NISH
405 East 58th Street, New York, NY 10022, 212-754-6272.
The restaurant is open 7 days a week from 5:30 PM- 11:30 PM
Appetizers:$12-$22. Entrees:$22-$38. Cheese:3 to 5 for $22. Dessert: $12. 4 Course Tasting Menu: $59.

A March By Any Other Name Would Still Taste Nish

Working with the restaurant’s inherent charm, NISH retains its appeal while updating the rooms with a changing display of modern art. Partnering with emerging artists from Europe and the United States, NISH incorporates a rotating collection of art that will establish the restaurant not only as an esteemed dining destination but also a hub of emerging painters, photographers and sculptors. An enormous Martina Schumacher triptych was brought in by Curators Without Borders, a gallery in Berlin, and pieces by New York-based Ayse Yidez, Charles Lutz, Verna Valencia and Manuel Geerinck are among the first artists displayed.

And that’s not the only change at Nish-formally-March. Since 1991, March became synonymous with New York’s image of a small, elegant venue, serving exquisitely imaginative food and introducing such user-friendly options as dual tasting menus. Growing into a world-class restaurant, one could expect the best that money could buy, whether it be caviar-filled “Beggars Purses,” fresh foie gras, and truffles.

But as times and tastes change, x-March may have a new name, look, and casual-feeling (the jackets and ties are gone) and prices that are eminently affordable (even the always excellent wine list is bargain priced), the food, thanks to chef Nish and his chef de cuisine Peter Hudson, is better than ever.

Tasting nearly every dish on the menu is a challenge. But at Nish, it’s also a pleasure. The menu showcases Mr. Nish’s knowledge and passion for fusion cuisine and introduces an extensive raw milk cheese program that is awesome. Focusing on wildly divergent ingredients to accomplish artfully conceived, but simply delicious dishes. Nish integrates proteins, starches and vegetables in such a way that the sum becomes greater than its parts. Offerings include appetizers like the unlikely combination of Littleneck Clam Ravioli with lop ch’ueng sausage and salted black beans, Calf’s Sweetbreads with za’atar, basturma and wild mushrooms, and Maine Red Shrimp and New Zealand Cockles with fregola in ichiban dashi.

Entrees range from a luscious marinated Quail with tamarind, cumin and apricot pilaf to the most delicious salmon dish I’ve tasted in years. Here, slow-roasted, so that it becomes indecently tender, yet manages to retain a rare center. It is companioned by trahana, tomato and eggplant. Scallops are seared in sweet cream and wine emulsion with cumin. If any of this sounds unfamiliar, fret not-Nish offers an extensive glossary designed to guide diners through the restaurant’s roster of exotic ingredients.

Among NISH’s most defining characteristics is its raw milk cheese program, designed in tandem with Marc Refabert, owner of http://www.fromages.com/ and one of France’s leading cheese purveyors. All of the cheeses at NISH are still “live” in that their maturation process continues well after purchasing. The list of cheeses-ranging from Epoisses de Bourgogne and Couronne Lochoise to Tomme Crayeuse and Echouargnac-are handpicked by Refabert each week.

The menu is a la carte but Nish encourages diners to embrace his flexible tasting menu for $59. This four-course tasting menu allows diners to create their own meal, including dessert, where dishes like a Salted Mixed Nut Tart with bananas foster mousse and brandy ice cream and a Sheep’s Milk Mahalabia with pistachios, candied ginger and pomegranate syrup, await selection. The Sheep’s Milk Mahalabia, a play on the Indian “Firni,” is so good it warrents a visit to Nish on its own merit

As at March, co-owner Joseph Scalice continues to direct the wine program with signature panache. His ability to find affordable wines of exceptional quality from around the globe resonates through the collection, yielding the seamless marriage of food, wine and service.

With a popular price point, a new modern décor and a menu that references Wayne Nish’s role as one of the first masters of fusion cooking, NISH promises to draw a new generation of faithful clientele.

Side Dish

Wayne Nish
Chef/Co-Owner NISH

Wayne Nish has the distinct honor of having a total of 18 stars bestowed upon him by The New York Times critics over the past 19 years. An impressive feat for a man who created his own culinary education by tearing through Larousse Gastronomique, the culinary encyclopedia that taught him the nuances of pulling off a flawless demi-glace and a perfect galantine. Such was the foundation of Nish’s career, one which has spanned nearly three decades and a considerable range of cuisines.

