Tag Archives: chocolate

New Restaurant Opening: all’onda

9 Feb

Today is the 5th anniversary of NYC Nom Nom!  It has been a great 5 years. Thanks for reading!  Now onto the review…

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Mike got to talking with his foodie coworker about new restaurant openings. They were excited about all’onda, called the “biggest opening of ’14” by Eater.  It is near Union Square and is from Chef Chris Jaeckle and Restaurateur Chris Cannon.  Mike made the reservation on the day it opened in early January and the first Saturday reservation he could get was for February 8, a month later.

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When we arrived, roughly 45 minutes before our reservation to grab an early drink, we were greeted by some bad news: they didn’t have our reservation.  Mike had tried to make the reservation originally online, but it wasn’t working, so he called.  But alas, they had no record of it.  The manager came up to our group and very nicely and genuinely apologized, explaining that they first took reservations on paper and it appears that a number of them had been lost. He mentioned that this was not the first time he was making that speech, but that there was a table right near the bar where we could have the full menu. He said if something opened up upstairs, we would have first dibs, and he would buy us our first round of drinks.

Mistakes happen, but it’s truly about how someone handles it. This manager handled it beautifully and humbly, making us feel like honored guests, and it left us all with a very good feeling even though it wasn’t the best situation.

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We were bummed, but we agreed to sit downstairs and hope, while we peered upstairs with a ping of jealousy.

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The bar does open right up to the kitchen, however, which is always fun to steal a glance of.

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We ordered rinks, including this lovely cocktail called Old Sal, which was made with Rittenhouse rye, rosemary infused cocchi americano, and cynar. It was very nicely mixed and I enjoyed the sip I tried.

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I wound up ordering a phenomenal glass of wine: a 2009 Bianco di Custoza Superiore Monte Del Fra Veneto, described as 55 yr old vines, Garganega, Trebbiano etc. on limestone, complex mineral character, great value.  Great value it was. Even at $14 for the glass, it tasted like a very expensive wine and I enjoyed drinking it all evening. The wine list really looked like a piece of paper made of wood.

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And then just as we were resigned to the slightly chilly bar table near the door, we got some good news. A table had opened up, and we got to go upstairs.

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They served lovely, crusty bread (that we kept refilling to dip in the great sauces all night) and a very thin cracker-like bread that had great flavor.

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We started with the big recommendation: Arancini (fried risotto balls) with squid ink and sea urchin.

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The squid ink inside was so dark, and so beautiful, it looked like magic inside.

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A beautiful, delicious, luxurious black magic.  The slightly salty, marine-tasting, soft uni on top perfectly complimented the crunch on the arancini which gave way to a very smooth risotto which had just the slightest al dente texture.  Very, very nice start to the meal.

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We decided to split a whole bunch of dishes amongst the 4 of us, including 3 of the homemade pastas.

First, a tortellini in parmesan dashi, tomato oil, and porcini.  We were surprised to see it came in a broth, but what a broth it was! The tortellini themselves were fine, but it was the broth that really made this dish stand out. It was incredibly umami, with an earthy, rich flavor that we kept getting more and more bread to sop it all up.

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We also tried the bucatini with smoked uni. It was supposed to come with spicy breadcrumbs, but due to my allergy, I couldn’t have that, so they did without. And you know what? I didn’t miss it at all. I am sure a little crunch on top would have been lovely, but I absolutely moaned as I ate this dish.  The bucatini (hollow spaghetti) was perfectly cooked and the uni created such a creamy and rich sauce that had a true softness of flavor that was truly exquisite.  It was like a Japanese spin on carbonara. My favorite of the pastas.

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Our third pasta dish was a lumache with aged duck ragu, treviso, and chocolate.  This was everyone else’s favorite, and it was obvious why. Each delicate piece of duck that was in the ragu just punched you in the tongue with flavor.

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The chocolate is the brown sprinkled around the plate in this second picture.  There was a rich and earthy nature to this dish and while you didn’t taste the chocolate directly, it complimented the dish beautifully.

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For our entrees, we tried seafood, beef, and poultry.

First, the skate, which was veal glazed with beets and semolina dumpling.  There was a touch of sweetness to the masterfully cooked skate, and the components around the skate added color, texture, and flavor without taking away from the delicate skate.

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I am still not sure what the veal glaze was, but the entire dish was composed very well.

