Following a long day of production on Trailblazers, a short documentary that I helped produce for Panda Express in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, my colleagues and I sat down for dinner at Estela. Though we were exhausted from the day’s shoot, we were also giddy from having been graced by Connie Chung’s brilliance. Wine and really good food was just what we needed, and Estela delivered on both fronts.
Opened in 2013 in the space that once housed the Knitting Factory, a music venue I visited once circa 2000, if memory serves me right, Estela serves minimalist small plates with a Mediterranean bent. Every dish we tasted on Chef Ignacio Mattos’ menu this evening was as thoughtful as it was delicious.
To start, half a dozen chilled oysters dressed ever-so-lightly in a yuzu kosho mignonette ($24).