Chef Nish was one of the pivotal figures in spearheading the fusion cooking movement in the 1980s, applying exotic ingredients to classic techniques. Nish embraced European, Asian, Middle Eastern and Indo-Pak food cultures as the cornerstones of his cooking, turning out dishes unfamiliar to New York diners. Nish’s knowledge and passion for a mélange of flavors shines throughout his dishes, from global appetizers and entrees to a traditional cheese program. He believes that today’s cuisine stems from the exchange of ideas and techniques that occurs from one generation to the next. “Ingredients are the currency of change,” he says.

After working several years at architectural and printing firms, Nish started his culinary career at The Quilted Giraffe in New York City, where he honed his skills under Barry Wine. He then helmed the kitchen at Wine’s casual spin off, The Casual Quilted Giraffe.

His next stop was at the legendary La Colombe d’Or. Applying his formidable talents to the then unfamiliar principles of French Provencal cookery, Nish generated an inimitable interpretation of the cuisine, earning a three star review from The New York Times within four months. The attention catapulted Nish as a major culinary star and paved the way for the arrival of March in 1990.

Channeling his eclectic New York rearing (he was born just blocks from the restaurant to a Maltese mother and Japanese-Norwegian father), Chef Nish opened March in an elegant turn-of-the-century townhouse with Joseph Scalice, a previous manager at La Colombe d’Or. The pair transformed the space into one of Manhattan’s premier dining destinations, and earned a coveted Michelin star in 2006.

Nish, who draws his culinary inspiration from the many ethnic communities of New York City, would go on to host some of the nation’s most promising young talent in his kitchens. Over the restaurant’s sixteen years of service, Nish further cultivated his respect for the cultural and historical influences on the art of cooking. Nish came to think of his selected ingredients as “cultural references”-a philosophy that would serve him well when the restaurant embraced a new concept in 2007.

NISH opened in March’s space in January of 2007, and reflects Chef Nish’s passion for world cuisines. Embracing a broad scale of internationally informed flavors, the restaurant succeeds in tackling new terrain while still appealing to New York diners.

In addition to his work in the kitchen, Nish is a cookbook author and photographer; his work appears in the well-received Simple Menus for the Bento Box (William Morrow, 1998). He has been lauded in the press, making frequent television and radio appearances. Nish was in fact the first American to participate on Iron Chef in Japan.

With the reinvention of his restaurant, Nish uncovers new techniques and flavor pairings and this transformation will secure Wayne Nish as one of New York’s top toques.

NISH Dinner Menu

appetizers

green salad with garam masala and parsnip gelée and walnut vinaigrette 12

warm salad of braised choy meo, tomato, tapenade and frittura mista 14

sashimi of hirame, carpaccio of maine lobster and seared bay scallops 22

maine red shrimp and new zealand cockles with fregola in ichiban dashi 18

poached organic egg with wakame, lemon, mentaiko and katsuo bushi 14

littleneck clam ravioli with lop ch’ueng sausage and salted black beans 15

galantine of dines farm chicken with sumac, aleppo pepper and gai lam 16

calf’s sweetbreads with za’atar, basturma and wild mushrooms 22

entrées

chirashi zushi with kabocha, korean spicy tofu, tsukemono and poached maitake 22

black bass with nigella in tarragon and fennel broth 26

slow-roasted scottish salmon with trahana, tomato and eggplant 22

fricassée of lobster and black cod in sweet cream and wine emulsion with cumin 35

ballotine of narragansett turkey with sweet fennel sausage and broccoli rabe 28

braised and grilled squab and quail with tamarind and cumin and apricot pilaf 36

roast colorado lamb chop and grilled leg with gingered confit of lamb shank 38

kobe hanger steak pôele with sichuan furu, sage, orzo and wild mushrooms 36

chef /co-owner wayne nish wine director /co-owner joseph scalice

handmade raw milk cheeses

abondance fourme d’ambert

brie langres

chabichou du poitou reblochon

chaource roquefort

comte saint nectaire

couronne lochoise tomme crayeuse

echouargnac tommette de laious

epoisses de bourgogne

cheeses from fromages.com

selection of any three to five cheeses 20

desserts

seasonal fruit with honey, sichuan peppercorn and lime in crispy banh trang 12

lemon and raspberry crème chiboust 12

sheep’s milk mahalabia with pistachios, candied ginger and pomegranate syrup 12

baba au rhum au meringue italienne 12

hazelnut dacquoise with chocolate sorbet 12

dulce de leche bonbons with espresso caramel 12

warm chocolate pudding cake 12

salted mixed nut tart with bananas foster mousse and brandy ice cream 12

four course tasting menu: any selection of dishes including cheese and/or dessert 59

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