5 Ninth & A Re-Review of The Spice Market
Today I had another food lover's paradise. 5 Ninth for brunch, then The Spice Market for dinner. 5 Ninth is located in the Meatpacking District, just down the block from the famous French Bistro Pastis. While its not nearly as crowded as its neighbor, 5 Ninth is a good contender for Brunch. 5 Ninth is a 3 floor townhouse which has a classical yet old country cabin feel to it. Its very simple yet cozy and chic. From the old wooden door, to the wooden floors, to the old logs sitting by the bar, 5 Ninth could have been located near Killington Mountain in Vermont for all I knew. The garden in the back is quaint and cozy and I'm sure would be nice for a small get-together in the summer. The brunch menu consists of things like eggs Benedict, cheese omelets, pancakes, french toast, and a few sandwiches. I had their signature dish which was called "Toads in a Hole". Toads in a Hole is basically a fried egg on French toast, accompanied by a salad with a citrus flavor to it. It was very good I have to say. Though the taste of the salad was a bit overwhelming towards the end, the French toast was very good and the egg complemented it very well. The service is great and they were quite aware of my peanut allergy (as most restaurants in the Meatpacking District are, with the exception of Morimoto). 5 Ninth is a perfect place to go for a coffee with friends, or carry out a small get together. If you're looking for large crowds at brunch time, please head on down the block to Pastis, down a block and around the corner to Merkato 55, down about 4 blocks to 202, or around the corner to Bagatelle.
The Spice Market this evening, was packed...intensly packed...like Tao packed. Since I have reviewed The Spice Market before I won't get into great detail about the ambiance, but the restaurant is gorgeous and built specifically for the young Meatpacking District yuppies and business men. What I did notice however, is why its difficult to get a reservation past 7:00 PM. A normal dinner for 2 at The Spice Market will last a minimum of 2 hours so every table is filled. Everything takes a minimum of 20 minutes to prepare (yes this is including the sides), so there are giant lapses between dishes, which isn't too bad especially if you're with friends. Now in this review I'll go more into the food since I only had one thing on my last visit. Last time, I had the Pork Vindaloo which was good, but the amount of jalapeno could have made the dish lethal to anyone with acid reflux. This time, I had the beef skewers with a refreshing lime sauce which were decent. The crab dumplings which were very good, but the pea shoots that accompanied it were spicy (as you can tell I'm not into spicy foods, but if you are The Spice Market is a perfect place for you). The snapper was great! The fish was tender and moist and the flavors were all in tune with one another. But the short ribs weren't as good but still were nothing to complain about. The ginger fried rice was nothing spectacular as it was essentially just flavored rice with an egg on top. Personally I enjoyed the pea shoots as a side order as it had a Chinese flavor to it which I enjoyed very much. The desserts were surprisingly great. I usually tend to avoid desserts at Asian restaurants, but The Spice Market made me forget all that. The Ovaltine Kulfi was great. It was a chocolate "taffy" type pastry with Indian spices on top, with caramel popcorn, an Ovaltine puff and a caramelized banana at the bottom. The Thai Jewels was also quite delicious and refreshing. This dessert is a chilled coconut milk soup with exotic fruits. The fruits blended well with the coconut milk and all the flavors flowed together perfectly. Also, the service is great at understanding peanut allergies and does a good job of preventing potential allergic reactions. Anyone who has a peanut allergy knows how potentially dangerous going to a restaurant like The Spice Market is. But the servers really do a good job at guiding you in ordering peanut/nut free foods. All and all The Spice Market is a great place for the young as it is fun and exotic and the food is flavorful enough to captivate us for a two hour dinner!