Cuisines:
Pan-Asian
This cinder-block bunker of modest reserve serves culinary provocations on a street known more for hipster aspirations than for globe- smashing intrigue. It takes chutzpah to put crunchy chicken skin at the center of a salad host- ing cubes of fresh watermelon—in February, no less!—while making room for the heady surprise of Thai chiles, bitter-herbal watercress vines, and a carpet of baba ghanoush. Chef Sarah Pliner’s approach unfolds slowly on a seemingly random list of dishes, each its own constellation of cui- sines and visual juxtapositions. France winks at Chinatown; Japan dances with India. Think of an iPod shuffling from Ravel to M.I.A. Not everything works, but any given night turns up plenty of food and drink to tease the mind and make your tongue smile—perhaps tempura green beans made magical with green curry, or four-cup chicken sided by opium-caliber blobs of creamed taro root and truffle perfumes. Aviary is on the ascent, with delicacy and restraint in a town of dudes and flames.
Updated 04/08/2013
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