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Prune for Dinner

2 May

Mike and I have been to Prune before, but only for (a marvelous) brunch. Prune was so marvelous, in fact, that it ranked in at number 10 of the Top 10 Noms of 2012. We vowed to come back for dinner, and nearly a year later, we finally did.

I thought they didn’t accept reservations, but as it turns out, that applies to brunch only. So we walked in around 6pm on a Saturday and they were pretty full, but the hostess said it would be about 30 minutes as long as we didn’t mind eating at the bar and she took my cell phone number. 20 minutes later, she called and to the bar we went.

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We started with Duck Liver Garbure with Toasted Chestnut. She told us it came with brussels sprout leaves and in a duck broth. It was served with a spoon.  There was no mistaking this liver for an organ. Liver, for some reason, is usually disguised. Either made into pate or in a darkened mass that is remiss of it’s organy folds. Not this one. And it tasted as organy as it looked. Though for us, that is a good thing. Though we had a very tough time not comparing it to the amazing liver we had just a few weeks ago at Local 188 in Portland, ME.

But I just loved the chestnuts in here. Chestnuts are one of my favorite foods and here they were used perfectly. They added a really nice flavor to it and paired well with the liver taste.

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For entrees we split the lamb chop and the crispy duck.

The lamb was a Grilled Lamb Blade Chop with Turkish Piyaz. I had no idea what piyaz was, but it was served with parsley and onions.  I looked up piyaz and it appears to be a bean salad… which I didn’t see. But that didn’t make it any less awesome. The lamb was super lamby without being too overpowering and the parsley and onion were a nice compliment to the lamb.

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The crispy duck was something we had seen with other diners and when it looks THIS crispy, how can you not order it?

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This was just pure, unadulterated ducky goodness. That crispy skin was very good. (There are few things in this world I like more, or crave more, than the extra crispy skin of various fowl).

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For a side, we ordered the sweet potatoes with brown butter sauce with brown sugar vinaigrette. It was served as baked sweet potato pieces (baked up perfectly so they were soft without being mushy) and they put crisped potato skins on top of a lovely mound of (not too sweet) brown butter. This was actually our favorite dish of the night.  An incredibly side… and next to such incredibly entrees, it is impressive that it was THAT impressive to us!

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By the end of the meal, I had duck and lamb on every corner of my face and hands. Because it seemed just wrong to leave a single piece of meat on these bones. I unabashedly picked each and every one up and sucked every morsel off I could get. No shame.

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For dessert, Mike went with the espresso gelato “affogato” in cold maple syrup.  A quick google search tells me that “affogato” translates to “drowned” in Italian. And that this was.  The maple syrup was a great foil of sweetness for the rich espresso gelato.

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I chose the Breton Butter Cake which our waitress/bartender (who kept us well fed, lubricated, and entertained throughout the night) informed us was the chef’s special famous dessert. Well okay then! It is served with moscato (though I opted for the full 2 oz. pour) and is a flakey, gooey, delicious butter cake sprinkled with powdered sugar. How a butter cake can taste that good and not be the slightest bit greasy, I do not know, but it was incredibly tasty and went incredibly well with the moscato.  I can see why it’s so famous.

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There is not much more to say. This was simply an incredibly meal. I just love this restaurant.  I am sure I am slightly swayed by my love for the owner’s (Gabrielle Hamilton) book, Blood, Bones, and Butter, which is one of the best food books I’ve ever read. But Mike has never read it and he has the same fondness I do. We both left there saying that we had enjoyed our meal very, very much.  There is just an absolute love for food at Prune which comes out without flash or opulence, but is just plain delicious. Hard to beat.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

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Bouchon – Time Warner Center (And our adventure in getting a French Laundry reservation!)

30 Apr

We were on a shopping adventure this past weekend and it took us to The Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. (For you non-natives, The Time Warner Center is right on the Southwest corner of Central Park, on 59th Street at the convergence of 8th Ave/Central Park West and Broadway. It is filled with mostly higher end stores and the entire basement is occupied by a Whole Foods).  There are a number of amazing restaurants there, including A Voce, Landmarc, and one of the top 3 on our Bucket List, Per Se.  (The other two on top are The French Laundry in Napa Valley and Alinea in Chicago… funny enough, both The French Laundry and Per Se are from Chef Thomas Keller, and Alinea is from Chef Grant Achatz, who worked for Thomas Keller at The French Laundry… and who also wrote the amazing book, Life, On The Line about his struggle with tongue cancer, but somehow as intriguing, his desire to push the food world into the future).

Now a funny sequence of events… we had spent the previous 2 days dialing and redialing The French Laundry with the hope of securing a reservation for our honeymoon. Yes, our honeymoon 2 months from now. But the rule of The French Laundry is that you can only get a reservation by calling 2 months prior to the date you want, on the date (so on the 28th of April for the 28th of June).  We will be in the area for three days on our honeymoon (June 26-28) and we had spent our lunches for the past 2 days dialing in vain.   On the 26th they told us that they have a private party on June 26th so no reservations were available, on the 27th we got in after an hour of dialing, but all the reservations were gone (so we went on the wait list). With the 28th being our last shot, we pulled out all the stops. We booked a hotel in the area and then called to speak with the hotel concierge… of which there was none but there was a man there who offered to help us… by Googling The French Laundry for us (um… no).  We called our credit card concierges and I convinced my Chase Sapphire Preferred to call on our behalf the following day. I even contacted a few well connected friends to see if they happened to have Thomas Keller in their rolodex.  (Alas, no).

So on this day that we set off on our shopping adventure, I suggested we grab a bite to eat and a coffee at Bouchon, which is right in the Time Warner Center.  We realized that we would have to make it a quick one so we could start calling The French Laundry at 12:45 (15 minutes before they officially open their lines at 1pm EST/10am PST… we were hopeful that our starting early would earn us some points in the… um… phone universe?)

Bouchon has a to-go window, but we decided to sit in their cafe and hoped to have a quick pastry and coffee. We sat down and realized that they actually served a full breakfast menu (yet no pastries… hmmm), so rather than croissants and coffee, we wound up with breakfast cocktails and full meals, plus the coffee.

And just a few minutes after sitting down it dawned on me… Bouchon is part of the Thomas Keller empire. On the day revolving around getting a reservation at the very restaurant that made this chef famous, we sat down at his casual cafe.  Hopefully that would be a good omen.

