10.08.08
Posted in French, Meatpacking District, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 13:46 by Dominique
409 W.13th St. & 9th Ave./Washington St., 212-675-2400
Great for: picking up cute finance boys, tuna tartare, steak aux poivre, sparkly bottle-fueled birthdays, lazy people who want to go clubbing after dinner
My friend Dominique (she’s Angel, I’m Devil) invited me to her friend’s birthday here. It’s extremely scene-y and fun. Plus, the club Kiss & Fly is only a short passage away.
The tuna tartare with ginger and scallions is very good. It comes with a lot of avocado but they are quite generous with the tuna as well. I found it slightly chewy in a good way, not so much that you forget what you’re eating; just enough to avoid being slimy. The lobster ravioli tasted noticeably of mushrooms, which was mitigated by their texture blending in with the onions. The pasta was soft with not much lobster flavor; still pretty good in its pesto sauce.
The calamari came in what I call crazy Chinese form – unbreaded, with an abundance of peppers and sauces. (It’s crazy because I don’t like it.) It was too chewy for me to forget I was eating squid. I just picked at the peppers. The coquillette, elbow macaroni with Emmental and ham, was probably the best mac & ham with an afterthought of cheese I’ve ever had but that’s not saying much. It did taste nice and fresh though. Don’t touch the bowl, it’ll burn you. I found adding some tuna salted it up nicely.
My steak aux poivres with creamy spinach instead of french fries, which they brought me anyway, was tender, spicy and delicious. Bagatelle definitely made up a few points in this round. The spinach had only a hint of cream, with bread crumbs on top, and was quite good at first until it bored me. Incidentally, the lighting is so dark I had to eat the fat in my steak because I couldn’t see to cut it away.
Instead of dessert we had lots of bottles of Champagne. Also, I met a really cute guy in line for the bathroom and some other guys at the bar as I waited for Dominique Angel before dinner. Better than dessert, in my opinion.
The waiters try but service can be desultory, what with the crush at the bar and the sheer volume of ego and hair in one room. Try for a table in the romantic, cozy back nook but don’t expect the waiters to be able to reach you there. They are at least nice, which makes up for a lot of slowness. Don’t be intimidated by the pretty hostesses, either. They’re very helpful.
Apparently on Saturdays around 2 the place is like a day club in St. Tropez. Don’t bother trying to do anything at the bar after 10pm - it’s about 6-7 deep in a space that supports 5 at best so only the skinny will succeed. There are lots of cute banker boys if you’re into that, as well as a DJ who’s quite good. Take a deaf date, you won’t be able to hear anyway.
The food is better than it has to be but not as good as it could be. It’s clearly a bagatelle compared to keeping the crowd liquored up, though they provide an impressively extensive menu considering the simple banker/model/ad girl/socialite clientele. It’s fun, I’d definitely come again.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: don’t know, probably a lot. (Thank you B!) Apps are $10-18, entrées $24-36.
Noise level: club with non-deaf DJ
Chance of walking in: as slim as most of the social x-rays who come here.
I did end up coming again, on a date this time, and I can wholeheartedly recommend the scallops St. Jacques as well.
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09.10.08
Posted in East Village, French, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5 at 17:18 by Dominique
65 St. Mark’s Pl. & 1st/2nd Aves., 212-420-0998
Great for: appetizers, live music on Sundays, brunch (I’ve heard)
Midtown Hedge Funder and I were all excited to try Persimmon. Some people say it’s better than Momofuku Ko. (It most certainly is not. It should not even be mentioned in the same sentence. Those people’s tastebuds need to be examined, and perhaps replaced in a violent manner. See upcoming review.) However, it’s not open Sundays. So we wandered around a bit and came here instead.
I was delighted with my salade frisée aux lardons and poached egg. I liked the abundance of nice big chewy bacon chunks, the not-too-salty sauce, and super soft egg. A perfect little salad. MHF’s pâté de Campagne de Madame Azeline was a homemade country terrine accompanied by cornichons and toast. It was earthy and strong-tasting, almost meaty. It palled after a bit, but the cornichons perk it up.
