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
Well, the food certainly looks delicious!