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Mike got a cobb salad, which was filled with incredibly fresh ingredients.  It was a very good cobb salad and the bacon was especially delectable.

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I got the Quiche of the Day, which was a Florentine (spinach and gruyere) and a side salad. The salad greens were very nicely dressed. The quiche was very good and was pretty soft (which I happen to like) with a nice crust. Best quiche I’ve ever had? No… but certainly very tasty and a nice, satiating meal to start our full day of walking all over the Upper West Side. (And to get us fueled up for aggressive phone dialing!)

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As our meal wrapped up and we got the bill, my alarm went off alerting us that it was 12:45. Time to start calling.

We browsed through the Time Warner Center for the next 15 minutes before getting “serious” and finding a bench in Central Park to focus on dialing and redialing.

When it was around 20 after one, I noticed I had received a voice message in between all my dialing.  I switched over (concerned about losing precious redialing seconds) and found it was my Visa concierge… calling to tell me that they hadn’t gotten the reservation but they could put me on the wait list if I wanted.

I was defeated. If Visa had called me, surely they had gotten through and found all the reservations gone. (Though why they wouldn’t automatically put me on the wait list I didn’t understand… just add my name to the list and call back to remove it later if I don’t want it… come on now).  I continued to dial and redial, deciding that I would eventually get through and put my name on that wait list.  Mike continued to furiously call as well… but we were disheartened.

Then 5 minutes later, I got the recording… the magic recording that is only slightly better than a busy signal… It says something about the reservations being open 2 months to the day prior and blah blah blah… Press 3 for a reservationist. So you press 3 and you wait… and wait… and wait… hearing a lovely recording telling you that all reservationists are busy but they will be with you soon… and you wait… and you pray. And you hope that when they pick up that they will not tell you that all reservations are totally gone (like the day before) or that they were closed for a private event (like 2 days before).

After a solid 5 minutes, the reservationist picked up and asks how she could help me. I refrained from screaming that we had been hearing busy signals for 45 minutes (plus all the busy signals and disappointment of the prior 2 days) and we now just needed to know ARE THERE ANY RESERVATIONS LEFT?!?!  So she goes through the whole dog and pony…

“What date are you interested in?”

“June 28th” (why else would I be calling with such fury on April 28th?)

“How many in your party?”

“Two” (but I will beg and/or pay and/or force people to join us if all you have left is a 4-top!)

“Well…”

(You’re killing me lady!!!)

“We don’t have anything left for dinner…”

(She said dinner… but she didn’t say lunch… tell me about lunch dammit… TELL ME ABOUT LUNCH!)

“But…”

(SHE SAID BUT!)

“We only have 11am for lunch that day. Is that okay?”

(WELL OF COURSE THAT’S OKAY! I’d take 3am if you had it!)

“Yes. That would be great.”

So there you have it… after the most epic reservation system (well… maybe Momofuku Ko was close, but that didn’t feel so dire since we live in NYC, so we weren’t under a time crunch of having to secure the reservation during the only three days we would be in town), we GOT IN!  I actually screamed and jumped up and down in Central Park after we hung up the phone.

Though I must say, Visa Concierge… your lack of tenacity has been NOTED. (But pretty awesome they would devote someone to dialing and redialing for us!)

We’ll have to tell you more about it when we return from 2 weeks of eating and drinking our faces off as we road trip from Seattle through Portland and California Wine Country (specifically Russian River Valley since we love their wines so much) at the end of June…

 

Oh right… I was writing about Bouchon!

So Bouchon is a great place to stop for a bite if you’re in the area or finding yourself famished in Columbus Circle. I think it’s a really lovely place for tourists to stop during a day of shopping and Central Park hopping.  We were in and out within 45 minutes and our meal was very satisfying.

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

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Alder: The new restaurant from WD-50′s Wylie Dufresne

5 Apr

Mike and I are huge fans of the restaurant WD-50 and really appreciate the amazing ingenuity of chef Wylie Dufresne. We have done the incredible tasting menu at WD-50 twice now, and it currently ranks as the #2 restaurant of all time on our list.  So when Chef Wylie announced he was opening up a more casual (and more attainable) restaurant, Alder, we got excited. It was supposed to open earlier in March, and we made early plans to try to attend opening night, but a few delays had it opening the one weekend we were out of town (in Maine for pre-wedding errands). So we went today, a week and a day after opening night.

We heard there were long waits and long lines to get in, and no reservations. They are open Wednesday-Sunday starting at 6pm. While I am not a fan of lines, nor waiting, I got there around 5:30 and was already 4th on line.  Within the next 20 minutes, the line was a few dozen long.

At 6pm, the doors flung open and in we went.

Unfortunately, Mike’s cab was stuck in traffic so while I was in early enough, they kindly informed me that they don’t sit incomplete tables (which I totally understand, especially with that line!) but that I could wait at the bar. I explored the cocktail list and quickly decided on the Dr. Dave’s ‘Scrip Pad, especially because of the smoked maple.

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I really liked the uplight on the white wall throughout the restaurant, and it made an especially lovely ambiance at the bar with glass shelves.

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They served some of New York City’s finest tap water (FYI: NYC has some of the best water in the country. True story.)

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My drink had a rich, balanced flavor with just a hint of smoke. Very nice.

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Mike wasn’t too far behind, but by that time the wait was 30 minutes. There we tables, but they didn’t want to overwhelm the kitchen, so they were staggering the tables. We were more than happy to have a cocktail and relax a bit before our meal. So Mike got himself an Applethy that had vodka,‌ horseradish, and green apple. I hate both vodka and horseradish and I tasted this and instantly felt some burn… but then suddenly I got it. The sweet and the spicy. It was all somehow right. And what a beautiful cocktail.

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We sat just as we finished our cocktails. The inside is small but somehow not packed. And it wasn’t at all noisy. The ceiling is made of some nice, rustic wood beams.

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The waiter recommended 3 dishes per person, and informed us that the dishes go from lighter to heavier as you go down the menu.  I also told them about my allergy to peppers, and our waiter helped us go through the menu and find things I could order. He asked Mike if he would like to try the homemade cauliflower/peppers mix that they put on the table. Mike opted to try it and said it was quite good. (I was impressed that they asked our preference!)

