Tag Archives: birthday dinner

Birthday Dinner 2012: Jean Georges

6 Nov

Mike and I have a tradition for our birthdays that I absolutely love. Every year we surprise each other with a reservation at one of the best restaurants in Manhattan.  He has taken me to some amazing meals, including Daniel, Le Bernardin, and (our #1) WD-50.

(Have I mentioned recently that I am an incredibly lucky gal?)

This year, Mike surprised me with a reservation at the famous Jean Georges.  They have a few different Prix Fixe menus that change often. Here was our menu on August 15th, 2012:

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Mike chose the Summer menu. I went with the Jean Georges menu because they informed me that they could not do the Summer Menu without peppers.  They could make the necessary changes, however, to make sure I didn’t get any.

Our reservation was for 8:45pm and we sat right around that time.

They had a lot of options for bread, but I really loved the pretzel rolls they served.

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And it was a very good thing that I liked that bread so much, because it was a full 45 minutes before our amuse bouche arrived.

The amuse was a carrot suit with sesame and okra and sea urchin. The original had peppers in it, but I got a pepper-less version.  The soup, sesame, and okra was very good but the sea urchin had 0 flavor.

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For our next course, we sat, and sat, and sat. It was at this moment that my heart sank. I wanted SO badly to love Jean Georges. It’s a New York staple. And shouldn’t Jean Georges have great service?  We were so spoiled by our service at Le Bernardin, but this was getting really bad.

It was 55 minutes later that our 1st course came out. It was now almost 10:30pm and we were just starting our tasting menu… le sigh.

Our first course was the toasted egg yolk.  This was the one thing off the Summer Menu that I really wanted, so I was very pleased that I got it on my menu.  This was absolutely delicious. 

 

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It had the texture of grilled cheese with that salty caviar. It was a great combination and a great texture. I loved it and hoped that the whole meal would be this unique and delicious, to make up for the slow service.

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Mike’s next course was on the original menu: Foie gras and market strawberry terrine, bitter chocolate and brioche. They said this had peppers in it, but I took a little nibble and I didn’t detect any.  And then I took another nibble and another and another. Frankly, I couldn’t get enough of this so even if it did have peppers, I convinced myself it didn’t (if it did, it was barely a trace).  The bitter sweet chocolate with the strawberry and rich foie gras.  Boy oh boy. This is how foie gras was meant to be.

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I got scallops which were very nicely seared with a very slight crisp. The cauliflower added flavor without taking away from the delicate flavor of the scallop. Very nice.

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I was then served the following, which while I at first thought was some sort of rose petal soup, was merely a dipping bowl for ones hands.  Good thing they told me that before I sank my spoon in!  It was a very nice touch.

 

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Mike’s next course was charred corn ravioli with tomato salad and basil fondue.  It was a great combination of fresh flavors. Sweet and very nice, though Mike said he wanted more ravioli in the dish.

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My next course was garlic soup with frog legs.

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They instructed me to dip the legs into the soup.  It was actually a great combination of flavors and I really enjoyed the mild garlic soup with the salty legs.

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Mike’s next course was trout with charred eggplant and peppers sauce. I didn’t try this one, but Mike concluded that he doesn’t love red fish and this relied too much on the sauce for flavor.  There was really a need for crunch on the top because the fish was a bit mushy.

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My next course was turbo with wine sauce.  The sauce was absolutely incredible.  I really loved it.

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Next , Mike had the lobster in yuzu, chanterelles, and squash.  This was really delightful. Great flavors.

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My next course was lobster with tomato broth. It had a mild mint flavor to it.  My tail piece was a bit overcooked but my claw was perfectly cooked. It was nothing like Maine Lobster Pound lobster though (then again… what is?)

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There was quite a wait between each course even after the initial gaps, so at some point between course 5 and course 6, our waiter brought us a free wine pairing on the house for our next course. That was a very nice touch.

Mike’s next course was the lamb with a smoked chili glaze. It was absolutely perfectly cooked from the looks of it, but Mike said the chili sauce/rub was really overpowering to the flavor and the sides (new onion compote and pole beans) were just “meh.”

