New York - Vermilion
Winter 2009/10
Frank's view 
Feisty Femininity
Here Come the Girls!
The soul anthem clearly belongs in New York where stunning superwoman Rohini Dey has surrounded herself with a team of female chefs to open a bar and restaurant in a Manhattan office block.
Ex-McKinsey management consultant Rohini left the relatively cushy world of business for the cut and thrust of catering and opened Vermilion in her home town of Chicago in 2004. Four years later the timing looked disastrous as Vermilion hit New York in September 2008, just as the financial markets imploded. However, apparently the silver lining in this particular cloud was the opportunity to buy out the existing restaurant and refurbish the space at a significant discount.
The space is vast - a huge bar fills the street level area and upstairs is a call centre sized open office with floor to ceiling aluminium windows interspersed with large black & white photographs of a belly dancer. This is not the place for a discreet dinner for two. There are plenty of overlooking windows in the office block across the street for all the private detectives and paparazzi in town to have their own uninterrupted view of your every mouthful and sweet nothing mutterings.
Having got used to a knife and fork where you'd expect a stapler and paperweight it was on to the food which is actually very good. Described as the 'melding of contemporary Indian and Latin American cuisine' the menu offers a selection of tapas style small plates at between $10 -15 and mains ranging from $24 -34. We chose the degstation of four appetizers ($22). Artichoke, pani puri, shrimp tamarind & duck vindaloo were all beautifully presented on a chipped plate. Oh dear!
To follow, the coriander crusted halibut ($26) was very good and the chili-glazed blackened tamarind ribs ($24) were exceptional.
Some of the tables had crisp white cloths. Ours did not. There seemed to be neither rhyme nor reason to which had and which had not. It was all a bit haphazzard. The noise from the bar downstairs ricocheted off the walls and was at times deafening.
It's very difficult to find good Indian food in New York and Vermilion does it very well, but the ambience is cold and seems most suited to the party & corporate events market.
Vermilion is a vibrant red powder which, the menu tells us, 'translates into Sindoor, a core symbol of Indian femininity and a celebration of the beauty of women".
I suspect Vermilion is packed full with feisty femininity quite often as the office parties pile in.
Here come the girls!
PS. Vermilion serves a fabulous cocktail based on the indian street dish Pani Puri, and here's the recipe:
Pani Puri Maragrita:
2 oz. of the tequila of your choice
3 oz. Pani Puri Water *
½ oz. simple syrup
½ oz. lime juice
Shake all the ingredients over ice. Salt rim and serve in a chilled glass.
* Pani Puri Water
1 cup mint, ½ cup cilantro, 2 tbsp ginger, 1 jalapeno, ¼ cup sugar, ½ tsp red chili powder, 1 tsp amchur powder (dried mango powder), 3 cups water, Salt to taste, Blend all the ingredients and strain.
Vermilion
480 Lexington Avenue
New York
212 871 6600
http://www.thevermilionrestaurant.com/ny/
The soul anthem clearly belongs in New York where stunning superwoman Rohini Dey has surrounded herself with a team of female chefs to open a bar and restaurant in a Manhattan office block.
Ex-McKinsey management consultant Rohini left the relatively cushy world of business for the cut and thrust of catering and opened Vermilion in her home town of Chicago in 2004. Four years later the timing looked disastrous as Vermilion hit New York in September 2008, just as the financial markets imploded. However, apparently the silver lining in this particular cloud was the opportunity to buy out the existing restaurant and refurbish the space at a significant discount.
The space is vast - a huge bar fills the street level area and upstairs is a call centre sized open office with floor to ceiling aluminium windows interspersed with large black & white photographs of a belly dancer. This is not the place for a discreet dinner for two. There are plenty of overlooking windows in the office block across the street for all the private detectives and paparazzi in town to have their own uninterrupted view of your every mouthful and sweet nothing mutterings.
Having got used to a knife and fork where you'd expect a stapler and paperweight it was on to the food which is actually very good. Described as the 'melding of contemporary Indian and Latin American cuisine' the menu offers a selection of tapas style small plates at between $10 -15 and mains ranging from $24 -34. We chose the degstation of four appetizers ($22). Artichoke, pani puri, shrimp tamarind & duck vindaloo were all beautifully presented on a chipped plate. Oh dear!
To follow, the coriander crusted halibut ($26) was very good and the chili-glazed blackened tamarind ribs ($24) were exceptional.
Some of the tables had crisp white cloths. Ours did not. There seemed to be neither rhyme nor reason to which had and which had not. It was all a bit haphazzard. The noise from the bar downstairs ricocheted off the walls and was at times deafening.
It's very difficult to find good Indian food in New York and Vermilion does it very well, but the ambience is cold and seems most suited to the party & corporate events market.
Vermilion is a vibrant red powder which, the menu tells us, 'translates into Sindoor, a core symbol of Indian femininity and a celebration of the beauty of women".
I suspect Vermilion is packed full with feisty femininity quite often as the office parties pile in.
Here come the girls!
PS. Vermilion serves a fabulous cocktail based on the indian street dish Pani Puri, and here's the recipe:
Pani Puri Maragrita:
2 oz. of the tequila of your choice
3 oz. Pani Puri Water *
½ oz. simple syrup
½ oz. lime juice
Shake all the ingredients over ice. Salt rim and serve in a chilled glass.
* Pani Puri Water
1 cup mint, ½ cup cilantro, 2 tbsp ginger, 1 jalapeno, ¼ cup sugar, ½ tsp red chili powder, 1 tsp amchur powder (dried mango powder), 3 cups water, Salt to taste, Blend all the ingredients and strain.
Vermilion
480 Lexington Avenue
New York
212 871 6600
http://www.thevermilionrestaurant.com/ny/
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