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It was time for our second round of cocktails:

Zereshk Is History: gin, zereshk berry, grape-must, tonic
A nice balance of sweet with an adorable white birch straw
Shamrock Amigo: Irish whiskey, Mexican Fernet, Guinness Head
Creamy and really tasty

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We started with the Fried Cauliflower with lemon-almond puree, lardo, and cocoa. This was really, really good. I always enjoy cauliflower, but this was different and really well paired. The additions didn’t take away from the cauliflower and it had so many layers of flavor.

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We also tried the pub cheese (which seems to be getting a lot of press due to its purple hue) which had pistachio-fig brittle and Martin’s “potato chips.”

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The cheese was nice (though we both agreed it was reminiscent of Laughing Cow cheese… which is never a bad thing) but it was out of this world when paired with the pistachio-fig brittle. A little bit of salty, a little bit of sweet.

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We then tried the soft poached egg with sherry‌ consommé, mushroom, celery, and tarragon oil. This was the most disappointing point of the meal, unfortunately. I love eggs, and we have been impressed by the egg dishes at WD-50 in the past, but this was just lackluster.

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The egg was perfectly cooked though.

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Then again, perhaps we didn’t enjoy the egg so much because it was on the table at the same time as the masterpiece that was the Chicken Liver Toast (with cornbread,‌ grapefruit marmalade, and chicken skin). Holy whackamoley. This was insanely good. One of the best dishes I’ve ever had.  The grapefruit marmalade on the bottom was with shallots, and the sweet with citrus with corn bread with delicious liver with the crispy chicken skin. Wow. Just WOW.

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As we moved to our last two dishes, we tried the pork rib with saffron spaetzle, and green apple-celery root hash. The dish wasn’t what we were expecting. When I hear pork rib, I think a big slab o’ pig. This was more like a risotto of spaetzle with pieces of pork (which tasted like really good chunks of ham).  It was tasty.

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Our final dish was the Rye Pasta with shaved pastrami. This was like a pastrami and rye deli sandwich but made as a pasta. It was a really nice version of a classic dish we love, with great flavor and a classic mixture of ingredients.

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We decided to go for dessert and I immediately decided on the Banoffee Tart which was listed with carmelized‌ milk, sour cream,  and banana nougatine.  For me, this was a no-brainer. There were two other desserts, and one had peppers in it and the other was root beer (I hate root beer).  This dessert was certainly a great combo of banana and toffee flavors. It also had a sliver of dark chocolate in it. The crust was a bit hard to cut through, but besides that, a very nice dessert.

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But Mike ordered the Root Beer Pudding (which came with crunchy macadamia nuts on top). I instantly wrinkled my nose and my inner child said words like “ewww” and “yuck.”

Boy did I eat my words. This was a sensational dessert. Great creamy flavor with just a touch of root beer flavor (but not too root beer-y). The crispy, sweet, salty macadamia nuts on top were a fantastic flavor and texture contrast to the pudding. I was so impressed and so surprised by how much I enjoyed this dessert.

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And not to be without a little extra quirk, our check came out in a cut mini mug that reminded me of drinking hot cocoa while camping.

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At the end of our meal, Chef Wylie Dufresne was actually standing right behind us. He had popped in a few times during the meal and looked out at the house like he was kindly tending his flock. As we stood to leave, he immediately wished us well and said that he hoped we enjoyed our meal. We had a lovely exchange about with him about how much we loved that chicken liver and how we’re big fans of WD-50. He was humble and very appreciative of our compliments. I was kind of tickled (okay… full disclosure… totally excited) that we got to chat for a bit with Chef Wylie Dufresne!

While our meal at Alder was certainly a bit more reasonable than WD-50 (since that tasting menu is $225 each, so truly a special occasion type place). We got out of there spending about that amount but for both of us (including 2 rounds of good cocktails, 6 dishes, and 2 desserts). It’s not exactly a cheap meal, but it certainly is more casual and more within reach as compared to WD-50.

The food was really great, with that chicken liver being the stand-out. I would also have the cauliflower and rye pasta again in a heart beat, as well as that root beer dessert. I wouldn’t rush back to try the pork nor cheese dish a second time, and I certainly wouldn’t bother with the egg dish if I went back (when I go back!) But I would go back over and over and over and over for that liver. Mmmmm.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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Colicchio and Sons Dining Room: Chef’s Seasonal Tasting Menu Revisited

26 Feb

As is our annual tradition, we went to a surprise Valentine’s Day dinner again this year. This time, it was Mike’s turn to come up with the location. He told me a few months before that he wanted to return to one of our favorites, to see if it could remain in the top.

So we set off on the Saturday after Valentine’s Day and the cab turned uptown, then west, then downtown. And suddenly I found myself in front of one of my all-time favorite places, Colicchio and Sons. We were returning to the dining room to try the Chef’s Seasonal Tasting Menu once again.  The last time we were there, it registered just behind our awesome meal at WD-50, and only barely. With the new reigning champ of Eleven Madison Park, it brought our last C&S Tasting meal down to spot #3 on the all-time best Noms of our lives list.

Could it hold on to this coveted Top 3 spot?

This time we went with the Tasting Menu but decided that the wine pairing might be overkill, so we started with cocktails before moving onto wine (and then dessert wine…)

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We started with a trio for our amuse bouche.

A cauliflower puree on the left, a small jar of cucumber mousse in the center, and brussels sprouts with candied bacon on the right.
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The tiny nibble of brussels sprout was perfect with the crisp of the candied bacon.
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 And the little jar of cucumber with some roe was just perfect. A great way to star the meal.

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 Then the famous Parker House rolls came out. They are buttery and soft and warm and sprinkled with salt. AKA heaven in bread form.

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And then another little amuse bouche came out.   It was a hearts of palm puree with a dash of oil. While I think hearts of palm is fine in a salad, I have never thought of it as a main attraction. This was a great use of hearts of palm, however, and I really enjoyed it.

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Our first course came and it was potato bavarois (which was like a whipped potato dome) with Hackeback caviar and vodka cream.  There were also homemade potato chips on the plate. This was perfect. Light and delicious with a great combination of flavors. The vodka was ever so subtle but added great depth. 

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And the caviar inside was a great fishy taste without being too fishy.

