Prix Fixe « Two Fat Bellies

Posts Tagged ‘Prix Fixe’

Winter Restaurant Week 2010 – Aureole

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 by virginia

In addition to the reservation we had made at A Voce Columbus on the first day of Restaurant Week, we had also managed to nab a prime lunchtime spot at the Bar Room of Aureole on the very last day of Restaurant Week. I was hoping to get some last minute reservations at a few places in between as well, but I wasn’t able to find the time to take a long lunch, as it was a particularly busy time at work for me. Josh ended up going to DB Bistro Moderne with a few of his coworkers but he didn’t seem too impressed by his meal there, so I didn’t feel too bad about missing out. I was really looking forward to our meal at Aureole, however, and couldn’t wait for the end of the week to finally arrive.

Aureole recently moved from the Upper East Side to the new Bank of America building at One Bryant Park. We had never gone to the old Aureole but I was kind of surprised by the casual décor at this new space. Granted, we were seated in the Bar Room at the front, and the dining room in the back did seem to be a bit more upscale. The front room was very bright, with lots of tall windows, and a huge, modern chandelier. There was a large bar that took up an entire wall, and a giant array of wine bottles behind rounded glass windows.

The Bar Room in front

What I didn’t really like was that the tall windows faced onto 42nd St., and you couldn’t help but be aware of all the people walking down the street and the cars driving by. Plus there was some very unattractive scaffolding across the street, and I kind of feel it was a bit distracting. The more formal dining room, however, is set back behind some glass and the décor was a bit more subdued, with a predominately brown and beige color scheme. And while the tables in the dining room were covered in gleaming white tablecloths, the tables in the Bar Room were bare, with the exception of some place mats.

After we were seated and had placed our orders, we were brought a wooden bowl filled with slices of baguette, and a small ramekin of creamy butter topped with crunchy kernels of salt. The bread had a nice crispy crust and an airy, chewy interior. It was pretty tasty, though I wish it had been warmed up a bit. However, I must admit that I did get a bit jealous when I saw that in the dining room, there was a bread man walking around with a basket offering five different kinds of bread. To add insult to injury, the wooden bowl that held our bread was severely cracked on both sides and looked like it was about to split in half. We were both surprised that they would let a bowl like that out of the kitchen, as the cracks really were conspicuous.

Tasty slices of baguette but served in a cracked bowl

Moving on to the actual meal, it wasn’t too hard for us to pick which dishes we wanted to try from the Restaurant Week menu, as we simply avoided the vegetarian options in each course (salad in the first course and winter vegetables in the second course). As per our tradition, we each started with a dish and then swapped plates halfway through so that we could taste both offerings. I wound up with the potato leek ravioli first, which featured bacon, caramelized onion, aged cheddar, and a chive creme fraiche sauce. There were three small but plump raviolis in the bowl, bursting with a tasty potato leek puree. The filling was well seasoned on its own, but when eaten with the accompanying toppings, it was a great mix of flavors and textures. Both the bacon and caramelized onions are very assertive ingredients but complemented the raviolis perfectly, with no one component standing out above the others. I found the dish to be very comforting, kind of homey, yet still refined and beautifully presented.

Potato leek ravioli

Our other first course was the wild striped bass ceviche, which was marinated in citrus juices and topped with red onion, avocado, smoked paprika, cucumber, red pepper, microgreens, and popcorn. The striped bass was sliced thinly, kind of like a crudo, and the citrus marinade was very light. I liked that the dish wasn’t overly acidic, and the freshness of the fish really shined through. The accompanying garnishes were chopped into tiny pieces so that they provided a textural contrast without detracting from the delicate flavor of the striped bass. Although this was a very elegant version of ceviche, I thought the popcorn on top was a playful nod to the traditional way the dish is usually served.

Wild striped bass ceviche

For the main course, Josh started out with the spotted skate wing, which was topped with cauliflower, golden raisins, toasted almonds, and a caper curry brown butter. The skate was pan seared perfectly so that it had a nice golden brown crust on the inside, yet was still tender and flaky. The curry in the brown butter sauce was very mild but combined with all the other ingredients, it was an intriguing combination of flavors and textures. Every bite highlighted a different component, from the sweet raisins to the savory cauliflower and tangy caper berries. There was a lot going on yet it all worked together very well.

Spotted skate wing

Our other main course was braised pork belly with apple, brussels sprouts, cornichons, dijon mustard jus, and roasted pearl onions. The pork belly was fatty and luscious, just as it should be, but it was served in one long piece that was a bit hard to cut neatly. I ended up separating the fatty top from the rest of the meat by accident and couldn’t get a thin enough slice of both that would just melt in my mouth. I think the restaurant should have sliced the pork belly up for us rather then leaving it for us to deal with on our own. That aside, the dish was a great mix of sweet and savory, highlighted by the apple sauce and shaved brussels sprouts. While it wasn’t the best pork belly we’ve ever had (that honor belongs to L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas), it was definitely near the top of the list.

Braised pork belly

There were only two options for dessert so we got one of each. The first was a caramel corn sundae with vanilla chantilly, bananas, and salted peanuts. This dessert was so incredibly playful that it just put a huge smile on our faces. It tasted just like cracker jacks, but better. The refreshing popcorn(!) ice cream was topped with sweet vanilla cream and streaks of caramel, and biting into the pieces of banana and salted peanuts were like finding little prizes in the sundae. The kernels of caramel corn just put the whole thing over the top.

Caramel corn sundae

The other dessert was a bittersweet chocolate ganache tart with blood orange creme. This was the polar opposite to the caramel corn sundae, as it was dark, rich, and very intense. The ganache was very dense but delightfully creamy on the tongue. The creme had just a hint of citrusy flavor to it, and was a nice complement to the dark chocolate. It was a good dessert on its own but couldn’t compare to the light and whimsical sundae.

Bittersweet chocolate ganache tart

Lastly, they brought us a small plate of cookies to finish off our meal. There was a thin and crispy sandwich cookie, a hard and crunchy biscotti, an intriguing salted chocolate chip cookie, and a classic shortbread cookie with jam on top. We were stuffed after our lunch but couldn’t resist having a few nibbles.

Platter of mini cookies

Overall Josh and I both loved this meal. We thought that it was one of the best Restaurant Week lunches we’ve ever had, certainly the best of winter 2010, and we were really impressed with all of our courses. While I didn’t love the atmosphere of the restaurant’s new location, service was exemplary. Our waiter explained each of our dishes to us as they were served, and when he noticed that we swapped plates during the first course, he made sure to help us with the swap during our second course. More importantly though, I thought the dishes we had were bold and innovative, as well as fun and imaginative. This meal was absolutely a highlight for us and definitely made us interested in trying some dishes from the regular menu. We sincerely hope that Aureole will be participating in Summer Restaurant Week this year, and will be offering yet another stellar menu.

Aureole
135 West 42nd St. between 6th Ave. and Broadway
New York, NY

Tags: Ice Cream, Midtown, Pork, Prix Fixe, Restaurant Week, Seafood
Posted in Restaurants | 1 Comment »

Wallsé

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 by virginia

For Josh’s dad’s birthday, 12 of us gathered at Wallsé, a Michelin starred restaurant that features Austrian cuisine. The chef/owner is Kurt Gutenbrunner, who also owns Café Sabarsky and Blaue Gans in the city. It seemed like a random choice on Josh’s part in selecting the restaurant, but by the end of the meal, we were all huge fans of Austrian food, and Wallsé.

To be perfectly honest, one of the reasons we ended up at Wallsé was because they were the first Michelin starred or highly rated restaurant he called that would take a reservation for 12, and without any caveats. Convivio and Union Square Café, for example, had a maximum reservation size of eight. A Voce Columbus had a $2,000 spending minimum. Yeesh! But Wallsé was also high up on Josh’s list because the menu looked extensive and interesting, and a four course tasting made up of your choice of any three dishes, plus dessert, was only $75 (though at the time, the restaurant had an outdated menu posted on the website that said it was $68; it has since been fixed).

The restaurant was almost completely empty when we first arrived for our 7 pm reservation. Josh told us that one of the reasons they were able to seat 12 was because there weren’t that many reservations for this particular Sunday evening. It was also the day after the huge snowstorm we had this winter so we figured that people wouldn’t want to venture out in the wet slushy conditions. It did fill up though, and by the time we left the restaurant was actually packed. We had a long table in the back room that was next to a lovely display made from branches, berries, and shiny ornaments. The room had interesting paintings on the walls and a soothing ambiance.

