Alta

Carebear chose this restaurant for Tahari's birthday dinner. And what a fine choice. I'm now officially recommending her for events planner.

Alta is on 10th Street and if you're walking at a brisk pace, you might walk right by it. The sign is very small and the place can be mistook for somebody's brownstone.

Swimster and I walked in past the long candlelit bar to the hostess stand, where we got a glimpse of the back double-height dining room. Dark wooden tables sit under a beautiful, wrought iron chandelier and the walls are of the Santa Fe stucco style. As I was oooh-ing and aah-ing with my mouth wide open, the hostess led us up the staircase, past a small dining room, and right into the kitchen. I turned around and gave Swimster a "What are we doing?" look and almost told the hostess, thanks for the tour but we're here to eat dinner? Little did I know through the kitchen there was a small alcove dining room where our six friends were patiently awaiting our arrival. If you plan on going to Alta, you must call and request to be sat in the alcove. How else will you get a free ticket to walk in and out of the kitchen?

If I was only judging restaurants by decor, Alta had already passed with flying colors.

The wine list is extensive, and all of the bottles are European, predominantly Spanish, Italian, and French. The boys were all very pleased with the beer list as well, as they tried several varieties, including several none of us had heard of.

Carebear went for the gusto and ordered us a wide variety of dishes. One dish of its kind is sufficient for a party of two, but with eight we needed to order several of each so we would all get tastes. They even offer "the whole shebang" for a reasonable $325, where they will literally bring you out EVERYTHING on the menu. We decided we'd rather try things we knew we would like, than go that route.

Menu Memorables : fried goat cheese with lavender infused honey (came in three small balls), a perfect combination of softness and crispiness; soft and tender lamb meatballs in a brown butter lebne; market tomatoes and horseradish-creme fraiche foam in a cabernet vinegar syrup (looked and tasted like a caprese salad); thick sour dough toasts with shaved serrano ham and valdeon cheese, topped with a roasted pineapple (we were fighting for the last bites of this every time); peekytoe crab and white polenta Napoleon, looked like a dinner eclair and tasted a little like tuna fish; tuna tartare with hearts of palm and macadamia nuts (it took me a few spoonfuls to realize there were macadamia nuts in it-a nice surprise); skirt steak in a light drizzle of chimichurri that was melt in your mouth; risotto with rock shrimp and lemon cream, a little on the bland side; Danish pork ribs roasted with kecap manis and coriander ( I opted to not try this for fear of ruining my spanking new white t-shirt); sea scallops with artichoke puree and salmon caviar; and lastly Scotsman ordered the "enormous" whole shrimp, which came out with antennas and all.

Needless to say we did not leave wanting anything more in our stomachs, and we opted to skip dessert for lack of anything that truly knocked our socks off....next time...

Service was so-so. Our waiter wasn't the friendliest of guys but at least he got everything right and the dozens of dishes we ordered came out in a timely fashion.

I was extremely impressed with Alta, and can't wait to recommend it to friends. I plan on hurrying back, if only to try the other half of the enticing dishes on the menu, and to sip another glass of Rioja Gran Reserva....






*American Express cards only*
64 W. 10th St. (West Village) between Fifth and Sixth Aves.
212-505-7777