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New Restaurant Opening: Little Park

8 Apr

We made a bucket list of things we wanted to do before the baby comes, and eating at Little Park was high on it.  I read a lot about it, but the article that put it on the Baby Bucket List came from New York Magazine.   We, too, had enjoyed Andrew Carmellini‘s other restaurants (The Dutch, Lafayette, Bar Primi, Locanda Verde, etc) and there was something about the NYMag review that got me excited.  This line really stuck out in my mind: “But as one polished little dish succeeds the next, the sense you get is that, with all these popular trends covered, this talented chef is taking the time, at long last, to cook for himself.”

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The restaurant itself is very blonde, with light colored wood throughout and an open, welcoming vibe.

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The menu is diverse, with many tempting dishes.

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The bread and butter set a nice start to the meal, with attention to detail and not just an afterthought.

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The part of the menu we started with was from “winter vegetables” and as we sampled our way through many of them.  And not one made me miss meat (which is rare).

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We started with the butternut squash with Vermont burrata and nasturtium (edible flower blossoms).  This was a novel take on familiar flavors and felt comforting yet fresh.

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We also tried the fried local cauliflower with pistachio and herbs.  This was so lightly fried so it was crisp but not at all greasy.  The pistachio and herbs made it bright and fresh.

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On the recommendation of our waiter, we tried the roasted sunchoke with hazelnut and black trumpet.  This was so earthy and tasted like something you would only get if your best friend were a master chef.

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And since we love our brussels sprouts, we had to try these crispy brussels sprouts with smoked parsnip and apples.  This was a great balance of sweet with hearty flavors and was a very satisfying, original version of brussels.

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From the pasta portion of the menu, we chose the black kale ravioli with squash and pine nuts.  I’m so-so on kale. I get that it’s healthy, and I love me some kale chips, but usually I find it a bit too bitter and something I really only order when I’m making an effort to be healthy (not spoil myself with a gourmet meal). But this was an excellent ravioli.  All the right flavors and textures and the pasta itself was fresh and fantastic.

 

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We split a main of the dry-aged duck and kebab with turnips and pomegranate. This was some of the best cooked duck I’ve ever had, and the parsnip puree was incredibly flavorful with a great texture.  but that kebab (hidden under the leaf in the back of this picture) was special.  An all around awesome dish.

 

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For dessert, we got the frozen lemon fluff with honey-lemon sorbet.

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This was such a bright and sunshiney dish.  It sparkled and the tart sour was excellently balanced with sweet.  A really great way to end the meal.

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But the dessert that really made this meal a home run was the cinnamon toast ice cream. It came with croutons and the ice cream tasted just like cinnamon toast crunch (if it were made by a well experienced pastry chef).  A nostalgic flavor in a refined dessert.  Excellent.

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We really loved our meal at Little Park. I was impressed all along the way and each dish felt a bit special, different, and fun.  I enjoyed every dish and can’t wait to go back.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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Upland

19 Feb

We are working on our pre-baby bucket list, and some of the list (who are we kidding??? MOST of the list) includes visiting restaurants that we have been meaning to go to for some time or new restaurants that are getting a lot of good press.

Upland was high on the list after hearing numerous great things. The only reservation I could find was for 5:30 on a Friday, but that worked out perfectly since we had tickets to see an Off Broadway Show later that eve.

Upland is a Stephen Starr restaurant (most famous for his hits in Philly) and is cheffed by Justin Smillie.

The entrance is a beautiful (and slightly eerie… kind of reminded me of organs in jars for some reason) set of shelves with preserved lemons in it.

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The inside echoes the nicely lit decor with the bar and more preserved lemons in the back.

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Here is the menu from the day we visited:

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We started with a lovely loaf of bread.

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We ordered the whole crispy mushroom, which was a hen of the wood mushroom with cloumage + herbs.  This was a beautiful hunk of fungi.  It was totally crisped and a really delicious mushroom on the inside.  But there was one thing that it unabashedly reminded Mike and me of… Pot.

This mushroom tasted like pot.

I don’t know if it was the earthiness or the smokiness, but I was a bit nervous we would leave hungrier than when we arrived.

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We also ordered the burrata with trout caviar, crispy leeks + arbequina olive oil.

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This was so fresh and so flavorful.  The caviar was salty, the burrata creamy, and the leeks crispy. Loved this dish.

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Our next dish was the slow roasted celeriac with black truffle butter and sea salt. See all those light colored shavings in the photo below? That’s truffle butter. And it was insanely good.  The celeriac was all the right richness and the truffle butter was an excellent compliment.