Then I had the onglet de boeuf à l’Echalotte, which was pan-roasted hanger steak with shallot sauce and asparagus risotto. The risotto was good, at least. The beef was sliced and a bit bland and chewy. I ordered medium rare but it was more like medium well. I had to put salt on it, and I never put salt on anything. Having said all that, it wasn’t terrible; just ok. MHF’s noisettes de veau “di Mama Bruna”, better known as sautéed veal scallopines with marsala mushroom sauce, Gorgonzola gnocchi and black truffle oil, was pretty good. The gnocchi were not too strong, and the veal was quite chewy but fairly tasty.
I recommend the raspini (a raspberry champagne concoction). It wasn’t too sour, as raspberry drinks frequently are. Champagne is the most calorie-laden of all the wines, though, and they’re not alcohol calories. That’s why I switched to Château Haut Lavigne sauvignon semillon (slightly fewer calories). It was dry and likeable. Sadly, the Château Pourcieux Provence was not. Don’t be fooled by the “rose” misspelling on the menu, it is indeed a rosé. It is also oddly unflavored, almost like water, with a deceptively strong aroma. It basically combined all the worst things that wine could be.
We struggled with the disorganized, or rather non-existent, hostess situation initially but managed to get someone’s attention after wandering to the back of the entire restaurant and almost back out on the other side. This was compounded by the manager trying to take my salad while I was eating it and setting down our entrees at the same time. I think I just stared at him in shock. At least we had a cute, friendly waiter.
The live Buena Vista Social Club-type music, which they only perform Sundays, was good but really loud, especially the drums. Sometimes people are inspired to get up and salsa so I guess feel free. In good conscience I can only recommend the appetizers and champagne cocktails here.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $120 (2 glasses wine, 1 champagne cocktail)
Noise level: very loud music, other parties quite loud too
Chance of walking in: medium. I imagine brunch is a madhouse.
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08.22.08
Posted in East Village, French, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5, small plates, Spanish at 00:17 by Dominique
[I finished acting school but had to start a corporate project immediately thereafter. They're not so keen on the blogging during work hours, so posts will probably still be slow.]
239 E.5th St. & 2nd Ave., 212-979-1012
Great for: adventurous palates, oenophiles, people with quiet taste in interiors
Tuesday was the first day Commodities Broker and I could get a reservation here – they book up quickly, and there are only eighteen seats. I was pretty excited. It’s a sister restaurant to Jewel Bako, one of my favorite sushi places in New York. In fact, they share a door.
We opted for the $50 five-course tasting and $45 wine pairing, as most of the things we would have ordered were in the tasting. I’d had a really stressful day so we got a head start on the vino with a lovely large flute each of 2004 Llopart Leopardi brut rosé. Our first course was crudo of seasonal bonito with almonds, strawberries, asparagus, shiso flowers and marcona almonds in a red wine reduction. The lightness of the other ingredients, especially the almonds, offset the heavy-tasting fish well. I enjoyed the pairing with a 2006 Chardonnay.
Next, we had a crazy concoction of slowly poached egg, jamón Serrano, chorizo, smoked cheese foam and rice cracker-crusted asparagus. Somehow it all worked. The egg almost melted in my mouth, while the ham was balanced perfectly between chewy and soft. The slight blandness of the broth was a great contrast. It was a bit salty; you’ll need chapstick afterward. The 2007 rioja blanca was another lovely pairing.
I enjoyed our last appetizer of grilled octopus confit over potatos, caramelized cipollini onions, celery and piquillo pepper salad covered in micro cilantro emulsion. The octopus was a bit chewier than I’d like but nicely charred. I generally don’t even like octopus (everything in the eight-legged family is too rubbery for me) so this was quite good – enough that I managed to finish the disturbingly large tentacle, with the help of generous swallows of 2005 Ribeiro blanco.
For the main course we had suckling pig garnished with tomatillo, velvet pioppini mushrooms, scallions, cilantro, lemon zest and Fresno peppers. I really enjoyed the sauce - not so much the inch of fat on one side. But overall it was satisfyingly spicy and salty, with tender yet firm meat. The red Pago Fiorentino pairing nicely soothed the excitement caused by the spices.
Last, we had a terrific twice-caramelized torija (brioche) and raspberries and citrus. The fruit cut the sweet softness of the bread, which was crunchy outside and soft like custard inside. I could have had a bit more of it. Definitely more of the delicious Château Lafon Sauternes as well.
