Blue Hill

Blue Hill is my favorite restaurant in the city and I love to share it with friends and family. In particular, I’ve always wanted, hoped to bring my mother there, knowing she would appreciate the abundance of fresh produce, and the locavore message that while quite politicized these days is an admirable one.

This time, I got to sit in the back garden, a lovely, enclosed space that benefits from both the natural light that comes through the glass ceiling and climate control from central air-conditioning. No worries about eating in the elements here. The close quarters also made for a even more convivial atmosphere than in the dining room, as strangers started trading restaurant recommendations and even sharing spoils of their shopping, this time being the massive chocolate chip cookies still warm from Levain a gentleman had procured just before dinner time. One minor drawback about garden dining though, was the dependence on candle light, which causes the room to become too dim for menu reading after nightfall. When that happens, ask your server and he will thoughtfully provide you with reading lights.

After consulting with our server to add my favorite egg dish to our menu and to eliminate meat from my mum’s dinner, we started in this progression:

Crack bread – Bread pretending to be bread sticks, these thick sticks of bread, with crunchy and salty exterior and nice elastic crumb inside were so addictive we made the server take it away mid-meal to stop ourselves from constant munching.

veggies on stake

Veg on sticks – This is how Blue Hill highlights the freshness of its produce and tonight, we had mini lettuce hearts, pink radishes that were peppery and sweet and sugar snap peas that were possibly a few days too old.

Pea burger – Wow. I could eat ten of these. The brilliant green pea puree was well flavored, both sweet, savory and surprisingly spicy. I thought the brioche bun paired well with the “pea patty”.

Pea soup shooter – We are still at amuse bouches and by now it becomes obvious beyond any doubt that it is pea season. The bright green soup served in a little espresso cup was salty and grassy. Not bad, but I probably will be bored by an entire serving of it.

Spring on a plate

Spring fruit and vegetables – By this time I was already getting a little full, and dinner has not started! This was probably the prettiest dish of the night, reminiscent of a lettuce dish I had at BH Stone Barns last summer. The mixture of raw, blanched, grilled vegetables and the addition of sweet ruby-like strawberries looked impressionist art and tasted refreshing, naturally sweet but not bland. How delightful!

This mornings’ egg in salty pea broth – This dish is a must order if nothing but to taste how a real egg, freshly laid tastes like. You will find the yolk smaller, more brightly colored, almost to the point of orange. It tastes richer, creamier and as it spills out of the lightly poached sac of egg-white into the pea broth, it thickens the soup and adds earthiness and depth. They should definitely serve this with a good bread, perhaps sourdough to sop up the sauce.

Entrees were slightly weaker. Mother is pescatarian and so had wreckfish, a fish in the bass family that has very compact flesh. She thought it smelled a little fishy and didn’t appreciate the dense texture of the fish, much preferring silken flaky fish. My chicken dish was well done, the sous-vide breast tender and flavorful and the thigh juicy underneath an ultra-crispy, greaseless skin, reminiscent of good Cantonese roast chicken. It is good, just that I’m a tough critic, having grown up with roasted chicken like that. After being thoroughly impressed with our appetizers, the entrees brought us down to earth a little.

Cherries and Sorbet

Thankfully, desserts made up for the mild disappointment with entrees. Blue Hill makes a really wicked chocolate bread pudding among other things, but it is fruit dessert heaven for those who like their desserts on the fresh and tart side. Yogurt sorbet on top of the most amazing sour cherry soup whetted our appetites for a strawberry cannoli served with macerated strawberries and a strawberry/citrus sorbet. The dessert is inspired by the traditional Italian dessert, with a strawberry roll-up type of shell taking the place of hard, crunchy cookie shell. The ricotta piped into the strawberry shell provided some cool, creamy contrast to the tart fruit. Yummy.

As always, dinner was enjoyable and the service top-notch. A walk through Washington Square Park with mum, admiring the water fountain and indulging in some people-watching just made it even better.

Blue Hill

75 Washington Place

www.bluehillfarm.com

 

 

Le Bernardin

“I still remember that cod dish” said Cresci 10 days after our very long and large meal at Le Bernardin, where we had made plans to visit together more than a year ago but finally had the occasion to do so, him to celebrate his new job and me with my upcoming move. We chose Le Bernardin because we both share a love for the TV show “Top Chef” and an admiration for one of its frequent guest judge, the restaurant’s chef-owner Eric Ripert. While some of the chefs sometimes seem overly cocky or self-promoting, Chef Ripert always seemed down to earth, thoughtful and serious about his craft. Plus the food at his restaurant just looked so picture-perfect that we had, had to try it at least once.

