hcbk0702's Profile
Humm and Guidara's Nomad
The NoMad is the restaurant (Hotel) Griffou dreams of being. Three completely incongruous dining areas lie just past the hostess stand: the center one ("Atrium") is attractively bathed in natural light, courtesy of a large pyramidal glass roof; the right one is fussier, dominated by an ornate fireplace (called the "Fireplace", duh); the left one does its best impression of a velvet-swathed bordello ("The Parlour", but aren't we in America?). At first glance, I didn't get it. After several subsequent glances, I still didn't.
You have to walk through the "Atrium" to get to the darkly-lit bar. We didn't linger there, but I did recognize a bartender from Death + Company. Not unexpectedly, the cocktails read well for a restaurant list. Tucked away on the bar's left is the "Library", a puzzling wood-panelled room lined with utterly random books (The NoMad's website blithely calls the "fully curated" collection "eclectic") where people sit around drinking cocktails while eating appetizers, and during the morning hours, where people would presumably sit around drinking coffee and tea while eating pastries. In one corner of the room winds a spiral staircase, imported from the "South of France" (of course), leading to a mezzanine stacked with even more random books, while in another corner lurk several custom-made bottle service trolleys and -- oh god what the fuck is this place.
Most of the menu feels like an adaptation of EMP's simplified lunch menu, pre-"dining dialogue" grid. The roasted chicken for two, pulled straight from EMP, is pretty good, and the accompanying truffle-flecked mashed potatoes are pretty great, though Robuchon's pomme purée truffée may easily retain its smirk of superiority. By itself, the dark meat fricassée is more interesting than the white meat, as even foie gras brioche stuffing is powerless against the boredom of chicken breast. I'd recommend the Fruits De Mer, which is far more composed than it sounds: sea urchin with apple gelée and caviar, oyster with frozen mignonette, marinated hamachi with horseradish, bay scallop ceviche with yuzu juice and pistachios, lobster claw meat with something or other, strands of king crab meat with...something or other. I forget. It's good, though.
There's worthwhile food here. But watch it become swamped as a date place.
Per Se's Extended Tasting Menu Review + Photos
To be fair, you probably shouldn't include the birthday cake on that list; most higher-end restaurants will comp an extra dessert for a birthday meal. A variation on the "coffee and doughnuts" dessert seems to be part of the standard mignardises barrage now (though the OP got the original version).
Basically, the extra $205 nets you an extended canapé presentation (five in this case, two with truffles), the foie gras course, and the tagliatelle with black truffles (or another roughly equivalent dish). That seems to be in line with their menu prices.
Per Se's Extended Tasting Menu Review + Photos
Per Se's wine markups are insane. $150 (including service charge) could never, ever cover eight glasses there, given the prices on their wine list.
A couple corrections for your canapé descriptions:
Gougères: "bread" ≠ pâte à choux
Cornets: cream cheese ≠ crème fraîche
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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Spoiler Alert: It's Per Se
You don't eat offal and raw seafood? Then yes, you're clearly a picky eater to most people on this board, but there's nothing wrong with that: eat what you like.
Spoiler Alert: It's Per Se
If anything, Sifton implicates Le Bernardin as his second favorite:
"And I had a serving of shaved razor clams with sea urchin sauce and Osetra caviar in the beautifully renovated new dining room of Le Bernardin that was the most fully realized and delicious combination of flavors I have experienced in 2011. Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert, that restaurant’s owners, stand tall amid these ranks."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/dining/reviews/per-se-nyc-restaurant-review.html?hpw=&pagewanted=all
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Le Bernardin
155 W. 51st St., New York, NY 10019
Spoiler Alert: It's Per Se
The food at Masa is better. But overall? Sure, why not.
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Masa
10 Columbus Cir, New York, NY 10019
Can we talk Michelin in NYC?
Motorino was a Bib Gourmand in last year's guide; looks like Michelin consciously dropped them this year, perhaps in response to the Brooklyn location's closure.
Tori Shin is probably too expensive to be a Bib Gourmand. Not sure why it was there in the first place.
