12.01.08
Posted in Asian, Haute Cuisine, Japanese, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5, small plates, TriBeCa at 06:07 by Dominique
241 Church & Leonard Sts., 212-925-0202 [now closed]
Great for: epicurean indulgence, imaginary journeys to Tokyo, splurging on sake and shochu
My friend SOGIK (he insisted on the appellation) is as into haute cuisine as I am. So we were pretty excited for Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s new restaurant. We opted to get the reasonably-priced seven-course omakase ($85) plus two appetizers.
The bakudan, a hobby kit of uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe), raw scallops, scallion, poached egg, warm nori (seaweed) and natto (fermented soy beans), was fun and delicious. I am not so much a fan of raw scallops but I really enjoyed the dish as a whole. It’s unique and interesting, even in presentation; there’s a hot stone underneath the nori in a special box. The four giant ebi tempura were truly gargantuan. They might have had a bit too much breading but were a very respectable showing. I liked the dipping sauce and award bonus points for the size and number of the shrimp.
Our omakase began with a small shooter of uni with yuzu gelée on top of homemade tofu. It was subtle with only a hint of salt and I loved it. Considering that I am generally at best indifferent to uni and Jell-o-like substances, this had to be exceptional. Then came wagyu and braised daikon soup with a reduction of yuzu koshi. The delicate beef with lots of fat and tendons was not much fun to eat but the big thick disc of daikon and the very rich and flavorful broth were.
The first sashimi course consisted of two pieces each of red snapper and seared chu toro with slightly spicy yuzu sauce and pepper coating. It was fantastic in every way. The slices were small in area but satisfyingly thick. I was surprised to like the snapper a lot.
The crab salad with creamy carrot dressing was arranged geometrically with a nice amount of each thing. It was ridiculously good with delicate, perfect-sized leaves and lovely crab. If I had dreamed a salad with those ingredients I’m not sure I could have made it any better.
We then had more sashimi of tuna, fluke, salmon and yellowtail. The tuna and salmon were meltingly buttery. The others were also very good though a bit rubbery. I think fluke tends to be a bit chewier anyway, though.
Next was a terrific black cod with miso from the grill. It was so flaky it crumbled on our forks. I was impressed at how perfectly it was cooked – not a hair over or under the ideal time. I’m not sure I’ve had it better anywhere, even at Nobu, although I’d have to go back and do some research. (Unfortunately, funding is currently not available for that.)
I expected a lot from the soba course, knowing that it was Matsugen’s raison d’être. My rin (delicate no husk) soba with kamoseiro duck soup was great. The duck could have used more seasoning but overall I liked it a lot. His seiro (smooth medium husk) kamo nanban duck with scallion was great. The soba were a smooth and sticky wonder. I liked it even more than mine. I never thought I’d be a fan of buckwheat but I have now been converted.
In our dessert course, the Matsugen parfait was tasty – mainly on the merits of the green tea ice cream, not so much the mochi and red bean. My strawberry water with almond tofu was airy and delightful, the perfect palate cleanser.
They have interesting cocktails here. The matcha green tea cocktail with shochu was green like wheatgrass with its flavor, too. I found it cool and refreshing. He had a dry white wine and one box of “ten thousand year” semi-dry Manju sake on our waitress’ recommendation. We then asked her for a bottle recommendation. In retrospect, we probably shouldn’t have given her free rein in choosing for us, as she had been pushing us towards the most expensive items on the menu and the box of sake turned out to be $73. She brought us Golden Dragon (Kokuryu), a junmai daiginjo. It was fantastic, though I’m not sure I can argue that it was $170 fantastic. The drinks menu has six cocktails, lots of sake, shochu and beer, some wine and a page of scotch. There’s a full bar as well.
The service is great. I watched one of the bartenders run after a guy to give him his bag; they were on the ball about everything. Our waitress was chatty but nice, or at least we thought so until we saw the bill. I really liked that no one ever took anything off the table without asking, yet didn’t hover. A perfect level of attention. It’s nice that they kept the lovely clean lines and white décor from 66. There is an extensive couch area, great for preprandial cocktails and meetings. The very long sushi bar invites casual dropping-in. They have the same layout with a rounded separate entrance as of old.
I very much enjoy meals like this – elegant and sophisticated with minimalist presentation and meticulous attention to detail. It’s luxurious in an understated way. I look forward to my next visit (and will keep a closer eye on which bottle we pick).
