Aska, Aska, Read All About It!

[daniel krieger for the new york times]Nordic cuisine was undeniably one of 2012's hottest trends. The year's biggest contributions came via Frej opening in Williamsburg, Acme opening on Bond Street, and Tribeca welcoming Atera, Matthew Lightner's chef's counter Pete Wells awarded three stars in July. The trend continued to ripple at year's end, when Aska opened in the former Frej space. Today, Wells keeps the Nordic torch lit with his two-star review of the restaurant.

Fredrik Berselius runs the kitchen at Aska. He was also the chef at Frej, Kinfolk Studios short-lived pop-up restaurant. Where Frej only offered a five-course tasting for $45, Aska serves a six-course option Sunday through Thursday for $65, and a la carte options seven days a week. Eamon Rockey, former General Manager at Atera, signed on and curated a beverage program that parallels Berselius' New Nordic approach.

At Aska, "A common ingredient is made unfamiliar," writes Wells, "a transformation the kitchen pulls off again and again." Berselius proves to be a culinary shapeshifter of sorts, and "What looks like a whole fish is in fact the fried head and tail of a herring, with the rich, soft cured fillet connecting the two crunchy ends. (Granted, fresh herring may not qualify as common. “It’s one of my favorite ingredients, but I’ve only been able to get it twice in the seven years I’ve been cooking,” Mr. Berselius said.)"

"Mr. Berselius knows how to turn up the flavors when he wants to. The flavors he draws out of vegetables, meat and seafood can stop your breath. He found exceptional sweetness in the purple carrots he served with pike and whipped anchovy cream, and extracted a broth from monkfish bones that had something like the depth of veal stock when it was spooned around a fillet of the fish and a slice of its sautéed liver."

Aksa's $65 six-course tasting is easily one of the city's finest fine dining experiences, and one that turns a cold shoulder to the constantly rising price tags on prix-fixe menus around town. [NYTimes]

Still Four Letters, Still the Best Deal in Town; Aska Opens Tonight in Former Frej Space

[askanyc.com]Fredrik Berselius and Richard Kuo opened Frej a month before Acme received two stars from the Times and five months before Atera was awarded three stars from the same publication. At the time, all three restaurants had chefs who were riding the wave of "new Nordic" cuisine that came from Scandinavia. The movement stemmed from a hyper-local approach to cooking that was taking shape in Copenhagen; specifically in Rene Redzepi's kitchen at his universally acclaimed restaurant Noma.

Just after six months of rave reviews and serving one of the city's best dining bargains (Frej offered a five-course tasting for $45), the restaurant closed it's doors for renovations. Tonight, in the space that once housed Frej in Williamburg's Kinfolk Studios, Berselius and former Atera General Manager Eamon Rockey are opening Aska.

Unlike Frej, which was only open Monday through Wednesday, Aska will be serving food from 6pm to 11pm seven days a week. Like Frej, Aska will be serving an underpriced (likely outstanding) tasting menu: six courses for $65. The tasting however, is only available Sunday through Thursday and by reservation only.

What was once an 18-seat availability at Frej has grown to thirty, as Aska has two rooms: one that seats 18 and one that seats 12. In addition to the sustainable, locavore approach found in Berselius' food, Rockey has curated beverage options from "Old World-centric wines, traditionally brewed beers, earthy ciders, classic spirits and house‐pressed juices to be enjoyed on their own or paired with food." [AskaNYC] [Eater]

Is Jewish Cuisine the New New Nordic?

For a while it was impossible to go out to eat without hearing something about New Nordic cuisine.  It was happening all at once in the East Village at Acme, in Tribeca at Atera, and across the river in Williamsburg at Kinfolk Studios pop-up Frej.  In Copenhagen, Rene Redzepi's end-all-be-all Nordic restaurant Noma continues to be a mecca for chefs looking to stage.

While all of this was happening, Jewish food was on the sidelines waiting for its chance to play.  A few days ago, the folks from Tribeca's Jewish bistro Kutsher's released this video, making Jewish food the sexiest we've ever seen it.  The success of Jewish deli Mile End reached Manhattan earlier this year with a location opened on Bond Street.  Jack's Wife Freda opened at the beginning of the year and serves Jewish food on Lafayette Street in Soho.

Jezebel is the newest member of the Jewish restaurant trend.  It opened earlier this month on West Broadway and aims to stand out with its adherence to the laws of kashut that make it a completely kosher restaurant.  A commitment to serving kosher food is one thing, but for former Gramercy Tavern employee Nick Mautone, that isn't enough.  Mautone heads the beverage program at Jezebel and plans a 20 drink menu that will only feature kosher cocktails.  To achieve this, he plans housemade vermouths and a reliance on other kosher-certified bar companions like Benedictine, Disaronno, and Angostura bitters.

An integral part of the city's dining landscape are the Jewish counters and delicatessens that have fed New Yorkers for decades.  The resurgence of Jewish restaurants in a city freckled with long-standing mainstays begs the question; Is Jewish food the new New Nordic?

Two Stars for Chef Mads Refslund's Acme

Acme is the Cajun-turned-Nordic restaurant on Great Jones Street.  Mads Refslund is the chef and he's very locally minded.  He's also half of the chef team that opened Noma, the 44-seat restaurant in Copenhagen that San Pellegrino has dubbed the best in the world for the past two years.  (If you're lucky enough to have a reservation at Noma, don't pull a no-show).

Mads was present for the beginning of New Nordic Cuisine, an ideal that restricts kitchens to ingredients that can be grown, caught, or locally foraged.  "My whole philosophy is to tell the story of where you are," he says.

Mads Refslund is a man of his word.