There was nothing extra on this plate. Nothing that didn’t have to be there. And everything was perfectly balanced.

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Our next course was Barolo spaghetti with coddled egg and guanciale. The pasta had a beautiful burgundy hue from cooking in the Barolo wine. The egg made for an amazing sauce (that was great to dip the Parker House rolls in) and the flavors of the sauce with the guanciale was perfect. Incredible pasta dish.

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Our next course was a roasted scallop with hearts of palm and blood orange.  Wow. Again, hearts of palm at the center of the dish was very enjoyable. The scallop was perfectly cooked and just the slightest bit caramelized. And then the blood orange added a perfect sweet and tangy citrus to the scallop and hearts of palm.  Very, very good. 

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Our next dish was a show stopper.  Duck breast with wheat berries, farro, and huckleberry jus.  Awesome. The duck breast was cooked to perfection with tons of flavor. The edge was spiced kind of like pastrami and the mushrooms (hen of the woods maybe?) were fantastic. And that huckleberry jus added the perfect touch of sweet. Yet another example of not an extra ingredient on the plate and everything coming together perfectly.  

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Our final savory course was a 30-day dry-aged sirloin with butternut squash, salsify, and tuscan kale. The steak had a lovely char with just a touch of salty goodness.  It was aged and cooked perfectly and I even enjoyed the kale on this plate. 

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Our first “sweet” course was the most perfect transition course. It was Époisses creme brulee with huckleberry and pecan-fennel shortbread.  I didn’t know what Époisses was, but our waiter described it as a very “barn yardy” cheese. A perfect description.  

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They put just a touch of sugar on top to brulee it.

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And inside was the most divine stinky, creamy, delicious cheese with huckleberry on the bottom.  The shortbread cookies with the fennel went perfectly with this and it really was the perfect segue from savory to sweet on the menu. I absolutely LOVED this dish. This was nearly as memorable and unique as the confit gizzard dish we had during the last tasting menu.

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Our final tasting dish was a brown sugar cake with pineapple, macadamia nut, and milk chocolate ice cream.  Yup. This was fantastic. It had some strudel on the bottom and everything just went together with perfection.

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The brown sugar cake looked simple but had a deep, rich flavor that was perfectly balanced by the pineapple.

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And then out came the petit fours.

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This was an almond nougat (very good).

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And grapefruit jellies. Yum!

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And then, as if they hadn’t already secured their place in my food heart, they sent us home with a corn muffin for the morning. (I’m such a sucker for this!)

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By the end of the meal, both Mike and I were as impressed as the last time, if not more so.  From start to finish, this meal just continued to build and get better and better. I loved so many things and was constantly impressed by the perfect restraint and balance in each dish.  I have been recommending Colicchio and Sons to NYC visitors for a long time now, and I’m glad to see it lived up to all those expectations. We actually debated if this Tasting Menu beat out WD-50, but I argued that WD-50 slightly edged this out due to its cleverness and the entertainment factor. I’m pretty sure Mike was on the fence, and may have even voted for Colicchio and Sons over WD-50 if I hadn’t chimed in.

That, in and of itself, is impressive.

Total Nom Points: 9.5 out of 10

 

nomscale- 09.5

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Butter for Restaurant Week Winter 2013

28 Jan

Even if Executive Chef Alex Guarnaschelli (who just won Next Iron Chef) has nothing to do with Butter at this point in her career (which I am not sure about at all… I’ve heard she doesn’t do much with the restaurant anymore, but it’s hard to tell), you would never know. We have been meaning to go to Butter for years, and just never got around to it. I had heard it was good, but no one raved about it so it never made it high up on my list. But when we were trying to find a few new places to try for Restaurant Week this winter, we decided that in light of Chef Guarnaschelli’s recent win, we would check it out.

It’s right by the Public Theater in the East Village. We were seated downstairs and enjoyed the wood tree trunks and sticks that decorated the room. It had a nice, loungy feel with low couch benches in the bar areas and music playing in the rooms.

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Here was the Restaurant Week menu for dinner on Sunday, January 27th.

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And the regular menu.

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And of course, since it’s butter, here is the butter shot.

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And some more butter porn. (The butter itself was decent, but nothing too special and I could have used with a larger portion to cover off on the bread that was on the table.

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But the pumpernickel and sour dough breads were top notch.

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We decided to start with cocktails, and since they were so good, we continued drinking them throughout the meal (rather than switching to wine, which is our usual MO). I got the Pearadise with pear infused Bacardi rum, fresh pear puree, St. Germain liqueur, muddled limes and mint. It was fantastic. Perfectly sweet without being cloyingly so. Mike got the Mickey Blue Eyes, which was a martini made with Grey Goose Vodka and blue cheese stuffed olives.

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Mike started with the House Made Charcuterie Platter. This came with house-cured bacon, duck breast mortadella, and chicken liver toast with spicy napa cabbage. This was awesome. The mortadella had a great flavor, and the chicken liver was packed with flavor and had these perfect crispy onions on top. But the bacon… ohhh boyyyy the bacon.

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I got the soup of the day, which was a butternut squash soup. I have had butternut squash soup all over the world at this point, and I am a fan simply because I really love butternut squash soup. You don’t need to get fancy with it to be delicious, but that also means that most people serve butternut squash soup that tastes just like everyone else’s version. Sure, some people put in some toasted pumpkin seeds or some basil oil (and I sure do love it when they do) but the soup itself usually just tastes like squash, or squash and apples.

But this… this butternut squash was The Shit. I never knew squash soup could have this much depth of flavor. A bit of brown butter flavor and sweetness (from what I assume was brown sugar but not sure) with a layer of fresh squashy goodness. And the salted popcorn to accompany it was just perfect. I actually asked for more bread so I could lop up every last drop of soup. It was, hands down, the best butternut squash soup I have ever had.

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As we started the entree portion of our meal, the additional side of cider glazed roasted parsnips came out. These had thinly sliced apple chips on top and the cider glaze was superb. It was the perfect compliment to the roasted parsnips and it was great comfort food without being heavy.

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Mike chose the House Made Ricotta Ravioli with roasted oyster mushrooms, chili flakes (which they nicely served on the side so that I could eat it), and pecorino cheese. I thought the sauce and mushrooms went very well with the ricotta in the ravioli, which was fluffy and a tad tart, with great flavor. Though in the end, I never order cheese ravioli because I just find myself hard to impress with any version.