Oyster flight

Since it was a special occasion, we splurged on the chef’s tasting. An amuse of poached oyster with mushroom/truffle emulsion teased the palate with an initial metallic taste of oyster ending with a rich earthiness courtesy of the fungi. After that a generous tasting of 6 kumamotos, not particularly big but fresh and sweet, each topped with a different gelee in a progression from mild to robust flavors.

Egg - Caviar

Next a simple but decadent dish, a poached egg topped by pearly grains of osetra caviar, much sweeter than the more commercial and less expensive variety. Love the contrasts of texture between the liquid silk of the creamy yolk and the pop of caviar roe in the mouth.

ScallopThe scallop dish with goat cheese was probably the dish that made me think, but also probably my least favorite. Even though the scallop was seared ultra-rare, I tend to prefer my scallops raw. The emulsion was also kind of weird and eh...Halibut

A simple dish of poached halibut then served with a light gingery broth showed off the pristine piece of fish. A mix of cooked turnips and raw radish halves, the ginger base and black sesame seeds took the dish on an Asian route, very pleasant although not too exciting for my palate.

Cod

The next course though, and those afterwards where all winners. The cod finally arrived, perfectly pan fried with just a light crust. The servers poured the squid ink sauce table side with a flourish, but even before the sauce even hit the plate, I could smell that briny, minerally iodine scent characteristic of the sea. Bright orange pepper puree artistically dotted around the plate provided not just color contrast, but sweetness and tied in beautifully with the lightly pickled rounds of pepper arranged on the fish. Like the best piece of fish and chips declared Cresci. I couldn’t agree more. The side of roasted pepper stuffed with rice and squid was ignored as we eagerly dove into the fish, wanted to dredge bread across that addictive sauce.

Surf and Turf

 

 The sauces at Le Bernardin are impressive, and the anchovy based sauce that came with the next dish, the famous surf and turf was truly beautiful, rich and complex with just a faint whiff of anchovy. The sauce paired well with both meat and fish, cutting the richness of the marbled sliver of seared kobe and the rich and fatty escolar. But the star was the sauce, definitely a sauce I would gladly eat on its own. Of course, it doesn’t hurt when they serve a dish with my favorite vegetable, the eggplant, here presented fried and dusted with a light sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon.  

Fromage Blanc

 Which brings us to dessert. Here’s a good place to also talk about the physical restaurant and service, which have been oft-maligned as charmless and cold respectively. True, the restaurant rather resembles a corporate dining room especially with the suited diners looking as though they are cutting deals whilst dining, and would not be my top 10 picks of romantic spots to eat in the city. The service while correct, is not as negative reviews have portrayed. Both the sommelier and servers were very happy to answer queries and engage in conversation. In fact, just before our pre-dessert amuse of fromage blanc arrived, our server and I launched into a short but spirited discussion of the light, tart cheese, and she made arrangements that Cresci and I got to taste different preparations of it. True to spirit, Cresci enjoyed the honey and walnut version while I practically devoured the girlier, strawberry version.

Egg

Later, as we were munching our petit fours and sipping coffee, I made a passing remark about pastry chef Michael Laisokonis’ egg dessert. Moments lately, it appeared magically, in its full chocolate, caramel, fleur del sel glory on our table. Yummy! Of course, not to give the actual dessert short shrift, we enjoyed a decadently chocolately mousse paired with a chicory flavored ice-cream that tempered the sweetness of the chocolate and gave the dish an added herbal licorice dimension. I love simple desserts and appreciated how the chef didn’t mar the composition with too many components.

Chocolate Chicory

We walked out happy, heavy and with the memory (aided by a menu) to last for a while.

Le Bernardin

155 W 51st St (Between 5th & 6th Ave)

www.le-bernardin.com

 

 

 

Benoit

bread & gougeres

First impression of steak tartare came courtesy of Mr Bean, on his “travels” to neighboring France on the eponymous show. Judging from the wild antics that ensued, there was no doubt he was more than a little perturbed by the mound of chopped raw beef. Thank goodness I share none of his squeamishness, because a good version of steak tartare, with quality hand chopped meat mixed in with sharp, tangy accoutrements including onions and my favorite capers is a light, refreshing meal. The most traditional accompaniment is golden pomme frites, making the dish even more so appealing. Benoit, a member of the Alain Ducasse empire serves steak tartare, which was exactly what I ordered, a little too dressed for my taste but still a tasty treat on a wet Saturday afternoon.

