pullman bread.  Grilled cheese for grown-ups.

The Salami Felino sandwich ($10) is made on stecca bread with spicy fig jam and French feta.  Stecca means stick in Italian and describes the look of the no-knead bread.  The Felino salami comes from the small town of Felino in Parm, Italy.  Felino has an ideal climate and humidity for producing the salami.  It's similar to Tuscan salami with white wine and black peppercorns, but Felino is a bit softer and more delicate.

Spaghettini al norcino ($12) is made with a garlic sausage, ricotta, and black pepper.  It's one of three pastas on the lunch menu, all of which are made with homemade spaghetitini pasta.  Everything you need in a pasta: good portion, full flavors, and fresh noodles all at the right price.

The dinner menu is a the vehicle through which Jenkins displays her passion for fresh, seasonal ingredients.  Chef Millicent Souris, who has worked in Williamsburg at Egg and Roebling Tea Room, puts together many of the plates on the dinner menu from a counter in front of the pass to the kitchen.  Here's what we had...The pinzimonio ($6) is a crudite of sorts that will change with the seasons and with whatever looks good at the market on a particular day.  Our pinzi had radishes, heirloom cherry tomatoes, green bean varities, and gooseberries.  Turns out, gooseberries, salt, and olive oil are great friends.  The only constants with this dish are Trapani sea salt from Sicily and estate bottled extra virgin olive oil made from taggaische olives in Liguria.

Green and yellow zucchini ($8) is a light vegetable salad with tomato, pecorino, and herbs.  It's all dressed in an unctuous lemon vinaigrette.  No shortage of pecorino in this dish.

Lemon potatoes and caviar ($14) are served with a bit of creme fraiche and parsley.  Rich, delicious.

Six oysters ($14) are accompanied with lemon, fresh horseradish, and tobasco.  Varieties will change, these were Beausoleil's from New Brunswick.

Yellowfin tuna puttanesca ($16) is a carpaccio/deconstructed version of the classic Italian puttanesca pasta.  The tuna is bright and fresh and meaty.  Served with a bit of tomato jam, black olives, capers, and parsley.

Escabeche ($8) of pickled mussels with croutons, and sottaceto.  Sottaceto are essentially pickled vegetables, or vegetables that have been preserved in vinegar. 

Surryano ham, spicy greens ($12).  The ham comes from Edwards family smokehouses in Surry, Virginia.  The pasture-raised Berkshire pigs yield a product that is just as delicate as prosciutto from Italy or Serrano ham from Spain, but Surryano tastes like it was hanging out next to a bonfire for a few weeks.  Never a bad thing.  Rich pork flavor and super smokey, absolutely delicious.  The lightly dressed, spicy greens cut the pork fat perfectly.  A must have.

A sublte addition at Porsena Extra Bar.  Here's the skinny on Maine State Prison from Maine.gov's website: "The Maine State Prison has had a working industrial program since its early days when inmates worked the quarry, constructed wooden wagons, buckboards, wheel barrows, sleighs, buggies and tack for horses. Inmates also grew produce on the prison farm. With the advent of the automobile, the industrial program migrated to constructing furniture and expanded this line in the late 1930's to include crafts and novelty items.

The Maine State Prison in Thomaston, which was built in 1823, burned in 1923. The institution was rebuilt in 1924 and remained a maximum security facility until its closing in February 2002. The prison was demolished in April of the same year. The Prison Farm (Bolduc Correctional Facility) and the new Maine State Prison in Warren continue to carry on the tradition of farming and woodworking."

Mortadella, pickles, and crostini ($8).  Classic antipasto.  Contrasting flavors of vinegar, brine, and fat are accompanied with slices from a rustic loaf.

Rare roasted lamb ($14) is served with preserved lemon, flat bread, and bulgar.  Chef Souris butchers the lamb for this dish to order.  Super fresh.  The bulgar adds a nice, subtle textural element.

The booze (wine only) options are the same for lunch and dinner.  Unlike Porsena's all Italian list nextdoor, Extra Bar has only a couple of options from Italy.  The 25 or so bottle list is rounded out with contributions from France, Spain, and Lebanon.

Porsena Extra Bar | 21 East 7th Street | 212.228.4923