The service and decor matched the food in excellence. Our waitress was lovely, and the chefs were quiet and focused, just like at Ko, but emanating much more good humor. It’s amazing how many completely different beautiful wineglasses they have. Every time we had a new wine, it was a pleasant surprise to see what kind of glass it would come in. The whole place shows attention to detail without looking fussy. The stone tiles make it feel homey, while the quality of the materials keep it refined. After the sodium-fest that was Mercat and the fiasco politely called Fiamma, it was delightful to just have a great meal. I’d come back here any day.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $285 ($50 5-course tastings + $45 wine pairings + 2 $14 flutes of champagne)
Noise level: quiet
Chance of walking in: very low. Reserve at least 3 days ahead, even for an early weekday.
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07.08.08
Posted in French, Midtown Central, Midtown West, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 00:03 by Dominique
9 W. 57th St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-829-0812
Great for: crab cake, very civilized meals, relaxing after couture shopping, exciting trysts
After a very satisfying morning of shopping at Chanel, it was time to relax with a lovely lunch. I never got to try this place when I lived on the Upper East Side so I was glad to finally have the chance.
To start with, there was the excellent Maryland jumbo blue crab cake with artichoke salad, Dijon mustard sauce and red onions. The crab came in big lumps, slightly spicy, with minimal breading. The mustard was the perfect level of sharpness. My only caveat was the slightly chewy artichoke leaves.
The chicken salad “Chinoise” with tropical fruit, Napa cabbage, cashews and honey ginger dressing was chopped very fine and arranged to look like a giant crab cake with artistic flourishes of the nuts. I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious I found it, considering how much I hate fruits and sweets mixed into savory foods. I even thought the sugary cashews were a good accompaniment. The angel hair pasta with lobster Bolognese, basil oil and Parmesan crisp was not quite as good. Creamy, but a bit bland, pepper improved it. I liked the tender small pieces of lobster.
I would definitely recommend trying the fruit-flavored iced teas. I was also very pleased with the unobtrusive, attentive waiter, as well as the lovely decor. Try to get one of the spacious leather booths if you can, which even have glass dividers for privacy between them. I imagine a lot of affairs (or just exciting dates) are discreetly conducted here. The tablecloths cover a lot. And the place is so elegant and beautiful, it’s equally appropriate for a business lunch or a princess mood (that was me).
I noticed the 3-course prix fixe lunch menu had completely different items from the rest of the menu, which was a bit odd. I thought perhaps they might be dishes only otherwise available on the dinner menu, but they’re not on that either. The dessert menu was also a little crazy. It was two pages long with something called a “Show of Dessert” on one of them. All of them look delicious though. I would love to come back here – there were tons of good things on the menu I didn’t get to try.
Rating: 8 / 10
Cost: $95 (2 passionfruit iced teas)
Noise level: low hum
Chance of walking in: medium at lunch. I think it might not be too bad on weekend nights either.
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05.08.08
Posted in Flatiron, French, Haute Cuisine, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 17:31 by Dominique
5 E. 20th St. & 5th/6th Ave., 212-460-9100 (now closed)
Great for: excellent service, getting daintily drunk on copious amounts of wine
The Boyfriend and I had heard great things about this place, plus we wanted to be in the Flatiron area one Saturday night. Luckily, I managed to snag a reservation in the morning. We waited about 10 minutes for our table, which was not at all annoying because we got “free bubbles from the chef” (two flutes of champagne) and an excellent corner table. We also enjoyed the sexy librarian – I mean, beautiful hostess.
The prix fixe is $89 for just food, $145 with the wine pairing. Each of the six (or seven if you count the amuse) courses has a choice of two dishes and wines, so we got both options all the way down. Be careful – it is a lot of wine. We were quite hammered by the end of the meal.
The initial canapé of sea bass, eggplant and caviar wrapped in zucchini with basil and lemon oil was pretty good, though I couldn’t taste the caviar. It was the first time I didn’t hate eggplant.
We started with a quail and foie gras terrine with smoked almonds and apple purée next to a salad of snow pea slivers with a slice of toasted baguette so thin it could almost be used as a knife. The whole thing was good, but very liver-y. I liked the salad a lot. The Maine lobster in black truffle mayonnaise with Asian pear may possibly have been the sweetest savory course I’ve ever had but it was oddly good. The pairing was a 2006 Riesling and a sauvignon blanc.
