Tag Archives: artichokes

Boulud Sud and using the Reserve App

28 May

I have been fortunate enough to amass a network of really smart people throughout my life.  One perk of working in digital technology for a few years is that connected me with some great minds who are always developing.  One of those smarties brought the app, Reserve, into my life.  Reserve is like a virtual concierge that gets restaurant reservations at some exclusive restaurants (currently in New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco and Chicago).  You pay a small fee and they get you in, but it also helps pay the bill because you just load everything into the app and (like Uber) once you’re done, you are done.  No need to wait for the bill nor for the waiter to come swipe your card.  You can just walk out.  Ahhhh technology.

I had been meaning to try it for a while, so one night when I was feeling especially energetic (a huge rarity now in my last month of pregnancy), I decided to see what they had available for a Friday night.  A little after 6pm I opened the app and requested a reservation from a few different restaurants in the areas I was interested.  By 7:30pm, we were sitting in Boulud Sud, a very good restaurant from Daniel Boulud, a place we had been t0 a few years prior and really enjoyed. (And were not sure why we had not returned to).

When we came in, we were greeted like royalty.  Apparently Reserve was so new that we were our waiter’s first Reserve table. And while he had been trained on the app, he was excited to have his first table.

We started with a lovely bread plate and oil.

IMG_3513

We then tried the House-Made “Taramasalata” with Smoked Cod Roe and Dill Potato Chips.  It was all very tasty.

IMG_3516

I went right for the crispy artichokes alla romana with Nipatella Aïoli. These were excellent. Great artichoke flavor and not a bit of greasiness.

IMG_3520

We were then presented with a fun surprise.  The chef sent over a garden of season veggies “planted” in a dip whipped feta cheese topped with dehydrated Niçoise olives “dirt.”

What a lovely way to present (and enjoy) crudité.

IMG_3523

Mike chose the lamb chops which came with a great variety of seasonal vegetables and was incredibly well cooked and flavored.

IMG_3529

I got the gnocchi which also came with the freshest of vegetables from the season.  Another great dish that made Spring sing.

IMG_3533

For dessert, Mike chose the Sweet Moroccan Couscous which came with a pomegranate poached pear with pistachio anglaise and lemon-yogurt gelato.

IMG_3537

A very unexpected dessert, but very tasty.

IMG_3539

 

I got the dish that I remembered most from Boulud Sud all those years ago: The Grapefruit Givré.

This came with sesame halva, rose loukoum, and grapefruit sorbet.  If it’s even possible, this was even better the second time.  I LOVE halva, so the shreds on top were really enjoyable with the crispy textures and smooth sorbet. A dessert I have never had anything remotely like before or since, and incredibly memorable.  Absolutely love it.

IMG_3549

And then, as simple as that… the check was paid.

IMG_3548

 

A fantastic restaurant.  A fantastic app.  I love when technology makes life easier.

I have been recommending Boulud Sud to many people over the years, and I’m very glad we went back again.  Hopefully there will be less time between our next visit.  (However, with baby probably days away, it’s anyone’s guess!)

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

nomscale- 08.0

Kingside

3 Feb

We were trying to find a restaurant for a Friday night before a Broadway Show, and Mike mentioned that he had wanted to try Kingside in the Viceroy Hotel (57th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues).  It looked good from the outside, with a nicely lit sign and the black and white checkered floors that I’m a sucker for.

The menu looked pretty great, too.

IMG_2079

I absolutely love artichokes, and would probably call them one of my favorite foods.  So we had to get the crispy baby artichokes.  I was kind of shocked and appalled by the price: $20. But I went with it.

These were good, though a little greasy, and not great. Certainly not $20 great.  What are they thinking? Not everyone is an artichoke sucker like me!

IMG_2081

Mike chose the braised pork shank with roasted shallots, escarole and pork jus.  This should have been great. I mean… how can braised pork shank not be great? But it just wasn’t.  The meat was tasty but had very little flavoring besides the meat.  It felt a bit like a finely cooked piece of meat swimming in flavorless jus. How is pork jus flavorless? I’m still confused.

