I was not sure what to expect, other than very good food, of course, when I was invited to a “friends and family” pre-opening dinner at Bar Q, Anita Lo’s latest restaurant in NYC. I was thrilled that her long-anticipated restaurant is finally ready.
My foot injury drastically reduced my activities in the past couple of months, so a rare Saturday night out to dinner was both a momentous event and a mobilization nightmare. With crutches and orthopedic boot in tow, I chose first seating so I could avoid making a scene. With the help of my escorts – my food loving husband and daughter (the other food-loving daughter is away in college unfortunately), I managed to make a not-too-grand entrance. I got in via the quickest route, thanks to Vietnam culinary trip travel pal, now Bar Q sous chef Sean, who happened to be outside at the door when we arrived.
The restaurant’s exterior with distinguishable white (like Annisa on Barrow Street) was easy for me to spot even a block away. True to her understated style, no big, loud signs anywhere, only a small name on one window. The glass panes were still elegantly covered by mauve colored paper, adding a coat of suspense.
Having built and opened a restaurant myself in the distant past, I can appreciate all the ups and downs associated with the process. An opening night like this can be a quite a climax but probably not without nail-biting moments.
The interior décor, elegant and unpretentious, has this clean, crisp look, and I quickly sensed that this was not a place serving sauce-dripping bbq ribs with disposable white bib. For some time, I kept imagining Bar Q was all about finger-licking slabs of baby pork ribs with Anita’s touch of refinement. Am I happy that I was wrong – at least partially wrong! She does have a babyback rib with her mother’s special sauce, but it is a whole lot more. I was immediately salivating when I read the menu to see raw bar, sashimi, and numerous Asian-inspired creative seasonal dishes – definitely my kind of yummy food. My secret desire for crunchy snacks was also satisfied by a “bread” basket overflowing with generous-sized black sesame crackers, prawn chips and papadum.
We kind of cheated by asking Sean for tips on what to order before he rushed back down to the kitchen. Taking some of his advice, we requested our server to help us compose a raw bar-sashimi sampler, and for appetizers, we separately picked tea-smoked salmon, grilled baby calamari, and unagi and scallion fritters, with a tasting portion of the grilled head-on shrimps. For our entrees, we ordered the stuffed ribs, a Korean-influenced grilled kalbi, and spicy pork shank (in lieu of cheeks on the menu) respectively. For dessert, I fell for the warm glutinous mochi balls, while Veronica picked a peanut dessert with ice-cream. My husband finished the meal with the Chinese-accented warm sweet walnut soup.
Anita never ceases to amaze us with her skills, intelligence and creativity, particularly her East West sensibilities by which she combines ingredients and techniques for splendid results. We’ll be back! Soon.
New Asian Cuisine 