Next we had crispy frog’s legs with sweet garlic purée and parsley coulis, which tasted like chicken and was surprisingly good. A nice first experience for me with frog. The escargot and polenta gâteaux in red wine sauce topped with a crisp sheet of parmesan was also praiseworthy, and we don’t even like snails that much. These came with an Austrian weiss and a white rioja.
Sadly, the meal did not live up to its early promise. The pan-seared wild striped bass “aux poivre and thyme” with roasted parsnip in lobster vanilla saffron jus was good but a bit overcooked. The Maine sea scallops with curry-glazed (Bugs Bunny-size) carrots, honey gastrique, grapefruit and taro chips were too sweet. We liked the Spanish Valdeorras pinot grigio and the Tocai Friulano from Napa, though.
The pistachio-crusted venison loin with potato gratin (instead of the promised venison sausage gratin) was pretty good. We liked the Long Island duck breast with a roulade of swiss chard and trumpets royale with a dumpling on top despite the mushrooms. They gave us a cabernet franc-and-merlot combination Bordeaux and a syrah de grenache made of different Côtes du Rhône, both quite heavy but well-matched with the food.
For our penultimate course we had a selection of American artisanal cheeses with toasted raisin walnut bread, blackcurrants, walnuts in honey and poached cranberries. I found it odd that the cheeses were American and not French, since the place makes a big deal out of its fancy Breton cooking. The Gruyère was good; the New York chèvre was yummy, solid and tasted like bleu cheese; the Point Reyes (California) chèvre with green pepper was tasty; and the California bleu cow cheese was very strong, but surprisingly likeable considering my usual dislike of bleu cheeses. I am sad to report that this was the best course. We also liked the dessert wines, a Sauterne and a chenin blanc.
Dessert was a Navan (vanilla cognac) chocolate tart with chocolate sorbet which was alcoholic and delicious, and fleur de sel caramel with cocoa nib ice cream that tasted like a decent flan. I didn’t care for the errant salt crystal I found in the latter but I suppose it’s a hazard of that dish. Instead of the logical dessert wines, we had a Sauterne made of sauvignon blanc and sauvignon, and a red grenache. They were pretty good, as were the complimentary petit fours after.
It was quite an old crowd around us, which was mitigated by the attractive waiters and very attentive and knowledgeable service. In fact, the stellar service was better than the food. It seemed like a design vs. an execution problem. Everything was done very well, but the composition of each dish fell short in our eyes.
I have lots of good things to say about the décor, though. In the middle there was a lovely arrangement of flowering cherry branches and a Japanese bonsai tree trunk, while the room was perfectly and softly lit with squares of canvas over all the ceiling lights. It felt like a modern, elegant French farmhouse. The midget forks and giant spoons and knives were a little incongruous, and I discovered splinters in the underside of the table the hard way, but overall our booth was very comfortable. I also liked the free chocolate muffins we got on our way out.
Basically, the food was pretty good, and the service was exceptional. I would have rated the place slightly more highly, but it was a bit pretentious (especially in their promotional material), overly expensive and trying to be so much more that it really felt like a letdown.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $375
Noise level: quiet
Chance of walking in: low.
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05.02.08
Posted in French, Lower East Side, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5 at 01:58 by Dominique
42 Rivington St. basement & Forsyth/Eldridge , 212-254-1675
Great for: small plates, giant salads, trying different wines without spending a fortune
We thought we could try Freeman’s (which doesn’t take reservations) one Thursday, since it was only 7pm. Unfortunately, many other people seemed to have had the same idea, and we weren’t about to wait an hour to eat. Jadis was close by and the Boyfriend remembered having a good meal there a while back.
It’s one of the typical Lower East Side layouts, with a few steps down into a narrow dining room half taken up by the bar. This one has an unexpectedly large yet cozy back lounge as well, which had a few tables but seemed mainly to be for drinking. We were lucky and only waited a few minutes to share a table with another party.
We started out with the mini quiches, two spinach and two ham. They were like tiny crinkly pastries. The ham ones were a bit funny but the spinach was very good. The bacon-wrapped scallops were excellent; succulent, crisp and fantastic, we could have eaten 10 more of them. The accompanying frisée and vinaigrette were delicious too. The appetizers are surprisingly cheap, until you realize that it’s because they’re miniscule.