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The New York Strip was with parmesan potatoes, mustard greens, and fonduta. The potatoes had a great outer crisp that gave way to a very tender and flavorful potato with a great parmesan flavor. The steak was cooked beautifully and had just the right amount of flake salt. But I was especially impressed with the mustard greens. They were so flavorful and a perfect texture for a green leaf.  I was amused as I sampled all the bites around the table because I absolutely LOVE steak, but this was my least favorite part of the meal, not because it was bad, but just because everything else was so original and it stood out so much that it was hard to compare to perfectly cooked beef.

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We also tried the guinea hen with parsnip, shio kombu, and foie gras sugo.

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I was so impressed with this dish. The skin was perfectly crispy and the meat tasted so rich. I loved the parsnip puree and all the lovely jus.

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We also got two sides, including the brussels sprouts with cider vinegar, honey, curry, and pistachios. We got it without the pistachios (and possibly the curry, unless it was very well hidden) because they included peppers (which I’m allergic to), but I can’t imagine this being any better.  They were so perfectly cooked with a crispy char and a delicate sweetness.

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Our other side was polenta with miso-cured egg yolk and wild mushrooms. Everything about this was awesome.  Rich and earthy and awesome.  I was with 3 self-proclaimed polenta haters, and every one of them loved this dish.

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There was a very nice dessert wine list and I really loved my glass, nv Arneis Passito “Renesium” Malvira.

For dessert, we tried the olive oil cake with ricotta gelato, lemon, and basil.  The cake was so moist and flavorful, and the ricotta  ever so slightly sour but creamy and delightful, with (what I think were) tapioca pearls that resembled caviar.  A really great dessert.

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We also tried the chocolate tart with amaretto and soy gelato.  I love love love love LOVED this dessert.  The chocolate was so rich and so smooth. Impossibly smooth. And that soy gelato (I think it was soy sauce gelato) had an umami saltiness that I just could not get enough of.

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Wow.  An incredible meal from start to finish.  It’s a bit hard to describe, but the closest I can come is to say that it was like Italian ingredients made with an Asian flare using a lot of great seafood.  Each dish tasted differently from anything I had ever had before.  A slight, indescribable twist on a flavor or a combination of ingredients that I had never tried before.  Each dish stood on its own, but if I had to make you the perfect meal, I would go with the arancini, lumache (since it was the crowd favorite), the guinea hen, and the chocolate tart.  But then again, we saw the short ribs (for two) go by a few times and each time we were jealous. First, it was huge (one of our dining companions compared it to a “clog,” yes, a giant shoe) and second, the smell wafted through the restaurant like a tease.

Next time.

Call now and get a reservation, and maybe call up to check to make sure they have it the day before.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

nomscale- 08.5

Homemade Chocolate Mousse

24 Apr

Certain recipes instantly go into the “filed for life” box.  This is one of them.

I love chocolate mousse when it’s good. But so many times it’s just not.  It’s not chocolaty enough or it’s gritty or it’s sickeningly sweet.  This mousse is just perfect. And much easier to make than I anticipated.

I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com. Step one: whip cream to form light peaks.  You would think that I have done enough homemade schlag in the past to know better than to leave the mixer unattended while whipping, but alas, I wound up with some stiffer peaks than I anticipated. Luckily, this didn’t impact the recipe from what I could taste.

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This recipe especially caught my eye because Ghirardelli is my favorite chocolate to bake with. Hands down, changing to these chips made every recipe better. Every time I run out and use Nestle’s or Hershey’s, the taste difference is noticeable and if I’m making anything with melted chocolate, these cheaper brands just don’t temper as well, come out as smooth and uniform, nor taste anywhere near as good.  Lesson for anyone new to chocolate: Spend the extra $1 on the good chocolate chips. It’s worth it. Case in point, these melted perfectly smoothly in my double boiler (metal bowl placed on top of a pot with simmering water… hint: make sure the bowl is bigger than the pot so steam doesn’t work it’s way out of the pot and into your chocolate).

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AllRecipes is my favorite recipe site because of the dedicated readers who leave comments on the recipes. Thank goodness for them!  While certain times I don’t follow their advice and end up with a mess, this time, they guided me in the right direction, because while the recipe calls for 4 eggs, they really meant 4 egg WHITES.  Big difference.  The egg whites fluffed up perfectly with the sugar.

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I think the next ingredient is where this recipe really takes on a new level.  1/4 cup of coffee added to the recipe gave it a richer flavor that also countered some of the sweetness without making it taste less chocolaty.  A few people mentioned that they left out the coffee and regretted it later.

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You stir the coffee into the chocolate and then quickly add the eggs and fold in the whipped cream. I was nervous that the chocolate would bind upon adding the coffee (chocolate basically turns into an ugly mess when it’s mixed with water), but working quickly left me with a perfectly smooth and delicious mousse.

