oh, the whimsy.

wednesday, 4.29.09

dinner @ wd~50

the mecca of molecular gastronomy, at least in new york.  ever since seeing wiley dufresne and his crazy, crazy food on top chef many moons ago, i’ve been curious.  maybe not actively, but i was intrigued.  so i went.

hilariously “avant-garde” in just about every way (decor, the food, the uh… bathrooms) except the service.  for whatever reason the waitstaff is encouraged to get very close when explaining each dish with superlative gesticulations of the hands and lots of pointing.  someone else’s hands being that close to my food is always disconcerting unless it’s a tableside presentation, which there was none of here.  and this is more a design flaw in the dining room layout but i got bumped by asses to excess when new cutlery was brought out for each course.

went with a very pun-ny friend.  we ordered the tasting menu ($140) with an additional tasting of the eggs benedict ($14), wylie dufresne’s favorite food and one of the restaurant’s mainstays.

the meal:
(pictures courtesy of/stolen from wd~50’s website.  not all courses have pictures)

started off with wispy sesame flatbread. addictive.

amuse-bouche: cobia, brown butter, raisin, israeli cous cous
fascinating bite.  chewing yielded new flavors and textures, going from the firm earthiness of the cous-cous, the rich sweetness from the raisins, and the pungent silkiness of the cobia.  did its job very well.

everything bagel, smoked salmon threads, crispy cream cheese
this is an ice cream course.  yeah.  i guess the “bagel” is bagel ice cream but it didn’t taste like much.  i never want to eat salmon threads again.  felt like what i imagine chewing on the hairs off of a tennis ball would be like.  crispy cream cheese freaked me.  wafer thin with the texture of plastic that melts away in your mouth without much flavor.  the onions underneath it were delicious.  didn’t really like this one.

foie gras, passionfruit, chinese celery
i hate to admit it but this might be the best foie gras dish i’ve had, even better than momofuku ko‘s.  foie gras terrine shaped like a cylinder filled with passionfruit coulis.  you cut into it and it oozes out like in the picture.  underneath the torchon are crumbled (green) financiers.  not sure if they were flavored in any way aside from the inherent almond but it’s more of a texture element.  genius layering of flavors in this one.  the passionfruit’s tartness shocks the palate and gives way to the unctuous foie gras, the sweetness of the financiers, and the bitter note from the celery.  incredible dish.

scallops, tendon, endive, parsley, hazelnut oil
sous vide scallops are a beautiful thing, especially when draped with beef tendon, though despite being a great combination, i’d love to have a scallop that wasn’t served with a parsley puree.  the puffed beef tendon (think a beefy pork rind) was crazy good, ground hazelnuts add a nice sweetness and crunch, and the endive provide a fresh crispness.  very good.

eggs benedict
all the whimsy of the everything bagel without the being a gimmick before food.  this was delicious and tactfully plated–those are deep fried cubes of hollandaise crusted with english muffin–considering the richness of it all. hollandaise cube,  tubular egg yolk, canadian bacon crisp, all great things.  my friend’s opinion: “if this dish were a michael jackson album, it definitely wouldn’t be bad.”

cold fried chicken, buttermilk-ricotta, tabasco, caviar
unsettling at first but it grew on me by the end.  it’s like eating cold left overs with luxurious, warm counterpoints.  i want buttermilk-ricotta w/ caviar at thanksgiving from now on.  the tabasco honey sauce was pretty straight forward.  my issue with the cold chicken was that the “fried” exterior was dense and mealy.  it’s evocative for anyone whose eating cold kfc, a rather dubious food memory to relive. (please tell me i’m not the only one) not bad.

snails, red lentils, juniper, orange
the worst dish i’ve had in a while.  snails were flavorless, lentils were a little too firm.  it’s doused in a butternut-orange sauce, allowing me to experience what it must be like to chew on an (orange-scented) air freshener.  the orange was obtrusive and wholly unpleasant.  complete raped my mouth.  cucumber noodles are nice but out of place.  there’s also a lentil tuile with juniper, another palate destroyer.  horrible.  would’ve sent it back if i had the gaul to do that.

rabbit, wild rice polenta, cassis, kale, black olive
earthy earthy earthy (see: one-dimensional).  rabbit sausage was fine, wild rice polenta a little boring.  the braised kale had the texture of leather but had a very complex flavor that i couldn’t quite grasp.  the cassis came in the form of shards.  very nice.  added a much needed brightness and acidity to the dish.