My main course of Georges salad consisted of mesclun, smoked chicken, bacon, Gruyère and what they called grapes, but I would consider raisins. It was good, the (apple smoked perhaps?) chicken a little sweet and only OK, but I quite liked it overall. It’s kind of big for a salad and I had to chop it a lot more. The Boyfriend’s panino of Serano [sic] ham, Granny Smith apple and Gruyère came, oddly, on a baguette instead of proper flat bread. The bread was far too crusty and cut our mouths like a knife, while the ham was extremely fatty and chewy, the worst of both worlds. The cheese and the mix of flavors were good though.
For dessert I decided on a glass of the Sauternes le Dauphin de Guiraud 2000. It was exceptionally sweet and creamy, a bit like my favorite Tokaji, and also kind of like non-carbonated cream soda. His crème brûlée was delicious, despite a caramelized crust that was a bit too chewy. We enjoyed our half-bottle carafe of Viognier Laurent Miquel 2006 Languedoc as well. The wine list has a nice selection of different countries and reasonable prices – definitely a good place for experimentation, especially if you’re with several people.
We were interested to note the same wavy ceiling we saw at 85 Orchard, the building that Little Giant, Elyssa Dido and Sticky Rice share. We were less pleased about the hard wooden stools. I thought the music was fun but pretty eccentric – it started out in Latin pop, which created a nice party atmosphere, then segued into bossa nova which was a bit jarring, though not as much Crazytown’s “Butterfly”. The ensuing merengue was a really weird transition. None of which was as peculiar as the man next to us in the other party who ate everything with his hands, including his salad. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Our waiter was clearly having a hectic night but he was very friendly to us and checked on us as much as he could. The other waitstaff were also happy to bring us water or other little things. We loved the place itself and some of the food. Our meal would probably have been better with more starters, small plates and a quiche. We were impressed enough that I’m going to give it another chance to make up for the unfortunate panino.
Rating: 6.5 / 10 pending another visit
Our cost: $105 (with $22 half bottle of wine and $12 dessert wine)
Noise level: semi-civilized party
Chance of walking in: medium.
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Posted in French, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5, Upper West Side at 01:46 by Dominique
75 W. 68th St. & Columbus/Central Park West, 212-874-2705
Great for: fast and well-executed pre-theatre French
I was taking the Boyfriend to his first opera, Madama Butterfly, and we both managed to get out of work quickly enough to make 7 o’clock reservations at this nearby bistro. The three-course prix fixe is very reasonably set at $36, in terms of price, quality of food and speed of service.
The bread to start was great. My sausage of duck (I think, not sure) with lentils, carrots, onions, tomatoes and chives was tasty. I found the accompanying mustard a bit harsh, but very much enjoyed the way the other flavors melded together. His carrot celery soup was great, just the thing for a nippy early March night.
I also liked my cod fish with roasted onions, julienned carrots and zucchini with garlic mashed potatoes. The fish was fresh and subtly flavored, and the sauce was delicious. His veal scaloppini in mushroom cognac sauce with the same carrots, zucchini and potatoes was similarly well done. I would recommend it for a mushroom lover, and even for someone who hates mushrooms as I do. The sauce was a bit strong for my taste, though. Our vegetables were great. I found myself actually liking the zucchini, which rarely happens. We both loved the mashed potatoes as well.
The ricotta cheesecake with strawberries and frozen praline mousse were a lovely finish to a good meal. We found them light and a nice sweet contrast to the savory courses before them. After a precautionary espresso each, we were on our way. We made it to our seats just before the curtain – in and out of the restaurant in 50 minutes. Quite impressive.
The waitstaff were a bit rushed, understandably so since it was pre-theatre time, but were courteous and friendly and did their best to be attentive. It’s a cute little basement place; definitely a good alternative to the always-busy Café Fiorello across from Lincoln Square.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $105 (teetotaling)
Noise level: pre-theatre hum
Chance of walking in: low to medium before a show.
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04.18.08
Posted in French, Haute Cuisine, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 9 to 10, Upper East Side at 17:45 by Dominique
20 E. 76th St. & Madison/5th Ave., 212-772-2600
Great for: exquisite food, speculating about strangers, impressing a date, lovely service, oenophiles
We heard about the Zagat Presents special prix-fixe menu to celebrate new top chef Gavin Kaysen and thought it’d be a great opportunity to finally eat here. I lived quite close by for years and never managed to go, and now that I live very far downtown I regret not doing so when I had the chance. At the entrance we divested ourselves of coats and bags in a tiny anteroom which probably gets crowded at the end of the night. Then we lifted a curtain into the magical wonderland – I mean, main dining room. It looks magical to me because of all the flowers and how beautifully it’s decorated.
