Best of New York 2011 • Eating

• Má Pêche

  15 W. 56th St., nr. Fifth Ave. 212-757-5878

  If there’s one dish that would seem to defy tinkering of any kind, it’s that age-old brasserie favorite steak-frites. But don’t tell that to Tien Ho and the other meat-crazy geniuses who populate the kitchen at David Chang’s midtown outpost, Má Pêche. The restaurant is justly famous for its pork ribs, and for the grandiose �7 Ways� beef feast. But for our money, the most ingenious creation on the menu is Ho’s New Age Asian-fusion version of this ancient French classic. Instead of potatoes, the crunchy �frites� are made with mashed rice and rice flour. Instead of the usual chewy hanger, the steak is a special �Juliet� cut of Creekstone rib eye, softened sous vide andthen seared. Best of all, though, is the MSG-spiked in-house steak sauce, whipped with, among other things, mayonnaise and Sriracha, which binds the different elements of the dish together like some mysterious, otherworldly form of Béarnaise.

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