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Motorino
349 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003
Jungsik is now open!
It's Korean. The two languages look nothing alike...
You can use Google Translate to get rudimentary English translations.
Dinner at Le Bernardin Bar - lovely! (with photos)
Thanks for the report. Post-refresh, the bar will probably see many more diners.
"8. Petit Fours - chocolate, macaron, something I don't recognize, and cream puff
What's the center-right item called? It was fluffy and had some sort of baked apple (?) center. I really liked it."
Looks like a miniature canelé, which would be very finicky to make properly. But if one guy in NYC is going to get it right, it'll be Michael Laiskonis.
Yakitori - Tori Shin or Totto?
The ingredient quality is clearly better at Tori Shin, but Yakitori Totto is still worth trying.
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Yakitori Totto
251 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019
Reasonable, yet terrific French for 25th Anniversay
Minetta Tavern is probably the best bet for some of this kind of food in NYC, albeit with limited choices.
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Minetta Tavern
113 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012
If not EMP for lunch, then Where?
If this is for a weekend, EMP is out: they only offer lunch on weekdays. Ditto for The Modern Dining Room and most other fine dining places.
Jean Georges is an exception, serving lunch Monday - Saturday. That would be my pick.
As for Bouley, I found my last visit comical: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/795496
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Jean Georges
1 Central Park W, New York, NY 10023
Bouley
163 Duane St, New York, NY 10013
Introduction to Japanese
Yakitori refers to grilled chicken skewers, though yakitori-yas will also feature some non-poultry skewers.
Yakiniku is a beef-focused Japanese adaptation of Korean barbecue.
Introduction to Japanese
I'd follow Silverjay's advice. Aburiya Kinnosuke is a good place to get a variety of cooked dishes. With a larger budget and an interest in sake, Sakagura is the de facto choice.
Ippudo is a fine idea for ramen, but beware of ridiculous wait times. An early lunch is probably best. For soba, either Cocoron or Soba Koh. Stick with plain cold soba for your first try.
Sushi is a bit difficult. If you want good nigirizushi served piece-by-piece at a counter, a more realistic budget is $100-150+ (e.g. Sushi Yasuda, 15 East). But Lau's report of the $35 sushi dinner set at Sushi Azabu is promising: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/802349
You're right about non-shojin kaiseki being beyond your budget. As for Kajitsu, I might save it for later; it could seem very spare without reference points.
A couple of additional suggestions:
Tori Shin for yakitori. Get the omakase or the 10 skewer set.
Takashi for yakiniku. Rather pricey.
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15 East
15 East 15th Street, New York, NY 10003
SobaKoh
309 E 5th St, New York, NY 10003
Sushi Yasuda
204 E 43rd St, New York, NY 10017
Aburiya Kinnosuke
213 E 45th St, New York, NY 10017
Sakagura
211 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017
Ippudo
65 4th Ave, New York, NY 10003
Sushi Azabu
428 Greenwich St (basement), New York, NY 10013
Kajitsu
414 East 9th Street, New York, NY 10009
Takashi
456 Hudson St, New York, NY 10011
Cocoron
61 Delancey St, New York, NY 10002
Sushi Azabu - The Best Deal for Quality Sushi in Manhattan
Overall, I don't think Shinbashi compares well to the other two.
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Shinbashi
7 East 48th Street, New York, NY 10017
Eleven Madison Park Tasting Menu Review + Photos
Yes, but the OP was offered a free "VIP" meal. I'm guessing most people would be willing to try a restaurant a second time if that were the case, even if it was terrible the first time.
Eleven Madison Park Tasting Menu Review + Photos
When the OP posted a link to that "review" on CH, no explicit comp disclosure was made. Naturally, it got deleted pretty fast.
Even ignoring that, actually handing out a rating (5 out of 5, of course) in this particular situation already shows a lack of judgment.
Eleven Madison Park Tasting Menu Review + Photos
You mean the dinner, with no comp disclosure, of two complimentary tasting menus with wine pairings ($680 before tax and tip) that was initiated by a phone call from EMP's maitre d'?