We may have been the youngest patrons in the whole place – everyone else looked middle-aged, old or heavily Botoxed. It was surprisingly lively, considering. They brought us two amuse-bouches as soon as we said OK to the prix-fixe and no to the 27-page wine list. There was a bite of potato salad on a radish slice in a flat-bottomed soup spoon, and a fried ball of risotto and black truffle, both of which were great. I think there was some black truffle emphasis to the menu as well, as you will shortly see. (I may not have remembered every bit of the dinner correctly – unfortunately my BlackBerry lost my notes so I’m doing it from memory and the regular Café Boulud menu, which is slightly different.)
We were offered five kinds of bread when we had our first course, the kampachi sashimi with butternut squash purée, daikon radish and ponzu vinaigrette. Kampachi is a yummy Hawaiian yellowtail. I liked how the squash made it look as though the fish had dabs of spicy mayo and then it wasn’t spicy. It probably wasn’t that easy to make, but seemed very simple and wonderful when we ate it, which is the best way to be.
Next we were blessed with the “biscuit and gravy.” It was a quail egg atop a pork sausage-and-black truffle patty resting on a buttermilk biscuit on a bed of creamed spinach. It was even more wonderful than it sounds. The little egg was poached perfectly, so that the yolk was hot but still runny. The sausage was obviously the kind that you might actually want to watch being made – no filler parts here. Everything just went together scrumptiously. The hardest part was trying to get a bit of everything in each bite without eating it with my fingers.
Our main course was wine-braised short ribs accompanied by green beans, a baby carrot and celery root purée. The Boyfriend thought the ribs were a bit fatty but I reminded him that they are supposed to be very fatty and these were actually doing quite well on the heart attack scale. Mine just had one thin layer of fat, which was easily scraped away. The sauce was excellent, so much so that I ate all my beans – a rare occurrence for me. The entire dish went together so well.
Our dessert was almond and Darjeeling tea wafers with sorbet on the side, topped by what I can only describe as a slender sprig of chocolate. Between the deliciously crunchy wafers there was a layer each of almond and Darjeeling mousse. The plating was so beautiful I wanted to take a picture, but Boyfriend told me I’d look like a loser with the camera out. And soon I was too busy trying to wolf down the scrumptiousness in a ladylike manner to care.
I can’t say enough about the service here. It was quiet, friendly, unobtrusive, dexterous… definitely one of my top 5 experiences. Everyone, from the coat check girl to the busboy, was unfailingly kind and attentive. I love when restaurants create an atmosphere of privacy yet make sure we have everything we need. So despite it being very much not our scene, and way too far uptown, we loved it and I want to go back soon.
Rating: 9.5 / 10
Our cost: $260 ($75 half-bottle of Bollinger to celebrate our anniversary a little more)
Noise level: pretty noisy considering half the women couldn’t move their faces, but we easily had a quiet conversation
Chance of walking in: low.
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02.19.08
Posted in French, Meatpacking District, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5 at 18:40 by Dominique
8 Little W. 12th St. & 9th Ave., 212-463-8345
Great for: very drunken brunches, awesome burger, dirty bingo, yummy Champagne cocktails, Gallic accents without the attitude
A friend topped off her boyfriend’s birthday celebration weekend with Sunday brunch here, which only the two of them plus the Boyfriend and me were still capable of attending. Everyone else had been felled by alcohol on top of more alcohol. Brunch is $25 for entrée plus all the Champagne you want… We figured our livers could handle unlimited Champagne cocktails, and they did, although our sobriety didn’t do as well.
We thought we’d share the charcuterie plate, but they forgot to bring it. It turned out for the best though, since we were very full after our entrées. I got the wake & bake, which is two eggs sunny-side up over polenta and andouille sausage covered in Gruyère cheese. It tastes even better than it sounds! Scrumptious runny egg yolk, creamy polenta, thin slices of perfectly salted sausage, and cheese cooked enough to be crispy is a wonderful combination. The other three got variations on the burger, which according to the menu makes “all the burgers at all the fancy-pants places [...] taste like dookie”. I can’t call all the other burgers dookie but the Paradou one sure is good. It comes on what look like baguette slices, except they’re soft and fluffy. The meat is juicy and tasty – maybe they marinate it in something? – and the fingerling potatoes on the side are also great. The sandwich is pretty huge, too; no one at the table was able to finish theirs.