Festive but elegant decor

I had a really hard time choosing what I wanted to eat as part of my four course “make your own” tasting menu. The menu is broken up into four different categories – appetizers, fish, meats, and dessert. You can choose one from each category, or multiple choices from one category, so long as you end with dessert as your last course. With so many different choices, Josh and I made sure that we each ordered different items so that we could taste as many dishes as possible. It was actually a bit agonizing for us, because there were so many dishes we wanted to try.

After finally nailing down our selections, we turned our attention to the bread basket. There were two types of bread, one white and one multi-grain, both rustic with sturdy, crunchy crusts. The crusts were fantastic – not too hard, light, and crispy. Both breads had nicely developed flavors and were addictive to eat. We went through quite a few baskets between the 12 of us, and they happily brought us more every time the baskets emptied. If only the breads were served warm; that really would have put them over the top! They were served with round slices of unsalted butter that were also a bit too cold, which made them slightly hard but not impossible to spread.

Crispy rustic bread

Our first courses arrived a short while later and we all quickly tucked in. I started with spatzle, a traditional German/Austrian noodle that is made by scraping dough directly into boiling water. The result is a delicate and fluffy irregularly shaped short noodle. This spatzle was paired with braised rabbit, wild mushrooms, and brussels sprouts. I’ve never had spatzle before and was a huge fan of this dish. The noodles were soft and tender, not too dense, and paired perfectly with the tender and sweet pulled rabbit. The mushrooms added an earthy chewiness, and the brussels sprouts provided a slightly bitter crunch. The portion was surprisingly large for a tasting menu, and I happily ate every last bit of it. It was rich and comforting and I just wanted to cuddle up with a huge bowl of this stuff.

Spatzle with braised rabbit, mushrooms, and brussels sprouts

Spatzle with braised rabbit, wild mushrooms, and brussels sprouts

Josh started with the Maine lobster with homemade ravioli, black trumpets, and butternut squash. The portion wasn’t huge but there was plenty of lobster in the dish. Even though there were a lot of bold ingredients, with the mushrooms and diced squash, everything worked together and the flavors were clean. Josh enjoyed this dish a lot.

Lobster, homemade ravioli, black trumpets, butternut squash

My second course was veal cheeks and tongue served with winter root vegetables and potato puree. It was another comforting dish, reminiscent of a hearty beef stew. The veal cheek was huge, tender, and luscious. It broke apart easily with my fork and just melted in my mouth. The tongue was also surprisingly tender and meaty but I preferred the delicateness of the cheek. The root vegetables were chopped into little pieces and were just a side note to the veal but the potato puree was smooth, buttery, and very rich.

Veal cheek and tongue with roasted root vegetables and potato puree

Josh selected the wild striped bass with sauerkraut and black truffle sauce for his second course. We were both eager to try this dish since we love the flavor of truffles, but this dish failed to satisfy. While the bass was well cooked with a crispy top covered in herbs, the sauce lacked any truffle essence whatsoever despite what looked like decent sized pieces of chopped black truffle. At least the sauerkraut was an interesting accompaniment. It wasn’t a bad dish overall, just not quite what we were hoping for.

Wild striped bass with sauerkraut and black truffle sauce

For my third and last savory course, I had to order the wiener schnitzel because it came so highly recommended by our waitress. She was returning to Germany and said that one of the things she would miss the most was the chef’s wiener schnitzel. That’s a pretty good endorsement in my opinion. I’ve never had wiener schnitzel before and this one probably ruined me for all others. It was so light and so perfectly fried that breading crackled when I cut into it. There was no trace of grease whatsoever, the veal was juicy and delicious, and everything was well seasoned. All it needed was a little squeeze of lemon on top, and it was spectacular. The accompanying potato-cucumber salad and lingonberries were fine, if a bit standard, but the star of the show really was the wiener schnitzel.

Wiener schnitzel with potato-cucumber salad and lingonberries

Josh went with the sautéed duck breast with red cabbage and brioche dumplings. The duck was perfectly cooked, still pink and every tender, but he was disappointed that the skin wasn’t crispy. We were both curious about the brioche dumplings, which turned out to be like a soft french toast. Unusual, but not bad. The red cabbage was fine, but the star of the dish really was the duck.

Sauteed duck breast with red cabbage and brioche dumplings

For dessert, I selected the apfelstreusel with sea salt caramel ice cream. Basically it was an apple crumble, and a pretty tasty one at that. The sea salt caramel ice cream, however, really put it over the top. Again, it was something that I’ve never had before but something that I’ve read about a lot. The flavor of sweet and smoky caramel ice cream is really enhanced by the sea salt. It might sound weird or gross, but believe me, it really works. It’s kind of like salting a tomato to bring out the sweetness. It’s still dessert, but with a savory touch that cuts through the sugariness. Eating the apfelstreusel with the sea salt caramel ice cream together really brought the dessert to a new level.

Apfelstreusel with sea salt caramel ice cream

Josh decided to try the mozartkugel with pistachio nougatine. We had no idea what mozartkugel was but it turned out to be kind of like a large chocolate bonbon filled with a thick pistachio mousse. The presentation was lovely, with a bit of edible gold leaf on top and an artful scattering of pistachio nuts.

Mozartkugel with pistachio nougatine

Last but not least, we were presented with a plate of petit fours, which included an assortment of cookies and small chocolate brownie-like bites. Most of us were too full to eat anymore but I soldiered on, not wanting to miss out on anything. My hands down favorite was the little linzer tart cookies, which were slightly nutty and filled with raspberry jam. They were a great way to finish off the meal.

Pretty and tasty petit fours to end the meal

Overall we were all pleasantly surprised and completely delighted with our dinner at Wallsé. Coming in we didn’t know what to expect, since none of us were familiar with Austrian or German cuisine, but we left full and happy. There wasn’t a single dish that anyone disliked, and with 12 of us dining, we collectively went through a good portion of the menu. For me, the worst part was having to decide which three savory dishes to choose; I would have liked to try them all. It was a great meal from start to finish, with our friendly and helpful waitress explaining different dishes to us and making great wine recommendations. It’s too bad that she was leaving to go back to Germany because she really was terrific. The meal flowed wonderfully, as the courses were evenly paced and the portions were sized just right so that we left feeling satisfied and satiated but not overstuffed. The price of the tasting menu is pretty reasonable, especially for a Michelin starred restaurant, and the food is really spectacular. I highly recommend making the trip down to Wallsé for some homey yet refined Austrian food.

Wallsé
344 West 11th St. at Washington St.
New York, NY

Tags: Austrian, Duck, Ice Cream, Prix Fixe, Seafood, West Village
Posted in Restaurants | 2 Comments »

Winter Restaurant Week 2010 – A Voce Columbus

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 by virginia

Restaurant Week is upon us, a twice-a-year ritual that has foodies and food lovers logging into OpenTable en masse in search of the best reservations. Well-known and high-end restaurants tend to book up fastest so if you haven’t made your Restaurant Week selections yet, you better hurry up!

Josh and I are usually laggers when it comes to making Restaurant Week reservations, which means we often end up with very few choices that really appeal to us. This year I didn’t want to get left behind in the mad scramble for reservations so I made sure that we booked early. We ended up getting a lunchtime reservation at A Voce Columbus, a restaurant that we’ve tried to book several times for Sunday night dinners (Josh’s mom has really been wanting to try it as well) but could never get a reservation at a decent hour. We snagged a 12:45 spot on the first day of Restaurant Week – an auspicious way to start off the two-week gluttony fest.

We were coming separately from our respective workplaces so we met up in the lobby of the Time Warner Center and headed up the escalators to the third floor, where the restaurant is located. After we checked our coats we were seated at a two-top in the back room near the tall and wide windows that look onto Columbus Circle and the entrance of Central Park. Unfortunately it was pouring rain so our view was slightly marred by the raindrops running down the window, but it was lovely nonetheless.

Rainy view but still lovely

The décor of A Voce Columbus is very sleek and modern, with tall ceilings and lots of natural light flooding in through the large windows that line one wall. The focal point of the room we were in was the large glass case that enclosed a huge wine rack full of bottles. There were also racks lining part of another wall, set behind glass windows. Despite the nice view and the interesting wine racks, however, I kind of felt like we were in a corporate cafeteria. The atmosphere was very sterile, the tables are a dark wood that aren’t covered in a tablecloth or placemats, and we were seated on white leather chairs with metal frames that contributed to the casual feel.