I'm sure that's perfectly reliable.
Need to pick one restaurant to impress
Naturally, Japan has better Japanese food than NYC. But compared to Paris (or really, anywhere in Europe), NYC Japanese is far, far ahead. For one blowout meal, Japanese is a good choice.
Peter Luger is a peculiar place, so I think it would work too. But most American restaurants wouldn't impress a Parisian in the slightest. It would be best to show off NYC's variety over several diverse meals, as Simon said above.
Need to pick one restaurant to impress
I think trying something that isn't heavily French-inspired like Per Se, such as higher-end Japanese as suggested above, is a better idea. Might as well play to NYC's strengths, especially in genres not well-represented in Paris.
In a different direction, something like Peter Luger could go over well.
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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Need to pick one restaurant to impress
For sushi, 15 East and Sushi Yasuda would be fine choices. Keep in mind that sitting at the counter is impractical if you have more than four people. With a larger party, a kaiseki place like Kyo Ya would be preferable.
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15 East
15 East 15th Street, New York, NY 10003
Sushi Yasuda
204 E 43rd St, New York, NY 10017
Kyo Ya
94 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009
Need to pick one restaurant to impress
If they're accustomed to Paris fine dining restaurants, the food at Per Se and Eleven Madison Park is unlikely to impress. A glance at their wine markups might also induce aneurysms.
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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010
EMP Menu - Scam or Not?
It's an ideal format for picky eaters. If you have a laundry list of ingredients and preparations you won't eat, EMP is very accommodating.
Otherwise, it's a hassle trying to figure out what the dishes actually are, unless the server takes ten minutes to verbally describe every single thing on the menu. So you normally just let the surprises fall where they may, good and bad.
If you're really proactive, you can take advantage of the menu's flexibility. In general practice, I think it's a silly system.
Giving WD-50 Another Chance...To Great Results!
Had an OK meal at the bar.
An amuse of cured mackerel was a bit fishy, and it fared terribly against a grilled whole mackerel special, complete with fried bones and spicy daikon, at Bar Masa ($18!) a couple nights prior. The dehydrated pea cake crumbled on top didn't improve the dish, but I liked the peach slices.
Aerated foie gras had a nicely smooth texture, but suffered from a rather metallic aftertaste. Cylinders of pickled beets, dollops of ume paste, and sprigs of micro-cilantro were appropriate foils, while dehydrated brioche sheets will always be silly and unsatisfying.
I liked the "cold fried chicken", though I'm not sure if the effort is ultimately worth it: chicken terrine was cooked sous-vide, then breaded and deep-fried, then served chilled with fried chicken skin, buttermilk-ricotta foam, hackleback caviar, micro-chervil, and Tabasco-honey sauce. The caviar and Tabasco made the dish.
The three course dessert tasting followed. Nothing was especially memorable (perhaps the pre-dessert if you haven't had brunost) aside from a small dome of milk chocolate cremeux, draped with a winding coil of black bean-molasses purée, accompanied by a quenelle of plantain sorbet. I don't think Stupak would have thrown micro-cilantro on everything. At least there were no $34 muskmelon slices in sight (tsk tsk, Bar Masa).
Petit fours were two rice ball contraptions, one cool and flecked with crispy rice, the other warm with some sort of orange filling. The latter was far too sour.
Still, service was on-point and pleasant.
Shopsin's still good?
At least Shopsin's has ironclad operating hours and predictable rules of conduct. No danger of an aneurysm on that issue.
Bouley - Lunch Tasting Menu
In general, yeah, I'd take EMP and The Modern over the other two. Still, La Grenouille is a good idea if you're interested in that type of cuisine, and while I'm not fond of Del Posto, the $29 lunch deal is definitely worth trying once. Desserts are especially strong.
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Del Posto
85 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10011
La Grenouille
3 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022
Bouley - Lunch Tasting Menu
Bouley is incredibly inconsistent, but unlike most restaurants of this type the lunch deal is available on the weekends as well. Knowing this, I went with tempered expectations; it still fell short. If weekday vs. weekend isn't a concern, I wouldn't bother.
