Tag Archives: restaurant week

Restaurant Week Summer 2013: L’Ecole at the French Culinary Institute

28 Jul

On the same day I went to Ai Fiori for lunch, we went to try L’Ecole for dinner. (I am insanely thankful for my charmed life).

L’Ecole is part of the French Culinary Institute and where students of The International Culinary Center’s culinary arts program get real life experience.

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We immediately noticed that they were advertising “The Rolls-Royce of Lobsters” with a special offering of (apparently very hard to come by) Fourchu lobsters that are grown in a very cold area near Nova Scotia. We Googled it and found many articles raving about how it’s the best lobster you can find.  As Maine lobster snobs, we were curious.  (We find that for some reason, the moment lobsters cross the Maine border, they just aren’t as good. I cannot explain it, but go to Maine and get a lobster bake from a shack off the water, probably for less than $20, and I would bet you would agree that it’s better than any of the best lobster you’ve had in a NYC fine dining establishment).

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Inside the restaurant it is bright and modern.

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With some beautiful photography that certainly shows a love for food preparation.

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The bread was absolutely delicious and tasted very fresh.

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The Restaurant Week menu was the only option (many restaurants have their regular menu in addition to the Restaurant Week Menu), but they included special items with an incremental charge.  The main three-course RW menu is $38, and there was the option to also go with that and a wine pairing for $60.50.  You could also go with four courses for $53 or $83 with the wine pairings.  They told us early on that the wine pairings are 3, 3 ounce pours, equaling about a single glass of wine by the end.  Typically, it’s worth it at most places since they give you great wines. (When it’s not Restaurant Week, they feature a prix-fixe dinner for $44)

Our amuse-bouche was a chilled pea soup with creme freche.  This was a beautiful pea flavor and a very nice first taste.  I’ve noticed a huge glut of pea soup as amuse-bouche recently.

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We chose to split the wine pairings with his Restaurant Week selection. Our first wine was a rose and was so-so.

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Mike chose the sauteed stuffed calamari. This had pork and rice filling, parsley sauce, radishes, and grape tomatoes.  This dish was really well prepared with a great combination of flavors.  The stuffing in the calamari was somehow comfort food without being heavy.  And the dressing was a nice compliment to the main dish.

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There was a crab and roasted corn bread pudding on the menu that sounded sensational, however, they were out of it. So I went with my second choice, creamy corn bisque.  This came with black peppered bacon and tarragon beurre blanc.  The corn flavor in this dish was really strong.  Corn can be hit or miss, but this was obviously made from corn that was at the peak of flavor.  And the cream was a really nice compliment but wasn’t too heavy.

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Our second wine was a Malbec and again, it was so-so.  Both wines somehow missed the mark and were just blah.

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Mike’s entree was the Grilled Hanger Steak Vidalia Onion Rings, Creamless “ Creamed ” Corn, and Sauce Choron which came with a $7 surcharge on top of the prix-fixe.

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I couldn’t try it since there were peppers (I’m allergic) but Mike said it was pretty good.  He said it was tasty but probably not worth paying the up-charge.

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I had to try to the special lobster. I just couldn’t resist. And I love the simple preparation of a steamed lobster.

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The presentation looked nice with the entire lobster cracked open and displayed.

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But someone forgot to consider that the innards (which you can’t eat and don’t taste very good) would leak out all over the plate.  And since there was a small amount of water from boiling the lobster on the plate, my plate was suddenly flooded with gross juices.

And the lobster itself? Ehhhh. It tasted kind of bland.  Hardly lobster-y at all.  I’ve had much better lobster elsewhere and it sure wasn’t billed as a “Rolls Royce.” If this is what a Rolls is like, I’ll stick to Toyotas.

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The fries that came with the lobster were nice; crispy on the outside and good potato flavor on the inside.  The lettuce and tomatoes were incredibly well dressed and a surprising highlight of the meal.

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For dessert, I got the creme brulee.  It was very good but I’ve had better elsewhere. The top was a bit thicker than it should have been so it didn’t have the delicateness that makes creme brulee so great.

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Mike chose the goat cheese cherry turnover.  This was decent but nothing special.

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We were given cookies on the way out and they were soft and packed with flavor.  Another surprise highlight.

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When we checked in on FourSquare, the Special at the restaurant was a baguette.  We opted to take them on our way out and enjoyed giving one away and making the other into nice garlic bread.

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Overall, this meal was very hit or miss.  Both of our apps were great, both of our entrees were so-so (and an up-charge) with the lobster being very disappointing. The desserts were also just okay.  I wonder what it’s like when it’s not Restaurant Week, but I would choose many other places besides L’Ecole for Restaurant Week.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

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Restaurant Week Summer 2013: Ai Fiori

28 Jul

Next up on the Honeymoon adventure queue is French Laundry, but before we get to that, it is currently Restaurant Week in New York!  We try to go to at least 3 new restaurants each Restaurant Week season (Winter and Summer) and here is the summary and links to all the places we have visited so far and the blog roll of all the individual reviews.