I’d definitely recommend trying all the cocktails. The Paradou X is a kir royale plus a special ingredient, and the Chaperon Rouge is Champagne plus muddled strawberries. They also have bellinis, mimosas and kir royales. My favorite is the Chaperon Rouge. They’re all great, especially after you’ve had a few. The waiters are really friendly, and we usually get to sit in the garden, which is covered in winter. It’s a great little place with consistently good food, drinks and service. We’ve been back for brunch about 4 times already.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $72 per 4 people
Noise level: happy noisy
Chance of walking in: medium
It’s now $29 per person for brunch.
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02.09.08
Posted in Asian, French, fusion, Midtown East, Murray Hill, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5, Southeast Asian at 17:40 by Dominique
200 E. 54th St. & 3rd Ave., 212-486-9592 (now closed, sadly)
Great for: small intimate parties, converting people who think Asian fusion is over, wallet-friendlier Jean-Georges
The Boyfriend and I went snowboarding in the Poconos one weekend, and after much exertion (and aprés-ski drinking), felt that we’d earned a nice dinner out. Vong has been on my list for a while, and we were in the mood for a nice, grown-up, sophisticated place, so uptown we went.
It was pouring outside, so the restaurant wasn’t that busy and we were lucky enough to get one of the little alcoves. They’re upholstered in leather and very romantic. I liked the tables as well, which seemed to be topped with granite. I wasn’t much a fan of the sesame rice cakes with spicy peanut sauce, but then I don’t like sesame or peanut sauce. The Boyfriend does, and says they were very good.
We opted for the tasting plate to start. It comes with four yummy dipping sauces of lemon ginger rosemary, tamarind, ginger garlic and sweet chili, and two each of five appetizers. We thought the lobster daikon roll and the tuna, avocado, carrot and cucumber roll were not bad, light and refreshing. The lobster roll is very gingery though. The breaded and fried shrimp satay was pretty good. We especially liked the crab spring roll, and the spiced quail on watercress salad was definitely our favorite. The meat was delicately and perfectly flavored, while the greens were tart and delicious.
For entrées, I had the duck and Boyfriend had the sea bass. My Muscovy duck breast came medium rare in tamarind sauce with baby bok choy and a spring roll of duck confit. It was so good. The duck slices were succulent and tender, the vegetables were too and the spring roll was scrumptious. I’ve never tasted duck in that form, but I hope I will again soon. I love the way it was presented too, like two fans; the top half of the plate a fan of duck slices, while the bottom half a fan of bok choy. The Boyfriend’s black sea bass was a white island in a shallow lake of coconut lime juice with sandbars of parsnip purée. I’m not sure either of us had ever had parsnips before – I just had a vague idea that they were nasty root vegetables – and I almost don’t want to eat them again, except at Vong, because they could only be worse. What an interesting and unique pairing, too. The purée was very light, which was perfect for the lovely texture and taste of the fish. Boyfriend’s only quibble was with the sauce, which was good initially but got a bit sweet after he had a lot of it.
They brought us jade tea while we waited for our fantastic passion fruit soufflé. We had a mini-joust with our spoons over every bite, it was that good. It was a fluffy wonder. The complimentary chocolate petit-fours with mint sorbet at the center were also yummy.
The service at this place is as good as the food. Our waiter never rushed us, but kept a keen eye on whatever we might want. He was unobtrusive yet attentive. The whole place feels welcoming without being overbearing. Everyone is helpful and very friendly, but only when you need them. I love that kind of service. The decor is very stereotypically Asian, done so tastefully it still brought a smile to my face. I like the funny red temple door or whatever that they have close to the entrance. Everything just feels sophisticated and zen, without being precious or pretentious. It’s great. We love it, and are definitely going back once we’ve crossed a few more places off my list.
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $165 (no drinks)
Noise level: nicely quiet
Chance of walking in: medium (the NYC location is now closed, though there is one in Chicago).
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