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I ordered the Braised Pork Shoulder with a pretzel crumb crust and buttered rutabega. This was also outstanding. A great pork flavor over a bed of creamy rutabega. The little salty crispness of the pretzel with the cabbage on top was delightful. It was perfectly tender so you could just pull it apart with your fork. Fantastic.

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For dessert, Mike chose the Ginger Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich with vanilla ice cream and spiced pecans. It was very good, with a well flavored ginger cookie and what I think were golden raisins with orange zest. The pecans were spiced with something pepper related that I couldn’t have (but Mike enjoyed) and while the cookie was a bit hard to cut, the dessert was very good.

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My dessert came out and the first thing I noticed was that it was tiny. It’s hard to tell in this shot, but the piece of chocolate cake was about 3 inches tall and wide and less than 1/2 an inch thick. But BOY was this big on flavor.

The chocolate was rich and decadent, the pomegranate seeds adding a little bit of lightness to it, and a shmear of awesome salted caramel. The entire dish was so fantastic, and so packed with flavor, I didn’t miss those additional bites.

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As the meal ended, I told Mike how I wanted to lick my plate for every single dish I had. (That is one of the highest compliments I can give a place!) The execution was flawless and I didn’t feel like we lost anything by ordering off the Restaurant Week menu. Portions weren’t huge, but I walked away totally satiated.

Overall, this was a standout meal not just for Restaurant Week, but overall. I was truly impressed and look forward to returning again in the near future. I can’t believe it took us that long to go!

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

nomscale- 08.5

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Riverpark for Restaurant Week Winter 2013

20 Jan

We have been to many restaurants for NYC Restaurant Week at this point, and we’ve found some great choices and some poor choices, which makes it hard to find new places worth sampling each year.  But this year, we decided that Restaurant Week (through Februrary 8, 2013 so far this winter) was a great opportunity to try one of Tom Colicchio‘s newest choices, Riverpark. 

I really like how many Colicchio restaurants handle Restaurant Week. Rather than serve a “wedding food” (beef, pork, or fish) version of their menu, they serve their regular menu and the items that require a higher price to produce include an incremental charge, noted on the menu (base price is $38).  Here was the menu on January 20, 2013:

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For the Restaurant Week price of $38, we were able to choose an item from the left side plus an item from the main section, with a dessert.  You could substitute pasta (a larger portion for entree) for either course.

The building was a bit hard to find.  It is located near the East River on 29th Street and the FDR, in a complex called the Alexandria Center.  Our taxi wasn’t sure where to find it, so he dropped us off on the corner of 30th Street and the FDR access road and we walked down what looked like an industrial part of the city near the back of the hospital.  We took a chance and walked up some stairs and found it there at the top,  inside the building.

The decorations are very modern, with clean, perpendicular lines, much like Colicchio and Sons.

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The lights above our table were kind of cool and modern, but also a bit seizure inducing after a few drinks.

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We started our night with cocktails. Mike got the “Colonel Mustard” with mustard infused white rum, thyme honey, lime, and candied bacon. It was fantastic.  Heavy on the thyme and a perfect balance of flavors.

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I tried the “Spiced & Spiked” though without the “spiced” since that was homemade hot sauce (which would have peppers, which I’m allergic to).  It had hot apple cider, Goslings Rum, and clove.  Even without the hot sauce, this was very delicious and well balanced. I wanted something hot on this very cold night, and this hit the spot.

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We added a half-dozen oysters to our Restaurant Week selection, with 3 East Coast (Barnstable) and 3 West Coast (Shigokus). They were both divine, but the west coast Shigokus were especially fantastic.

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We then decided to try a bottle of wine. There was a section dedicated to Orange Wines which were described as “interesting and funky.”  We have a love for Russian River Valley wines (especially Chardonnay and Pinot Noir) so when we saw one on the menu under the Orange variety, we decided why not try something interesting and funky.  We really enjoyed this wine. It was easily drinkable, dry without being puckering, and went well with food and stood up on its own.  A very enjoyable wine.

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I then tried the Kabocha Custard & Crab Fondue with crispy black trumpet mushrooms and spiced pumpkin seeds (which I went without in my dish due to my allergy).  This was sensational. A touch of sweet, delicious squash, fresh crab, and a slight crispy from the mushrooms.  A great balance.  This is the second custard from a Colicchio restaurant that really impressed.

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Mike tried the Testa Tortellini with pears, walnuts, sage, mustard seed, and spiced consomme.  Sadly, I couldn’t try it due to my allergy, but Mike said it was a great balance of flavors. The waiter said he should try everything in one bite and he would realize why the pear, tortellini and consomme was put together and sure enough, the layers of flavors were fantastic with the rich broth and the fresh pear.  Everything together was delicious.

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For our entrees, Mike chose the 20 oz. bone-in dry aged sirloin, which came with a $20 supplement charge. It was with cipollini onions, charred shisito peppers (which they put on the side so I could try it), and tempura hen of the woods mushrooms.  The char on this was fan.freakin.tastic.  And the tempura-ed mushrooms were really fantastic on this. An all around awesome cut of meat. If you order this when it is not Restaurant Week, the steak alone is $50.  So for the $38 base price of Restaurant Week and the $20 supplement fee, the value of the app and the dessert came to a mere $8.  Not too shabby.

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These were the peppers that were put on the side, which Mike said added a nice depth of flavor without being too spicy.

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I chose the Berkshire Pork Chop with Brussels sprout apple hash and parsnip puree.  This was absolutely incredible.  A slight sweetness from the apples complimented by the slight bitterness of the sprouts. And the pork itself was a perfect foil to both.  Incredible. So incredible, in fact, that I picked up that bone with my fingers to get off any last morsel.  Totally worth it.

 

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Then we had our choice of desserts (a tough choice indeed) and we also chose to order dessert wine (Domaine des Schistes, a muscat).

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I chose the Chocolate Souffle Cake with coffee ice cream and chocolate crumble. This was a lovely dessert with warm souffle cake, with a nice balance of bittersweet and sweet with the chocolate and a great compliment with the coffee ice cream.