Even so, the room still has an elegant appeal to it, and besides, we were there to sample the food. After they brought us both the regular lunch menu and the Restaurant Week menu to peruse, they set down a wooden platter with slices of focaccia bread and a bowl of ricotta covered in olive oil and herbs. The bread was delicious – crusty on the outside and fluffy on the inside, slightly salted, and not too oily. The ricotta was creamy and flavorful, a perfect match for the focaccia.

Fluffy focaccia bread with creamy ricotta and olive oil

I generally don’t like to book restaurants that don’t post their Restaurant Week menus anywhere, but because we were eager to try A Voce Columbus, we took the chance that it would offer a decent menu. Fortunately, we weren’t disappointed. For anyone who is looking, the Restaurant Week menu was as follows:

Antipasti
Minestre di cipolle (caramelized onion soup, bitto cheese fonduta, rye)
Mozzarella di bufula (mozzarella di bufula, calabrian chilies, dried grape tomatoes, arugula)
Tortelli di zucca (squash filled pasta, amaretti, parmigiano reggiano)

Secondi
Brasato di manzo (braised shortribs, creamy polenta, grappa roasted cippoline onions)
Boreta (orata, mussels, clams, shrimp, san marzano broth)
Ravioli (ricotta and dried pear filled pasta, cinnamon, cocoa)

Dolci
Panna cotta (chocolate panna cotta, toasted hazelnut)
Granita (espresso-amaretto granita, whipped cream, cocoa)

Since each diner gets to pick one dish from each course, Josh and I decided to get different things and exchange plates halfway so that we could try as many dishes as possible. We started out with the mozzarella di bufula and the tortelli di zucca. We both thought the mozzarella was super salty, as they sprinkled a lot of sea salt on top so that every mouthful had a crunch of salt. Texture-wise, it was a nice contrast to the creamy mozzarella and the accompanying chewy dried grape tomatoes, but after a few bites both of our mouths started puckering a bit from the salt. It was too bad, really, because it was actually a nice dish. The mozzarella was soft and flavorful, not too milky, and the dried grape tomatoes were very sweet. There was also arugula, which added a slight bitterness, and the whole thing was topped with a drizzle of olive oil and some chili flakes that weren’t spicy at all. When I got all the components on the fork together I could still taste each item individually but they worked really well together as well. The dish just didn’t need all that extra salt on top.

Mozzarella di bufula

The tortelli (squash raviolis), however, were perfect. The delicate little pouches were filled with a creamy squash puree that savory, not cloying or over spiced. I’ve had too many squash dishes that tasted like pumpkin pie or dessert, but this dish highlighted the natural sweetness of the squash without overdressing it.

Tortelli di zucca

The raviolis were enrobed in a very light, buttery sauce that was really delicate and a dusting of parmesan cheese. The tiny amaretti crumbs scattered on top added a nice little crunch.

Tortelli up close

For the main course, we selected the boreta and the brasato di manzo. The boreta was a fish stew made from san marzano broth and filled with shrimp, mussels, and clams, and a large piece of orata (sea bream) on top. The orata was perfectly cooked with still-crispy skin. It was a white, firm, slightly oily, and flavorful fish, and it really stood out as the star of the stew. The broth was light, not super tomato-y, and had taken on the flavors of the shellfish. They thoughtfully provided a long toasted breadstick with the bowl to sop up some of the broth. Unfortunately, I thought the shrimp and the mussels were slightly overcooked, rendering them chewier than I prefer, but not super tough.

Boreta

The brasato di manzo, or braised short rib, sat on top of a large serving of creamy polenta and a few sweet roasted cippoline onions. The short rib was tender and fell apart with a poke of my fork, but it lacked seasoning. It definitely needed salt but flavor-wise it was also very one note. I did like the polenta though, which was buttery and had nice texture to it.

Brasato di manzo

Because there were only two choices for dessert, we got one of each. Josh stuck mostly with the granita, which was espresso-amaretto flavored, appropriately icy, and refreshing. The espresso flavor was surprisingly strong, and the whipped cream in the middle and on top mellowed it out a bit, adding a nice creaminess and richness to the dessert. I could also taste a hint of cocoa in the background.

Espresso-amaretto granita

I favored the chocolate panna cotta with chopped hazelnuts. The panna cotta was not too firm, with the texture of a stiff pudding. It’s more dense than a mousse but also much creamier. I liked that the chocolate wasn’t too sweet or rich, and the whipped cream on top was also unsweetened. I could eat every last bite of the dessert and not feel too full or heavy afterward.

Chocolate panna cotta

Overall Josh and I both really enjoyed our meal at A Voce Columbus and thought it was one of the better Restaurant Week lunches that we’ve had. I was a bit disappointed that the dishes they offered aren’t on the regular menu posted on their website, but I don’t think the restaurant cut back on quality or variety. Though some of the dishes had a few flaws, they were in execution and were easily correctable mistakes. More importantly, I thought the composition of the dishes were harmonious and flavorful. Getting a taste of this restaurant during Restaurant Week has made me more eager to try its regular a la carte menu. And isn’t that the point of Restaurant Week? To give diners an opportunity to try out a restaurant at a reasonable price (three courses for $24.07 at lunchtime, $35 at dinner) in the hope that they’ll want to come back even when it’s not Restaurant Week? In that sense, A Voce Columbus has certainly achieved its goal by participating in this wonderful semiannual tradition.

A Voce (multiple locations)
10 Columbus Circle at 60th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Columbus Circle, Italian, Prix Fixe, Restaurant Week
Posted in Restaurants | 4 Comments »

Baluchi’s

Saturday, November 28th, 2009 by virginia

Josh and I both love Indian food but it’s not something we eat too often, as most of our family members don’t enjoy it as much as we do. When we do have Indian food, we usually get it delivered for dinner. We’ve tried a few places in our neighborhood but our standard go-to place is Baluchi’s. There are branches all over the city, and even when we lived downtown we would order in from the one in Tribeca or visit it during lunchtime when everything is 50% off (even on weekends). I can’t really vouch for the authenticity, but the food is consistently good and their delivery/takeout prix fixe menu is really a great value.

For $14.95, you can select an appetizer and an entrée from a decently long list of offerings. It doesn’t include everything on the regular a la carte menu but there’s a nice variety and most “standard” Indian dishes are available. The prix fixe also includes basmati rice, a piece of naan bread, cucumber raita, and mango chutney. When you consider that most chicken/lamb curries already start out at $13.95/$14.95 when ordered a la carte, and appetizers start out at $6.95, this prix fixe is an incredible deal.

One night when Josh and I had a craving for some Indian curry, we placed a delivery order using Baluchi’s easy online system. We decided to get two prix fixes, one with samosas and lamb rogan josh, and another with aloo papri and chicken korma. Usually we get two orders of samosas, as they are our favorite appetizer and Baluchi’s has one of the better versions that we’ve had. The skin is thinner and usually still somewhat crispy even after being delivered. The filling of potato and peas is soft and flavored with curry powder. They top the samosas with chickpeas, and then drizzle on a tasty green sauce and a tamarind sauce. There is a mélange of textures and flavors that all really work well together. It’s salty, sweet, and a little bit sour.

Samosas

This time we decided to try a new appetizer in addition the samosas. We opted for the aloo papri, which is described on the menu as a snack with potatoes, chickpeas, and yogurt. While it did have a messy pile of chickpeas, yogurt, tamarind, and green sauce, there were no potatoes to be found. There were little soggy crisps mixed throughout though that I think were fried lentil dumplings, like in papri chaat. I was a bit disappointed with this dish as it had similar ingredients to samosas, minus the potatoes, but less flavor overall and it was very mushy in texture.

Aloo papri and the case of the missing potatoes

Aloo papri, though no potatoes

Lamb rogan josh is my favorite Indian dish, and this is one of the best versions that I’ve had. There are huge chunks of tender gamey lamb stewed with tomatoes in a cardamom sauce. The dish is spicy in a flavorful way but doesn’t have any heat to it. I like to wrap pieces of the lamb in some naan bread and dip it in the curry sauce, then in the raita. The yogurt mellows out some of the spice and makes the curry a bit creamier.

Lamb rogan josh

Chicken korma is Josh’s favorite Indian dish, though I find Baluchi’s version to be a bit too creamy in flavor. The curry is made from an almond cream sauce and the pieces of chicken are mixed with fruit and nuts, giving it a nice sweetness. Though it’s a very mild curry, it’s also very thick and rich so I can’t eat too much of it. I usually end up mixing some of the korma curry with the lamb rogan josh curry to create a sort of creamy tomato-y curry sauce that I mix together with the basmati rice.

