Falling In Love With Martha
Lauren Bloomberg

Whole trout sits in a spicy sambal sauce. Photo: Martha Restaurant

          Chef Andres Valbuena does not look like the type of man you'd see carefully tucking precisely cut cubes of tuna ceviche into sheets of nori, let alone nibbling on the dainty, but strongly flavored, Hawaiian poke wraps. He's a bear of a gentleman. But this umami-loaded dish is exactly what he's turning out at Martha,  his tiny, two-person kitchen in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. And these are plates that should be at the top of your to-eat list.

Peanut strewn bone marrow to be stuffed into bao buns. Photo: Martha Restaurant

          Mission Chinese Food's Danny Bowien and Pok Pok Ny's Andy Richter might claim they are putting their own spin on their respective Asian cuisines. The Empellon mini-empire's Alex Stupak is using Mexican ingredients to create his dishes, and other ingredients to create traditional Mexican ones. At Martha, they aren't apt to put a geographically bound label, or even a loose label, onto their food. This is "Chef Andres's" food. Nothing more, nothing less.

Pig ear terrine is prettified by pink watermelon radish. Photo: Martha Restaurant

          Though there is no end of wines by the carafe, you can't go wrong starting with a Ginger-Byrrh. The bite of the ginger and the light beer go well with multiple dishes, playing down the heat in the egg noodles with spicy seared de-cased sausage chunks, and equally as well as it brings out the sweet-sour qualities in the ginger inflected glaze that lacquers the lick-your-fingers pork ribs. In a smart move, the pile of ribs comes with some apple wedges sprinkled with black sesame seeds which serve as an excellent palate cleanser. Though not as spicy as they should, or could, be, Chinese long beans with birds-eye chili and horseradish are totally addictive.

          In a world where every Tom, Dick and Gael Greene is looking to discover the hottest new restaurant, miraculously, Martha has remained a hidden gem. This cannot last long.

184 DeKalb Avenue, Brooklyn. 718 596 4147. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday from 6pm till 11pm. Friday and Saturday from 6pm till midnight. Saturday and Sunday brunch from 11am till 4pm. Closed Monday.

For more Lauren head to KnivesCameraAction.com.

Click here to follow my twitter and here for instagram.

Click here to return to Short Order listings.