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But Mike chose the Beer Sundae with Guinness Cake, oatmeal stout ice cream, butterscotch, chocolate pretzel, and candied walnuts.  While my chocolate souffle was very good, this was just damn special.  It was unique flavors with a perfect balance of salty and sweet. It was a fantastic, inspired dessert.  Really, really fantastic.

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Our food throughout the meal with simply spectacular.  We paid a number of up-charges, but I am very certain that we would have enjoyed our meals just as much had we stuck with the Restaurant Week prices and not paid for any of the supplements or additional drinks/supplements.  But half the fun of Restaurant Week is being able to save money so you CAN pay for those lovely extras.

This is how you do Restaurant Week. Offer your regular menu so no one feels that they are missing out and just give people a chance to really enjoy your restaurant with a nice introduction.

Well played Riverpark.  You have made the list of “where to eat for Restaurant Week.”

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

nomscale- 08.0

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Top Noms of 2012

26 Dec NOM NEW YEARS

2012 was an amazing year. We went to some incredibly restaurants this year, so narrowing it down to 10 will be very tough.  It was also an amazing year personally, since Mr. and Ms. Nom Nom got engaged in Maine (where we had quite a few of our Top Noms this year!)

For the Top Noms of years past, check out the posts from 2011, 2010, and 2009.

The Top Noms really comes down to the meals that we found most memorable and enjoyable when we reflect on the past year. It’s hard to compare brunch to dinner in a ranking, but I always think about this as what I would recommend to my friends when they ask me the best places we ate this year, overall.

Away we go:

#10 - Gabrielle Hamilton’s Prune was an awesome brunch.  I was dying to go after reading her book, and it lived up to all the expectations and hype (and totally worth the wait). We really need to get back there for dinner.

#9 - Gramercy Tavern was a really great experience. It is known as a top place in New York and it did not disappoint. It didn’t have a dish that really wowed me, but it was a totally solid and great meal.

#8 - Our meal at Sublime in Gladstone, NJ was incredibly surprising.  The apple crisp was out of this world.

#7 - Hugo’s in Portland, Maine was an awesome meal. The tasting menu with the wine pairings really made for a special birthday treat.

#6 - We had a great meal at Boulud Sud while trying to make our way through the Platt 101 of top restaurants in NYC. Everything was memorable, but I can’t stop thinking about the grapefruit dessert that was unlike anything else I have ever had.

#5- While we can’t remember every detail of our meal at Girl & the Goat, it made enough of an impression on us that we had to include it. That Pig Face alone was Top 10 material, maybe of all time!

#4 - Arrows in Ogunquit, Maine was an amazing dining experience. We went because we enjoyed watching the two chefs cook on Top Chef Masters and wound up thoroughly enjoying our meal.  We were impressed with the creative dishes and great flavors.

#3- Anita Lo’s Annisa was a long anticipated meal that lived up to everything we hoped it would be. The dishes tasted so rich and were made with such love, it was hard not to enjoy every single bite.

#2 – Michael White’s Ai Fiori was our first Valentine’s Day stop this year. The pasta was out of this world, and can you really top scallops and bone marrow? Two of my favorite things in one dish.

#1 – Our meal at Eleven Madison Park (Part 1 and Part 2!) was the best one we have ever had ever! It was an adventure, a journey, an experience, and one delicious meal. I can’t imagine anything better. And it got the one and only 10 out of 10 Nom Points in NYC Nom Nom history.

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Special mentions go out to Cannibal for the awesome Pig’s Head, Smush for a great take on dessert, the pasta with the roast drippings (Tajarin with Sugo d’Arrosto) from Manzo, Eventide in Portland Maine for the awesome new take on the lobster roll, and the Tap Room at Colicchio and Sons for continuing to impress everyone we bring there. We also had quite an amazing time at our “secret” Chef’s Table at SD26, since we got to watch them cook while having a chef’s selected meal. I went back with coworkers a few months later, and it managed to impress the hell out of them, too.

What a year!

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Girl and The Goat: Chicago

24 Dec

I am long, long overdue for posting about Chicago. I’ve been twice this year and keep trying to find time to post all 13 (!) of those posts.  Unfortunately (and fortunately), this was one heck of a year, so a full Chicago review won’t come out for a bit.  But I would be remiss if I didn’t post about our amazing dinner at Girl & The Goat on a very cold evening back in January.

We decided to go because we just love Top Chef and have no shame in trying every Top Chef restaurant we can find, especially when traveling.   Girl and the Goat is led by Top Chef’s only female winner (to date), Stephanie Izard. (I also kind of love her because she’s a fellow curly girl, and I feel like that bonds us in some way. I like to pretend that if we sat next to each other on a plane, we’d become great friends… a girl can dream, right?)

We couldn’t get a reservation last minute, so we walked in and crossed our fingers. Within 20 minutes, we had a table for 4.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this kind of creepy, kind of awesome mural on the wall.

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The restaurant is definitely industrial, with a full view of the kitchen.  We saw Stephanie Izard a few times throughout the meal, and she was very gracious when I went up to talk to her afterwards and thank her for an incredible meal.

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I really enjoyed the goat theme throughout.

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We started with a nice hunk of bread with some delicious spreads.

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This was a long time ago (almost a year!) so I apologize that we don’t have great memory for what we ate (besides the pig face… more on that later). And while I can’t remember all the details, what I do remember is being insanely impressed over the entire meal. And I remember thinking throughout the meal that this was an epic dining experience. One of those meals that you just know will be hard to find one better. To make it worse, we were in a really dark corner, so the pictures aren’t great. Basically, this review is not the best, but I couldn’t let this year pass without mentioning how much we truly loved Girl & the Goat.

We started with what we think was a cracklin’ salad.  I remember as soon as the meal started we all started “Mmmming” and we knew we were in for a great meal.

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I remember the waiter recommended we try this, and it was nothing I would have picked myself but we wound up really enjoying it.

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We also had a cauliflower side that everyone really loved.

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And the restaurant was SO accomodating to my allergy. One of the very few places we have been where they actually made separate versions of dishes we were sharing just so I could eat it. Here was my pepper-less cauliflower.

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The octopus dish was really incredible. A perfect blend of textures and flavors that really showed off the delicious octopus.