My friends whom I was lunching with picked the lunch special, an absolute deal at a mere $19 for 2 courses and $24 for 3. The menu, while severely truncated provided enough choice with only one clunker that afternoon, a very pedestrian slab of pate. Otherwise, everything else were delicious, the salmon en croute delectably moist yet with a flaky, buttery shell while yc’s slow baked pork butt had a super tender consistency reminiscent of bbqed pull pork. The red and yellow room, dressed in the classic Gallic brasserie style was bright and cheery, but serene enough on a relatively slow afternoon for us to relax, chat and eat. Remarkably, service is attentive and warm, quite unlike what I’ve read in other media and expecting. So I’ve never made it to the original in Paris, but its American facsimile ain’t bad either!
Post lunch, Cezi and I adjourned to Saks where I introduced her to one of Britain’s oldest chocolate maker, Charbonnel et Walker’s cafe for some respite from the relentless rain. The lovely cafe, hidden away in a corner of the 8th floor of Saks is an oasis of calm compared to the frantic energy of the designer shoe salon right next to it. Loubutins at 400 are cheaper than loubies at 900, but it still means I can’t afford them. Thank God for affordable luxuries like chocolate! Besides truffles and bon bons, one can also order sinfully rich chocolate based drinks and enjoy fresh pastries such as a rich brownie and butter croissants. The ganaches are pretty decently, but the shell was much too thick. Its a good stop when you’re in the neighborhood, but not something that’s going to make me give up going to Kee’s or La Maison. Still, a good place to rest and conduct post-mortem on one’s purchases, and definitely a place to impress!  

Benoit

60 W 55th St (Between 5th and 6th Aves)

http://www.benoitny.com/index.html

Charbonnel et Walker

611 5th Ave (8th Flr)

http://www.charbonnel.co.uk/erol.html#758X0

 

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Vegas

The stars were aligned that star-struck night in Las Vegas. First a very good meal at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, the famed celebrity chef’s (he of 25 Michelin stars) LV outpost in the MGM Grand, and then Wang Lee Hom’s stupendously awesome concert in the same casino.

Ever the deal seeker, I found that L’Atelier was having a $75 5-course prix-fixe. Considering a small plate costs anywhere between $20-40, this was a great deal. I did find it a little disingenuous that the server only presented us the regular menu, and only gave us the special menu after we had asked. Restauranters, please be more honest with your customers. Thank you. However, it is noted that we were not discriminated service-wise, and the meal flowed smoothly and pleasantly as my sisters and I sat at the characteristic bar overlooking the open kitchen, ogling at the beautiful plates of food that came out.

 

foie gras panna cotta

We chewed our basket of mini-loafs with restrain and started with an amuse bouche of foie gras panna cotta, the richness of the liver cut by sweet balsamic vinagrette reduction and savoryness enhanced by parmesan foam. Tasty, though a little heavy though for an amuse.

Les legumes

Our first course was a beautifully composed plate of sweet grilled vegetables layered with fresh buffalo mozzarella, so soft it still oozes milk. Very provencal, down to the basil pesto, and tasty enough that it would make Ruoying, who usually abhors eggplant, clear the plate.

La langoustine

Next was a famous L’Atelier dish, a single fritter of langoustine wrapped in brik pastry. The meat was so soft, so sweet, like eating a very delectable lobster dish, with the single basil leaf wrapped within the fritter providing a light herbal fragrance.

L'Onglet

 A choice of mains were made and Ruoying and I decided on a substantial cut of hangar steak, cooked nicely rare and while not tender, very flavorful, particularly with the simple grilled shallot topping. Ruoyi went for the cod fish, a well cooked piece of fish swimming in a Basque inspired pepper stew.

robuchon's famous mashed potatoes

Our mains came with a side of Robuchon’s most famous pommes puree, aka mashed potato. Or should I say, mashed butter with some potato, it was so creamy, so rich, a few spoons were all we could muster.