Chicken korma

The basmati rice is mixed with visible pieces of dried spices, which I pick out before eating as biting into a clove or cardamom pod gives you kind of a shock. The flavors of the spices still remain with rice though, making it very fragrant. The naan bread is large and fluffy and always comes wrapped in a piece of aluminum foil so it stays warm. I really like that they give you both rice and naan, since it’s hard to choose between the two.

A little taste of everything with a big fluffy piece of naan

As I said earlier, while I don’t know how authentic the food is, Baluchi’s is still our go-to Indian restaurant. Now that we live on the upper west side, we order in from the 56^th St. branch, but I’ve found the food to be pretty consistent between different branches. When we get delivery, we always get the prix fixe as it’s a bargain compared to other places. The portions are as large or larger than other restaurant deliveries, and the food is always tasty and flavorful. I highly recommend checking it out the next time you have a craving for Indian food.

Baluchi’s (multiple locations)
240 West 56th St. between 8th Ave. and Broadway
New York, NY

Tags: Delivery, Indian, Midtown, Prix Fixe
Posted in Restaurants | Comments Off on Baluchi’s

Del Posto

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN4660

I’ve been wondering when the news that the Enoteca at Del Posto had closed would finally break. Mario Batali made the announcement last Thursday that it’s part of his strategy to get back Del Posto’s second Michelin star, as well as a four-star review from the New York Times. We actually found out about the closing a few weeks ago, as we already had a reservation made for the Enoteca on October 28 that someone from the restaurant called to cancel due to the closing. Instead, they offered us the regular Del Posto menu at the standard Enoteca prix fixe price of $52. Considering the regular price of the Del Posto menu is $95, we weren’t too disappointed or upset by the switch.

When our friends Claire and Sean told us they would be visiting NYC in October, we had decided that we would have to organize a nice dinner while they were here. Lots of emails back and forth ensued, and finally we settled on the Enoteca, which was offering a special $35 prix fixe menu on weekdays.

Josh and I had gone to the Enoteca a few years ago when Del Posto first opened and we thought it was one of the greatest restaurant values in the city. The prix fixe back then was around $40 and the food was superb. Even though we were seated in the nook next to the bar, we still felt like we were a part of the regular restaurant, and the service was exemplary. I had been eager to go back but for some reason we never did, and so I was really looking forward to this dinner. Even though I was sad that the Enoteca would no longer be an option, I was looking forward to trying items from the regular Del Posto menu.

The group of us that went to Del Posto ended up being the Alinea dinner crew plus one, and it was really great to share another elaborate meal with people who are interested in food and like to try different things. We were seated at a large round table near the center of the main dining area, which gave us a nice view of the whole restaurant. I like the décor there, which isn’t too modern or too fussy. I also like that the second level of the restaurant is open, making the space lofty and airy.

The meal started off with three different amuse bouches. The first, a lettuce soup topped with parmesan foam served in a white shot glass, was kind of weird and actually not really that appetizing. It tasted like wilted boiled lettuce, and had a sludgey texture. Also, once you got past the foam, which was just ok, it was a murky brown/green color that was kind of off-putting. The other two amuses fared better but nothing was really outstanding. The second, a pea puree and parmesan fritter, was sweet and salty but otherwise unmemorable. The third, a kind of gougere with salami, was salty and light and the best of the bunch.

Platter of amuse bouches - lettuce soup with parmesan foam on the left, salami puffs in the back, pea and parmesan fritters in front

The bread basket arrived next, and I was in carb heaven. The bread basket is actually what I remembered most about our previous dinner at the Enoteca. It was loaded with crusty baguettes, dense olive bread, light and crispy breadsticks, fluffy focaccia bread, and other assorted rolls. My favorite was the baguette but I happily tried all the other offerings in the basket as well.

Basket full of delicious breads

Plus the bread came with both butter and lard for spreading. Lard! I know it sounds gross, but really, it tastes fabulous. It has a gamey flavor to it that you just don’t get from butter.

Not exactly the most appetizing presentation but delicious sweet butter on the left and salty lard on the right

Not exactly the most appetizing presentation but delicious butter on the left and tasty lard on the right

Moving on to our first course, I selected the vongole marinate with fried artichokes and minte farro dressing, which was one of the dishes the waiter recommended. Big mistake! The dish wasn’t bad, but it was confusing. I don’t know if there were actually clams in the dish and I didn’t see any, although I thought I tasted some but I wasn’t sure. If you can’t be sure, you know you’re in trouble. Mostly I just tasted the nuttiness from the farro, and I could see tiny bits of fried artichokes, but it wasn’t really a cohesive dish. It was my least favorite of all the appetizers we had at the table and I wouldn’t recommend it.

Vongole marinate with fried artichokes and mint faro dressing

Vongole marinate with fried artichokes and minte farro dressing

The winner of the group I think was the carne cruda with truffle and parmesan. I thought it would be like beef carpaccio, but it was more like steak tartare. And it was quite possibly the best steak tartare I’ve ever had. We could smell the truffle essence coming off the plate, and the flavors just all worked so well together. The beef was fresh and sweet, the parmesan added a nice saltiness, and the truffle and porcinis were so earthy. I couldn’t stop stealing bites from Josh’s plate.

Carne cruda with truffle and parmesan

Other appetizers on the table included the special of the day, a foie gras mousse with figs, which Claire ordered, and a lobster salad fra diavola. Both were also much better than the vongole, especially the foie gras mousse.

For the pasta course, we selected two pastas from the list that would be shared by everyone at the table. The first was a pumpkin ravioli with almond milk and black truffle. The pumpkin filling was nice – not too sweet or dessert-like, but there wasn’t enough sauce to dress the raviolis. We could smell the truffle in the sauce but it didn’t pack too much flavor, and the lack of sauce overall made the dish very dry and boring. There were pieces of chopped almonds on top for a texture contrast I think, but they clashed with the rest of the dish. It was disappointing because the combination had so much potential but it really didn’t work out in the end.

Pumpkin ravioli with almond and truffles

The second pasta was spaghetti with Dungeness crab, sliced jalapeno and minced scallion. This is a dish that I’ve heard so much about ever since Del Posto opened and I’ve been dying to try it. I must say that it exceeded even my high expectations. The spaghetti packs so much crab flavor that they must cook it in a crab stock. The noodles are thick and al dente, just the way I like it, and the jalapeno and scallions add a nice freshness to the dish. I think there is also lime juice or some other citrus in the sauce, as it has a zippy tang to it. The chunks of crab on top were sweet and tasty, and I enjoyed every bite of this pasta.

Spaghetti with dungeness crab, jalapenos, and minced scallions

For my main course, I selected the roasted lamb rack with a puttanesca sauce and sautéed basil. The lamb chops were ginormous! Seriously, I’ve never seen a rack of lamb that large before. But also really tasty and beautifully cooked to medium rare as requested. The puttanesca sauce though was a bit overpowering in olive flavor; I prefer to taste lamb on its own. The sautéed basil was interesting, as I’ve never seen basil cooked and served in the same way as spinach, and while it’s good if you like basil, there is just too much of it and it gets overwhelming. So I treated that more as a garnish rather than a side. Nevertheless, just eating the mutant-sized lamb was satisfying enough.

Rack of lamb with puttanesca sauce and sautéed basil

Josh had the cacciucco, which was kind of like a bouillabaisse. It was assorted shellfish (clams, mussels, lobster) and scallop carpaccio served in a garlic bread soup. The scallop carpaccio was the highlight, with large tender pieces that practically melted in my mouth. The broth was also tasty and flavorful, not overpoweringly fishy, and the seafood was cooked beautifully. I dipped lots of bread into the leftover broth when he was done.

Cacciucco with scallop carpaccio and garlic bread soup

For dessert, Josh decided to be super adventurous and ordered the sfera di caprino, celery and fig agrodolce, and celery sorbetto. It was the most savory of the desserts and involved spheres of goat cheese covered in crunchy bits. I admit, I was skeptical when he ordered it, and it turned out to be the best dessert of the evening. It was such an unusual combination of flavors but the goat cheese wasn’t too tangy or gamey, and the celery was so light and refreshing that it really did taste like dessert. It just goes to show that being daring can pay off in great dividends.

Sfera di caprino, celery and fig agrodolce, and celery sorbetto

I selected the chocolate ricotta tortino with pistachios and extra virgin olive oil gelato. I picked this dish because of the olive oil gelato, which I tried at another Batali restaurant, Otto, and absolutely loved. The gelato is rich and creamy and really does taste like olive oil sprinkled with sea salt on top. It’s another thing that sounds weird but tastes so delicious. The chocolate cake was just ok, a bit dry and boring, but it tasted much better when eaten with the olive oil gelato. It was a dessert that worked well as a whole, but didn’t work as well if eaten separately.