squab, butternut noodles, cream soda, carob
never had squab before this.  quite the revelation.  i want squab all the time.  i also want everything i eat to be sous vide.  the squab was perfect, rare and velvety. sex-in-my-mouth delicious.  the cream soda is a dollop of what looks like vaseline.  not entirely appetizing in appearance but it goes beautifully with the squab.  by now i was tired of getting crumbly bits as the go-to texture dimension but the carob was tasty.  first couple bites of the butternut noodles (squash ribbons served like pasta) were good but that same terrible orange shitfest from the snail dish found its way back into my mouth.  WHY?!  good dish, incredible squab.

desserts:

pre-dessert: vanilla ice cream, balsamic, raspberry
on par with the chocolate egg at le bernardin.  simple, perfectly combined flavors.  a cylinder (like the foie gras) of vanilla ice cream filled with really amazing balsamic vinegar and dusted with raspberry powder.  my guess is that raspberries got the liquid nitrogen treatment, then crushed.  i read pretty consistently that the desserts are the highlight of any meal at wd~50.  that coupled with the fact that the pastry chef alex stupak formerly worked at alinea were cause for superlative expectations which were happily surpassed, starting with this ineffable pre-dessert.

hazelnut tart, coconut, chocolate, chicory
INSANELY great.  humbling.  no words.  well, maybe a few.  unprecedented textures and execution of very familiar, very lovely flavors.  the chicory foam (the most intensely flavored foam i’ve tasted) tempers the sweatness.  the coconut and chocolate powders had a bit of a malty quality to them that gave the silky tart a fantastic bite.  maybe the most beautiful plating of the night as well, really gorgeous presentation.

caramelized brioche, apricot, buttercream, lemon thyme
a few things different from the one pictured but this is essentially what it looked like.  instead of the brown butter ice cream it was a lemon thyme sorbet (“it’s lemon thyme!” was my friend’s proclamation when we received this) and instead of the line of apples and whatnot, a similar-looking ribbon of butter cream.  the brioche was a little dense for my tastes and i can’t remember what flavor the foam was, but everything else was lovely.  very delicate and a great way to end a meal.

petit-fours: cocoa packets, condensed milk ice cream w/ chocolate shortbread
the condensed milk ice cream balls were out of control.  the cocoa packets had a plastic appearance and the consistency of fondant without the stickiness.  they contained cocoa powder and some form of wafer.  i would buy giant bags of both.

a well thought-out progression of courses that had some unfortunate low points but a very good meal overall.  neighboring diners ordered some pretty enticing items a la carte, namely the duck breast:

yeah.  also want to do the dessert tasting menu.

fun and inventive food that’s delicious more often then not.

wd~50
50 clinton st
new york, ny 10002

brisket and jarmusch.

tuesday, 4.28.09

dinner @ katz’s delicatessan

that i’d gone nearly four years in new york and never once ate at this new york institution–i did set foot in only to have the people i was with decide it was too expensive–was unacceptable.  i realized upon entering the place that a lot of my recent food yearnings were subconsciously inspired by  no reservations, mostly the food porn episode but in this case it was “disappearing manhattan.”  newcomers be damned as the ordering system isn’t explained.   leave it to new york savant nick feitel to show me the ropes, and at one point try to order for me.  you’re handed an orange ticket and you make your way to the counter where you order one of two things: pastrami or brisket.  the other items seem to me reminders that this is, in fact, a jewish establishment, even though the name katz’s makes any effort of the sort redundant.  (to be fair, i do want to try their tongue sandwich.)  having been satiated by the hefty sampling of the pastrami–sexy, sexy stuff–i ordered the brisket.

“do you like your brisket juicy?” an old man asked while slicing meat.

“absolutely.”

generous is an understatement when it comes to the way in which the guys at katz’s pile on meat between two slices of rye.  a touch of mustard, a plate of sweet and sour pickles, and some house-made-and-bottled lemonade and i was good to go.  the brisket here is unadorned with any sort of sauce or trimmings, and they’re right to do it that way.  the meat speaks for itself, rich and juicy, chunks of brisket falling out of the sandwich.  there are few things more primatively satisfying to me than picking up the fallen meat after finishing the sandwich and shoveling it into my mouth, always with my hands, never with a fork.   my sandwich was certainly more manageable than the behemoth i was once faced with at carnegie deli.  left stuffed and happy.

