Things you know about New Zealand:
—It’s got more sheep than people.
—Lord of the Rings.
—The people are called Kiwis.
—And it’s responsible for your dinner tonight…
Specifically, the New Zealander at TheMusket Room, which is just what you’d like to
imagine a large, rustic, brick-and-wood dining room in New Zealand to be, opening tonight in Nolita.
Your chef here hails from NZ. And on his way here, he also did some fine work at Public and Saxon + Parole,
where it appears he ruminated on the art of the
flawless date spot. Hence: this place. You’ve got candlelit nooks with blue leather banquettes, garden
views, walls of wine and… delicate plates of whole quail.
The power move here is the nook. Some people might try to sell you on the back dining room with all its
sunniness and herb garden adjacency. (Those edible flowers with your scallops: they’re from there.) And…
well, sure, that does sound pretty great. But go with the nook.
The nook’s just past that walnut-tree bar you passed on the way in. Just six cozy two-tops where you’ll
get to know a fetching fellow human being over fried bone marrow with citrus and uni, bottles of sauvignon
blanc and venison flavored with gin.
Note: it’s also okay not to pass the bar.
