Tag Archives: lobster

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

 

Gramercy Tavern for New Year’s Eve

29 Jan

I was more than happy to plan a New Year’s Eve that included not much more than my couch, my husband, and my cats… but friends of ours were visiting from London and were passionate about having a nice meal out, especially at Gramercy Tavern. So 30 days before 12/31, we were online and calling to snag a reservation. And we got one.

And I’m glad she motivated me to get off my butt to enjoy a nice meal on New Year’s Eve.  Because it was a really lovely way to spend the holiday, without having to deal with any of the craziness that is NYE in NYC.

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The Dining Room menu is typically a 3-course menu where you can choose from an app, entree, and dessert for $92 or a Seasonal Tasting Menu (~6 courses) for $120.  New Year’s Eve was no different.  (Which I think is important, because I hate price gouging on holidays)

We were at a table with 2 other couples, some of whom were not the foodie activists we are, so when the waiter said it would be hard to have some of the table do the 3-course and the others do the Tasting Menu, we sadly went with the 3-course.

But I longed for that Seasonal Tasting Menu.  There were so many dishes on that menu that had my name all over them.  I used every kindness I had and asked the waiter if I could choose some things off the Seasonal Tasting Menu, even if they came with a supplement.  He checked with the chef and agreed. OH HAPPY DAY!

We started with an amuse bouche, and I got a special one with pickled veggies, which was a very nice start.

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One of the items that tickled my fancy off the Tasting Menu was the lobster with squash.  This was fantastic.  Sweet lobster, cooked just right, complimented by a perfectly roasted squash, squash seeds, and a delightful sauce.

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Some other dishes around the table looked equally delicious.

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But the other dish off the tasting menu I needed was the short ribs.  These were cooked perfectly and in a fantastic sauce with bright, beautiful veggies.

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We then got an intermezzo of shaved ice that was a really refreshing transition into dessert.

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All of the desserts were lovely, including the cheese tasting.

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And we ended the meal with beautiful chocolate fudge and salted caramels.

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And they sent us home with homemade banana bread and chocolate hazelnut spread to enjoy the next morning (and oh boy did we).

This was a great meal, and a great way to end a great year with great friends.  They were so kind to let me order a custom meal and get the things I so wanted, and for that bit of hospitality I cannot help but love them even more.  We already had one great meal at Gramercy Tavern, and I can’t wait to go back for another one. It’s such a classic New York City restaurant that always impresses.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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Decoy: Peking Duck Dinner

10 Sep

One of my all time favorite things to eat is a Peking Duck meal.  Especially when I get to share it with friends. When that duck is cooked especially well, and the skin is crispy and the meat is succulent, and the hoisin sauce and pancakes and scallions and cucumbers all do the dance of love in my mouth… that’s heaven. I really enjoyed our meal at Peking Duck House in Chinatown a few years ago.

We have a friend who enjoyed Peking Duck as much as I do (maybe even more?) so when I saw that The Infatuation wrote very favorably about Decoy, a place I had been wanting to try, I quickly emailed my Peking Duck-loving friend and we made ourselves a double-date for the following weekend.

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The Peking Duck Dinner is a wee bit on the pricey side at first blush at $65 (woah… just went to the website and looks like they upped it to $78!). But let me tell you… if I could get that much flavor and food and awesomeness out of every $65 (or $78) I spent, I’d be a happy (and stuffed) person.

The Duck Dinner came with 4 small plates, 2 main dishes, and 1 fried rice or side dish.  Plus the duck, which came with duck consomme shots, 10 pancakes, and 3 sauces. And it all came with homemade pickles, decoy chips, and a few extra holes on your belt.

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The chips came out first. I am pretty sure they were fried fish skin of some kind but I don’t remember exactly. I just remember eating them and enjoying them. (And the restaurant was great about avoiding my allergy, peppers, throughout the whole meal)

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Then the pickles, which had a number of different items to choose from, including pickled pineapple.

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Our first selected small plate was Katz’s pastrami triangles.  Very enjoyable, but when you have something like Katz’s pastrami sandwich already being at the pinnacle of the dish, I say don’t mess with it.

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We then had dumplings, though for the life of me I cannot remember which kind they were!  They were good.

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And then the meal began to really ramp up. This was Sweet Potato Noodle Salad topped with Uni (it came with a $12 supplement charge).

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I loved this dish. And this was a few weeks before I had the epic uni experience of Nakazawa.  Usually restaurants are stingy with the uni, but Decoy piled it on and it was deeeelicious. The sweet potato noodles had a nice chew to them that gave the uni something a bit more dense to play off of.

 

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Our final small plate was the grilled wagyu beef pieces, marinated with fresh washabi. Now I don’t really love wasabit… but this steak was one of the best pieces of meat I have ever put in my mouth (yup… I said it).  It was tender and flavorful and just all over spectacular.  This was one of those dishes that as each of the 4 of us split it, I silently wished I were selfish enough to just pick up the entire dish and run down the street with it in hand just to make sure I got to eat every last morsel. (I didn’t… I could not deprive my friends and husband of such awesomeness)

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And then… out came the duck

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With 3 dipping sauces.

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And you think I remember what they were? HA!  Though I kept going back to the more classic hoisin.

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And an incredible picture of the pancakes.

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And lest we forget about the duck consomme shot!  We started with this as a palette cleanser, of sorts, to get us ready for the big duck adventure that awaited us.

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And then we dug in.  Each component of the dish was perfect, with the addition of crispy leaks and some lovely pearl onions to add to the classic other components.

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For our side, we went with soft and crunch vegetable fried rice.  It had goji berries on top!  A really, really great side that went quite well with the duck.

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And as if that was not enough, we still had 2 main entrees to go!

 

First, lobster with wide rice noodles ($10 supplement).   This was very delicious, however, it was covered in sauce which made for the most impossible shelling of the lobster.  We were at a communal table and I was really expecting to launch my lobster claw across the table in an effort to get out every morsel.

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And our last dish of the evening, the marinated and grilled Creekstone rib steak ($10 supplement).  Another amazing fete in beefery.  This melted in my mouth.  Not QUITE as good as the appetizer steak, but still an excellent execution of an excellent dish.

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I was really impressed with our meal at Decoy.  I felt like we absolutely got our money’s worth (even with those supplements and even with the increased cost on the new menu) and it was a great, fun meal to share with 3 other food lovers.  I think I may just need to take a trip back to get my hands on that steak appetizer again though.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

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