Aquavit

Duck tongues are black and slightly curled at the end. These snippets of muscle looks wicked and cunning yet luckily, they taste nothing like they appear. Indeed, they have an almost creamy texture. It is just one of those small reminders that at extreme latitudes they eat everything. Aquavit, the Swedish destination restaurant helmed by Marcus Samuelsson, does what not all haute cuisine shops do in the city: it is fun, exquisite and relaxed without indulging in trends or snobbery.

The tasting menu - $110 for six plates - mapped out a savory tour of the kitchen's offerings. The aforementioned duck tongue was served with yellowtail and sea urchin, and was followed by foie gras ganache, beautifully sinful and last-meal worthy. Of the dishes in the tasting menu, the standout was the hot-smoked trout served in an apple horseradish broth - the fish's delicate husky flavor was sensitively rendered and served well with the spiky sweet and sour of the broth. The fish and seafood plates were generally far superior to the meat. The venison loin was particularly tasteless, and the short ribs not as tender as one might hope. Perhaps the only disappointment is that the cuisine was not overtly Swedish enough - a Wasa-like cracker here and the pickled herring there - were not quite convincing that the fare had a distinctly Scandinavian flare. The desserts, while enjoyable enough were not memorable. However, the final Swedish touch - a box of ginger snaps for the road - added a sweet punctuation to a fine meal worth the expense.

Where: 65 East 55th Street, 212-307-7311