My dinner with Stanley

Looking
across Pearl’s geometric depth at Rick Muto’s beautiful Rothko knock-off was
like inhabiting a Kubrick film. Kubrick was, George Grella informs us, a true
“auteur,” an artist with a singular, persistent vision. Pearl, the latest
venture from Tonic owners Phil and Charlie Fitzsimmons, also exhibits a clarity
of purpose, approach, and execution. Open a month, Pearl is doing a roaring
business.

            On my first trip, an ordering mix-up
brought tuna tartare instead of steak tartare. Our waiter shot back, “Well
then, you’ll have steak tartare next.” Tuna, avocado, and cucumber formed a tower,
with crispy wontons on the side and wasabi caviar that sent it into orbit
($10). The tuna was more interesting than the steak, which was nonetheless
beautiful ($11). Fine, raw beef is lovely, and that deep red was flanked by
small piles of cilantro, basil, mint, red onion, and cooked egg yolk. I missed
the zip the traditional capers bring, though.

            Deciding amongst the small plates
was a challenge. Crispy scallop-sweet potato cakes were not, in fact, “cakes,”
but included plenty of small, sweet scallops. Their tenderness combined with
crisp sweet potato and greens in a textural wonderland ($10). Seared beef with
vegetable tempura was a mixed bag ($10). The beef was unspeakably flavorful,
and buttery-raw in the middle. But the tempura batter was thick, a bit oily,
and didn’t work well with a fairly viscous dipping sauce.

            The crispy squid is some of the best
in town, tender with a crisp and light coating, and accompanied by a
spicy-sweet scallion dipping sauce that is at once interesting and
complementary. It’s also an outstanding value, with scads of squid for $9. The
crab cakes aren’t your father’s fried blobs, but rather an assembly of real
crabmeat, served with parsnip chips, watercress, and ginger ($11).
Plantain-crusted shrimp came with mangoes inside a wild, fried-plantain cup
($12).

            The soul of Pearl is chef Dan Eaton,
one of our finest homegrown cooks. Eaton grew up on a dairy farm, and brings a
fondness for things of the soil, particularly root vegetables. From his years
at Rooney’s comes a Pacific-rim orientation gleaned largely from a Vietnamese
sous-chef. But background doesn’t convey feel. This is a man who loses sleep
dreaming up new dishes. And though technically “chef de cuisine,” Eaton is
truly cooking back there.

            Seared Arctic char with red flannel
hash, scallion-rolled goat cheese, and wasabi vinaigrette was remarkably
balanced ($23). Red flannel hash is a New England specialty Eaton makes with
potatoes, parsnip, turnip, onion, and garlic, with roasted beets added last.
The combination of beets and goat cheese is a winner. Char is like a more
delicate salmon, and hosts all those flavors perfectly.

            Wild striped bass isn’t for the
timid. It’s a strong fish, not at all like Chilean sea bass. It comes on a
gingered carrot-parsnip purée (!) and Chinese greens, with crispy shallots on
top. Pearl is attempting to broaden the local palate, a noble mission. On the
other hand, there is a great New York strip steak, which will be cooked
perfectly ($29). To keep it a bit interesting, the fries are yucca, and it also
comes with mustard greens and chili oil.

            Asian-spiced rack of lamb was simply
the best lamb dish I’ve ever had. Lamb should be rich, but not gamy; it should
not be tough; this passed with flying colors, and the portion was generous
($28). The combination of cider-macerated cranberries, kale, and crisp leeks
was so good that I carefully composed each bite to include a bit of each.

            Throughout each meal, we just
couldn’t wait for what would come next. The desserts were good enough (coffee
crème brûlée, mango pastry, and soft chocolate cake), but honestly, when the
savory portion of a meal is exceptional, I don’t care that much about dessert.
The service was excellent, but casual and real, not too “fine restaurant” (Rio,
Max, Rooney’s), and without a disconcertingly good-looking wait staff (2Vine).

            Quibbles? The coffee, as always,
should be better than it is. There is a surfeit of wines and liquor, but a
paucity of non-alcoholic drinks. And if you’re a vegetarian, you’re largely out
of luck. A tea-drinker might be disappointed by the lack of herbal choices, and
tea water should not come lukewarm in an open cup.

            Customers from across the street at
Veneto won’t be enticed. With appetizers from $9 to $16, and dinners as high as
$32, Pearl ain’t cheap (lunches are $8 to $15). This cuisine is lost on some.
My feeling is that the prices set the quality bar high, but when the food
clears that bar, it’s a sublime experience. I had two such nights at Pearl, and
despite the fact that I can’t afford to eat there, I will.

Pearl, 349 East
Avenue, 325-5660. Hours: lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.;
dinner, Monday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m.; late-night menu, Wednesday
through Saturday, 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

This article appears in Jan 1-7, 2003.