One place I hadn’t intended on going to was Ai Fiori, but when a friend pinged me during lunch time and asked if I had any plans, how could I say no to revisiting one of our favorite Michael White restaurants? Especially to try their Restaurant Week menu.

We both commented on the absolutely stunning orchids on all the tables.

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We decided to do one order on the Restaurant Week menu ($25 for a 3-course menu) and one off the regular menu ($42 for 2 courses).

First, off the regular menu, we tried the Crudo di Passera: fluke crudo, american sturgeon caviar, meyer lemon.

This was a stunning dish. Fresh flavors with the caviar bursting in your mouth, brightness from the lemon, and fluke that tasted like the sea.  Brilliant.

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Off the Restaurant Week menu, we tried the Country Terrine: housemade pâté, frisée, mustard, cornichons.  This was so so.

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I was surprised that it was, if anything, kind of bland.  Even the pistachios in the terrine were bland.  Disappointing, especially for how good everything else we have had there has been.

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From the regular menu (bottom of the Restaurant Week menu), we tried the Agnolotti: braised veal parcels,squash purée, sunflower seeds, black truffle sugo.

Only now looking back our my previous review do I realize it’s exactly what I ordered (and enjoyed) last time. The sunflower seeds added a nice crunch to the flavor packed and rich agnolotti.  The sauce was awesome and we enjoyed sweeping our bread through it to lap up every bit.

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The Restaurant Week entree selection was the Razza: pan roasted skate wing, zucchini, artichoke purée, blistered cherry tomatoes

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I REALLY enjoyed this dish.  Skate is something I only recently tried and I am constantly impressed with how it is like a fish but tastes like shellfish.  It’s like a lobster flavored fish filet.  This was an ever so slightly crispy wing with tons of flavor.  The vegetables were perfectly cooked and nicely sweet.  A simple presentation of a really bright and fresh dish.

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For dessert, we split the Restaurant Week selection and went with the Crostata diCioccolato: dark chocolate mousse, olive oil gelato.  The mousse was very good but the olive oil gelato was extra special.  Great flavor that created a lovely foil for the chocolate mousse.  This wasn’t too rich but had a lot of nice textures going on with the mousse top, soft base, crunchy chocolate under the gelato, and a crumble of what appeared to be nougat.  A very nice dessert that didn’t weigh me down at lunch time.

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A lot of times when I go out to a nice weekday lunch I feel as though my afternoon work performance is certainly subpar.  It was not so after this lunch, with a good amount of food that left me satiated without being overfull.  The skate was really a highlight for me and made the so-so terrine worthwhile for Restaurant Week.  I would certainly recommend, but definitely swap out the terrine for one of the other options.

And the regular menu, as before, was excellent all over.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

 

Millesime for Restaurant Week Winter 2013

28 Jan

The Carlton Hotel in Flatiron has been home to many restaurants, including Town and Country. I know I have been there in the past, but it was before the blog. You enter into the lovely hotel lobby and then go through the bar/entertainment space and up the stairs. The restaurant there is now called Millesime.

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There is a really beautiful glass ceiling in the dining room.

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Millesime is participating in Restaurant Week and we were there for lunch. I ordered off the Restaurant Week Menu and my dining companions ordered off the regular menu. The restaurant week menu had 2 choices in each category. Butternut Squash Soup with crispy prosciutto or Butter Lettuce Salad with mustard and hazelnuts for the appetizers. Tuna Salad Roule’ with lavash, radish sprouts, marinated vegetables, tomato confit & potato chips or Linguine Gratinee with sauteed chicken, tomato, kale & parmesan for the entree. Orange Creme Brule with almond tuile or Cherry Chocolate Croissant Pudding with chocolate ice cream for dessert.

My dining companions both tried the crab and onion soup with gruyere crouton. They both seemed to like it, but neither finished it to save room for the entree.

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I went with the squash soup. It was pretty good, but could have used some more flavor. It was very one note. Even the crispy prosciutto didn’t really scream flavor.

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For entrees, one person ordered the veal piccata with ricotta gnocchi, roasted cauliflower, pine nuts, and lemon. She said it was pretty good but there were a lot of flavors going on.

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The other person ordered the steak sandwich and seemed to really enjoy it.

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I went with the linguine gratinee. Hmmmm… This pasta was most certainly round, not flat like linguine. And it was just… plain. Totally lacking in flavor. I salted it to death and it was still pretty flat. I have no idea what they were going for here, but this dish was really bland. Even a bit of basil or some wine in the sauce would have made it better. Even the chicken just tasted like boiled chicken in there.

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Thankfully, dessert was delicious. It was like bread pudding and the cherry and chocolate together were great flavors.

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Millesime was getting some press as being underrated and there were a number of great reviews. I just didn’t get it. Perhaps they just really screwed up their Restaurant Week selections, but I will not be running back here. Food needs flavor. Salt is cheap. It’s no excuse to have bland food at such a nice restaurant. It was all barely average, but the rating gets a little bump for the delicious cherry and chocolate dessert.

Total Nom Points: 5.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 5.5 out of 10