I have not visited the Cub Room since the second Rochester Cocktail
Revival, and I have no excuse for such a long absence. It’s a great spot for
such an event: the space looks like a speakeasy with windows. Which makes sense,
as it got its name from the VIP room of Manhattan’s Prohibition-era speakeasy
The Stork Club. Though decadent in décor, The Cub Room is subtle in design.
That is a difficult task to accomplish. Or perhaps it isn’t. I never went to
design school. During special events, it feels like a version of a Gatsby
party, but with more demographic diversity and fewer lies and murder. I felt
underdressed in a two-piece suit. This is a long way to say that I’m in my
natural habitat when I’m there. Co-owner Jodi Johnson did a brilliant job in
her design. And worry not; two- and three-piece suits are not required.
What should
be required, though, is a Thursday evening visit. Since July, The Cub Room has
been presenting Paella Thursdays. They rotate in a special menu of meals and
small plates that have old world character, with Paella as the centerpiece.
Paella is a
Valencian signature dish that includes rice cooked in a bone stock with olive
oil, meat, and a medley of vegetables, and it is usually seasoned with saffron
and rosemary. Head chef and co-owner Greg Johnson includes sofrito:
a mix of tomato, garlic, oil, onion, and peppers stewed to a base. All of this
is cooked and served in a paella pan, and the result is fantastic.
This isn’t
just meat and rice. This is a trip to the Iberian Peninsula in flavor. Paella
is an old school comfort food that Chef Greg has made into a meal to die for.
He cooks the stock for days before to ensure its richness. You can tell that it
is not just some salty, store-bought stock from a can. He tops the paella with
a fresh sprig of rosemary right before he puts it in the oven.
The paella
de pollo (chicken) has huge chunks of tomato-tinted
chicken breast and chopped spears of asparagus. Paella de marisco
(seafood) is speckled with baby octopus, mussels, calamari rings, and clams.
You cannot go wrong with any of these choices.
But my
favorite part of the paella is the socarrat: the
crispy, extra-browned rice at the bottom of the pan. Many people enjoy it like
a savory prize buried in the bottom, but my method is to scrape up and mix it
with the rest of the rice. It soaks up all the oil and flavors that have seeped
down from the top, including the rosemary. There’s a certain skill to cooking
it just right, so that you get socarrat and not just
burned rice, and Chef Greg has mastered that.
The paella is
a sharing plate. Even the smallest order is made for two people, and all
choices come in three sizes. Whether you get the paella de marisco
($36, $54, $72) or the paella de pollo ($30, $48,
$60), you are in for a fulfilling meal.
If you are
not in the mood for such a large dish, there are plenty of other small plate
options on the menu during Paella Thursday. Devils on Horseback ($9) are dates
stuffed with bleu cheese and wrapped in bacon. The Serrano ham croquettes ($9)
are served on a nutmeg-infused béchamel, and they are surprisingly light in
texture and taste for a croquette. If you are not into ham or bacon, you can
get boquerones ($10), a dish of lightly vinegar-soaked
anchovies and tangy guindilla peppers sitting in
olive oil and peppers with a side of potato chips, made to order and topped
with crispy parsley.
My favorite
small plate dish, however, is the gambas al ajillo ($14), fresh-cooked shrimp in olive oil, garlic, and
pepper, topped with a dried chili pepper that, when spread across the shrimp,
gives it a nice bite and aftertaste. This dish is served with house-made
baguette, perfect for dipping in the olive oil.
All dishes
are well-accented with one of The Cub Room’s signature cocktails. The menu for
drinks is as diverse as the food menu, and they have partnered with New York
Distilling Co. to provide their own branded gin and rye whiskey.
Every day that they’re open is a good day to visit The Cub
Room. I feel slight guilt for waiting so long to visit and enjoy it, but I am
glad I chose Paella Thursday to break my absence streak.
This article appears in Mar 13-19, 2019.
