Blanca

"Price: $275 Blanca’s three-hour tasting marathon is impressive, but it’s about as far from crowd-pleasing as you can get. The Bushwick restaurant’s overly intellectual approach to its 18-course menu means that any brilliant moments can give way to deep yawns with the next course, as you try to understand why snails and lavender go together. Even if you manage to stay mentally stimulated, your appetite will be waiting impatiently by the door, intent on taking home a pizza from Roberta’s for later. The price is only worth it if you’re a true food nerd. " - bryan kim, willa moore, neha talreja, molly fitzpatrick

"With 18 courses, at least six chefs, and a three-hour runtime, the tasting menu at Blanca in Bushwick plays out like a culinary thesis show—equal parts inspiring and challenging. We've had some unforgettable dishes here, but would recommend this $275 marathon only to food nerds who get excited at the prospect of three separate seaweed courses, and who are forgiving of the odd failed experiment. Behind an unmarked door in the back of Roberta's pizza, Blanca's 12-seat counter first opened in 2012, with a whopping 27 courses. After reopening post-pandemic, the menu is relatively tighter, skews towards seafood, and incorporates some Chilean influences from its new executive chef. A huge open kitchen is key. As you wait for each course, you’ll watch cooks grill crabs, scrape out oyster conches, and prepare sea-flavored foams. Their stamina is impressive, but yours should be too. Even in its trimmed form, the menu lacks a clear through-line. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte There are moments of brilliance, like a smoky brown rice porridge made with three-week aged pheasant, and a Chilean flatbread with chunks of chicharrón baked in. But with so many courses, the misses—like a pasta with snails, lavender, and celery foam that’s too bitter and conceptual to be tasty—make the meal feel three times longer. In an effort to keep things moving, the hosts bring some of Roberta’s super casual, pizza-tossing energy to the counter, refilling your drink right as the soundtrack ramps up from Amy Winehouse to techno. There is plenty to see, taste and talk about at Blanca—especially if you're the sort of person who uses the word "gastronomic" into everyday conversation. Food Rundown photo credit: Kate Previte Belon Oyster We watched chefs prepare these ceramic bowls for a good half hour, carefully placing oyster shells on top of elaborate piles of kelp at exactly the right angle. It’s a lot of prep for a few bites of oyster, but wild belon oysters—known for being particularly plump and creamy, with a metallic taste—are worth fussing over. In this case, they’re covered in a super tart, super milky calamansi-flavored foam that brings out their briny flavor. photo credit: Kate Previte Sopresine Pasta For a place so tied to Roberta’s, Blanca falls short when it comes to pasta. This one came with meaty snails, french lavender, and celery foam. It looks pretty, but the earthy ingredients don't come together. photo credit: Kate Previte Crab Empanada Filled with sweet crab and fermented black bean, the empanada holds everything together while still being light and flaky enough to venture into croissant territory. The pastry is a pretty big portion for a tasting menu, and every bite is meant to be eaten with a spoonful of cochayuyo salsa, which is actually the more interesting part of the dish: a mix of chewy bull kelp from the Chilean coast, chiles, and acid. It's the perfect, ocean-flavored plate of food, and at the end of our meal, they gave us a small jar of salsa to take home. Surf Clam Surf clam and yuzu sauerkraut is a good start, but the citrus doesn't pair well with the mashed sweet potato beneath it. photo credit: Kate Previte Tortilla al Rescoldo Tortilla de rescoldo is a traditional Chilean bread cooked under hot sand and ash, giving it a distinct smoke and char flavor. This version has an uber thick crust and chunks of chicharron. We’re into it. Hobnob Cookie And Cheese We love a good hobnob, but these aren’t the British oat biscuits we are used to. They're better. They’re just as crispy, with a buttery finish that leaves a sheen on your fingers, but almost entirely savory, except for a slightly sweet aftertaste. Paired with a sliver of Vermont cheese and quince jelly, this course is one of our favorites. Our take-home bag included a couple as well." - Neha Talreja

"Blanca, once a tasting menu destination, has reopened with a new menu from Victoria Blamey and recently landed the New York Times No. 2 spot on the city’s 100 best restaurants." - Melissa McCart

"Blanca is the tasting menu revival at Roberta’s, where Victoria Blamey is the head chef. Blamey has had an extensive career in New York, including leading roles at Chumley’s, Gotham Bar and Grill, and Mena." - Melissa McCart

"Blanca, the chef’s counter located inside the Roberta’s compound, is back after a pandemic-related hiatus. But the Bushwick pizza maker's upwardly mobile younger sister has little to do with Neapolitan pie mastery. Instead, when it first opened in 2012, Blanca was known for its marathon, 27-course tasting menus. Though they’ve been coyly teasing hunks of meat and whole naked birds on Instagram, we expect mostly small, two-bite plates in the $275 per person experience. Book reservations in advance." - Will Hartman, Willa Moore