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Any elegant chef might pour these into a martini glass or mason jar to present, but I had to make them transportable to offices, so I went with Dixie cups.  Keepin’ it classy.

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I also wanted to top each with whipped cream, but whipped cream won’t stay fluffed overnight, so I added a tiny bit of gelatin to my whipped cream for the first time to stabilize it and, surprisingly, it worked. And it still tasted great.

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This recipe was perfectly delicious and surprisingly easy to make. I highly recommend this as a crowd pleaser (and impresser!)

Ghirardelli Chocolate Mousse
 
recipe image
Rated: rating
Submitted By: Ghirardelli®
Servings: 8
“Serve this simple chocolate mousse in a martini glass for a fancy presentation. A dollop of whip cream adds an elegant touch.”
INGREDIENTS:
10 ounces Ghirardelli 60% Cacao
Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup coffee, hot
4 eggs, room temperature (JUST THE WHITES!)
2 tablespoons sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Whip the cream to form light peaks. Set aside in the refrigerator. Melt the chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl set over barely simmering water. Meanwhile, whip the eggs with the sugar until very fluffy and thick, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir the hot coffee into the melted chocolate chips. The mixture will start to thicken, so work quickly. Quickly stir in the beaten eggs, then fold in the whipped cream. Pour or spoon mixture into cups or bowls, and chill until firm, about 2 hours.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2012 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 4/22/2012

Blue Hill at Stone Barns: Tarrytown, NY

15 Aug

We were trying to determine where to go for a getaway weekend.  I knew we might not get out until late afternoon on Friday, and had to be back on Sunday, so we didn’t want to go far.  We thought about the usual contenders: Martha’s Vineyard, Block Island, Jersey Shore, Long Island beaches.  But then Mike came up with a fantastic idea… to go to Tarrytown, NY and finally visit Blue Hill at Stone Barns.  We have been wanting to go for years, especially after trying their NYC location which was wonderful.  The only reservation we could get with the 1 week notice was at 9:30pm on Friday night.  So we decided to get a local hotel room and then we would explore the area the following day.

Stone Barns is very easy to get to. The train is very quick and you can get a cab right there.  We got a ZipCar and arrived less than an hour after we left our apartment.

Blue Hill is literally on the farm.  The chef finds what is freshest from the farm that day and makes a menu out of it.  You never quite know what is going to come out, but you can be sure it’s good.

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We arrived about 10 minutes early and were told we would be seated soon.  So we made ourselves comfortable at the bar, which had these lovely, comfy chairs and couches.

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Their cocktail list was very unique, but both Mike and I were enamored with the “Up in Smoke” which had whiskey, mescal, and smoked peaches, lime, and thai basil.  It was definitely unique. Not sure I would get it again but I’m glad we tried it.

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We had nearly finished our cocktails when the Maitre’D came over.  I assumed it was time to go but he informed us that they were a bit behind schedule and asked if we would like to begin our amuse bouche in the bar area while we waited. We happily agreed.

First up were lightly fried fresh beans (green and wax).  They were delicious and the fry just added a hint of crisp.  I also liked that they served it on slate.

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Next up was a few fresh veggies from the garden (arranged on skewers sticking out of a block).  We had fennel, butter lettuce, a radish, and a gooseberry.  Everything was tasty, but the gooseberry was sensational.

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Next up came a pancetta fried squash blossom.  I find that many times squash blossoms retain too much grease from frying, but these were tender and cooked just right.  I can’t say I tasted the pancetta too much, but the entire thing was tasty all together.

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Next was something I remembered trying, and loving, at Blue Hill NYC.  These were tiny tomato “burgers.”  These were perfectly sweet with perfectly ripe tomatoes.  Even better than I remembered.

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Next up came some sliced meats.  The one on the left was bresaola (air cured beef) and on the right was prosciutto.  Both were quite tasty.

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At this point, we were so pleasantly enjoying our experience that we hadn’t even realized that we were nearly 45 minutes past our reservation when we finally sat in the main dining room.

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The did an amazing job with an old barn, keeping it modern and industrial, while clean and looking like it belonged on a farm.

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I opened up the menu and was pleased to see that of the multiple artwork available on menus, I received the artichoke. (I LOVE artichokes).  The menu gives a choice of 5, 8, or 12 courses.   The 5 and 8 have the same amount of food, but the 8 had more variety.  The 12 is called the “Farmer’s Feast” and it sounded quite epic.   Too epic for being after 10pm.  (Sidenote: This place is a “Special Occasion” restaurant.  It is expensive even as far as NYC Tastings go.  Be prepared.  But it is 100% worth it.)  We chose the 8 course and, to add to the opulence, I also got the wine pairing.  (Note as dishes get increasingly blurry below… both in images and in recollection of what we ate).