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $700 (1 cocktail, 1 glass of wine, 1 $73 box of sake, 1 $170 bottle of sake)
Noise level: people can be noisy but the music was at a good level
Chance of walking in: not bad sadly impossible now.
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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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04.21.08
Posted in French, Haute Cuisine, Las Vegas, rated 7 to 7.5 at 15:51 by Dominique
in the Wynn Hotel, 888-320-7110
Great for: spoiling your purse, giant parties in the back room, wonderful food
The six of us (Boyfriend, me, S and Y, L and K) met for brunch after Saturday’s birthday celebration. My friends were staying at other hotels, while the Boyfriend and I were at our favorite Wynn. So the others thought they’d come check it out. The Boyfriend also remembered how amazing the food was at Tableau from previous trips and how difficult it was to get a table, so we tried to show up early at 11. We still had to wait an hour, though.
The food was well worth the wait. My lobster salad with black lentils, pancetta, a crispy panko-breaded-and-poached egg and frisée was delicious. The egg, with its contrast of flavors and textures, was probably my favorite part. I also shared a scrumptious, subtly flavored bowl of clam chowder with S. L and K got the Kobe short ribs with poached instead of scrambled eggs and two potato cakes (like fancy hash browns) in béarnaise sauce, which were fantastic. I almost wished I’d ordered them myself. The homemade ketchup was also great, as were the mango ricotta pancakes. The only thing that was just good and not great was the Boyfriend’s rib eye panini with aged provolone and Chinese broccoli (!) on ciabatta with potato chips and salad.
Unfortunately, I can’t say good things about the service. S specifically and clearly asked for her burger not to have cheese. When the waiter brought it with cheese, it took an additional two waiters to argue about it with her. Finally they took it away, and then one waitress came back a few minutes later to ask if maybe she’d like the cheese just scraped off, which would be faster than having another burger altogether. It was a reasonable question, since S didn’t say she was allergic, but should have been asked as soon as S reminded them she’d asked for no cheese. By the time they asked, the burger was cold and they ended up having to make it again anyway. That was the most egregious lapse of service; it also annoyed us that they didn’t offer pepper, or sugar for our coffee.
The ridiculously loud bachelorette brunch (we guessed) in the back room, cackling like witches, was also annoying, but not the restaurant’s fault. I hope they flustered our waiters, and that’s why the service wasn’t good. I’d hate to think such a beautifully decorated, luxurious place with lovely food and even little chairs for our purses didn’t also have their service sorted out.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $235 for 6 people (lousy service)
Noise level: loud when there’s a party in the back
Chance of walking in: very low.
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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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04.04.08
Posted in Haute Cuisine, Italian, Midtown West, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5, Upper West Side at 12:10 by Dominique
240 Central Park South & 7th Ave., 212-265-5959
Great for: simply wonderful food, grown-up dining
I was not having a good day, but some of San Domenico’s great food and service cheered me right up. We were late for our 8:15 reservation and they were so friendly about it while we waited for another table to open up, I was almost sorry to sit down. The dining room is gorgeous, understated and elegant.
We weren’t quite sure what to make of the canister of fresh raw vegetables waiting for us on the table – they were giant and included fennel. They reminded me of those Bunnicula children’s books, about the vampire bunny who sucked all the color out of vegetables in the dead of night. Bunnicula probably would have enjoyed these ones very much. The Boyfriend nibbled a bit on the carrot, which was good, and I attempted to make headway with the celery, although I didn’t get very far as it was almost the size of my forearm. Fortunately our first course arrived soon and delivered us from our perplexity.
In the interests of trying more than one appetizer, I got the Prince Edward Island mussels and cannellini beans in parsley broth, which was very bean-y but pretty good. I would probably have enjoyed it more if I liked beans and mussels. It is a testament to how well they cooked the dish that I quite liked it anyway. The Boyfriend got to have most of the homemade soft egg yolk-filled raviolo with truffled butter. Later I discovered that that’s their signature dish, so it was very cool of them to put it on the Restaurant Week menu. They are justifiably proud of it – it was fantastic. Every aspect of the dish was beautifully executed and delicious.
