| A Journey to Zanzibar |
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| Written by Sydney Francis | |
Zanzibar The fireplace lounge is one of four private rooms to rent at Zanzibar  Green papaya salad with charred long beans and candied ginger is one of Zanzibar's new featured dishes 212-957-9197 Hours: 5 pm-1 am Monday-Wednesday 5 pm-2 am Thursday and Sunday 5 pm-4 am Friday and Saturday zanzibarnyc.com It's no wonder that 9th Avenue hosts the International Food Street Fair in the summer every year. Between 34th and about 52nd street, 9th Avenue is known for the range of worldly cuisine on the street. Restaurants abound, serving up regional Thai fare, traditional Bolognese cuisine and Turkish traditional dishes. Therefore, it's hard sometimes for restaurants on the strip to stand out. So it doesn't hurt for a restaurant like Zanzibar to tinker with its cuisine, and more importantly, its drink specials. The newly renovated Zanzibar celebrated these changes the other night with a friends-and-family sampling from their new kitchen and bar menus. Developed by mixologist Alex Ott and consulting chef Angelo Sosa, the management of Zanzibar couldn't wait to share its new bar and dinner menu with New York. Wandering through their four lounges—available for private parties without a room charge—a rendition of Henri Rousseau’s famous jungle mural in “The Dream” leads us downstairs to a new space featured as the VIP room—complete with a champagne cellar and separate bar. The ceiling was hand painted with airplanes by an Italian man, a la "The English Patient" to capture the feeling of Africa and, of course, discovery.  Mixologist Alex Ott (center) meets with TimesSquare.com staffers Other cocktails created by the world-famous Ott included the "Paradiso," a mango mojito-like refresher, and the "Rejuvenation"—a cucumber martini that went down as easy as water and cooled the spicy appetizers. Responsible for the new bar menu after 20 years of worldly experience and influence from the spice market, Ott came by to talk about his career, "New York is a hub I've wanted to be in." He applied his expertise developing menus for NASA, the CIA, Buddha Bar in Paris, Sushi Samba (and his bold sea urchin martini), the Oscars, and a mixology reality show for the Bravo network. Working in Africa, Thailand and Australia, the German native also elaborated on his understanding of flavor combinations before even mixing ingredients in a glass.   The main bar captures an exotic element inspired by its namesake Smiling waitresses in white offered never-ending cocktails wielded on wooden trays adorned with orchids and amuses-bouche served in ceramic spoons. The sea of waitstaff in black and white offset the zebra motif and tribal masks decorating the walls. Our group sat at a corner table with paper lanterns flickering off the accumulating dishes and glassware. We were presented with a layered drink for dessert called a "crème," revealed to have vanilla and citron vodka with cream and mango, like a lemon meringue pie in a glass. Donuts are served brilliantly with a caramel dipping sauce. The "essence" cocktail, was the hit of our table, a sweet blend of pinot grigio, vodka, lychee and grapes. The sweet drinks complimented the salty items on the menu: including tuna tartare served over avocado with jalapeno, garlicky shrimp tempura, flatbreads with tomato and feta, and tuna carpaccio flatbread and its perfect balance of citrus. Coconut-rubbed corn on the cob was simple and fabulous, paired with the "eruption" of guava and mango juice with a spicy salt rim. The charred beef in a lettuce cup was spicy enough even for me, with baby cilantro and a cashew sauce. Overall, the new Zanzibar should be a beacon for late-night classy cocktails. While the food and cocktails could each stand on their own, together they form a mighty pair of sweet and spicy, tropical and exotic. This is one discovery to mark on your map. |
