During the dark, dreary days of winter, we all crave a savory soul-warming dish. This season, Manhattan’s clever cooks bring us a fishy alternative to stews and soups, reimaging flouncy French bouillabaisses, intense Italian cioppinos and brodettos and South American caldeiradas and vatapas. Here are our favorites.
Caldeirada de Peixe
Vermilion, 480 Lexington Ave.; 212-871-6600
The seafood stew at Vermillion (right) is a culture clash in a bowl. “It’s a take on a traditional Brazilian seafood stew that has Indian flavors, too,” explains chef Maneet Chauhan. She starts with a broth of anchovies, garlic, peppers, clam juice, tomato puree, coconut milk and garam masala (a combo of 21 spices made in-house), cooked for a couple of hours. Then she adds a cornucopia of seafood to the mix, before serving the $26 entree with a side of tomato rice.
“This is the one dish on our menu that people afraid of spice really love,” Chauhan says. “We don’t overseason it: It’s hearty, but because it’s got clam juice and coconut milk, it has a light flavor.”
Dorade Royale
Gilt, 455 Madison Ave.; 212-891-8100
Justin Bogle’s haute dish is inspired by bouillabaisse, and “is not strictly a bowl of fish stew.”
“We’ve taken the components and broken them down to a light, modern interpretation,” says Bogle, who fills a plate with roasted dorade, clams in lemon vinaigrette, steamed mussels wrapped in lardo, squid-ink gnocchi and uni aioli floating in a broth. It’s served as part of the prix-fixe menu (three courses for $89).
Fulton Fish Market Cioppino
Bar Americain 152 W. 52nd St.; 212-265-9700
Bobby Flay is no stranger to briny stews. “When I had Bolo restaurant,” says the celebrity chef and restaurateur, “we would do one in a saffron or squid-ink broth.”
His latest version, served at his Midtown eatery, is a version of cioppino, which hails from San Francisco. “It comes from the Italian immigrants working the docks. They’d use the scraps of the fish, add tomato sauce, broth made from fish bones and make it garlicky and spicy,” Flay explains.
His dish ($34) features lobster, red snapper, clams, mussels and crabmeat, and is so popular that he serves at least 150 each week.
“The secret is anchovy butter: I finish the broth with it and fresh parsley,” he says. “And because it’s a San Francisco dish, we serve grilled sourdough to sop up the broth with.”
Brodetto di Pesce
Marea 240 Central Park South; 212-582-5100
A soup made on Italy’s Adriatic coast inspires Michael White’s $45 dish. “Brodetto means short broth,” explains White. “Ours is a bit more refined than in Italy: There, it’s very thick and tomato-based, but it’s a little unattractive. And we don’t put in smaller fish with bones because [Americans] don’t want to mess around with bones.”
White does put in langoustines, however, as well as scallops, prawns, clams, snapper and toasted bread. The result is a fabulously hearty meal.
“It warms the soul. It’s a crowd-pleasing thing, very versatile,” says White. “And we would create lots of havoc if we took it off the menu!”
“This is the one dish on our menu that people afraid of spice really love,” Chauhan says. “We don’t overseason it: It’s hearty, but because it’s got clam juice and coconut milk, it has a light flavor.”
Dorade Royale
Gilt, 455 Madison Ave.; 212-891-8100
Justin Bogle’s haute dish is inspired by bouillabaisse, and “is not strictly a bowl of fish stew.”
“We’ve taken the components and broken them down to a light, modern interpretation,” says Bogle, who fills a plate with roasted dorade, clams in lemon vinaigrette, steamed mussels wrapped in lardo, squid-ink gnocchi and uni aioli floating in a broth. It’s served as part of the prix-fixe menu (three courses for $89).
Fulton Fish Market Cioppino
Bar Americain 152 W. 52nd St.; 212-265-9700
Bobby Flay is no stranger to briny stews. “When I had Bolo restaurant,” says the celebrity chef and restaurateur, “we would do one in a saffron or squid-ink broth.”
His latest version, served at his Midtown eatery, is a version of cioppino, which hails from San Francisco. “It comes from the Italian immigrants working the docks. They’d use the scraps of the fish, add tomato sauce, broth made from fish bones and make it garlicky and spicy,” Flay explains.
His dish ($34) features lobster, red snapper, clams, mussels and crabmeat, and is so popular that he serves at least 150 each week.
“The secret is anchovy butter: I finish the broth with it and fresh parsley,” he says. “And because it’s a San Francisco dish, we serve grilled sourdough to sop up the broth with.”
Brodetto di Pesce
Marea 240 Central Park South; 212-582-5100
A soup made on Italy’s Adriatic coast inspires Michael White’s $45 dish. “Brodetto means short broth,” explains White. “Ours is a bit more refined than in Italy: There, it’s very thick and tomato-based, but it’s a little unattractive. And we don’t put in smaller fish with bones because [Americans] don’t want to mess around with bones.”
White does put in langoustines, however, as well as scallops, prawns, clams, snapper and toasted bread. The result is a fabulously hearty meal.
“It warms the soul. It’s a crowd-pleasing thing, very versatile,” says White. “And we would create lots of havoc if we took it off the menu!”
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