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The next few dishes are fuzzy, but I can say that we enjoyed every bite…

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And then, at the very end of the meal, the piece de resistance… the wood roasted pig face. This had peppers in it, but I tried a tiny bite anyway. And even though my tongue was itchy and starting to blister, I ate a full portion. It was that good. It was so delicious, so tender, and so packed with flavor that I didn’t care that my mouth was blistering.  It was 100% worth it.  And, as the last dish, this took an already amazing meal to a whole new level.  It was one of the best single dishes I have ever had in my life.  Very impressive.

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Girl & the Goat overall was incredibly good. Every dish added depth and excitement to the last, and each one alone could have been the best dish on a restaurant’s menu, but this restaurant had them all. And then when the pig face came out, all bets were off.  An incredible meal. One of the best of the year.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

nomscale- 08.5

 

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Harold Dieterle’s new restaurant The Marrow: Opening Night

22 Dec

I had been reading about the opening of The Marrow, Harold Dieterle‘s newest restaurant after the success of his other NYC spots, Perilla and Kin Shop.  Mike and I actually visited Perilla very early in our relationship, and it was one of the first “celebrity chef” restaurants we went to. He was excited to take me there after watching Chef Harold win Top Chef Season 1, and I had not yet started watching the wonder that is Top Chef (like I said, it was early!)  After that, I started watching the show and we soon found ourselves to be the Top Chef sluts that we now are.

I really loved our meal at Perilla, and we keep talking about how we need to visit Kin Shop (though I’m nervous it may be tough with my allergy to enjoy the way it’s meant to be enjoyed).  I was very excited about this opening and was hoping we could find a reservation sometime in the next 2 weeks during the holiday. Mike called and was told that, unfortunately, they were closed on Christmas Eve but they had an opening THAT NIGHT at 8:30.  So we excitedly went to opening night.

When we go to an opening night, or even opening month, I always feel a little bad reviewing the restaurant. I am fascinated by what it takes to open a restaurant (as you know from the “A Restaurant is Born” section) and know that it must be so hard to get to Opening Night.  There are bound to be kinks and issues with service, food, and just about everything else. But it is also fun to get a first peak into something so special.

We arrived a bit early, and the hostesses seemed a bit nervous that they didn’t immediately have a spot for us. They had us wait a bit and then recommended we go to the bar.  The bar is quite small, and the table next to it leaves very little room to stand. We had to keep moving around to allow the servers to get through with food. If (or rather, WHEN) this restaurant gets packed, it will be tough to keep chairs at the table by the bar.  But that was probably the worst kink we saw all night. That, alone, is impressive.

The cocktail list had a good amount of drinks that sounded great but were like nothing I had ever heard. I ordered the Miss Roberts’ Cobbler (cognac, red jacket cider, apple butter, pimento dram) and Mike got the Oh Tannenbaum (pine infused gin, clear creek douglas fir eau de vie, lavender and lime).  I really enjoyed mine, especially the apple butter taste. Mike wasn’t as crazy about his, but it was interesting.

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As soon as our drinks were in hand, our table was ready.  I sat along the window with a perfect view into the kitchen, which was left open with a window of its own for kitchen voyeurs just like me.

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The restaurant itself is kind of small but you only notice when people try to pass each other in between the tables. The ceilings are high and it uses light wood beams and some vintage style wallpaper in a simple style.  A nice aesthetic. 

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When we read the menu, I was concerned. There were just too many things I wanted to try!  (Tough life… I know)  The full menu is at the end of this post if you’re curious (since I haven’t found it posted yet).  The menu was split up in a really neat way. Since the theme of the restaurant draws from the chef’s German and Italian heritage, the menu was split in two for his two families.

We decided to try one item from the Meat Plates section, one from each side of the Starters (one for each family), and an entree.

From the Meat Plates section, we got the Kobe Short Rib Crudo with aged anchovy extract.  It was a nice, delicate flavor and the anchovy added a wonderful salt flavor. It didn’t blow me away, but I’m glad we tried it.

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Next, from the Famiglia Chiarelli section, we tried the bone marrow, which came with sea urchin, fried potatoes, meyer lemon aioli and baby celery greens.  We really loved this. The bone marrow and sea urchin went surprisingly well together, with that similar texture but completely different flavors. The marrow’s richness was also nicely cut with the lemon aioli. The fried potatoes were like teeny tiny little nuggets of crispiness, which was the perfect texture with the rest of the ingredients.  Everything here just blended nicely and the well toasted bread was perfect with it.

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Then from the Familie Dieterle section, we tried the Badische Schupfnudeln.  This insane mouthful of German words translated to braised rabbit, beet greens, tarragon & creamy Riesling sauce. (I learned rabbit as hasenpfeffer, but I guess that is specific to stew… thank you Google). Sadly, this was our least favorite dish.  A whole bunch of mostly mushy things together. We keep ordering rabbit, trying to like it, but I think it’s time we give up. It’s just not my favorite. It’s too soft, too little flavor… so many other meats I prefer.  This dish needed something crispy or crunchy or just something to break up the texture a bit. The flavor was fine, but it just seemed pretty flat to me. 

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We had to try the pan fried duck schnitzel off the Mains section. It came with quark spaetzle, hazelnuts, cucumber-potato salad and stewed wolfberries. My background is German/Austrian/Russian, so this fell right into the food I consider being akin with my family. My grandmother made awesome schnitzel so I have very high schnitzel standards.

This absolutely didn’t disappoint. The duck gave it a bit of a twist without losing the best parts about the schnitzel… the thinly pounded meat, the crispy breading, and the rich flavors.  The spaetzle with hazelnuts was especially great since it was toasted.  And the wolfberries (I want to know what a raw wolfberry tastes like now!) were really excellent adding a hint of sweetness to the dish. The freshness from the cucumber really added to things and it all was just perfect together. It was also a very nice portion (everything was, truly) so there was plenty to split.

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And the best part of splitting everything? Room for dessert!

Mike decided he wanted to try some cheese off their great cheese menu.  3 cheeses for $10 is nicely priced, so we went for it.

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The excellent toasted bread was back, and it came with a really nice honey and a date/nut cake (maybe? the server wasn’t positive).  We tried the Toma Walser, Challerhocker, and Chiriboga Blue. I really liked the Challerhocker. It had great bite and went really well with the sweet partners.

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And I chose the Apple Hand Pie for dessert.