Chocolate ricotta tortino with pistachios and extra virgin olive oil gelato

We also had a tartufo al caffe with dark chocolate, coffee, and candied lemon for the table, as they brought an extra dessert by mistake and graciously allowed us to keep it. However, it was pretty disappointing and boring – basically just coffee ice cream in a dark chocolate shell. Nothing about this dessert stood out, which is surprising since it was one that the waiter had recommended.

Tartufo al caffe with dark chocolate, coffee, and candied lemon

Other desserts on the table included the torta al rosmarino with cherry Macedonia, pecans, and yogurt gelato, which was an unremarkable chestnut cake, and a dessert called four chocolates and four rums ($10 supplement), which is exactly how it sounds. Basically they pour tastings of different rum that are paired with chocolates of varying intensity. Not being a rum fan, I didn’t try any of the combinations, but Mike and Claire seemed to have fun with it.

Four chocolates and four rums

We also ordered a round of coffee drinks to finish up our meal. They brought out little petit fours for us to try, which included pieces of shortbread with flecks of black pepper in it, red currant jelly, apricot bars, and chocolate brownies. My favorite was the apricot bars, which had an intense fruit flavor. The shortbread was also pretty good because it wasn’t too sweet and I was sugared out at this point.

Plate of petit fours

Overall I have to say that I was a bit disappointed by this meal at Del Posto. The thing is, nothing was bad. But aside from the carne crudo and the crab spaghetti, nothing really blew my mind. Everything else was just good or adequate. I know that Del Posto is looking to earn more stars and I just don’t think this food would cut it. I just wasn’t excited or surprised by anything, aside from Josh’s goat cheese and celery dessert. I love it when I first taste something and it makes me catch my breath and open my eyes wide in amazement. Every single course at Alinea and Le Bernardin did that for me. Most of the dishes here did not.

Service was also satisfactory but not spectacular. I liked that they knew immediately from our reservation that we would be offered the Del Posto menu at the Enoteca price without us having to bring it up awkwardly when it came time to pay. And they let us wait at the bar until everyone arrived, then carried our drinks over for us, even though they also would have let us sit at the table to begin with if that was what we preferred. But even though he was knowledgeable about the menu, most of the waiter’s suggestions were disappointments, which was surprising to me. I know everyone has different tastes, but all of us at the table pretty much agreed on which dishes we liked best, and those weren’t it. In fact, they were some of the biggest disappointments, taste-wise.

And while the staff swept the table when serving our courses, they also served the entrees while one person at the table was in the bathroom, a huge gaffe in my opinion. They covered his dish with a silver dome but the rest of us were left to uneasily decide whether we should start without him or let our own food get cold. The sommelier also didn’t really impress us. While she did offer a few suggestions and elaborately seasoned our glasses before serving our wine selections, she had a hard time answering basic questions about why the wines were served in differently shaped glasses. I know those all may sound like petty complaints, but after reading various accounts about what other restaurants have done to earn the elusive third Michelin star, the difference is really in the details.

So what’s my final verdict? The meal we had was a bargain at $52, but it would have been a disappointment if we had paid $95. I know price shouldn’t really play into how good a meal was, but it does. When you’re shelling out that kind of money for a meal, everything should be perfect, or at least close to perfect. But the food wasn’t astounding nor was it on the same level as other restaurants with similar price points. I think Batali and crew will need to make a lot more changes aside from eliminating the Enoteca. I’m also not sure how getting rid of the Enoteca fixes anything, as it was a really great way for people to try the food (although from a less extravagant menu) and get the Del Posto experience even if they couldn’t afford the standard Del Posto prices. It gave the restaurant more exposure, but I guess being more exclusive and inaccessible is the direction in which they are heading. Sad. But I do respect Del Posto owners Mario, Joe Bastianich, and Lidia Bastianich (who has been my favorite chef since I was little) so I wish them the best of luck on their quest for more stars. If I hear that they do make other improvements to the restaurant, I’ll happily go back and give it another shot.

Del Posto
85 10th Ave. between 15th and 16th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Chelsea, Italian, Prix Fixe
Posted in Restaurants | 1 Comment »

Bar Boulud

Sunday, August 16th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN1761

Josh has been itching to try Bar Boulud ever since we moved into the neighborhood. We pass it all the time and the tables outside on the sidewalk are always full. Plus it’s a Daniel Boulud restaurant, so how bad can it be? I reminded Josh that this restaurant’s main focus is on charcuterie, however, and not necessarily on standard french main courses and appetizers. Nevertheless, we have both been intrigued by the art of charcuterie ever since we read The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman, which chronicles the Certified Master Chef exam, of which charcuterie plays a major part.

Josh was able to get us a reservation for Sunday night dinner so off we went. We arrived early for our reservation (surprising!) but they seated us right away, even though our party was incomplete. We had a table next to the window at the front of the restaurant, so we had a nice view of the “wine cave” tunnel that makes up most of the dining area.

The main room is a tunnel built like a wine cave

However, it was unbearably hot where we were. I don’t know if the heat was an issue in the whole restaurant, but we were seated underneath a vent and nothing was coming out of it. This continued for our entire dinner, making most of us feel extremely uncomfortable. We asked our waitress about it and she said the air was on, but we definitely couldn’t feel it.

Nevertheless, we fanned ourselves with our menus as we looked at the long list of offerings. We were pleasantly surprised to see that they were offering a $35 “Endless Weekends” prix fixe dinner menu that had several tempting options. While we were perusing the menus, a runner dropped off a basket of big puffy gougeres. These were deliciously light and cheesy, and we finished them off immediately.

Puffy, crispy, and chewy gougeres

Sadly, they replaced our basket of gougeres with regular bread. I would have liked more of the cheese puffs! The bread wasn’t bad; it just didn’t have a crispy crust and was very chewy. I did enjoy the accompanying butter, which had a nice sprinkling of coarse salt on top.

Ok bread with good butter and salt

Most of us chose to order from the $35 prix fixe, except that they ran out of one of the entrees, a braised heritage berkshire pork shank. Josh was the only one who decided to order a la carte instead, since the rest of us covered all the other prix fixe options.

We decided to share some charcuterie to start before getting into our appetizers. We got an order of Pate Grand-Mere, which is made from chicken liver, pork and cognac. It was a huge piece of pate and was not too overwhelming in chicken liver flavor, which is good or bad depending on your preference. It had a nice subtle liver-ness to it but was still very rich. Josh is not a liver fan and he still enjoyed this dish.

Pate grand-mere

We also had a terrine of lamb, eggplant, and sweet potato. This had a softer, smoother texture than the Pate Grand-Mere but the flavors were more muddled. The lamb was not gamey at all, and had I not seen the menu I wouldn’t have known we were having lamb. It didn’t taste bad but there was nothing about it that stood out.

Lamb, eggplant, and sweet potato terrine

Finally, we shared a plate of prosciutto san daniele, which was sliced very thinly and deliciously fatty. The prosciutto had a nice soft texture and basically melted in your mouth.

Prosciutto san daniele

They gave us pieces of toasted brown bread to spread the pate and terrines on. The crunchiness of the toast worked well with the smoothness of the charcuterie.

A piece of crunchy brown toast and a little taste of everything

Moving on to the appetizers, we had a choice of gazpacho, gnocchi with chorizo, or rabbit and beef cheek terrines. Josh’s cousin selected the gazpacho, which was an impressive bright red color and had watermelon in it in addition to the usual gazpacho ingredients. It was pureed smooth and was perfectly seasoned. The bright flavors really popped and it had a nice tang to it. It really was a refreshing course after the heavy pate and terrine.

Bright and tasty gazpacho

Josh’s parents both selected the gnocchi with chorizo, which was an absolutely delicious dish and the winner out of all the appetizers. The gnocchi were melt-in-your-mouth tender, and the chorizo added a nice smoky background to the sauce. I ended up stealing half of Josh’s mom’s portion, as I was not so happy with my own appetizer selection.

Gnocchi with chorizo

I had originally ordered the gnocchi dish myself, but after everyone ordered I switched last minute to the terrines, since no one else had ordered that as an appetizer. I didn’t have the foresight to think that we were already getting a pate and another terrine to start. By the time we finished those pre-appetizers, I was pretty much terrined out. The beef cheek terrine was very similar to the lamb terrine, though it was a bit meatier in flavor. It was also very rich and heavy, and I didn’t feel the need to finish it. The rabbit terrine was much lighter, and had nice chunks of rabbit meat in it. I enjoyed this terrine a lot more but I still preferred the gnocchi. I must say that they did give a generous portion of each terrine, which is nice considering it was part of the prix fixe special.

