Review: Craftbar (1)

The idea of tuna in a jar hits a kind of conceptual sweet spot in my mind. Somewhere between fresh and canned, just between highbrow and lowbrow, tuna in a jar makes me happy before I even get to eat it. And then it makes me happier.

At Craftbar, Craft’s less-formal downstairs neighbor, Tom Colicchio’s more casual sensibilities shine. Familiar ingredients and preparations make for simple, nibbly fun, but are executed with less pretension and more thought than you might see elsewhere. The tuna, lightly cured in oil, sits in its jar atop a mush of delicious, gooey roasted red peppers, and is sprinkled with shards of salty black olives. Heaped onto rustic grilled bread, it’s the perfect snack — a small bite of oily perfection to accompany a glass of rich white or light red wine.

Continue reading the review of Craftbar.

(Photo by James Camp)