Marea, $34, March 2010, Central Park South

This was my second visit to Marea.  My first one was for dinner not long after they opened. It was very good, but forgettable. It may have been "off" night.  Zagat rates the food a 26.  It is in good company with Del Posto with that rating.  I am hoping the kitchen at Marea has worked out the culinary details and the food falls in line with the rating on this visit.

I am a Zagat-whore.  I follow its ratings and indices routinely to determine which restaurant I will dine at for my  Prix Fixe lunch, Monday night dinner date with my husband and most other dining engagements.  That being revealed, I treat the food rating strictly as a suggestion.  The rating helps me determine where my expectations should be. I generally skip the decor and service ratings.  I don't really care what a restaurant looks like as long as it is sanitary and the food is good.  Also, I am a pretty easy going diner.  I find most service is decent if you are polite, patient and, sometimes, humorous.  The first two qualities are generally all you need to demonstrate because some restaurants are not places to pretend to spit out your wine after your tasting or joke that the food is horrible as the waiter clears an empty entree plate.

This is a more expensive Prix Fixe lunch at $34, two courses and pricey options from restricted categories.  My dining partner was the wonderful, Mee-Ryung.  We ordered the two-course option.  There are many Primo choices which include the Crudo and Antipasti section.  The Crudi offerings are small tastes of raw fish with various imaginative and complimentary flavors.  You can get a taste of three for an $8 supplement (cha-ching).  Here's a tip: the Antipasti section has more substanial options.  I went with the Antipasti special, lentil soup with cod cheeks.  It was very good and a bit unusual.  The salty cod cheeks complimented the mild flavored soup.  M had the Polpo.  It was a nice size octopus tenacle grilled and marinated with some blue potatoes and a vinagrette.  It was very tasty.  So far Marea is holding on to its rating.

The Secondo choices include Pasta and Pesce e Carne.   M got the risotto with seafood, a $5, supplement. It was worth it.  The dish was superb.  The risotto was done perfectly and the seafood was tender and flavorful.  The day's special scallop entree was fantastic, too.  The scallops were done perfectly and even more delectable was the fried polenta block that, when the crispy outer layer is broken open soft, creamy polenta flowed out.  How did they do that?  There were also figs and a fig sauce on the plate that I overlooked because the flavor was not my favorite.

We gave into dessert, it was reasonably priced.  We shared a panna cotta which was good, but not the highlight of the meal.

I cannot forget about the wine list.  The by-the-glass menu paired well with the menu.  The wines are from regions that are coastal or by a major water body.  The bottle menu largely continued that theme.  The prices varied and there are nice, affordable selections.
I would definitely go back for lunch.  The portions and selection of dishes make it perfect for lunch.  Without dessert, the lunch is affordable and not overindulgent.