Kosovo’s online portals, in suspiciously identical posts, have hailed the arrival of DownTown, declaring that the new restaurant brings the “feeling” and “experience” of New York to Prishtina.
I’m not really sure what that means. New York City is a big place with 24,000 restaurants. They include utterly delicious places like Joe’s Pizza on Bleecker Street, whose fresh mozzarella pies will bring any serious pizza lover to tears. And the frightening, like Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square, the eatery carrying the moniker and menu of celebrity chef Guy Fieri whose promise of a trip to “flavortown” resulted in the best bad review in the history of modern food criticism.
In Prishtina, DownTown has put itself right in the heart of the city at the former location of Cavallero, the vaguely Mexican restaurant whose margaritas and smorgasbord of fried miscellanea were responsible for countless hangovers and gastrointestinal disruptions. As terrible as Cavallero was, it had a kind of charm.
DownTown aims for something along the lines of a sophisticated urban dining experience. It’s divided in two levels, with the downstairs being more of a cafe, while the upstairs is the bar and restaurant. Clearly a lot of effort has been put into the interior, which contrasts bright colors with stark exposed brick.
The first pleasant surprise was being offered a menu without asking for one. I took it as a sign that they wanted and expected me to eat. This was a marked contrast to many Prishtina establishments.
The menu also was refreshingly brief, confined to a single two-page spread. The food probably best falls into the category of gastro pub, with salads, burgers, meat-centric mains – and a curious Mexican section, perhaps for those who miss the former occupant. Prices are typical for decent Prishtina restaurants, with most burgers starting around 3.50 euros, with mains topping out at around 10.
I opted for the DownTown burger, and was not disappointed. The poppy-seed bun may be the best hamburger bun Prishtina has seen since Hamam ended its short-lived full service food operation three years ago. The bun’s crust had just the right amount of give, while the bread mopped up the juice from the burger.
The burger itself felt like a bridge between a classic American burger and the Kosovo burger, which is basically a smaller version of a pleskavica. It was high-quality properly ground meat, but seasoned aggressively, perhaps a bit too much for American taste buds. Purple onion, roasted red pepper and jalapeno added a nice touch. It felt like a burger created for Prishtina, and that’s a good thing. I was less impressed with their New York burger on a subsequent visit, however. With its American cheese, but still that familiar spiciness, it seemed neither here nor there.
The spinach, beet and goat cheese salad was a thing of beauty: thin slices of beet, dotted in a peppery sauce, with the salad standing upon it. It tasted as good as it looked.
The same could not be said for the chicken fajitas, which represented the low point of my two visits. The chicken was overcooked and rather tasteless, while the vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, among others) were undercooked. The only thing that seemed remotely Mexican about them were the tortillas and sizzling cast-iron platter it was served upon.
I was similarly disappointed with their rendition of a Philly cheesesteak. The chunks of admittedly good-quality, tender beef were nothing like the paper-thin slices of melt in your mouth steak that normally top the sandwich. There were some peppers and onions thrown in, and it was topped with American cheese. It was a halfway decent chopped steak sandwich. Nothing more. nothing less.
My visits left me with mixed feelings about DownTown. Regardless of whether it’s trying to do this fancy modern New York restaurant thing, it needs to get its act together in the kitchen and focus on what they do well. I can safely say I will return for that burger, and perhaps wash it down with one of their cocktails, which look promising.
10 April 2015 - 15:12
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