Hells Kitchen
523 9th Avenue (W. 39th St.)
212-947-4208
The West 30s—south of Hell’s Kitchen, north of Chelsea—are the last frontier in the relentless gentrification of Manhattan south of 96th Street. When I told a friend who lives in Tribeca that I’d chosen a restaurant there for dinner, he promptly cancelled. But times, and the neighborhood, are changing. For better or worse, the area is in the midst of a building boom, with new condos and office towers sprouting like wildflowers (or weeds, depending on your perspective). The pawnshops, meat markets and auto shops that once occupied the storefronts are giving way to coffee houses and trendy new restaurants.
Leading the charge is HK (short for Hell’s Kitchen), a sleek and style-conscious restaurant that opened a few years ago on the northwest corner of W. 39th Street and 9th Avenue. Across the street from a construction site and dwarfed by half-completed highrises, HK’s industrial chic décor matches its urban yet edgy surroundings. Steel shutters retract and fold upward, exposing diners to the street, and the minimalist tables, chairs and booths are all about clean lines and shades of gray.
HK doesn’t make any pretense of being a shrine to haute cuisine. The waiters, dressed head-to-toe in black, wear T-shirts that encourage diners to “Eat. Drink. Relax.” When I asked my server to tell me about the food, she replied that it was “Greek, Asian and American, kind of a little of everything.” And when I asked about the chef, she left for a while, then returned and reported that he was “Mexican.” So don’t expect a foodie name-dropping haven. Instead, HK’s goal seems to be to create a sexy and sophisticated mood—and to supply patrons with enough booze to properly enjoy it. A long, illuminated bar extends the length of the restaurant’s back wall, and the drinks menu has martinis and cocktails galore. Wines are priced from $34 to $65 per bottle, and there’s an impressive selection of domestic and imported beers.
As for the food, the menu does indeed contain a little bit of everything, with mixed results. Starters lean toward seafood, and include a pan seared crab cake, sesame-crusted tuna and mussels Provencal. I tried calamari with a sweet Thai chili sauce ($10) and one of the non-seafood starters, the “merguez a la harrissa” (spicy Moroccan lamb sausages) ($8). The calamari wasn’t extraordinary (when is it ever?), but it was cooked well and the batter was sufficiently delicate. The sausages had a nice flavor and a delayed kick of spice (though their consistency was a bit squishy), and were served over a mesclun salad with a dollop of tsatziki sauce and sautéed red peppers.
I perused the selection of entrees—chicken paillard, wild mushroom ravioli, sautéed skate—and settled on the seared sea scallops ($19.50) and roasted herb chicken ($16). Served with braised leeks and champagne sauce, the scallops were attractively presented. if slightly undercooked, with a sprinkle of bright red roe. The chicken was slightly dry and under-seasoned, and the accompanying mashed potatoes under-whipped, but a side of spinach, despite a leaden sheen to the leaves, was buttery and delicious. Viewing the dishes side-by-side, I noticed that both were garnished with chopped red pepper and chives, a nice touch in isolation, but is it too much to hope for garnishes tailored to the specific intricacies of the dishes?
Pushing aside the dessert menu, my eyes wandered up to one of the flat-screen TVs suspended above the bar. On the Bravo Channel, Padma Lakshmi of “Top Chef” was biting into a duck foie gras prepared by one of the show’s more dynamic aspirants, a plate that one judge then praised as “three-star Michelin.” It was an interesting contrast: Some chefs—or restaurants—shoot for the stars, attempting to wow with every dish. Others care less about the food and more about creating a particular vibe. It can be a questionable approach, but it’s one that HK does with success.
523 9th Avenue (W. 39th St.)
212-947-4208
The West 30s—south of Hell’s Kitchen, north of Chelsea—are the last frontier in the relentless gentrification of Manhattan south of 96th Street. When I told a friend who lives in Tribeca that I’d chosen a restaurant there for dinner, he promptly cancelled. But times, and the neighborhood, are changing. For better or worse, the area is in the midst of a building boom, with new condos and office towers sprouting like wildflowers (or weeds, depending on your perspective). The pawnshops, meat markets and auto shops that once occupied the storefronts are giving way to coffee houses and trendy new restaurants.
Leading the charge is HK (short for Hell’s Kitchen), a sleek and style-conscious restaurant that opened a few years ago on the northwest corner of W. 39th Street and 9th Avenue. Across the street from a construction site and dwarfed by half-completed highrises, HK’s industrial chic décor matches its urban yet edgy surroundings. Steel shutters retract and fold upward, exposing diners to the street, and the minimalist tables, chairs and booths are all about clean lines and shades of gray.
HK doesn’t make any pretense of being a shrine to haute cuisine. The waiters, dressed head-to-toe in black, wear T-shirts that encourage diners to “Eat. Drink. Relax.” When I asked my server to tell me about the food, she replied that it was “Greek, Asian and American, kind of a little of everything.” And when I asked about the chef, she left for a while, then returned and reported that he was “Mexican.” So don’t expect a foodie name-dropping haven. Instead, HK’s goal seems to be to create a sexy and sophisticated mood—and to supply patrons with enough booze to properly enjoy it. A long, illuminated bar extends the length of the restaurant’s back wall, and the drinks menu has martinis and cocktails galore. Wines are priced from $34 to $65 per bottle, and there’s an impressive selection of domestic and imported beers.
As for the food, the menu does indeed contain a little bit of everything, with mixed results. Starters lean toward seafood, and include a pan seared crab cake, sesame-crusted tuna and mussels Provencal. I tried calamari with a sweet Thai chili sauce ($10) and one of the non-seafood starters, the “merguez a la harrissa” (spicy Moroccan lamb sausages) ($8). The calamari wasn’t extraordinary (when is it ever?), but it was cooked well and the batter was sufficiently delicate. The sausages had a nice flavor and a delayed kick of spice (though their consistency was a bit squishy), and were served over a mesclun salad with a dollop of tsatziki sauce and sautéed red peppers.
I perused the selection of entrees—chicken paillard, wild mushroom ravioli, sautéed skate—and settled on the seared sea scallops ($19.50) and roasted herb chicken ($16). Served with braised leeks and champagne sauce, the scallops were attractively presented. if slightly undercooked, with a sprinkle of bright red roe. The chicken was slightly dry and under-seasoned, and the accompanying mashed potatoes under-whipped, but a side of spinach, despite a leaden sheen to the leaves, was buttery and delicious. Viewing the dishes side-by-side, I noticed that both were garnished with chopped red pepper and chives, a nice touch in isolation, but is it too much to hope for garnishes tailored to the specific intricacies of the dishes?
Pushing aside the dessert menu, my eyes wandered up to one of the flat-screen TVs suspended above the bar. On the Bravo Channel, Padma Lakshmi of “Top Chef” was biting into a duck foie gras prepared by one of the show’s more dynamic aspirants, a plate that one judge then praised as “three-star Michelin.” It was an interesting contrast: Some chefs—or restaurants—shoot for the stars, attempting to wow with every dish. Others care less about the food and more about creating a particular vibe. It can be a questionable approach, but it’s one that HK does with success.