IMG_2084

We got a side of the brussels sprouts with mustard and black garlic.  These were also very ehh.  I LOVE black garlic and I would not have been able to identify that flavor anywhere in this dish. The sprouts were a bit soggy and while they looked like they had a char, they were really just kind of limp.

IMG_2086

And then I got the scallops (with butternut squash, bacon caponata, and brown butter)… good gracious the scallops.  I love scallops. I basically could eat a scallop in any form.  I don’t think I have EVER left a morsel of scallop on a plate in my history of eating scallops probably hundreds of times.  But this? This was awful. The scallops were so over-salted I could hardly eat them and wound up leaving an entire scallop on the plate. An atrocity. I ate the squash hash because it was okay and I didn’t want to starve, but I was seriously angry that someone could ruin a scallop.

IMG_2088

This was such a poor excuse for a restaurant. Someone took all the things that are trendy and good and then put a cook in there who had no idea how to execute on the food.  The concepts of all the dishes were fine, but whomever was behind that stove should be ashamed of themselves. I really have to hope they had an off night, but there is no excuse for ruining a perfectly good scallop.

Total Nom Points: 4 out of 10

nomscale- 04.0

Chez Jef at the Bowery Diner

5 May

I love using the Eater Heatmap to find new places to try with friends and family.  I’m a big fan of the curated restaurant review lists, and Eater never disappoints (even if they hate my blog name… but I can take it). We were looking for a place to go with my cousins and stumbled upon their recommendation for Chez Jef, which is a pop-up in the Bowery Diner space from Chef Mathieu Palombino.

I was amused as we came upon the address to see that the “Jef” was a clever way of changing the old “DINER” sign.

IMG_6876

Inside, it is certainly French Bistro.

IMG_6877

(It was a bit dark inside, so please excuse the not so great photos.)

The bread came out and it was a fine crusty bread but with a very cold and hard slab of salted butter.

IMG_6878

We did enjoy the wine selection very much.

IMG_6880

We started with some raw oysters, which were a hit for all.

IMG_6881

 

The menu has an incredibly well priced 3-course prix fixe for $35, but we were so curious about many things on the menu that we all ordered a la carte (which was still very well valued).

The french onion soup was fantastic, which a great blend of gruyere cheese and sweet onions.  I always prefer more crispy cheese on the outside of my bowl, but it was still damn good.

IMG_6883

I chose to start with the steamed artichoke vinaigrette, because steamed artichokes are one of my favorite foods of all time.

IMG_6884

This was displayed very well, and with a really, really good dipping sauce.  The artichoke itself was well cooked but it suffered from the artichoke curse of some being great, and some being just average.  It’s a temperamental vegetable. Sadly.

IMG_6885

Mike went with the salade verte with vinaigrette, which, despite this awful picture, was quite tasty with an awesome dressing.

IMG_6889

For my main, I chose the lamb “navarin” with spring vegetables.  The waiter explained it as being like a stew, so I was all over it.  The plate that came out was a bit weird though.  A white salad plate with a small (but filling) serving. Had it been served in a bowl, it would have looked much better, but I absolutely couldn’t fault the flavor. It was absolutely delicious with tender, flavorful lamb pieces, a nice, not to heavy sauce, and well cooked simple vegetables, including some fantastic pearl onions.

IMG_6891

One person at the table got the mussels mariniére with frites.  She really enjoyed them.

IMG_6893

Mike went with the steak grillé and frites with béarnaise.  The steak was well cooked and had great flavor and it was excellent with the béarnaise.  But those frites… wow!  I could not stop eating them right off of Mike’s plate. They were perfect.  Crispy on the outside while still potato-y.

IMG_6895

Then for dessert, we had to try the Crème Brûlée.  It was exceptional.  Smooth, vanilla-y custard with a perfectly sweet, but not too sweet, crispy brulee on top.  Super duper.

IMG_6899

Overall, our meal at Chez Jef was really spectacular.  Everything had great flavor and it reminded me of being in Paris. The entire meal came to less than $50 per person, which seemed like an excellent value for sharing a bottle of wine, shared oysters, an app each, an entree each, and then splitting a dessert between 4 of us.

Not sure how long this pop-up is going to be around, however, the $35 prix fixe sure seams like a steal if you’re in the mood for some good French food!

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10