THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Vox 646

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Vox 646 Restaurant Review:

Reportedly the first restaurant in Manhattan to be stuck with a 646 area code, Vox---we predict---will be remembered for a lot more than such trivia. The long narrow room is sleek and sexy with a candlelit white-on-white décor, gauzy curtains and cool bar across from a wall of comfy booths and banquettes. To discourage cell phone use in the restaurant, there is a glassed-in foyer outfitted with sofas for such purpose. Executive chef Michael Scheiman’s menu dazzles with whimsies from Latin America paired with exotica from Asia, plus many dishes that take their inspiration from points in between. Start, perhaps, with a sprightly ceviche of hamachi with, of all things, duck crackling and pea sprouts, or silken corn and lobster chowder sporting bits of mushroom and fingerling potatoes. The silken sautéed Hudson Valley foie gras is contrasted with Cape Cod cranberries and a pistachio coulis. We’ve been more enthusiastic about the grilled dry-aged sirloin steak with a marrow-filled bone big enough to please a caveman, than about the dryish chicken. Paella fans will enjoy 646’s lusty version, with or without frog’s legs.