I'd look into Eleven Madison Park (recently had a pleasant, if not great lunch there) or The Modern if you don't want to repeat LB or JG.
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Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010
The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
Bouley - Lunch Tasting Menu
TriBeCa doesn't have much of a fancy lunch crowd, but the lunch tasting menu's price point at Bouley probably seems alluring to many. At $55 for five courses, it isn't quite as head-turning as the $36 listing several months ago, but razor-thin margins are still all-but-guaranteed in the luxe dining room: warmly cosseting if you're a lady that lunches, fussily feminine if you're Frank Bruni.
An amuse-bouche landed on the table prematurely, while the menu and wine list were still splayed out across the flatware. The small dish was described as marinated red and golden beets, cherries, green apple sorbet and horseradish. A side note: do you know those wonderfully rare dishes that read strangely and sound hopelessly discordant yet work instantly upon the very first bite, leading to sparkling eyes and involuntary smiles? This wasn't one of them. In isolation, the pitted half-cherry tasted fine.
The first course was roasted pencil green asparagus with herbs, basil dressing, and Comté "cloud(s)". It couldn't be great because the asparagus quality was middling, but the Comté foam was tasty alone, if rather muted. In combination with the basil, it didn't leave an impression.
The signature porcini flan with Dungeness crab, black truffle, and dashi was next. That must've been a misprint on the menu, because lifting the copper lid of the serving vessel revealed a thick, gloopy dashi soup within. The sweet strands of crabmeat stood no chance against the brackish, darkly flecked deluge: truffle was seen, not tasted.
A comped course of a single seared scallop sitting atop an "ocean essence" was far more successful. I still don't know what ocean essence is, but apparently it has herbs in it. Google reveals that "ocean herbal broth" has been featured in a Bouley dish before, so it's probably that. Nitpick mode: the color of the scallop sear should have been darker, the pan probably wasn't hot enough.
The main course of roasted duckling with truffle honey, date purée, turnips, and beets struck the middle ground. The duck could have been cooked less, as it wavered around medium instead of medium-rare, but it was trumped by the accompanying side dish of silky pomme purée. Not as good as Robuchon's version, but pleasing nonetheless.
A simple pre-dessert of chilled cantaloupe soup and ricotta sorbet was the best dish that afternoon. It had clear, precise flavor with a smooth mouthfeel, which was enhanced as the sorbet slowly melted. The actual dessert, a caramelized Anjou pear and chocolate tart with biscuit Breton, toffee sauce, and quenelles of rosemary and Tahitian vanilla ice creams was competent. Note to the pastry chef: ice cream plated directly on an unchilled plate quickly leads to an unattractive mess. Note to the pass: the tiny red ant trundling the perimeter of the plate was cute, but it should probably be removed next time.
The generous array of mignardises was surprisingly strong, excluding the predictably ordinary chocolates. Most of the cookies were good, especially the sesame tuiles sandwiching burnt caramel. Super-nitpick mode: why were the pâtes de fruits cut so unevenly? It doesn't really matter, but one was ~20% bigger than the other. Ragged corners as well.
I couldn't help but watch the devolving demeanor of one of the waiters (assistant captain?). Midway through lunch service, he must have received some sobering news as he abruptly started stalking around the dining room with agitated strides, nearly shouldercharging a couple poor runners clear off their feet. Yanking plates off tables too sharply, carelessly clanging wine glasses together, slamming the silverware drawer shut - I was wary of a full-on meltdown. It never came.
Mildly entertaining. Except when the bread guy didn't bring butter until the third course.
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Bouley
163 Duane St, New York, NY 10013
A Lengthy Account of Eleven Madison Park
True, but I've seen a similar event at TFL unfold off-camera for some of Ducasse's chefs.
A Lengthy Account of Eleven Madison Park
Yeah, that's what I meant. 20 courses for each of the four diners, but each 20 course progression was distinct.