Beef cheek terrine on the left and rabbit terrine on the right

Josh was the only one who didn’t order off the prix fixe menu, and he opted for steak tartare as his appetizer. The tartare tasted wonderfully fresh and was nicely seasoned. It was served with crunchy potato gaufrettes, though there weren’t enough chips to last through all the tartare. Nevertheless, it was my second favorite appetizer of the evening.

Steak tartare

For his main course, Josh selected the coq au vin. It fell cleanly off the bone but I thought the meat was still very dry. I also didn’t think it had enough seasoning or a deep enough wine flavor, but Josh seemed to enjoy the dish a lot. The hand rolled pasta that was mixed with the dish was an interesting twist though, and a nice addition I thought.

Coq au vin

Josh’s mom ordered the moules a la provencale, which were steamed mussels in a white wine broth with tomatoes and herbs. It was a pretty decently sized bowl of mussels but a bit lacking in flavor. It wasn’t that they were bad, they just didn’t have a nice garlic punch that you tend expect from mussels steamed in white wine.

Moules a la provencale

The rest of us opted for the grilled angus steak with market beans and smoked onion mashed potatoes. My steak was cooked rare to order and nicely seasoned. The market beans were sauteed but a bit boring. The mashed potatoes, however, had a nice smokiness to them, and the caper steak sauce that was drizzled on top of the meat and potatoes really added a lot to the flavor of the dish. This was my favorite entree of the group.

Steak with beans and smoked onion mashed potatoes

We also ordered some sides to share. First up was a cauliflower gratin, which was kind of like mac and cheese but made with big pieces of cauliflower. It was creamy and cheesy and totally addictive.

Cauliflower gratin

Our order of spinach didn’t come out as expected, but it was still tasty. We thought it would be sauteed spinach; instead, what we got was more like creamed spinach without cream. The spinach was chopped very finely and had a smooth texture.

Some kind of spinach

Lastly, we couldn’t go to a French restaurant and not get pommes frites. The french fries were cut very thin and were nicely seasoned but unfortunately, they were really soggy. That was kind of disappointing, even though they still tasted really good.

Pommes frites

For dessert, the prix fixe menu came with a choice of apricot clafoutis or coupe framboise, which was white chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries, pistachio crumble, and strawberry sorbet. The presentation of the coupe framboise was really nice, with everything layered in a clear glass. The white chocolate mousse was creamy and delicious, and all the ingredients just worked really well together.

Coupe framboise

The apricot clafoutis was and almond cake topped with apricots and a layer of crumble on top. While I didn’t think almond cake and apricot worked well together at Morimoto, this dessert was really scrumptious and comforting. The cake part was a bit eggy, the apricots soft and sweet, and the crumble added a nice textural contrast.

Apricot clafoutis

Josh ordered his dessert a la carte, and then traded with his cousin for the coupe framboise. She is a self-proclaimed total chocoholic and couldn’t turn down the tarte au chocolat classique, a chocolate tart with hazelnut spread and chocolate-vanilla ice cream. It was super rich and super chocolately, perfect for any chocolate-lover.

Tarte au chocolat

Overall I enjoyed certain aspects of Bar Boulud, but not everything. Apparently I’m not a huge fan of terrines and pates, but I appreciate the skill that it takes to make them. The $35 prix fixe menu was a pretty good deal, especially since the a la carte options here are pretty pricey. Though the place is always full and bustling, the atmosphere is still pretty laid back and relaxed. Our waitress was attentive but not overbearing. While I’m not sure that I would come back here for another full meal, I might stop by for a nice glass wine and some cured meats and cheeses.

Bar Boulud
1900 Broadway between 63^rd and 64^th St.
New York, NY

Tags: French, Prix Fixe, Upper West Side
Posted in Restaurants | Comments Off on Bar Boulud

Vegas Reprise Day 1 – Fleur de Lys

Saturday, July 11th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN1161

I don’t presume to know what Hubert Keller is like in real life, but if his guest judging stints on Top Chef season 1 and his own performance in the first episode of Top Chef Masters are any indication, I think he would have been disappointed to know how much Josh and I disliked the meal we had at his Fleur de Lys restaurant in Mandalay Bay. From beginning to end, it was one misstep after another. Granted, we had very high hopes for this dinner and perhaps our own hype brought greater disappointment.

We arrived at Fleur de Lys promptly at 7 pm for our reservation, which Josh made on Open Table. We were dressed nicely, as the confirmation email Josh received stated that jackets are optional, therefore indicating that jackets are preferred, but not required, and implying that the dress code is more formal than casual. When we walked in, we were surprised to see people wearing jeans and tank tops and t-shirts, but we shrugged that off. So why, then, were we led to the furthest table in the back of the room, behind the wine service station and the server prep station? We were the only party seated back there, banished in Siberia where if they had drawn the curtain dividing the area we were in from the main dining room, we would be totally separated from everyone else. The kicker was that the main part of the dining room remained almost empty throughout our meal, only filling up toward the end of our four-course dinner. There were certainly more than enough empty two-tops to accommodate us, but somehow we were deemed unworthy to sit with everyone else.

Alas, I’m not one to make a scene so we chose to ignore the slight and accepted our seats without a peep. I tried to look at the bright side, literally, as the lighting in the back area was much brighter than in the main dining room so I could take pictures of our food more easily. And we were here for the food, after all. Surely the meal could only get better from this point on, right? Oh no.

Our waiter dropped off several different menus, including the wine list, and gave us approximately two minutes to look everything through before he was upon us to take our order. There was an entire menu that I hadn’t even gotten to yet, so I have no idea what was listed in it. We asked for a bit more time, as we were debating ordering a la carte or partaking in the four-course Elegance menu, and he generously gave us an extra minute before coming back again. He stood there listening as Josh and I tried to discuss our options, finally deciding on the $89 Elegance menu and the accompanying wine pairings. Except for the second course, which had three choices, all the courses in the Elegance menu only had two options, so we asked for one of each. For the second course, we asked his opinion about which two to order, and he kind of mumbled and hedged before recommending the salmon and the veal and potato raviolis, but without really providing a reason why. He didn’t seem too familiar with the menu and had to read over my shoulder to see the descriptions.

He then tried to dissuade us from ordering the wine pairings, his reason being that we had ordered different things from the Elegance menu so we would each be receiving different wines. Isn’t that the point of a wine pairing? To match specifically with what you ordered? He suggested we simply order a bottle of wine, but since our meal ran the gamut from fish to red meat, one bottle of wine to cover all the courses didn’t seem sensible to us. We pressed on, saying that we intended to swap plates during each course and would swap wines as well. Looking back, perhaps he knew that the pairing simply wasn’t very good, but the reasoning he gave us for why we shouldn’t do the pairing made absolutely no sense. If the pairings were no good, he should have been honest about it, rather than trying to offer a flimsy explanation. And what is a restaurant like Fleur de Lys doing offering bad wine pairings that don’t actually match the food? The pairings weren’t cheap either, at $60 a person. It was very disappointing, and I couldn’t help but feel ripped off.

First out was our amuse bouche, a piece of halibut tempura on top of potato salad, with a sauce of cayenne crème fraiche on the side. This was actually really delicious – crispy and creamy and spicy all at the same time. My mood lifted, if just for a second, thinking that we were in for a good meal.

Halibut tempura amuse bouche served on potato salad with cayenne creme fraiche

My hopes crashed with the breads, our personal indicators of a restaurant. We were offered a choice of onion focaccia, pretzel bread, challah, and whole wheat, so we opted to try all of them. I am, after all, a self proclaimed carb fiend and can never get enough bread. Well, I didn’t even finish any of the bread on my plate. They were all cold. And not just sitting out for a while room temperature cold, these were refrigerator cold. So cold that the accompanying butter was actually noticeably warmer than the bread. They also had no crusts to speak of, and were tough and rubbery to chew. I’ve had better bread on airplanes, which is just sad. What a waste.

Disappointingly bad bread

Moving on to the first course, we had the truffled onion soup and the tuna tartare. The soup had a tiny pulled duck dumpling in it, topped with a tiny bit of black truffles. This one bite was delicious but the rest of the soup was too bland in my opinion. It was very creamy and lacked enough seasoning. There were a few drizzles of truffle oil on top, but the truffle flavor was very mild. However, this was the only dish that paired well with its wine, an extremely dry chardonnay that was tempered by the creaminess of the soup.