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We asked what quark was, and our waiter compared it to buttermilk in that it is sweet and creamy with a tiny bit of a bite. The pie was very good, with a perfect crunch of the dough and nice sugared top. The apples could have been more plenty (or maybe thicker cut) but the flavors were really nice.  I also really enjoyed the caramel sauce.

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At the end of our meal, a fellow diner came up to all the tables and mentioned that the Chef was going to come out soon and we should all greet him accordingly.  A standing ovation quickly followed, and the chef grew very bashful and ran right back into the kitchen. It was a very sweet moment.

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We really enjoyed our meal and we were excited to be able to dine there on opening night.  I can’t say it was a top meal of 2012, but it was a solid meal and Mike and I agreed that it would be absolutely worth returning to try more.  The schnitzel was certainly the stand out dish, followed directly by the bone marrow.  I would skip the rabbit and the crudo if I were to return, but I’m glad we tried both.  Can’t wait to try more!

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

The Menu on December 21, 2012:

MEAT PLATES:

Waygu Bresaola 10
Foie Gras Mousse w/ gooseberry 7
Light Sauerbraten Lamb Ribs w/ fried garlic 13
Kobe Short Rib Crudo w/ aged anchovy extract 14
Prociutto Wrapped Dates w/ gorgonzola & saba 6
Housemade Weisswurst w/ apple butter 6

STARTERS:

FAMIGLA CHIARELLI:
SKILLET-BRAISED CUTTLEFISH- Garlic bread, guanciale & white wine 14
HAND-CUT FETTUCCINI- Pork and sage sausage, acorn squash & baked parmesan 12
BURRATA SALAD FOR TWO- Giardiniera, grilled bread, EVOO, balsamic 26
THE BONE MARROW- Sea urchin, fried potatoes, meyer lemon aioli & baby celery greens 15

FAMILIE DIETERLE:
BRAISED DUCK & PRETZEL DUMPLING SOUP- Beech mushrooms, kale & marjoram 13
BABY RED OAK & LADY APPLE SALAD- Cambozola blue cheese & spiced pumpkin seed vinaigrette 12
BADISCHE SCHUPFNUDELN- Braised rabbit, beet greens, tarragon & creamy Riesling sauce 15
PICKLED HERRING SALAD- Roasted baby beets, horseradish cream, pistachios & baby arugula 14

MAINS:

GRILLED GAME HEN- Fennel, fried salami & brussels sprouts panzanella 24
BRAISED BEEF BRISKET “BRACIOLE”- House ground polenta, escarole, pecorino & red sauce 25
ROASTED WHOLE HEN OF THE WOODS MUSHROOM- Cardoon-creamed kale, crispy onions & truffled mushroom jus 26
SAUTEED STONE BASS “VITELLO TOMATO”- Fingerling potatoes, cippolini onions, olives, sweet breads & tuna belly sauce 30

GRILLED WAYGU CULOTTE STEAK- Cauliflower gratin, watercress & beerenauslese vinaigrette 33
PAN-FRIED DUCK SCHNITZEL- Quark spaetzle, hazelnuts, cucumber-potato salad & stewed wolfberries 28
JUNIPER BRAISED LAMB NECK- Rutabaga puree, whole roasted carrots & red sauerkraut 23
PAN-ROASTED SCOTTISH SALMON- Cabbage, pastrami & warm mustard sauce 25

SIDES:

BAMBOO RICE RISOTTO- Leek puree, steamed egg & parmesan 14
GRILLED BABY ROMAINE LETTUCE- Pecorino & warm lemon-anchovy vinaigrette 10
MASHED STUMPF- Snipped chives 10
DRY AGED BEEF FAT FRIED POTATOES- Pickled red onion & grains of paradise aioli 10

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Gramercy Tavern for Mike’s Birthday Dinner

18 Dec

Back in October, I surprised Mike with a dinner at Gramercy Tavern for his birthday. I had lunch once at the bar, but had never had a full dinner there, so we were both excited to try it.

The inside is beautiful, with separate but grand rooms and just a really comfortable dining room. We both commented that it was one of our favorite restaurant spaces.

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Our waiter very nicely took a picture of us to remember the occasion.

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We started with an amuse bouche of a polenta cake and some sort of fish topping. I remember it being unmemorable.

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We then started into the Seasonal Tasting menu with a red snapper course that came with sunchoke, shiitake mushrooms, and (not mine) jalapeno peppers.  The snapper was very fresh and the broth around it was quite nice.

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Our next course was lobster with corn, sucrine lettuce, and pickled green tomato. The lobster had great flavor and went very well with everything around it.

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We then had smoked trout with cippollini puree and pickled onion.  The combination of trout and onions was fantastic, and the smoked trout was perfectly smoked, full of flavor, and the thin slice made for just the perfect bite.

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The duck agnolotti were next and came with turnips, carrots, and arugula.  The duck was so flavorful and perfectly sweet, balanced with the arugula.  I wanted more agnolotti, not because the portion was too small, but because they were so delicious.

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Our last savory course was roasted and braised beef with black garlic and farro (was supposed to also have peppers, but mine was without, due to my allergy).  This was a perfectly cooked piece of meat and the jus was perfectly flavored.  Every course was even better than the last, building one after the other for a really fantastic meal.

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We had an intermezzo with raspberries.

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We then were given a free glass of moscato (yum!) with the raspberry dessert

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I don’t remember it very well, but I remember those raspberries being so perfectly fresh.

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Then out came a very nice Happy Birthday dessert with shaved ice. It was quite refreshing.

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We then started into our tasting dessert, which had chocolate mousse tower that I believe came with hazelnuts.

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Then a delicious display of petit fours.  Chocolate mousse cups, macarons, chocolate fudge squares, and their famous toffee (which I actually use the recipe to make my own!)

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All of the bites were very good (though shh… my toffee is better).  I really enjoy ending a meal with these little bites.

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And then they did do one of my favorite things that a restaurant can do… gave us a muffin to eat in the morning. It’s such a great way to enjoy the restaurant a little bit the next day. It’s such a lovely touch.

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Gramercy Tavern was a top notch experience. It was perfectly in line with my expectations as one of New York’s old standbys. I was hoping it would totally WOW me, which it did not, but it was certainly a great dining experience that I would recommend to anyone looking for some classic New York.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

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