Fresh spins on old faves
ANELLA RAISES a question: When does a classic become a cliché? Or vice versa?
It’s hard to fault a welcoming neighborhood restaurant simply because the menu is dominated by dishes from years (and even decades) past. Particularly when those plates are executed perfectly and given a fresh spin.
Anella opened in 2009 to acclaim for its warm interior and concise, seasonal menu. Josh Cohen’s Greenpoint spot remained consistent even as chefs Michael Sullivan, Joseph Ogrodnek, Gabriel Moya and Todd Andrews came and went. The Guatemalan-born current chef, Mayo Orozco, has been there from the beginning and rose through the ranks. But even as Greenpoint has burgeoned with even more restaurants, Anella has kept pace.
It has two narrow rooms flanking a massive bar that was originally a work table at the Steinway piano factory. A tin ceiling, wide plank floors, exposed brick and distressed walls complete the inviting décor. A typical Brooklyn backyard has more seating and an herb garden.
To start you can do no better than the gnocchi with rustic pork ragu ($11): impossibly fluffy pillows in carrot-studded sauce., with airy bread baked, served in a flowerpot.
Spicy corn soup ($9) is smooth and sweet, its background checked by a cayenne zip. The watermelon salad ($12) is a bigtime palate bracer, mixing the sugary fruit with lime juice, salty feta and fragrant mint. Crunchy calamari ($13) comes with a standard red pepper aioli.
Similarly, the entrees are welltraveled workhorses. The excellent Anella Burger ($14) is nestled on a brioche bun and accompanied by homemade half-sour slices and an optional sweet-salty bacon jam. Orozco’s hefty pork chop ($24) isn’t exactly timid either: The Dijon cream sauce is scented with shallot and thyme. But the standout may be the most prosaic of all, roast chicken ($24). It’s a one-two punch: the supermoist bird gets the crispiest skin I’ve ever seen outside of a deep fryer — the chef browns it in a pan before it hits the oven. It’s partnered with a dynamite warm salad of wilted arugula, fingerling potatoes and sheep’s-milk feta.
The only so-so main may be branzino ($25). Fennel salad with dill and fennel puree are nice, but the fish is overpowered by an outspoken tapenade.
Orozco’s desserts go down easy: The ricotta panna cotta ($9) pairs a smooth pudding with an intense raspberry sorbet that utterly satisfies. And a warm chocolate cake ($9) with dulce de leche and vanilla ice cream is subline. With a cup of coffee, there is nothing better.
I like it. Sue me.