A stunning array of tarts

followed by ices

We then ate a trio of cheese, the semi-soft funky Livarot most memorable, before dessert time. Not surprisingly, the dessert selection within the prix fixe is limited and less complex than others found in the ala carte menu, but the tart and ice cream  plates are definitely top notch in terms of variety and flavor. I loved all 6 of my tart slivers excepting the overtly cinnamony one, while Ruoyi’s icecream flavors were all intense and true, especially the pinkish litchee sorbet. Too often had I tasted artificial litchee, and I am glad a restaurant of L’Atelier’s caliber managed to find some real, sweet fruit to turn into tasty treats.

While the special prix-fixe is not a good benchmark of a typical meal, which would likely run at least 2 times more expensive, we got to try some signature dishes that gave me a glimpse of the potential of a truely decadent meal. With so many restaurants in so many cities, I am sure I will be dining at another Robuchon establishment sometime in the future.

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Las Vegas

MGM Grand

http://www.mgmgrand.com/dining/atelier-joel-robuchon-french-restaurant.aspx 

 

Eleven Madison Park

octopus salad

It was boxing day and bargains were abound. While $200 Christian Louboutins did not set my heart afluttering, the lunch time prix-fixe at Eleven Madison Park (EMP) sure did. $28 buys one an appetizer and entree at a traditionally spendy spot, where dinner is at least $76. Would be a fool not to take advantage, no?

$28 is a veritable steal, but EMP lacks the little extras that puts Jean Georges, another multi-starred restaurant with an extraordinary lunch deal over the top.

oxtail parmentier

 

The two types of bread on offer were good but amuse bouches and mignardises were missing. Lobster was on the menu, but foie gras wasn’t. And certain items such as the lobster roll required a supplementary charge. Egg and caviar was the only dish with the charge at JG. 
Flavorwise, the meal was uniformly good.  A simple winter salad was very well dressed and yanru’s egg and parmesan dish was sufficiently rich and fitting for the cold weather. Ruoying’s lobster risotto was generously studded with fresh lobster, and my oxtail parmentier was hearty and savory, with a creamy potato layer encrusted with parsley for that added textural contrast. However, in a face-off, I would still tip the scales towards Jean Georges, who uses a lot of acid and Asian flourishes to provide wonderful bites. EMP’s food, while comptetently made and tasty struck me as a little boring and on the safe side, with no fireworks to be found.  

Still, the meal was enjoyable, with a very attentive and enthusiastic crew offering efficient and friendly service and a dining room that while dated looking, is iconic, if only because Mr Big broke the news of his engagement to Carrie in the said room. Good food, irreproachable service and a touch of showbiz glamour for $28? This is a deal I would recommend.

 

Les Halles

Steak au Poivre

In France, Les Halles refers to the markets, culinary bellies of french cities. In New York, Les Halles means steak frites in a bustling brasserie. Besides serving straightforward bistro fare, Les Halles also dishes up a side of celebrity through its association with Anthony Bourdain, the irreverent and foul mouthed author/ travel show host who once cooked there. It is quite well known that Tony Bourdain is no longer and in fact has not been for a long time affiliated with the restaurant, but of course there is no stopping fans who still show up at the restaurant hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

While ones chance at sighting celebrities are low at Les Halles, the probability of getting tasty, generously proportioned food is quite a bit higher. There has been talk on the blogosphere and foodie world that Les Halles is a mediocre, over-hyped restaurant, but by wisely steering away from the more complicated sounding dishes and opting for the traditional fare such as steaks, mussels and chops, we ate well. The steaks were largely cooked to the right temperature and while I did not eat any of the mussels, Alan seemed to enjoy it a lot. We largely skipped the undistinguished side salads and attacked the nicely done fries, fried golden brown and piping hot. Sides in general were simple but effective too, particularly a dish of mac and cheese with the cheese bubbling merrily away.

The creme brulee was on point

My dinner companions hardly needed any coaxing to get dessert. So we shared almost everything on the menu, from the crepe suzette made tableside, to the profiteroles literally drowning in deep, rich chocolate sauce and the satisfying dishes of creme brulee, their brown caramelized tops producing a crackling sound when hit with the back of a metal spoon. Yummy.

Les Halles is fashioned like a traditional French brasserie, large, crowded and very loud. Some of us may have had to rotate seats in order to talk to the others, and most of us strained our voices and ears a little to speak over the cacophony and to catch what others were speaking about. So recognize that it is definitely not the best place for a romantic tete-a-tete, nor is it for innovative cuisine. But for a large gathering of 14, who just want to enjoy each others company while simultaneously indulge in a little meat and wine  no matter the time of day, Les Halles is a fitting spot.