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We then tried the roasted short rib (for two) which, apparently, is one of Chef Smillie’s signature dishes.  It came with castelvetrano olives, walnuts, celery + horseradish.  I love short ribs so much that I actually chose this even though it came with the 2 things I don’t like (celery and horseradish).

This slab of meat was served trimmed from the bone (though still displayed with it) and was the size of a football.

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I enjoyed the meat very much, though I left the celery and horse radish for Mike. I was especially fond of the pairing with walnuts, which was unexpected. I haven’t had a slab of short rib this big, and I have to say I enjoy short ribs slow cooked and smaller, but I can see why this was a signature dish.  Very (black) peppery on top.

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For dessert, I was tempted by the pecan pie, which was delicious. It wasn’t too sweet and it held together perfectly.  A really great end to the meal.

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I was very impressed with Upland. Did I think it was the best restaurant opening of 2014… well… probably not. But it was very enjoyable and I would go back in a heartbeat.  I especially want to try the pastas.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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Bâtard

27 Jan

It seems everywhere I looked, someone was raving about Bâtard.  It took us a few weeks to get a reservation, but we finally managed to squeeze in for a 6pm on a Friday night.

One thing everyone raved about was that you can do a Tasting Menu for $55 (2 courses), $65 (3 courses), or $75 (4 courses).  I love this concept because I love trying as much as possible.  They said they would course the meal depending on what we ordered. Great.

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We started out with warm bread that was fantastic.  The olive roll was incredible and started the meal well.

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We decided to split all our courses.

We started with Braised Artichokes with barley, poached hen’s egg, and eiswein sabayon.  It came with a chili flake on top, and when I asked about it, it was immediately whisked away and very quickly replaced.

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With a non-allergenic version.  And it was awesome.  The sabayon was fantastic and the artichokes were super flavorful.  The chip added nice texture and I enjoyed the barley as a way of sopping up the sauce.

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We also tried the short rib and tafelspitz terrine with smoked egg, german sesame, and apple.

The terrine itself had great flavor and texture, but that little fried piece of meat was heavenly.  The fresh apple complimented the richness well.

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We then tried the sea scallops with carrot fondue, parsnip, and chervil.

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The scallops were perfectly cooked, and the little touch of caviar on the one made it extra special.  The parsnips were caramelized and really flavorful.  The crumble added great texture and flavor (though I still have no idea what it was).

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Our next dish was sweet potato agnolotti with parmesan mousseline, pecan, and peppercress.  These melted in my mouth and had this great balance of sweetness, richness, and a bit of bitter from the greens. I LOVED this dish.

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We then had the branzino with butternut squash, grilled lettuce, and pumpkin seed vinaigrette.  I love branzino and this did not disappoint. Perfect cooked with slightly crispy skin, complimented with all the great squash flavors of the butternut and the pumpkin seed.  The grilled lettuce had a nice char and it came together beautifully.

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There was a special this night with chicken schnitzel (partially on the bone) with potato salad.

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This was very nicely seasoned, with a slight crisp, and I loved the piece on the bone.  The potato salad was mustardy, which Mike loved and I was a bit turned off by, but I could see the appeal.

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For dessert, they had a selection from the menu or a cheese tasting of 3 for $15 (only thing a la carte from the tasting menu).  Mike went with the 3 courses plus the cheese and I chose the 4 courses with dessert.

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Each of the cheeses were very good, and paired with a compliment (apricot, apples, etc)  to make the flavor sing.

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I chose the caramelized milk bread, which I have been seeing pop up on menus a bit more very recently.  This came with blueberries and brown butter ice cream (which had a little bit of salt on top). Awesome dessert.  It was kind of like a french toast but with a beautifully caramelized outside to make it more desserty.  The blue berries were cooked a bit to sweeten them and add some sauce without losing the consistency and flavor, and the brown butter ice cream went very well with everything.

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We were then brought a final tasting with marzipan cookies and truffles filled with black olives. Yes. Black olives.  When I took a bite, I was so confused by what flavor I was tasting, I had to ask.  I was surprised at how enjoyable this was once I found out it was black olives.  I also really loved the marzipan cookies. Delicious.

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From start to finish, we really enjoyed our meal.  I felt like the quality was great with a good amount of innovation, that made me feel like we were getting a lot for our money.  Most tasting menus of this quality in NYC would cost a lot more, but this felt like a big value with a huge payoff in delicious food.

Highly recommended.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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