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I somehow forgot to photograph my last savory course, but it was squab. It had curry, which I’m typically not a fan of, but this one was very good.  It was a bit hard to cut but the corn cake with foie was quite good.  The lemon with it was too lemony and was pretty overpowering for the dish.

At this point, we were both pretty full (and tired), but our most anticipated courses were yet to come.

On to dessert!

Mike had the cherry dessert tasting which had a few variations of cherry desserts. Mike’s favorite was the cherry almond creme brulee. It also had cherry with champagne something-in-french-with-cherries in the jar and black forest cake with cherries.  These were very pretty, but really just okay in flavor.

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I got the chocolate tasting which included chocolate lava cake (fantastic), a candy bar (just ehh), apricot with mcadamia nuts and lavender (I thought it tasted like soap, but Mike liked it), and a lemon meringue like dessert (my fave).  None of it worked together, but it was a nice assortment.

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The candy bar, while so-so on flavor, was really beautiful.

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I was beyond stuffed at this point, but a very nice happy birthday present came out (filled with chocolate mousse).

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And then a guy came by and cut us some homemade marshmallows.

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Which were fluffy and perfect.

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And then out came a candy sampler (the wrapped ones had chipotle, but the rest were just okay).

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And then macarons, which had good flavor but were a bit too small to be texturally right.

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And then I got a goody bag to take home that had some candy “for the lady.” It was a nice treat the day after on our way up to Maine (more on that later)

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By the time we finished our meal it was after 1am.  Over 4.5 hours.  Ridiculous.  

And when we sat and thought about it, we realized that our meal was really, really good… but was it great? Was it even memorable? 

I couldn’t even put it in the top 10. Maybe not even the top 20. What a bummer.  It’s not that anything was bad… in fact, most of our dishes were far above average. But it just wasn’t what we expected from such a famous place.  And the service?  Way too slow. Ridiculously slow. Bummer. Bummer Bummer.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

 

 

Eataly: Manzo Ristorante

21 Feb

When Eataly first opened, I was excited, but it was SO crowded.  I had been to Birreria before for a client dinner, but that included a reservation. And I had gotten lucky finding a spot to sit at the Crudo bar.

But when That Lori (from Stuff I Ate) and I were looking for a place to celebrate our birthdays, we jumped at the chance to try Manzo, which is the only place that was accepting reservations.  Every restaurant at Eataly has  theme, and Manzo’s theme is MEAT.

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We started with a lovely looking basket of bread. The sourdough was awesome.

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We were torn on the menu. So many delicious sounding things. Our waiter advised that the plates were small, so we decided it was a sharing night.  (Though our arms never really needed to be twisted to share… one of many reasons I love dining with That Lori).

We started with the mozzarella with brown butter and guanciole. It was a lot softer than I was expecting, but the garlic toast that came with it really allowed us to sop up all the deliciousness.

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I liked the compliments of flavors very much.

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Our second dish was the Tajarin with Sugo d’Arrosto.  This was a pasta made with the drippings from a roast.

They very kindly split it for us, but even our half portions were quite substantial.

And this was SO. GOOD.  This is everything that is wonderful about pasta… a perfect compliment with the meaty flavored sauce.  Simple looking yet so complex.

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We also split the hay smoked veal chop.  This came with canneli beans and speck.  This was HUGE.  I have no idea how anything we got was considered a “small” portion.

And the meat? The hay smoking gave it this great grassy, earthy flavor.  It was delicious, and cooked perfectly.

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Since we split everything, we luckily had room for dessert.  We decided to split the chocolate crostada with plums and sliced almonds.  This was very rich (but I LOVE rich) and the ice cream and plums were great to make the flavors more complex.  Very enjoyable.

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Overall, Manzo was just a spectacular dining experience. I highly recommend sharing so you can experience much of what it has to offer.  We were so tickled by our experience there and we really loved all the food.  Every bite was fresh, complex, and bursting with flavor.  Exactly the way it should be.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Birthday Dinner 2011: Daniel

29 Aug

Mike and I have an awesome tradition where every year on our birthdays, the other brings the birthday child to one of the best restaurants in the city.  It’s always a surprise, and we don’t know where we are going until we get there.