Les Halles

Multiple Locations (we went to the one on 411 Park Ave South)

www.leshalles.net

 

 

Matsugen

Uni with Yuzu jely

As long as I can remember, soba was the plainest noodle dish available. Cold grey strands of buckwheat noodles set on a bamboo tray, with nothing but a soy-based dipping sauce accompanying it. Simply put, one eats soba purely for the noodles and not the fanciful toppings or flavor-packed sauces that come with other noodle dishes. At Matsugen, the newly opened Japanese restaurant anointed with Jean Georges Vongerichten star power, you can choose to slurp your choice of three sobas plain. However, you do not need to be a purist at Matsugen, where its house specialty comes topped with a myriad of toppings. After all, this is the U.S, where choice is king, and this is a JGV establishment, where liberties are allowed. 

Inaka soba with Goma-Dare sauce

 

The noodles ranging from smooth to coarse were handmade and had good al dente bite to them. and an intrinsic nutty taste heightened by the sesame based dipping sauce. The guys enjoyed their Matsugen soba, also known as the “everything but the kitchen sink” noodle, with scallion, bonito, yam, okra, wasabi, egg and other ingredients thrown into the mix.

With a menu that tries to cover so much ground, it would be remiss if we didn’t try the other dishes. We decided to forego the sashimi and sushi, which to our knowledge was pricey and average, and instead picked a few interesting dishes. The uni with yuzu jelly was fantastic, with the jelly and uni simulataneously sliding to the back of one’s throat, while providing contrasting sweet and sour flavors. The Bakudan too had uni, along with other slimy components such as raw squid, natto and a poached egg, with each different flavor layered on top of each other, the funkiness of natto staying safely in the background while fresh wasabi gives it a bracing finish. Between our final two and most expensive savory dishes, I would count the kurobuta pork shabu shabu the more successful one. The tray of thinly sliced pork, after being lightly swished into a boiling pot of water and vegetables and then dipped into ponzu sauce was clean tasty yet very meaty, a taste akin to liver. The Uni Kamameshi (yes someone on the table really likes uni) was slightly disappointing, as the big pot of sea urchin cooked fluffy white rice smelled transcendent but tasted flat. It is indeed a waste to cook uni.

grapefruit jelly

We ended the night with desserts, ranging from Jean George’s famous molten chocolate cake (with green tea icecream providing the Japanese touch), a parfait with mochi, grapefruit jelly that looked ingeniously like slices of real fruit (the jelly is solidified within an empty grapefruit skin) and a bruleed ice-cream that unfortunately tasted far too ordinary to be so enthusiastically recommended by our server. With all the hype surrounding the restaurant, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by my experience. Could the room be less stark and plain, and more decorative fixings added to the series of fish filled tanks to brighten the aesthetics? Sure. And could the expensive and sometimes random menu be more tightly curated? Definitely. But this is seriously good soba, and this is as good a place as any for a bowl of quiet luxury.

Matsugen

241 Church St (Between Church & Leonard)

www.jean-georges.com

 

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Dinner at a working farm, with food sourced straight from the barnyard and greens harvested in the fields, where mushrooms are foraged and butter can be attributed to the exact cows who produce the milk. That is a dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where one cannot find a greener dinner anywhere else around New York City.

P and I trudged to Blue Hill at Stone Barns on a steamy evening last week after a grueling shopping trip at Woodbury. After remedying the initial snag of being inappropriately (read too casually) dressed, we were ushered into a large, comfortable dining room inside a expansive barn. The server sat us with cold sparkling water, a menu with no options, just a long list of ingredients and set off a flurry of amuse bouches on us, including:

A creamy shot of asparagus soup with creme fraiche;

Skewers of asparagus crusted in panko and sesame seeds, a kebabs of sorts;

2 mini burgers stuffed with creamy avocado, sitting on a bed of white sesame seeds, while slathering on sweet churned butter sourced from the dairy cows on-site and thick ricotta drizzled with honey

We nibbled offerings from a homemade charcuterie plate, including an unctuous pork terrine, and great, spicy, slightly wet french sausage. Pickled ramps, cauliflowers and fennel, as well as sharp mustard helped cut the richness of our appetizers.

Our first courses only arrived after we polished the charcuterie, for me a beautiful slab of kampachi set over a bed of tart rose-colored rhubarb gelee and for P a refreshingly frothy shotglass of carrot yogurt and a tiny sliver of fiddle-head fern tart.