Next, the Boyfriend was very happy with his seared scallops and braised endive in lemon parsley veal sauce. It started out sweet and got even better as we ate more of it. It was interestingly tasty. My veal fillet alla bergese in light pancetta-cream sauce with braised endive and cippolini onions was also great; I think the sauce was my favorite part. Everything we ate was just so good. I’m excited to come back and try the regular menu.
For dessert we had warm polenta, hazelnut and dark chocolate soufflé over white chocolate sauce with crème fraîche on top. We were surprised to find it wonderfully light and refreshing, especially the crème fraîche. I was also pleasantly surprised at how nice everyone in the restaurant was. I’ve had Restaurant Week experiences where I was treated with disdain for ordering off the cheap menu, and I am very glad to note that here, they were just as attentive and courteous to us as to the next table ordering bottles of Perrier-Jouet. We are definitely coming back soon.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $105 (1 cocktail each plus espresso)
Noise level: happy hum
Chance of walking in: low.
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03.23.08
Posted in Asian, Haute Cuisine, Japanese, Midtown East, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 00:00 by Dominique
845 UN Plaza (1st Ave.) & 47th St.., 212-964-7777
Great for: watching the kitchen, getting rid of excess cash, lethal cocktails, luxurious toilets
I like Megu in Tribeca very much so when a friend invited us along for Restaurant Week at the midtown branch, I was excited. I’m not sure why they need another Megu only halfway up the island from the other one, but I suppose there are a lot of uptown snobs who don’t come downtown. I can understand that – now that I live downtown, I think everything above 34th is like the North Pole.
They’ve got a beautiful black Swarovski crystal chandelier in the entrance, maybe to make up for the smaller ice Buddha inside (Tribeca has an enormous one). The hostesses seemed a bit disorganized, first taking us upstairs for cocktails and then downstairs to our table. One of them was also not pretty enough to justify such a bitchy attitude. [Why is it usually Asian girls who do that? Those Asian fetish guys must be turning their heads.] The drinks made up for it, though.
We added the sake pairing for $25 each, on top of $35 each for the Restaurant Week prix fixe. It turned out to be a good idea. Somehow each one complemented its course well, even though there were three choices for the savory ones. My starter of panko-fried scallops with black truffle oil and okaki asparagus was a little strong but very yummy. The Boyfriend’s shrimp cocktail was good, nothing special, though the spicy sauce was great.
The hosho yaki silver cod with miso juice, asparagus and lemon was delicious. My Kobe kagero steak flambéed with Hennessey accompanied by garlic chips was quite good, although it basically tasted like normal steak. It may have been a bit overcooked, I don’t know. The omakase six pieces of sushi plus a roll was better. Everything came with a bowl of tasty white miso soup.
Our desserts of green tea crepe were great, as was the mango sorbet with pieces of fruit that they brought for our gluten-allergic friend. The drinks were just as good – the Tokyo sunrise, made of shochu, mango liqueur, orange juice and a Campari float was orange-y but yummy. The best was the Japonais 75, of Hendrick’s gin, champagne and lemon. I couldn’t taste the alcohol but I sure could feel it afterwards.
My favorite part of the evening was the incredible Neorest toilets. They are marvels of engineering, with front and rear jets of air or water for cleansing, drying, pulsating, oscillating, etc. The seats were even self-warming. I played with it for a while, more from shock and curiosity than anything else. We should totally get more of those things over here.
One of the things they do well at both Megus is service. Everyone smiles (except the unjustifiably over-confident hostess), is friendly, and makes sure you have everything you need. They were really cool about substituting a non-gluten dessert. The sake pourings were generous, and our waiter was attentive without hovering. The only thing I didn’t like was the strange chant all the staff performed every time a new party came in, which was cute the first few times but kind of annoying later. It was a very theatrical way of notifying all staff that people were coming in, but unnecessary since the open plan allows everyone to see pretty much every part of the dining room. I know it’s the custom in Japan – it just felt overdone here.
I’m glad we were doing the (very cheap) prix fixe, because the meal wasn’t astounding enough to warrant how expensive it would have been at any time besides Restaurant Week. Considering how restaurants participate to get customers who wouldn’t ordinarily shell out so much money to try their food, I would expect this week to be the best they can do. It was pretty good, don’t get me wrong. Certainly good enough for business dinners and the like. But I’ll maintain my loyalty below 14th street at Megu downtown.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $330 for 4 people doing Restaurant Week prix fixe with sake pairing plus 2 cocktails
Noise level: decent
Chance of walking in: medium.
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