On my birthday last week, I was thrilled when I stepped out of the taxi to see that we were at Daniel.  Daniel has been on the top of my list for a long time.  It has been a NYC staple of excellence for years and I have enjoyed dining at Daniel Boulud’s other restaurants, including Cafe Boulud and Bar Boulud. I’ve also had great meals at DB Bistro and can’t wait to try DBGB and the new Boulud Sud.  Daniel has 3 Michelin Stars, making it my second 3 Michelin Star Birthday in a row, with Le Bernardin last year.

Daniel offers a 3 course menu, where you can choose a la carte for $108 or do a full 6 course tasting menu for $195.  It’s definitely a special occasion meal! We went for the 6 course menu, which allowed us to choose 1 of 2 from each of 6 sections.  Since there were 2 of us… we just said to bring us one of everything.  (I always wanted to say that).  We didn’t go for the wine pairing (which was anotehr $105) because I had work the following day and didn’t want to have to weave out of there the way I did Blue Hill at Stone Barns.  We did a themed order of wine and got a bottle of Russian River Chardonnay followed by a Russian River Pinot Noir (big fan of those Russian River wines).

(They also have a 3 course meal with wine pairings as a theater prix fixe for $105 from 5:30-6pm Monday-Thursday.  Not a bad deal with wine!)

Here is a gallery of the menu, since it changes seasonally:

The restaurant is impressively beautiful.  It FEELS like a special occasion place.  We were sat in a corner booth that was a bit private behind screens.  It was nice to be tucked away, however, I like to people watch and this actually made it a bit detached.  Our little round booth was insanely comfortable, however, and if I ever have the opportunity to design a corner sitting area, I will think of the perfect leaning pillow that was in our booth.

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We started with an amuse bouche, and I cannot recall much about it besides the fact that mine didn’t have peppers.

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I recall something about smoked salmon and melon.  I recall enjoying it.  I recall thinking it was all fresh and summary. That’s about it…

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There was a noticeable delay in service as we waited for our first course.  This happened a few times between courses, creating very strange pacing.  This was the only dark spot on an otherwise fantastic service.  Ok… well not entirely spotless… read on…

Our first course started with duck terrine with sauternes.  It was perfectly divided between the richness and sweet when combined with the apricot.  Delicious and full of flavor.

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For this same course, we received a pressed squab terrine with turnips, bok choy, and chamomile gelee.  This was a great balance, again, with  great richness, balance, and flavor.

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Our next course started with Snapper Ceviche with celery vinaigrette. I believe this one was supposed to be served with a pepper oil, but they kindly left that off.  This was delicious, fresh, and I even enjoyed it (I am a certified celery hater).

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With this course, we were served peekytoe crab in an heirloom tomato gelee with avocado, thai basil, lilliput capers, and olive bread tuile.  The crab was sensational.  Enhanced by the multitude of fresh (though mostly unidentifiable) pretty things on the plate.

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Course three was a Maine sea scallop rosette with lovage.  It was supposed to come with Hawaiian hearts of palm, avocado-tomato coulis, and pickled fresno peppers.  This was probably the best dish on the menu, EXCEPT, one bite in I know I was in trouble.  There were even tiny red flakes that were visible (I call it the “trouble color” because very few things except peppers are that burnt red color).  We asked the waitress and she INSISTED there were no peppers.  She went to the kitchen and came back to tell us that they were red celery.  Hmmm… I would hate to disparage a restaurant like Daniel… but my mouth was instantly swollen and itchy. And just on the side where I took the bite. It took me a good 4 ounces of milk to even take down the itching.   Hmmmm.

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Paired with this course was artichoke and squid ink ravioli.  This came with littleneck clams, ruby red shrimp, razor clams, sea beans, saffron cream and opal basil.  If that sounds like a lot of ingredients, it was. And they all blended beautifully.  It was as visually stunning as it was delicious.

