Industria Argentina Does Restaurant Week

The wind was cold and fierce on the night we visited Industria Argentina, one of the latest additions to NYC Restaurant Week. We didn’t so much walk in as we were blown in. The interior was thankfully warm in both temperature and atmosphere.

Industria Argentina prides itself on everything in the restaurant – the décor, the wine and even the chef being “made in Argentina.” This is a good thing all-around. Large, fabric-swathed and drumlike, the lighting encircles diners in its glow. Fabric strips painted in jewel tones and organic sculptures and furniture further add to the natural elemental radiance.

Tucked inside Industria Argentina’s usual menu is the Restaurant Week prix fixe. Three choices each for appetizer, entrée and dessert allow diners to sample some house specialties for just marginally more than the cost of an entrée on an average night. Though the room was busy with diners taking advantage of the deal, the server was attentive and friendly, offering menu advice only when solicited and following up on it.

We ordered the mollejas al verdeo (crispy sautéed sweetbreads and scallions in a white wine sauce) and a trio of empanadas (braised lamb and potatoes, sweet corn and shrimp and smoked ham and mozzarella) as appetizers, lomo a la parrilla (grilled filet mignon, Brussels sprouts and bacon stew in a porcini jus) and Milanesa de pescado (skate wing prepared in a Milanese style with brown butter and capers atop a cauliflower purée) for entrees and goat cheese cheesecake (a crepe folded over a goat cheese filling with a quince reduction) and bombón Suizo (an Argentinain-style tartufo made with dulce de leche ice cream and sauce) for dessert.

The empanadas had a perfect texture – a pleasant chewy exterior giving way to the sweet and savory fillings. In both taste and crispness, the sweetbreads were outstanding examples of their kind. The skate had a pleasant meaty taste and a crisp coating that was perfect for sopping up the caper-streaked oil that semi-circled the plate. Its accompanying cauliflower purée blended the look of mashed potatoes with the sweet flavor and stringy texture of sweet potatoes. As for the filet, it was perfectly grilled filet and rested on Brussels sprouts; both benefited from the smokiness they soaked up from the bacon and porcini. After a tasty and filling meal, dessert was a bit of an afterthought for diners and chef alike. The crepe was on the doughy side and proved a bit grainy on the chew. The bombón overdid it on the sweetness, the chocolate and double dose of caramel unrelieved.

On nearly all points, Industria Argentina did an excellent job enticing diners to return to this bit of South America in Tribeca long before the next Restaurant Week.

NYC Restaurant Week continues through Feb. 7.

Industria Argentina
329 Greenwich Street
New York, NY‎ 10013
(212) 965-8560


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