A soup for all seasons

A soup for all seasons
AM News, 10-Apr-08
By Lauren Shockey
Metromix.com

Hands down, the best part of winter is being able to dig into a hearty bowl of savory stew. Yet now that spring has (sorta) sprung, stews can be overly heavy options come dinnertime. Enter the perfect midseason dish: bouillabaisse, a Provençal seafood soup that’s comforting, but still light enough for warmer weather. Here’s where to get your fix o’ fish.

Provence
38 MacDougal St., 212-475-7500
$25
Vicki Freeman and Marc Meyer’s charming SoHo eatery showcases food from, well, Provence. Their version of the dish, listed on the menu as Provençal fish stew, is loaded with mussels, shrimp, clams, squid and bass in a saffronchile broth and topped off with an aioli-laden crouton. Knock back a few glasses of rose in the inviting garden room at the back of the restaurant, and you’ll almost think you’re dining along the Côte d’Azur.

Django
480 Lexington Ave., 212-871-6600
$30
Shellfish stars in a bouillabaisse version served at this midtown “Riviera cuisine” favorite. In your bowl, you’ll find mussels, clams, rock shrimp and bass in a saffron nage topped off with spicy rouille croutons, making this one of the more upscale bouillabaisses you’ll ever encounter.

Shun Lee
43 W. 65th St., 212-595-8895
$12.95
Just because bouillabaisse originated in France doesn’t mean that other cuisines can’t adopt it as their own. China may be thousands of miles away from coastal France, but that doesn’t stop Shun Lee from serving a Szechwan-inspired bouillabaisse. The appetizer-size soup showcases sliced sea bass in a tangy, piquant fish broth.

Indochine
430 Lafayette St., 212-505-5111
$22
An Asian-inspired bouillabaisse can also be found at this fusion hot spot, which makes sense, since Vietnam is a former French colony. Here, however, the restaurant swaps out traditional tomato and saffron flavors in its bouillabaisse for lime leaf and galangal, and adds sea scallops, shrimp, baby squid, mussels and cabbage.

Brooklyn Fish Camp
162 Fifth Ave., 718 783-3264
$24
This seafood favorite also offers up a shellfish bouillabaisse, showcasing shrimp, mussels, clams, a scallop, lobster and whatever whitefish is freshest (though the restaurant notes that this is generally cod) in a warming saffron-tomato broth. And if you’re dining out Tuesdays through Fridays, be sure to partake in the restaurant’s two-for-one happy hour special (on beer and wine, that is) from 5 to 8 p.m.

Balthazar
80 Spring St., 212-965-1414
$28
Balthazar is a mecca for any Francophile foodie. While their raw seafood platters may be a more dramatic dinner option, don’t overlook the bouillabaisse, which is served as a special every Friday night. The price may seem a bit steep, but the bowl is packed with red snapper, black sea bass, half a lobster tail, cod, a clam and a mussel. Leeks, potatoes and red pepper (and the saffronaioli-topped slice of baguette on the side) round out the dish, making this a complete meal that you’ll wish was served every day.