Lowlife, the long-touted neo-bistro that debuted in the Lower East Side half a year ago. It is the offshoot behind the duo Alex Leonard (Blanca, L2O, Daniel, Corton) and Hug Crickmore (partner at Mas Farmhouse). Serving New American fare with plenty of Japanese, French and fine-dining influences, Alex's work behind a menu is a sure testament to his training and pedigree. The food here is a study on balance, detail and creativity. While I have only dined here once, and thus cannot vouch for the restaurant's consistency, my sole experience here has been nothing short of excellence.
The interior of Lowlife is spacious and features much wooden furnishings. It is as if diners are transported into log cabins of ski resorts in the Nordic regions. While one wall features unfurnished, long wooden planks, the other wall spots open bricks. The ambiance is dimly lit, much like the prototypical LES restaurants. The crockery ties in with the theme too. The colors of the plates are bland and feature plenty of earthen colors. On the tables are candlelights which are reminiscent of older, simpler times. Perhaps the only thing out of place, if not somewhat anachronistic, is the song Tainted Love that is playing in the background. Nonetheless, such decor and environment surely make me feel pleasantly at ease.
As M and I are spotting two ravenous stomachs, we decided to order everything on the menu with the exception of a couple of items.
Amuse Bouche - Tah Tsai with Ponzu Aioli, Black Bass Ceviche and Mushroom Salt
Sitting on a sliver of tah tsai (塔菜), a type of Chinese flat-leaf cabbage, and a smear of ponzu aioli is the black bass ceviche, seasoned with mushroom salt. This bite almost resembles a miniature taco with the leaf serving as a handy shell. The ceviche is fresh, acidic and rightly seasoned with adequate salinity and spice. I also like the sharpness from the cabbage as well as the kick of acidity in the finish from the ponzu. While I do not get the earthiness from the mushroom salt, I still find this a delectable bite. And it is certainly acidic enough to whet my appetite for the dishes that follow.
Bread - Sourdough with House-churned Butter
It is very impressive that not just the bread, but the butter as well, are both made in-house. Churning butter is no simple task and this mere fact highlights the zealous attention to details by the Chef. The bread is a stellar example of this rustic style. While the outer crust is thick and crispy, the interior of the bread is piping hot with a marshmallow-like texture. The crowning jewel, however, is the butter. The texture is luxuriously smooth with just the right amount of salinity serving as pin pricks of flavor. And that buttermilk at the bottom of the butter dish is just as delicious too!
Dayboat Scallops - Pickled Chanterelles, Oroblanco
Essentially, this dish is a scallop ceviche in which the acidity comes from the grapefruit. However, despite the various acidic ingredients, this dish features remarkable balance between sweetness, acidity and bitterness. Here, scallops are slice lengthwise into slivers and are topped with pickled chanterelles, slices of ruby red grapefruit and ginger slivers. The scallop itself is incredibly fresh and features a distinct amalgam of sweetness and ocean-side salinity. The suppleness in texture is particularly remarkable as well. Meanwhile, the grapefruit offers citrus acidity and astringency while the ginger provides sharpness and spice, both of which impart cleanness in flavors and act as a remarkable foil to the scallops. The ceviche liquid, made from oroblanco grapefruit juice, ginger juice and pistachio oil, is particularly clean-tasting as well. Superb dish.
Red Snapper - Hackleback Caviar, Coriander
Quite possibly one of my favorite dishes of the night. In this dish, thick cuts of red snapper are cured in kombu (昆布) from Maine, ponzu dashi (from katsuobushi blocks) and arranged like petals. The crudo is then topped white sturgeon hackleback caviar and stems of coriander. Although this may look like the archetypal crudo imparted with Japanese influences, the complexity and balance of flavors are anything but. There is the savory smokiness from the curing. I also get a boatload of umami and salinity from the dashi and caviar too. Meanwhile, the diced coriander adds crunch and astringency, woodiness and spice. All these combine well with the meaty freshness from the fish. The ponzu also boasts just the right amount of acidity to lift the dish without overtaking the spotlight. This is easily one of the best flavor combinations of crudo I have ever had. Truly memorable for the balance and the precision of flavors.
Sardines - Pine Nut, Chimichurri
This dish features sardines from Point Judith, Rhode Island grilled over logs of binchotan (備長炭). These sardines sit on top of a sauce made out of pine nut milk and are topped with chimichurri. Other condiments include dressed red sorrel and kale. The fish itself are plump and boast a lot of oil, which when licked by the flames, creates delicious char and heady, smoky flavors. One thing I am missing is the crust of the grilled fish skin, but that is a moot point. Meanwhile, the pine nut milk adds balance by providing sweetness, body and substance. The greens also provide much-needed acidity to cut through the oiliness too. There is a lot of bold flavors going on in here but they are all in delightfully perfect proportions. This is some great work.
Asparagus -Buttermilk & Celery Leaf
Arguably the weakest dish of the night despite boasting plenty of components. Stalks of green asparagus are peeled and blanched. This is then dressed with two sauces. The first sauce is a buttermilk pureed with herbs, chives and garlic. The second sauce is one strained from burnt asparagus juice with oysters whipped in. The dish is then topped with shaved asparagus, celery leaf, trout roe, and shaved, salted egg yolk. This is certainly a complex dish. The cooking is precise as well since the crunchy texture and the vibrant colors of the asparagus are preserved. However, the balance of flavors is off here. For starters, the dish on a whole is on the saltier side. I also cannot taste any of the oysters. The biggest drawback though, is the over-the-top sharpness of the raw garlic in the buttermilk. The astringency definitely masks some of the more delicate components of the dish. Not sure what the intention of the Chef is behind using raw garlic.
