TV NYC - Bar Jamon

It is tradition, as it should be; that we end our trip with a great meal with K-Bo and Lola. We have visited other restaurants in the pass, which were all Mario Batali joints. Inspired by the PBS special, On the Road Again with Mario Batali and Gwenyth Paltrow, I decided on having some tapas. With our great foresight, we did not make our reservations a month before for Casa Mono, so when we tried to make a reservation a few days before our dinner date, there were obviously no tables available. Wait. That would be exaggerating. There were tables available. Only at 1030 at night.

So we went one better, next to Casa Mono is Bar Jamon, a small tapas bar opened by Casa Mono and you don't need reservations. Just show up early. Without much hesitation, we wondered soaking wet to Bar Jamon on a Thursday night at 5pm, just as the bar opened and we were the first in line. By 530, and I am not exaggerating here, the bar was FULL.

We ordered the following:

Pan Con Tomate - Like a bruschetta but the garlic and tomatoes are rubbed into the toasted bread. Lovely!

Beets with Valdeon - Hardly had beets before in my life but the beets here tasted like steak tomatoes and the combination of blue cheese made this dish mouth watering.

Coliflor with Salsa Verde - Tangy and slightly off spicy, the capers and cauliflower was a compliment to the salty and spicy dish.

Mussels en Escabeche - The mussels and the acid in the vegetables made this a COMPLETE mussel tasting dish. If you love mussels, this is it. The essence of mussels on a plate.

Chorizo with Pickled Peppers - I never had such good chorizo before. The pickled peppers were a perfect complement to the smoky and luscious chorizo.

Duck Liver with Apricots - The Foie gras melts in your mouth, and the combination of the apricots and apricot jam on the bread was heavenly.

Jamon Iberico Fermin - This jamon (the Spanish version of the prosciutto) was gorgeous. Nutty and natural tasting. The best cured meat I have ever tasted.

Pork Terrine - Smooth, silky and a great blend with the bread!

With the length of the review, and you can read more here.Bar Jamon is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Service was excellent. The servers could easily explain to you what every dish is and their wine recommendation was spot on.

The great thing about tapas is the fact that you can order so much things and try every one of the various plates of flavor and contrasting and extreme combinations of Spanish food.

I shall return!