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Our next course was Atlantic flaked cod with tarbais beans, wild lamb squarequarters, chorizo, purslane, and marcona almonds emulsion.  I couldd not have this one, so I will default to Mike for a review: “From what I remember, it was good, but oddly… starchy? pasty? But it was decent.”

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My dish was grilled Alaskan King Salmon with black musto oil.  I guess the sides listed wouldn’t work, so I was served some peas, zucchini spears, and broccoflower.  I am not a salmon fan. In fact, I thought for years that I hated fish, but turns out I just hated salmon.  This, however, was very tasty.  And those were some of the best peas I have ever had.

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Our last savory courses were listed as a “Duoof Beef” and a “Tasting of Veal.”   Neither dish came out the way it was intended, I assume due to the allergy.   The beef was supposed to be black angus short ribs with cauliflower mouselline, seared wagyu tenderloin, chanterelles, crispy potatoes, and poached bone marrow.  Reading back over that description, we definitely got shafted.  We only got the seared tenderloin.  The short ribs,  chanterelles, crispy potatoes, and poached bone marrow were all missing!  But at the time, we didn’t notice.  The tenderloin was perfection.

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The veal also wound up not being as described.  The 3 selections was supposed to be roasted tenderloin with eggplant puree, braised cheeks with glazed zucchini, and crispy sweetbreads with caper coponata.  It came out with 2 pieces of tenderloin and a crispy sweetbread, no sauces/toppings.  I was a bit bummed because I was looking forward to those cheeks, but this was still excellent.

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Daniel does a really lovely job of celebrating birthdays, with a lovely complimentary cake and candle (and thankfully no singing).  It was tasteful and delicious.

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Our desserts then came out from the menu, with a warm guanaja chocolate coulant with liquid caramel, fleur de sel, and milk sorbet.  This was insanely rich (without being overdone) and had AMAZING flavor.

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They even went the extra mile with the pretty gold flake on top.  This was perfection in chocolate.  I didn’t think the world could get any more divine than this cake… and then…

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…I tasted this. Lemongrass poached pineapple with coconut meringue, lime-rum gelee, and pina colada sorbet.  I never would have ordered this after reading it on the menu.  While I love coconut, I’m always worried it would taste like sunscreen.  Pina coladas are good, but they can taste really cheap as a flavor.  Meringue is one of my favorite things in the world, but it’s usually not done well.  But this… this was everything that is right with the world.  This was heaven.  This was vacation in my mouth.  This was probably one of the best desserts I have ever had in my life.  And you know I love desserts!

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Along with these desserts, we received a basket of fresh, still warm madelleines.  Mike had never tasted a madelleine before.  I have, but not anything like this.  These were fluffy and light and nearly melted in my mouth.  Sensational.

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Just when I was debating if I would manage to roll myself home, a number of dainty bite sized desserts came out.  Beautifully prepared.  I was getting ready to loudly profess my love to the pastry chef at this point.  Or perhaps write them a love letter to tuck into a check.

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And then came a tray of delicate mini chocolates.  And this is where I cracked our servers shell.  I asked her to please pause for just a moment to take a picture.  Normally I would never have asked, but it was my birthday and we were drinking… so I went for it.  She put on the face and smiled, but you could tell that she was not happy to be doing it.  Hence… my shot was blurry and I didn’t retake.  (I can’t say I blame her.)

And it was a delicious exclamation mark on the meal.

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Overall, our meal here was stunning and delicious.  It had some highlights (the scallops, even though there were peppers… the tenderloin… the DESSERTS!) and some so-so things.  I can’t say there was any one savory meal that was mind-blowing, but it was a fantastic meal.  The pacing was off, the peppers things were still questionable, but service was obviously a refined art form in this restaurant.  It’s funny to be in a point in our dining history where while this was an amazing meal, and it still ranked at about #7 on the overall list.  But it was still #6. And it will remain hard to beat.

And I really hope they serve just desserts.  Because I want to go back for just that.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10