Second courses were what I call a gorgeous pair of green, flowery things. For me half a head of young lettuce sitting in deep green, sweet lettuce broth.

and for P an even daintier plate of chopped asparagus wrapped with cooked chard on top of a swipe of tangy goat cheese.

Finally we get to protein, some fleshy slices of smoked sturgeon, mild tasting yet reminiscent of bacon. Who can say no to smoked meats? The broth is green again, but this time nutty and creamy with the addition of pistachio and fresh green peas.  

Morels are in this season and the next course featured the meatiness and succulence of the mushrooms simply yet effectively. The gnocchi were plump and the potato pasta melds seamlessly with the ricotta filling.

This morning’s egg is perhaps the most celebrated dish at Blue Hill and our tiny egg had a brilliantly orange yolk that spilled over the mixture of mushroom and greens to create a rich, savory dressing. However, the ones our neighbors had looked even more amazing with a deep fried poached egg and I suffering a serious case of covetou-ness

We rounded out the savory courses with 2 meat dishes, a square of crackling pork belly on more green sauce and chickpeas. The meat was tender, the skin crisp but pork belly has become so de riguer that there is hardly any excitement in eating fatty meat left.

The next dish of young spring lamb however was amazing. The trio of lamb included a lamb chop that was tender to the bone, a piece of confit lamb neck that was stronger tasting, and a quivering piece of sauteed lamb brain that was surprisingly mild tasting. These all sat on a bed of nutty couscous that were a delight to eat.

We’ve been eating steadily for almost 3 hours by the time desserts were served. We polished off glasses of strawberries topped with champagne foam and other sweets that unfortunately slipped my mind. We moved outdoors to catch the last rays of sunlight and enjoyed a tisane of herbs freshly picked from the Blue Hill garden. The server picks honeysuckle, sage, 3 types of peppermint and other herbs I cannot even pronounce from a trolley wheeled to the table, boils the water in front of us and steeps the herbs in a see-through pot. A one-of-a-kind tea service, and at $15 is priced like it. But so is the experience of lounging outdoors with a loved one after a leisurely meal, watching geese amble through the slopes with the knowledge that almost everything you ate can be located within 100 miles. And that is almost priceless.

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

630 Bedford Rd, Tarrytown

www.bluehillstonebarns.com

 

 

Perilla

Oh Perilla, why did you fail me so? You held such potential after an encounter with your solid but brief lunch menu, and I swore to return for dinner. Even as I stepped into your doors with my cousins on Friday night did I retain my high hopes, with your congenial hosts, a comfortable buzz around the bar and the satisfied faces of other patrons polishing off their plates promising me a good experience. Our server was not the friendliest but prompt enough and the busboys worked hard at keeping glasses and bread plates filled. So what is there to complain about? Well, there’s just a little thing called chronic over-salting.

First up were the two appetizers, of which the platter of plump and crispy edamame falafels with lemon tahini sauce were marred by excessive salting that overshadowed the mild, sweet flavor of the japanese soybeans. A square chunk of crispy roasted pork belly had a good amount of fat that were not the “melt-in-your-mouth” variant and very pungent. I know pork smells and am usually not bothered by it, but not this time.

Entrees were slightly better but the heavy-handedness in season spilled over to some extent here too. We proclaimed my ravioli the best dish of the night, and it did harken spring with sweet peas, mild asparagus, gluey and slightly bitter fiddlehead ferns dressing up a white canvas of lemony ricotta ravioli. The brown butter sauce was a tad salty too but acceptable.

Chloe’s pork tenderloin wrapped in pancetta is understandly salty given the presence of bacon, but the presentation looked sloppy with juices sliding all over and the rhubarb sauce not adding much in terms of contrast to the dish. Perhaps something even sweeter might have worked better. Chichory imparted an anise-like flavor that Chloe did not enjoy as well. Dawn’s duckling was a hefty portion and the meat was very well-cooked and mercifully not too salty, but not too memorable, even thought I enjoyed the side of barley, pistachio and mulberries, particularly when heated up the day after.

We attempted to save the night with dessert and thankfully the donuts did not disappoint. They came 4 to an order, a touch smaller than regular ones but much bigger than a donut hole. The freshly fried golden puffs of dough were dusted with sugar and came with two big dollops of dark chocolate ganache and lemon curd for dippers. The ganache is especially rich and unadulterated and perfect with the donuts. But dinner isn’t all about the dessert, and it is a pity, for it could have been a great meal had the kitchen executed properly.