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I then realized that the beautiful flower sitting on our table was ALSO an artichoke.  Gorgeous.

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And then the food started coming out… Look familiar?  It was so delicious and light the previous time that we didn’t mind a second helping.

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Next came a melon shooter.  It was melony, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to drink it again.

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And then more beans…

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When the meat came out again I debated saying something, but this was NEW meat so I just had to try it.  I believe the left was bresaola again but on the right was bologna.  Now I don’t like bologna.  But this is what bologna was supposed to be.  Made me think that I cannot even imagine how they can call deli bologna “bologna” if THIS is what it was supposed to taste like all along.

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Next, out came a salad.  It had fresh and seasonal vegetables with (YAY!) gooseberries.  It also had some marscapone and a foam that I cannot recall anymore.  They also topped it with edible flowers.  It really just looked like freshness in a bowl.

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The next item was a piece of brioche (that also had some swiss chard that didn’t photograph well).

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And this was paired with homemade ricotta that they strained in front of us.    It was creamy and rich and I kind of wanted to bathe in it.

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We were then served poached lobsters with corn and shallots.  It was in a broth that tasted like everything that is wonderful about lobster and corn.

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At this point we really wanted bread to lap up the broth from the lobster dish, and without a moment to spare, out came the bread with homemade butter and two specialty salts.

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They were flavored with tomato and spinach.  And they were wonderful.

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Next was an egg dish.  It was a poached egg over julienned squash noodled.  I took a small bite and realized that the dark red specks were, in fact, peppers(which, thanks to my allergy are my mortal enemy).  Mike really enjoyed the dish while I waited for a replacement.

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At first I was a bit upset to be missing the egg course, because there are few things I love as much as a fresh and well cooked egg.  I was also surprised that the pretty impeccable service had made this mistake.  But then… my replacement came out.  It was a lightly fried poached egg (say what?) in a pea broth.  Let me just say, this was so freakin’ amazing that I was GLAD they made the mistake.  How on earth they fried a poached egg will remain a mystery to me, but it was sensational.  The pea broth was a perfect foil for the egg and everything came together with perfect flavor and texture.

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Our next course required special preparation, where a special type of egg yoke was grated onto our dish.

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This was a homemade ostrich egg pasta dish (with the shaved egg thing over it) and a sauce that I cannot for the life of me remember but I do remember thinking it was absolutely delicious.   (Note: this is when I realized that the wine pairings, which were supposed to be “small pours,” were no where close to small and were starting to impact my ability to photograph and recall what we ate… not that I enjoyed it any less, however).

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Our next course was the meat course, which had sliced flank steak and beef tongue. I usually am not a huge fan of tongue.  Sliced deli tongue is fine, but give me a slice of pastrami any day instead.  This tongue, however, was one of the best morsels of food I have ever had.  It was rich and melted in my mouth, with intense meat flavor.

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Up next were desserts.  This was fresh blueberries, marscapone, and sorbet. It was fresh and delicious and all the right balances of sweet and tart.

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Our last bite was a caramel sauced, fresh milk ice cream, chocolate mousse with chocolate ganache and fresh berries.  It was decadent with nothing too sweet, nothing too rich, nothing too bitter.  It was perfect.  A blend of everything that is right with dessert.

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At this point I was a bit thankful that it was over… I was so stuffed (and so damn drunk) that I was concerned that Mike would have to carry me out (or roll me).  At this point we were served a mint smoothie, some fresh fruit, and some chocolate cookies.  I took a nibble and sip of each, and each was delicious… but just far. too. full.

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Overall, this was one of those meals for the history books.  It was easily in the Top 10.  From start to finish, everything was delicious.  There were some mistakes in service (the seating, the double amuse bouche, the peppers) but the overall service was so fantastic with great attention to detail, that none of that mattered.  The wines during the pairing were each very good, but nothing that stood out and it was honestly just too much.  I wouldn’t recommend going for that part, but everything else is a must.  Each bite was fresh, delicious, and elevated what food should be.  It was unbelievably expensive, but worth every penny.  It is one of those once in a lifetime food experiences that everyone should have the opportunity to have just once.   Some people dream about vacations to Bali, some about luxury cars, some about owning race horses… me? I dream about food experiences like this one.

Total Nom Points: 9 out of 10