Borscht - Smoked Trout Roe, Raw Cream
This is the dish that puts Lowlife on the map of the dining scene of neo-bistros. Although not on the menu, we are graciously served two portions of it as Chef has some stocked up. Really glad I asked. Essentially, it is Chef's ingenious deconstruction of the classic Eastern European staple. In lieu of a liquid broth, the soup is presented in the form of a dollop of puree of beets and onions. This is followed by another dollop of unpasteurized raw cows milk from the Amish county, along with a generous serving of in-house smoked trout roe. Visually it is striking as the color stand out like a tricolor flag. Spooning from left to right in one scoop, I get many different textures. The cream, in particular, stands out as it just tastes so luxurious and adds body to the mix. Meanwhile, the earthy sweetness from the velvet-smooth puree matches well with the salinity and popping textures from the roe. This is a very light dish, but nevertheless, it showcases differing tastes and textures, and most importantly, the creativity of the brains behind it.
Poached Lobster - Sunchokes, Tarragon
Butter-poached lobster is a staple that one often finds on fine dining menus. How well it is done is a different matter. This rendition, I am glad to say, is a rather impressive sample on both taste and inventiveness. While the whole lobster is poached in butter, it is the sauce that truly stands out. The sauce consists of a tarragon bouillon that is made from lobster coral, a base of mirepoix, and plenty of tarragon pureed together. The resultant mix is a foamy sauce with plenty of deep citrus and ocean flavors. Hidden snugly below the sauce is a puree of sunchoke, celeriac, along with diced apples, celery (?) and pickling brine. The lobster itself is cooked mi cuit and I can even see the translucent interior in the dim light. Meanwhile, its distinct nutty, beurre noisette taste matches well with the greenness and freshness of the foam. The acidity truly cuts through the slickness of the fat. This is such a beautifully composed dish with all the ingredients, however disparate, working together harmoniously. The only gripe I have is that I do get the cartilage within the claw meat itself. However, this is a very moot point.
Mushroom Ravioli - Tellicherry Pepper, Dried Beef
This is hands down the runaway best dish of the night. Encased within these raviolo is a puree of tellagio cheese, white button mushrooms and creamini mushrooms. This puree is then strained so it is luxuriously smooth and resembles the texture of cream of mushroom soup. These raviolo are then topped with crushed Tellicherry peppers from India and shaved air-dried rib eye steak. Biting down, these tiny parcels immediately remind me of the infamous molecular xiao long bao from Bo Innovation in Hong Kong. That interior, which has turned into pure liquid after the boiling, is mind blowing. Biting down, the piping hot earth broth immediately gushes forth, carrying with it distinct flavors of cheese and mushrooms. It is just like a soup dumpling without the meat and just the soup, encased within a thin membrane. The puree and straining work on the chinois is especially apparent given the smoothness of textures. I do get some heat form the freshly ground pepper and plenty of umami from the beef (cured for a week and then air dried), both of which complement the earthiness of the mushrooms well. This is mind bogglingly good.
Sasso Chicken Yakitori - Scallion, Smoked Cabbage
The yakitori (焼き鳥) chicken is the substantial dish of choice tonight. Much work has gone into the preparation. The chicken is first brined in salt water for 36 hours, then dried, roasted, and grilled over binchotan and Japanese white oak. Accompanying it are scallion sections and smoked cabbage that has been infused with bonito flakes and treated with xanthan gum so it will not break. There is also a green sauce made from the juices of green garlic and scallions. Finally, the yakitori sauce is also made in-house. Flavor-wise, there is a lot going on. The vegetables are delicious with distinct smokiness and umami to it. The chicken is meaty and the freshness and astringency of the green sauce pairs well with the char from the chicken and the sweetness of the yakitori sauce. The flavors, although strong, are harmoniously in balance. And how can one not like that dripping chicken fat licked by smoke?
Dessert is a choice between raw milk shaved ice over cranberry compote, apple tart set with orange marmalade and ginger ice cream, and panna cotta with eucalyptus, celery and binchotan char. Nevertheless, at this point, we are beyond stuffed as we have ordered more than 80% of the items on offer, in addition to the off-the-menu Borscht "soup". All in all, my experience at Lowlife is fantastic as there are very few mishaps. More importantly, I am particularly impressed with two points. Firstly, many items are made in-house, from butter to ravioli to the yakitori sauce. Such zealous focus on each and every component highlights the fastidiousness and the complexity of cookery behind the skilled hands of Chef Alex Leonard. Secondly, the restaurant truly lives up to the name of a neo-bistro by presenting nouveau cuisine through creative flavor and textural combinations. More importantly, however, the flavors are in harmonious balance and nothing juts out haphazardly in these experimental dishes. The food here is truly a work of art and unequivocally vouches for the illustrious pedigree and brazen creativity of Chef Leonard. (4/4/2016)