P-ong

150 W 10th Street

I suggest that you go to P*ong, just not in the way I experienced it. We splurged (really splurged–this meal ended up being probably the most expensive since Tailor) on the tasting menu and found that while much of it was good, it was just too sweet over all and we were only really wowed by a few dishes (the menu changes frequently). For the price, there are better spots to spend your time (ten courses takes a while) and money.

One of the reasons the bill can climb is the $14 cocktails (the beer menu is limited, you're encouraged to go with the premium cocktails). For that price, make sure you order wisely. We found the Citrus Gin Fizz and the Caipirimansi to be (again) too sweet. But the Southern Beauty and the Bangkok Margarita were excellent. I also tried the Vegetarian, which included carrot juice and was like a nice subtly sweet Bloody Mary, though not quite as good as the Margarita and the Southern Beauty.

Each dish, savory ones included, has a sweet component, like the excellent peeky toe crab salad, which is served with green apple mousse; on the subway ride home, we felt a bit like we had eaten too many Good and Plentys instead of a proper dinner.

Not surprising, P*ong excels at desserts. I would absolutely recommend you go and indulge in the $30 dessert-only tasting menu. It changes and it's updated often, so I can’t tell you for sure what you’ll get, but the sweet stuff is where chef, Pichet Ong shines.

One of the few openly gay chefs in a machismo world, he opened the restaurant a couple years ago after working as a pastry chef at such respected places as Jean Georges’s Spice Market and Rick Moonen’s rm. He is also the author of a few cook books including The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts.