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UrbanSpace Vanderbilt: A new awesome food market near Grand Central Station

30 Sep

I have been a big fan of Chelsea Market for quite some time, especially because it’s a great collection of delicious things. Then when Gotham West Market came along, I was excited, because it took that to the next level by allowing a group to all get delicious things from different places and then meet in the middle to eat together.  We also took a quick walk through Hudson Market downtown, which seemed great. So when I saw that a new food market was opening near Grand Central Station (where I commute through every day) I was thrilled.

Welcome to my life, UrbanSpace Vanderbilt. (These are the same operators as the pop-up food spaces around town, such as Mad. Sq. Eats and Broadway Bites, which I blogged about before. AND they are going to be doing the new Anthony Bourdain Market which has to be the most anticipated opening of the next few years)

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Urbanspace has the communal tables (though far fewer than Gotham West… so I have a feeling this could get VERY crowded if you want to stay) as well as bars at a few of the stands around the space.

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There are so many great food selections to choose from, some of which are very familiar and some I had never heard of.

Dough:

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Redhook Lobster Pound:

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Toby’s Estate (coffee, including coffee milk shakes which were outstanding):

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AsiaDog (which also had awesome sounding juices):

 

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Maiden Lane:

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Bar Suzette (with crepes):

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Sips & Bites:

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Mimi’s Hummus:

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Hong Kong Street Cart:

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Delaney Chicken (from the famous Delaney Brisket world):

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Bangkok Bar:

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Roberta’s:

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No. 7 Veggie (from the No. 7 Subs guys):

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Sigmund’s Pretzels:

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Ovenly:

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And a few other places that looked great for picking up a bowl of deliciousness:

 

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We got some delicious items from Mayhem & Stout as well as Red Hook Lobster Pound:

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The short rib sandwich Mike got from Mayhem & Stout was very good.

Honestly, I wanted my lobster roll to be better.IMG_7921

I was disappointed that the entire bottom was lettuce with just a few pieces of so-so lobster on top. (Though I really think I should be banned from judging lobster in any way since I am completely convinced that lobster loses flavor when it crosses over the Maine state border)

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I also tried a truffle pretzel from Sigmund’s (no pictures because we ate it on the way to the theatre) and that coffee shake from Toby’s. Both were outstanding.

I’m very glad to have this place so close to my commuting hub and can’t wait to try more in the very near future.

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Surprise Birthday Dinner 2015: Gabriel Kreuther

28 Sep

Hello old friends!

I have taken quite the hiatus since Baby Nom Nom’s arrival. We have spent the last 17 weeks enjoying (almost) every moment with our son (even the tough, sleepless ones). A new baby is every bit as tough as I anticipated, and then some, but it’s every bit as wonderful as I had hoped (and then some!)

But even a new baby did not stop us from our annual tradition of surprise holiday restaurants. And Mike rertainly didn’t disappoint this year for my birthday when we walked into the new Gabriel Kreuther in the Grace Building by Bryant Park.

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For the record, previous birthdays were amazing choices, too: Sushi Nakazawa (awesome), Brooklyn Fare (incredible), Jean Georges (underwhelming), Daniel (amazing meal and the best dessert I’ve ever had… which led me to the incredible Dominique Ansel), Le Bernardin (fantastic), and (two of our top meals of all time, and sadly now closed) WD-50.

The inside is a little bit rustic (with reclaimed wood beams that I loved), a little bit sleek, and a whole lot of beautiful storks.

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With a window into the kitchen (wish we had sat facing this!)IMG_6927

The silverware pieces and dishes were all just a little bit sassy.IMG_6827

Elegant but a little whimsical.

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We ordered cocktails, and they were very good, though the one on the right was a (very expensive) truffle cocktail and sadly, as is the state with many things made with fresh truffles, just didn’t taste all that much like truffles.

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The bread came out with homemade butter and was warm and delicious.

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We went for the tasting menu, which was chef’s choice but we could mention if there was anything special we wanted and they would “try to work it in.”  The one item that really caught our eye was the “Mangalitsa Lardo Poached Maine Lobster” so we mentioned this and turned ourselves over to the chef.

Then we had 3 amuse bouche (bouches?) in a row.  They were all great and started the meal off very well.

This was a hearts of palm panna cotta with fresno chile purée and celery jus.

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(My version without the peppers).

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Then a roasted tomatillo gelée with rosemary meringue and crispy pig ear.

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Loved this.

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This was an incredible couple of bites. A coffee cracker (these should exist in real life) with roasted corn and goat cheese mousse and some other little goodies.

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Our first real course was “10 Days Cured Brandt Beef Tenderloin” with tartar, shemogue oyster vinaigrette, and horseradish.

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This was hearty without being heavy and the pour over sauce added a lovely additional texture.IMG_6850

It all came together beautifully.

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Then we had the compressed hamachi with black truffle, foie gras terrine, and celery.  The layers in this were very complimentary and while it could have been super rich, there were little tastes throughout that cut the richness nicely.

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Then we had the burnt heirloom tomato with arugula juice, crystalized orange peels, and boquerones.

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This looked like it belonged in a contemporary museum. It was simply gorgeous. And the parts were all tasty.  However… it didn’t quite come together. The sauce was a bit too acidic so it burned the back of the throat. So much potential but just not our favorite item of the night.IMG_6863

The next course came out under a cloche (I’m such a sucker for food under a cloche… though that could be because I have never had a bad dish that began under a cloche)IMG_6864

This was no exception. It was a sturgeon and sauerkraut tart with American caviar mousseline and applewood smoke. Oh man this was smoky heaven. More please!