Perilla Restaurant

www.perillanyc.com

9 Jones St (Between Bleecker and W4th)

 

Momofuku Ko

Disbelief. I got reservations for 8 pm on Friday at Momofuku Ko, the new white-hot restaurant in town, where reservations are solely taken online, and go out after 1 minute of new openings? Unbelievable, but then few are awake before 10 am on Saturday when I struck gold. Sometimes having the sleep schedule of an octagerian has its perks.

Antsy was how I felt waiting for Cezi to show up at the restaurant, hanging out at the lone square table placed between the coat cabinet and the service counter. No seats, since the only 12 in the house are along the open-concept kitchen counter. The confirmation slip said I needed to be there within 15 minutes of my reservation, or else they would not seat me in order to accomodate the next set of diners coming in after me. Surely they wouldn’t throw me out if she showed up at 816? Luckily they didn’t and even eased my wait with a complimentary drink of non-alcoholic gewurztraminer juice and soda, and a bowl of Momofuku Trail Mix, similar but not really the type you buy from the vending machine, a little bowl of umami packed nibbles including dried seaweed, nuts and some strange salty/sweet/chewy but tasty things. Cezi shows up around 817 and we get seated. Phew…

The appetizers seemed so unsophisticated when taken at face value, but it is all tongue in cheek. Chicharron spiked with togarashi pepper is glorified fried pork rind, providing a little humor at the beginning of the meal. Home made mini English muffins were slathered, not with butter but with a decadent layer of lard and then toasted straight on the griddle. You luxuriate in the smell of sizzling fat long before popping the hot, oily little pillow of flour into your mouth.

We next had raw fluke carpaccio mixed in sour cream and poppy seeds that was tart and refreshing after the lardy onslaught. Next the chef served several courses in pairs to the many double seatings that made up the table. For our soup course, I got a bright green pea soup, sweet and appropriate for spring, topped with lightly cooked crawfish, bitter watercress and a roasted yuba roll filled with inky black trumpet mushrooms. Cezi on the other hand was served the kimchi consomme with a slice of roast pork and a raw oyster. The pork had a melt in your mouth tendency while the broth is ultra concentrated and deeply flavored, except without any real hint of kimchi. I guess we were looking less for refinement and more for the blatant. The cooked seafood course consisted of two different dishes as well. Both Cezi and I both had expertly pan-fried scallops with bacon puree (read: liquid fat… so yummy) that we enjoyed tremendously, but we were secretly coveting our neighbors’ dishes of fried soft shell crabs instead. 

The crowd pleasers have already been talked and talked about all over the blogosphere and online communities, which unfortunately caused us to be less impressed with the truly indulgent double egg dish. It was a beautiful plate consisting of caviar spilling out of a half broken poached egg which could have been slightly less cooked. The silky yolk blends pretty well with the mild salinity of the caviar and the sweetness of the slow cooked onion tempers the tang from the vinaigrette. Unfortunately, we didn’t experience fireworks. The deep fried braised beef rib with mustard seeds and daikon and the shaved foie gras dish were amazing though, the former more traditional and satisfying and insanely time-consuming to make, the latter innovative and fun. There was almost no chewing involved as we spooned a mixture of semi-sweet riesling gelee, litchee bits, nutty brittle and shaved foie gras into our mouths, an insta-dissolve foie gras dessert.  I wanted so much to lick my plate clean.

We finished our savory courses with a tradition rice/pickle/miso soup combo, and then prepared ourselves for dessert by polishing 2 scoops of home made creamy sorbet. Cezi and I then got a pair of desserts, the deep fried apple pie, a homage to the MacDonald’s classic, and a corn flake panna cotta, which is made out of corn-flake soaked milk to impart that salty-sweet flavor into the panna cotta. Paired with a slab of soft hazelnut flavored chocolate and avocado puree, its whimsicality bordered weirdness. Fortunately the combination was absolutely fabulous. One of my favorite dishes of the night.

With 10 courses accounted for, we got off our bar seats close to bursting and blissfully sated. Being able to watch the chefs in action is another bonus and it was cool watching David Chang run errands and buy Gatorade for his crew. Would I go back again? In a heartbeat. So what if the reservation is tough to get? I guess I’ll just have to wake up early on the weekend again.   

Momofuku Ko

163 1st Ave (Between 10th & 11th sts)

www.momofuku.com