Ferris

Ferris Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant & décor: This restaurant in the MADE Hotel, near Herald Square, continues the NoMad neighborhood’s culinary renaissance. Chef Greg Proechel, formerly of Le Turtle and Eleven Madison Park, oversees the New American menu, which is significantly more quirky and innovative than a typical hotel restaurant. The intimate (okay, tiny) basement space is dimly lit, with raw wood tables and elegant glassware.

Likes: Okinawa sweet potato; carrot agnolotti; côte de boeuf; yuzu-lemon frozen yogurt.
Dislikes: Small restaurant fills up quickly, so it can be hard to get a table.

Food & Drinks: Proechel’s dishes are not those you’ll find elsewhere. In a city with plenty of ubiquitous menu staples, it’s refreshing to try some genuinely new combinations of ingredients and flavors. Some items, like Okinawa sweet potato with pumpkin mustard and buttermilk, succeed more than others. It’s rich and balanced, sprinkled with dainty yellow flowers. Agnolotti are filled with Fontina and carrot butter then tossed with braised lamb neck and pickled squash. It’s a truly original, and craveable, pasta dish. But the flavors of Ferris’ beet dish --- horseradish, coconut and tahini --- manage to overwhelm the beets. And fresh cheese with matcha and kiwi doesn’t quite gel. Rectify this with juicy côte de boeuf with unexpected fixings: whipped buttermilk, funky black garlic paste and a crunchy shaved Brussels sprouts salad. Yuzu-lemon frozen yogurt is a refreshingly simple end to a meal. Jenny Lakin’s wine list is thoughtful but not long, featuring bottles from lesser known regions of France and Italy.