Truffled onion soup

The tuna tartare was beautifully presented, with large chunks of hand cut tuna on top of a fennel salad and ginger ponzu sauce. Flavor-wise, however, it was just ok. Tuna tartare is hard to mess up if you start with quality tuna, which this was. But there was nothing special about the dish that set it apart from other tuna tartares, and the sauce was not as good as the ginger marinade we had at the Terrace at Jean Georges on my birthday.

Tuna tartare on top of fennel salad with ginger ponzu sauce

For the second course, we had the Alaskan king salmon and the veal and potato ravioli. The fatter half the salmon was cooked perfectly, still tender and just flaky enough but not mushy. The thinner end was a bit overdone but I guess that couldn’t be helped. The julienned vegetables on top provided a bit of a crunch, and the rosemary apple puree and horseradish chive bouillon underneath made a delicious sauce for the fish. This was my favorite dish of the night.

Alaskan king salmon with rosemary apple puree and horseradish chive bouillon

The veal and potato raviolis were tiny but packed a lot of flavor. They were surprisingly beefy tasting for veal, and the peas on top provided a nice freshness to the dish.

Braised veal and yukon gold potato ravioli

I might have started to relax and enjoy the meal, if it weren’t for two separate servers coming by within a minute of each other trying to take my plate away before I had finished with the raviolis. All night long, we felt very rushed by the service. There were absolutely no breaks between courses, and if I let go of my fork for one second I feared having my plate removed prematurely. We got through three courses in less than an hour; this was not the way to enjoy a supposedly “elegant” meal.

Our main courses were a beef tenderloin and a beef short rib. It was kind of disappointing that they would offer two beef choices in the same course, but I do love beef so I didn’t mind too much. The tenderloin arrived looking absolutely gorgeous. We ordered it rare and it was ruby red on top, and the colors on the plate were just stunning.

Beautifully presented but deceivingly "rare" filet mignon

However, when the server placed the dish in front of Josh, I was looking at it from the side and noticed that the cut of tenderloin greatly tapered inward at the bottom. Based on the cut, it was clear that they cooked the beef as a whole loin, and then sliced pieces from it. The piece we received looked suspiciously like the end piece, with just the very tip cut off. When Josh turned it over, my suspicions proved to be correct. The underside was totally cooked through and gray. Oy. Why would they do that? I kind of felt like they were cheating, giving us half a rare piece and trying to hide the fact that the other half was well done. If we specifically ordered rare, they should have given us a completely rare piece closer to the middle of the loin. As a result of the mishmash of doneness, the meat had a really weird texture and not a whole lot of flavor. It was still tender, but in a mushy way. I liked the accompanying spinach and mushrooms, and the red wine sauce was tasty, but I couldn’t get over the piece of filet we were given.

The beef short ribs were braised in stout, which made for a delicious sauce. There was also Guinness foam on top of the meat but it tasted like nothing and was just a weird addition. There was also a thick layer of whole grain mustard spread across the top, which totally overpowered everything. I ended up scraping most of it off but the little mustard grains clung to the meat and I could still taste it in every bite. I wish they had just left it with the original sauce, as all the additional toppings did nothing but detract from the flavor of the dish. There were also some texture issues with the short ribs. The meat could be easily shred with a fork but somehow the pieces were still tough and chewy. Again I enjoyed the accompanying sides of melted leeks and potato puree more than I enjoyed the beef.

Stout braised beef short rib

There was only one choice for dessert, unless you went with a soufflé for an extra $6, which is what we decided to do. We chose the chocolate soufflé over the grand marnier soufflé, which may have been a bad decision since the dessert that came with the meal was also chocolate based. Josh loves chocolate soufflé though, and is quite proficient in making it at home, so he likes to compare his version with a restaurant’s version. The soufflé itself was fine, if a bit chewier than airy in texture (which I kind of like, since it was a bit “QQ”, especially around the edges), but what I didn’t understand was why they poured chocolate ganache over it rather than a crème anglaise. The chocolate on chocolate was just way too much, and too reminiscent of the chocolate cake that came as part of the Elegance menu. If I had known about the ganache, I would have gone with the grand marnier soufflé and not the chocolate. The soufflé did come with a scoop of mocha ice cream, but at this point, I was sick of all the chocolate.

Chocolate souffle with chocolate ganache and mocha ice cream

The dessert that was included in the meal was chocolate banana cake served with a peanut butter shake, Bailey’s ice cream, and caramel sauce. The chocolate cake had a molten center, but I couldn’t taste banana at all. It tasted just like a regular molten chocolate cake. There might have been a hint of banana in one bite just under the top crust of the cake but it was so faint that I thought maybe I was imagining it. I didn’t taste banana again after that. I did enjoy the peanut butter shake though, and sucked every bit out of the small shot glass. You could definitely taste the peanut butter in this dessert, and it was cold and creamy and frothy all at the same time. The Bailey’s ice cream helped cut through the richness of the chocolate cake, and I preferred that over the mocha ice cream.

Peanut butter shake, chocolate banana cake, Bailey's ice cream

The meal overall wasn’t absolutely terrible, but it was far from great. It’s kind of sad that my favorite part was the dinnerware, which is absolutely gorgeous, and it’s specially made for the restaurant. I want a set! While everything was presented beautifully, feasting with your eyes can only get you so far; I’d forgive sloppy presentation before I forgave lackluster food. The service only made matters worse, and I left the restaurant feeling very dissatisfied with the whole experience. I don’t think it was the Elegance menu that was the problem; many things on the menu are what I would have chosen had we gone a la carte instead. The wine pairings were also very disappointing. I’m pretty sure that I won’t be coming back here, though if I were ever in San Francisco I might give the original Fleur de Lys a shot. I like Hubert Keller a lot, based on what I’ve seen of him, and I hate that I was disappointed with his restaurant on so many levels. I honestly don’t think it was worth the money we spent on the meal, and that’s not a good feeling to walk away with. Our evening was only salvaged by the spectacular Cirque du Soleil show “O”, which we saw after dinner. But every time I think about Fleur de Lys, I can’t help but feel a pang of regret.

Fleur de Lys
At Mandalay Bay
Las Vegas, NV

Tags: Las Vegas, Prix Fixe
Posted in Restaurants, Travel | Comments Off on Vegas Reprise Day 1 – Fleur de Lys

Telepan

Friday, June 19th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN9259

My birthday celebration continued with dinner at Telepan with Josh’s family. Telepan has been on my radar since it was reviewed by the New York Times, but I never got around to trying it out. For my birthday, I was looking for a reasonably priced prix fixe menu and Telepan’s four-course tasting menu was a bargain at $59 compared to some other restaurants, so off we went.

The restaurant is divided into two long rooms and decorated with sort of a garden motif. I found it to be a bit flowery, but pleasant. We had some cocktails while we waited for the rest of our party to arrive.

A cosmo to kick the night off

I always do a menu reconnaissance before I go somewhere new, and I already had a few dishes in mind that I wanted to try so I waited until everyone else made their selections before settling on my own choices. Luckily there was a wide variety on the table, so I was able to taste a lot of the dishes that I was interested in. After we gave our orders, the bread man came by with a huge basket full of carby goodness. There was olive bread, ciabatta, and whole grain, and of course I had to try all three. They were warm but chewy, with no discernable crust. Still they had a lot of good flavor, and I’m never one to turn down bread.

Olive bread, ciabatta, and whole grain

Our meal started off with the amuse, which was actually three little servings set on a long wooden plank. First was a wedge of focaccia, like a slice of thick pan pizza topped with salami and pepperoncino. It had a nice kick to it. Next was a chickpea tuna salad on a round of toast. It was light and delicious, and not too fishy. Even Josh ate it, and he absolutely hates tuna salad. Last was a small cup of chilled cucumber soup, which had a slightly sour tang to it like it was mixed with yogurt. It was frothy and refreshing.

Three separate amuse bouches

For the first course, I started with the house smoked brook trout, served on a blini with sweet onion sour cream. It was really good but tasted very similar to other smoked whitefish salads I’ve had on bagels during Jewish holidays. I love smoked fish so I enjoyed every bit of it, but there wasn’t anything special about it to set it apart from other versions.

House smoked brook trout on a blini

Josh had the sunnyside duck egg, which was like the best breakfast food ever. The perfectly cooked egg sat on top of a thick slice of buttery toast. A bean salad underneath helped cut through the richness of the dish and lightened everything up.

