Tuesday Night at Tertulia

Tuesday night late summer puts me in the mood for tapas.  Figure that we would try something new, MD and I walked down to Tertulia in West Village.  The restaurant is right on 6th Avenue, next to Soto, one of my favorite places for anything uni.

No wait at all so we breezed right in towards the back room where the air conditioning seemed to be working much harder.

We settled down comfortably in one of the long bar height tables, having the whole thing to ourselves.  Having so much room just means that I can order according to my whim, right?

The cojunudo revisited were two small bites of smoked pig cheeks and quail eggs.  But of course, MD wanted his own two bites so we had to double down on the order.  No regrets at all.  These bites delivered an incredibly intense pork experience, concentrating it all within that inch and half.

The tostas setas and the pan con tomate came a little tardy and we both dug in eagerly.  While the pan con tomate was a simple and classic combination of tomatoes and garlic, the tostas setas was more complex with its marinated mushrooms, smoked ricotta and crunchy pine nuts.

Next, a trio of that day’s cheeses, a blue, a goat and a semi-hard.  Some toasted homemade walnut raisin bread with a tiny square of quince and sugared almonds.  My favorite was definitely the goat cheese, just a little tart and creamy sweet.

The next few dishes were a little more substantial in size.  The lightly charred pulpo a la brasa was served on top of a bed of fingerling potatoes and arugula tossed with a meyer lemon dressing.  A small serving but flavorful indeed.

The special of the night, arroz negro, caught my attention when I heard the words uni.  Two small lobs came buried under a flurry of light cheese and sat atop a squid ink rice.  Mixed into the creamy yet al dente rice were small pieces of squid for even more seafood flavors.

And lastly, a last bite of meat for the night.  The cordero might have seemed small but this little square of grilled lamb breast was big on flavor.  The strands of lamb fell apart easily when we tried to split it with a fork.  The creamy farro and cauliflower were hearty, with a hint of Middle Eastern flavor.

Quite full after all these, we passed on the dessert even though it was so incredibly difficult to turn down the torrija caramelizada.  This will have to wait until another visit, along with another round of the cojonudo and other savory dishes on the menu.  Tertulia is definitely on my rooster of restaurants for a casual weekday dinner.

Tertulia | 359 6th Ave  New York, NY 10014 | http://tertulianyc.com