katz’s delicatessan
205 e houston st
new york, ny 10002

–

the limits of control (jim jarmusch, 2009)

there’s no shortage of cool on display in jarmusch’s second le samourai-inspired film but there isn’t much else to it.  isaach de bankole is lone man, an arbitrarily strong-principled hitman sent on an inexplicably elaborate and mysterious mission-cum-odyssey.  jarmusch favorites (all infinitely talented but unfortunately underused) comprise a loopy cast of encounters for him to have along the way, providing cryptic, silly clues and expounding horseshit passing for philosophy.  the film keeps its distance, observing in high style the daily rituals of the steely-faced lone man while on the job, all conveniently mundane details (this is, after all, a jarmusch film): he meditates, he visits a museum, he meets someone new, receives a clue, eats it, then washes it down with two espressos in two separate cups, and moves on.  no exposition, no psychology, no… anything.

by far his most formally rigorous and austere film, jarmusch’s interests lie entirely in rhythms and reveling in the unknown and abstract by way of jacques rivette or antonioni.  the film itself plays like meditation, complete with maddening repetition and long, quiet contemplation.  that the limits of control eludes, even defiantly resists any of the cinema’s tendencies towards traditional, conventional narrative isn’t the issue, but rather that it essentially amounts to nothing.  this is the first time i’ve ever found jim jarmusch to be guilty of art-house pandering.  faux existentialism and mimickery of european cinema combined with facetious self awareness and fashionable indifference render any subtextual or emotional offerings inaccessible.  if there’s something being expressed, it’s completely lost on me.  contributing further to the film’s imperviousness  is rockstar dp chris doyle’s cinematography, lending the film an ill-fitted and decidedly asian kineticism.

at best, the limits of control is a handsome failed experiment in which jarmusch loses himself in lofty, high brow ambition, but i’ll take a jarmusch misstep over a majority of what gets released these days.

decadence.

“the belly rules the mind.”
-spanish proverb

monday, 4.20.09

lunch @ jean georges

having been to nougatine a couple times, it was time to move up.  the fine dining room at jean georges is a rare achievement in gaudy minimalism that gives the impression that one is attending a new age wake.  it could’ve been that it was a gloomy, rainy day when i went but the interior was less than inviting, any would-be ambiance drowned out by the bustling nougatine lunch crowd.  service was pretty spot on despite the fact that each course was served by someone different.  the ever-changing cast of waitstaff suggested haphazardness.

the meal:

trio of amuse-bouches: hamachi w/ olive tapenade, carrot miso soup, and a potato fritter w/ grated parmesan and a black truffle emulsion
first two were good but forgettable.  the potato fritter was exceptional.  i’ll eat anything served with a black truffle reduction.

arctic char w/ roasted cremini mushrooms, jalapeno, garlic, and olive oil
well-cooked piece of fish but tasted slightly fishy.  mushrooms and jalapenos were delicious.  plated alongside the char was a piece of crispy skin.  mm.

roasted veal w/ braised artichoke hearts, parmesan reduction, and lavender
disappointingly chewy but great flavor.  the parmesan reduction was beyond intense in the best way.  didn’t get much lavender from the dish.

dessert: rhubard (green tea cake w/ hibiscus poahced rhubard; birch beer ice cream and rhubard soda float)
as far as green tea-based desserts go, this is the best i’ve had.  the rhubarb soda was at best a tasty cough syrup (it wasn’t very good).   good birch beer ice cream.

petit-fours: chocolates, macaroons, homemade marshmallows
surprisingly enough, the chocolates were fantastic.  i love my macaroons… these were tiny bastards but great.  didn’t care for the marshmallows.

touted as one of the best lunch deal in town.  $28 for two courses, $8 for dessert.  slightly underwhelming given that this is a michelin 3-star restaurant and it wasn’t the perfection i was anticipating but it was a very good lunch.  can’t beat that price for fine dining.  i’d go back.

jean georges
1 central park west
new york, ny 10023

–

then came the best (food) weekend of my life.  thus far.

friday, 4.24.09

lunch @ le bernardin

i’ll start with a confession: i have a man-crush on eric ripert.  that aside, le bernardin truly earns its michelin 3-star rating and its reputation as one of the city’s/country’s top restaurants–qualifying it was a seafood restaurant is moot.  the dining room itself is open and warm, effortlessly elegant but far from stuffy.  my friend and i were the first to arrive for lunch and were led through the empty restaurant to our seats, greeted along the way by the small army of servers who i’d later see prowling the floor with the sole intention of making sure everyone was satisfied.  i asked for nothing, wanted nothing on top of what was already being lavished upon us.

the meal:

amuse-bouche: salmon spread
simple and delicious.  i’ve read complaints about it being pedestrian, but this is something familiar done the best way possible.  i also read, though, that before this the amuse was a tasting of fluke.  sigh.