Sunnyside duck egg

For the mid course, I had soft shell crab linguini with ramps and chilies. I considered this to be my “birthday noodle dish” for long life (it’s a Chinese thing), since I hadn’t eaten any noodles all day. While the flavors were spot on, with the ramps providing a nice garlicky base, I think the soft shell crab was past its molting stage, and was tough and chewy. The texture was really unpleasant and I had a hard time swallowing it. I eventually gave up and just ate the noodles, which was really too bad because I was looking forward to having this dish.

Soft shell crab linguini

Josh’s mid course of pea pancakes fared much better, and tasted like spring. The sweet peas were complemented by earthy mushrooms and fresh vegetables. I stole more than a few bites from his plate.

Pea pancakes

For his entree, Josh had pork three ways, which included pork belly, pork sausage, pork tenderloin. All the meats were perfectly cooked and tender. There was also frisee and white beans mixed in the dish.

Pork belly, pork sausage, and pork tenderloin

For my main course, I debated several options before choosing the halibut with crispy gnocchi, spinach, and chanterelles. Unfortunately, my fish was horribly overseasoned. I like salt and usually have a high tolerance but this was way too salty, even for me. I flagged down our waitress and told her about the saltiness, and she whisked my plate away with an apology. My replacement dish arrived quickly, which was great because I didn’t have to sit and watch everyone else eat for too long, and it was seasoned perfectly the second time. The halibut was deliciously meaty, and the accompanying gnocchi, spinach, and mushrooms were also cooked well and tasty.

Halibut with crispy gnocchi, spinach, and chanterelles

I ended up enjoying the dish a lot, and when the waitress came by to clear our plates, she apologized again and thanked me for letting her know the situation, so that they could rectify it. I guess a lot of people are usually too scared to send things back, myself included, but then they leave with an unfavorable impression of a restaurant. It’s easy to make a seasoning mistake, and it’s just as easy for them to fix it. If I hadn’t asked for a replacement, I would have left hating that dish and not enjoying the overall experience as much. But because the waitress was so nice about the situation, and I ended up with a fantastic plate of food, I left the restaurant happier than I would have been had I just let the incident slide. So in the end, I learned a great lesson – if you’re really unhappy with your dish, send it back! You don’t have to be obnoxious about it, just give the restaurant the opportunity to fix the situation. If they handle it poorly, well, you gave them a chance and now you know not to go back.

Ok enough of my rambling! For dessert, I ordered the lemon cake with lemon ice cream and blueberry sauce. The lemon cake was just ok, kind of like a dense lemony pound cake, but the lemon ice cream was fantastic. I’ve never had lemon ice cream before, only sorbet and sherbet, which is why I ordered this dish. The ice cream was rich and smooth and creamy, and just the right amount of lemon – not too sweet and not too tart. The “happy birthday” written on the plate was a nice gesture.

Lemon cake and lemon ice cream

Josh had chocolate hazelnut crème brulee with hazelnut cream crepes. This is a must order for nutella lovers. Although he found the crème brulee a little bit too runny on its own, it was perfect for dipping the crepe into. It was a very rich dessert and the portion size was just perfect.

Chocolate hazelnut creme brulee and hazelnut cream crepes

I really wanted to like Telepan, and there were so many glimpses of greatness that I think I’ll come back, just to give it another shot. But there were definitely also a lot of missteps, like the not-so-soft shell crab and the overly salty halibut. Still, the waitstaff was friendly and patient, and I left with a favorable overall impression of the restaurant. Even though they warn that the tasting menu portions are smaller than the a la carte portions, these were still fairly substantial serving sizes and I left the restaurant totally full. The four-course menu is more than enough food, and the three-course $39 prix fixe menu before 6:30 pm would probably satisfy as well. This restaurant has such potential, and hopefully the kitchen will be more consistent during my next visit.

Telepan
72 West 69th St. between Columbus Ave. and Central Park West
New York, NY

Tags: Prix Fixe, Upper West Side
Posted in Restaurants | Comments Off on Telepan

Terrace at Jean Georges (Nougatine)

Friday, June 19th, 2009 by virginia

DSCN9251

As a special treat for me, Josh flew home from Vegas on the redeye Thursday night to wake me up on my birthday with a kiss. Unfortunately his plan failed, simply because I forgot to unlock the security chain to our apartment before I went to sleep. Instead, he had to call me and wake me up so that I could open the door for him. Oops!

Nevertheless, he planned a lovely lunch for me at the Terrace at Jean Georges, which is an outdoor café attached to Jean Georges but serves the same menu as Nougatine, the more casual offshoot. We could only confirm the reservation on the day of, since the Terrace is closed during inclement weather, and even though it was cloudy all day, the rain held off to keep our lunch plans intact.

The $24 three course lunches available at many Jean Georges restaurants are truly a bargain. Not only is the food fantastic, but you also get the same impeccable service and fine dining experience at much cheaper prices than ordering off the a la carte menu. What makes the Nougatine menu an even better deal is that you order your first two courses from a long list of offerings that comprise both appetizers and entrees, meaning that you could order two entrees if you preferred, and you would get a substantial amount of food.

On the terrace

Since it was such a cloudy day, the Terrace was mostly empty but we enjoyed sitting outside and watching little birds flying around. While we perused the long list of options, a server brought by slices of bread and nice fruity olive oil for dipping. We munched on these as Josh and I debated over several choices, and finally we asked our waiter for his opinion. He named a bunch of dishes that we hadn’t even considered, so it was back to the drawing board! Eventually we settled on our order, and it just means we’ll have to come back again to try some of the other dishes.

Good bread and even better olive oil

To start, we had the tuna tartare with avocado, spicy radish and ginger marinade. Wow this dish had a lot of kick to it! I was impressed that a restaurant would be so bold with the spice, especially since tuna tartare is usually a lighter, more mellow dish.

Tuna tartare with avocado, spicy radish and ginger marinade

The spicy radishes were offset nicely by the creamy avocado, and even though the tuna was a bit more finely chopped than I prefer, it allowed the ginger marinade to permeate throughout, binding the dish with a sweet and tangy finish.

Finely chopped tuna and big chunks of avocado

Our second “appetizer” was the salmon with potato puree, julienned vegetables and basil vinaigrette. This is actually more of an entrée dish, but was recommended by the waiter. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the fresh vegetables and basil vinaigrette made the dish feel light and spring-y.

Salmon with potato puree, julienned vegetables and basil vinaigrette

For our main courses, we selected the roasted chicken and the grilled beef tenderloin.

Roasted chicken with ricotta gnocchi

The chicken was served with ricotta gnocchi, spring mushrooms and asparagus. This was comfort food at its best. The chicken was tender on the inside and the ricotta gnocchi melted in our mouths.

Beef tenderloin

The beef was cooked perfectly rare to order, pink in the middle with a nice crust on the exterior. There was a chili sauce on the plate that looked like sriracha, but it was much more mild. I wish that it had more of a kick, as the overall dish was a bit boring compared to the flavors and spices of the other dishes we had.

Perfectly cooked beef tenderloin

For dessert, we selected both of the options available – warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream and vanilla cake with fresh strawberry salad and red wine sorbet.

Molten chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream

The molten chocolate cake, a Jean Georges signature, was as good as it gets. The warm chocolate gushed out from the light and springy cake, and the vanilla ice cream just capped the whole thing off.

Molten chocolate center oozing out

The vanilla cake, however, was a complete disappointment. The piece of cake was about the size of a silver dollar and completely dried out. I think it was supposed to be like a strawberry shortcake but it fell short. The strawberries were no better than the frozen kind you can buy at the supermarket, and the red wine sorbet had no discernable red wine flavor. The whole thing kind of tasted like bad strawberry daiquiri mix that you buy pre-made in a bottle from the supermarket. It was just a sad, sad dessert, and not worth the calories.

Vanilla cake with strawberry salad and red wine sorbet

Aside from the bad vanilla cake dessert, overall this meal was top notch. Our appetizers and entrees were all skillfully prepared and properly seasoned. The freshness of the ingredients really stood out, making simple dishes seem like such a luxurious treat. The food is familiar and comforting, yet refined. The $24 prix fixe lunch ($35 at dinner) is really a great way to try out lots of different items from a first-class restaurant. I will definitely be back for more!

Terrace at Jean Georges
1 Central Park West at 60^th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Columbus Circle, Jean Georges, Lunch, Prix Fixe
Posted in Restaurants | Comments Off on Terrace at Jean Georges (Nougatine)