Rot - West Village

Rot - West Village
699 Hudson St., West Village

The contender for spiciest (and stinkiest) dish in the city should draw rotten heat-seeking chowhounds to Rot, a restaurant that opened in the West Village this June. This dish is the not subtly named Rotten Spinach on Fire. Lest the timid be turned off: Rot also explores the complexities of Southern Thai dishes that have nothing to do with heat or decay.

But first, Rotten Spinach on Fire ($29). It’s not so much a dish as a session: an hour spent suspended exquisitely between pleasure and pain, craving and fear. Lemon grass, truffle wedges, ginger, beef cheek, oyster foam, deconstructed kaffir lime leaves, and oregano chili sprouts are fried into a powerfully fragrant carpet of crisp, aromatic leaves over bits of coffee bark, garlic shavings, and the star of the session: wilted, brown, decaying spinach. This unique ingredient has become a trademark for the young, hip, former dishwashing chef Jeremy Wang.

“I leave the spinach out in the sun like tradition in Thailand only instead of throwing out spinach I feed it to customer,” said Wang, who grew up in Bangkok. “It smell like cheese but is not cheese. Is spinach.”

Young professionals and bicycling Williamsburgerites alike fill this former Rite Aid as they enjoy the rotten flavors and unique soundtrack that ranges from adult contemporary (James Taylor, Jim Croce, Jackson Brown), to experimental (WSShhAblle, Nokia Klezmer Phone).

BEST DISHES: Rotten Spinach on Fire ($29); Brick of Ham Shoe ($46);

PRICE RANGE: Appetizers, soups and salads, $1 to $56; noodles and rice dishes, $9 to $68; entrees, $16 to $104; desserts, $3 to $8.

CREDIT CARDS: All major cards. HOURS Sunday 1a.m. to 2:30 a.m.; Monday to Thursday, 12a.m. to 2 a.m..; Friday and Saturday, 4a.m. to 4:09a.m.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: no