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At this point I think something went a bit wrong with the pacing. We had two bread courses in a row. But the bread was great (and beautiful), so I can’t complain!

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And the second one came with lardo!

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The next course was definitely worth waiting for. Sweetbread dumplings with summer corn purée and red currents. These were the most perfectly cooked sweetbreads I’ve ever had, and the dumpling was a fantastic blend of flavors.

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Next up was the baked dorade royale with fennel seed-coriander broth and green tomato marmalade.  IMG_6880

Which was placed on top tableside and added a great acidic, slightly sweet compliment to this great dish.

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Then it was time for the Mangalitsa Lardo poached Maine lobster with squid ink gnocchi, cockle ragoūt, baby artichoke, and jamón émulsion that we had been waiting for. We were super excited to get this dish, and it was great, but after all the other amazing dishes that night, this one actually falls to the bottom. All the ingredients are some of my favorite things, but they didn’t seem to compliment each other well nor stand up on their own. It was a lot of really great things that just kind of got muddled and lost. Bummer. But hey… when the lobster is on the bottom of the list… you know you are having a FANTASTIC meal.

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We then had Shemogue Oyster with North Sea uni, smoked salmon sauce, and champagne gelee. It was fresh and delicious and tasted like the best parts of the sea.

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Next up we were shown a rack of lamb smoking under a small stack of hay. The smell was brain melting. IMG_6895 IMG_6897

This was all the right flavors, textures, and preparations. A fantastic dish and especially fantastic lamb.

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And then they served us a hay broth in a cup to drink with it.  Heaven.

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It was then time to move into dessert, but the palate cleanser was a super fresh, super bright strawberries with limoncello sorbet and lemongrass marshmallow.

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Delightful.

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They then served a very nice birthday surprise cake. It was a lovely treat and they wrapped it up and gave the rest to take home on our way out. (Which proved a very nice way to thank Grandma, our babysitter!)

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This was entitled “Fantasy” on the menu they gave me to take home and is described as Chocolate Kirsch Amerna with Guanaja chantilly, olive oil chocolate sponge cake, and kirsch sorbet.

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They even poured a chocolate sauce over the chocolate cone at the table.IMG_6911

This was definitely delicious, but it seemed a bit more about the artistry and less about the flavor. It was good but not great.

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They then wheeled over a cart and made a café frappé with caramel cremeux and candied pecans. IMG_6916

This was really, really good, but we were so full by this time that we just couldn’t finish it.

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And just when we thought we couldn’t fit one more bite, they brought over homemade chocolates and petits fours.

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The chocolates were served in a cocoa pod. Very cool.

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The one strange moment came on the check. We were charged supplements for both the lobster and the lamb. Supplements we were happy to pay, and so worth it, but unexpected. Yes, the lobster was our request, however, the lamb was chosen by the chef so it was a bit strange that the supplemental charge wasn’t mentioned upfront. It didn’t take away from the fact that both Mike and I left this meal raving about it though!

This was one of the most memorable, simply delicious meals we have had in a while. Each dish was prepared with precision, artistry, and attention to flavors and textures. Even the dishes we didn’t overly care for were still a huge step above most of the food we are privileged to eat in this city.

They also have a bar menu and an a la carte menu, and I cannot wait to go back and try more.

This is a great addition to the Bryant Park area.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

 

Alder’s New Tasting Menu

26 May

We went to Alder in the opening weeks after loving our meal(s) at WD-50 (from the same incredibly well respected and loved Chef Wylie Dufresne).  WD-50 had to close down recently, sadly, but they decided to add a Tasting Menu to Alder.  We quickly booked ourselves a table.

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We started with drinks, including this wonderful cherry mocktail that I really enjoyed.

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Our first amuse bouche was a tiny pastry shell filled with… something… foie gras? liver? I’m not sure, but it was a taste of savory heaven.

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Our second amuse was a take on grilled cheese (I think?) that was another bite of wonderful.

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We added an order of Pub Cheese to our tasting after hearing great things about it.  It came with “potato crisps” and pistachio and fig.

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It was much more lavender than we expected and tasty, but didn’t blow us away.

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Our first item on the menu was the scallops, which I REALLY enjoyed with the red grape.  It brought out all the right flavors in the dish.

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Our next dish was split, because I couldn’t have the black garlic potatoes on the menu.  SO I had an grain dish of some kind which was quite good, but not overly memorable.

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Everyone else really enjoyed their black garlic potatoes with consommé and chorizo.

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Our next dish was right out of what makes Wylie Dufresne’s cooking so creative.  It looked like a tiny stack of pancakes with a slice of butter and syrup (poured table side) but it was actually Okonomiyaki (a Japanese pancake) with grilled octopus and kewpie mayonnaise.  This was a bit of a trick on the palette, with lots of ginger flavor.  You couldn’t quite tell what you were eating, and I can’t say I loved it, but it was an interesting dish.

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Our last main dish was my absolute favorite. Lamb with ramp panisse, smoked yogurt, and vandouvan.  The lamb was perfectly cooked and the smokiness of the yogurt made for an absolutely incredible dish.  By far the stand-out for me.

 

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Our dessert was brie with cherry and pistachio.  A very nice way to end the meal with something that wasn’t quite dessert but certainly left you with that great sweet end.

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The petit fours were matcha chocolates and madeleines.  Both were a teeny little sweet and capped the evening off well.

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We all really enjoyed the tasting menu and were glad we decided to try it out.  It wasn’t nearly as good as what we had at WD-50, but it felt like a great experiment with food that combined great flavors with great artistry.  Definitely worth trying out.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10