peruvian geoduck ceviche w/ dried sweet corn
the most tender geoduck i’ve ever had, served in the half shell.  earthy, airy sweetness of the corn pairs beautifully with the ceviche.  fucking great.  had to restrain myself from picking up the shell and drinking the marinade.

baked langoustine and wild striped bass w/ a bouillabaise consomme, curry emulsion, and confit tomato agnolotti
a testament to what can be achieved with the best ingredients and perfect execution.  the langoustine was a work of art, slightly caramelized on the outside with a slight bite before giving way to that juicy center that i’m going to dream about until i go back.  it sits on top of buttery striped bass swimming in the ungodly combination of bouillabaise and curry.  alongside it are little pockets of love (agnolotti) topped with chive.

pre-dessert: “chocolate egg” – chocolate pot de creme w/ caramel foam, maple syrup, and sea salt served in an eggshell
the single greatest dessert ever?  maybe.  the waiter suggested that we scoop from the button up so as to get all the flavors in one bite.  this in and of itself could be enough to make me go back.  read about this one before and ordered it off menu.  everyone should experience the self-satisfaction from pulling something like that at least once.

dessert: “chocolate peanut” –  dark chocolate, peanut, and caramel tart w/ meyer lemon puree, peanut powder, and praline-cirtus sorbet
crazy good.  citrus notes provided a welcome complexity and relief from the richness of, well, everything else.

petit fours: financiers
warm, buttery, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, fresh out of the oven warm.

my only complaint is the pacing of the meal.  would’ve liked a little more time between courses.  save for that, an immaculate dining experience.  we left stuffed.  portions are generous.  lunch is a $68 pre fixe for three courses.  chocolate egg was comped, and i didn’t see anyone else get it.  suck it, midtowners.

le bernardin
155 w 51st st.
new york, ny 10019

–

saturday, 4.25.09

dinner @ gordon ramsay at the london

my uncle came to visit for a couple days to treat me to a belated birthday dinner.  this is the place we decided on.  despite all the negative press gordon ramsay’s been getting, his self-named restaurant at the london received 2 michelin stars.  (if you can’t tell already, i have high regard for the michelin guide)  upon entering the restaurant, my kneejerk reaction was to call it the sluttier little sister of jean georges, similarly “modern” and just as funerary.  a little too dimly lit for my taste as well.  we were seated at a fairly large table for two after having to wait almost fifteen minutes after the reservation time to be seated.  it wasn’t until i saw the much celebrated bon bon trolley dancing about that i got excited for…

the meal:
(ordered the tasting menu prestige with a couple substitutions)

amuse-bouches: something with skate, a mushroom fritter(?), and… something else i can’t remember
all very good.  clearly not too memorable.  doesn’t help that our waiter was indian and i couldn’t understand a word he said.

bay scallops w/ parsley puree, mussels… some other stuff
ramsay’s dishes lean towards the complex bordering on convoluted.  i can’t remember everything in this one but it was pretty fantastic.  few things are better than a perfectly cooked scallop.  mussels were outrageously good too.

roasted (pan seared?) hudson valley foie gras w/ quince & pepper sherbet, crispy amaranth, marcona almonds
foie gras is one of my absolute favorite foods so it’s tough not to love it in any shape or form, but this was especially well cooked.  i could appreciate the intent behind the sherbet but it sucked.

langoustine w/ saffron pasta, too many other things, and lobster bisque
good langoustine but the rest of the dish had way too much going on–muddled and cloyingly rich.

roasted duck breast w/ chicken liver rillette and port(?) reduction
very solid but pretty standard with the exception of the incredible rillette.

pre-dessert palate cleanser: brown butter sponge w/ coconut ice cream and passion fruit cream
nice, refereshing, but by this point i was stuffed.

dessert: apple tarte tatin w/ vanilla ice cream
apples were done perfectly, pastry was buttery/flaky/chewy.

bon bon trolley
so by this point i was on the verge of vomiting, but that didn’t stop me from sampling two types of nougat, four chocolate truffles (mango balsamic was an unprecedented treat), and honey comb (amazing).

a very good meal but far from unique.  for a tasting menu, the portions were on the large side.  i’ve never been more uncomfortably full than i was after eating here.  worth a visit but there isn’t much about it that warrants a revisit, especially not for the money.  the menu prestige (7 courses) for $150 or 3 courses for $110.  next time i have that kind of money i’ll go to daniel.

gordon ramsay at the london
151 w 54th st.
new york, ny 10019

–

sunday, 4.26.09

lunch @ momofuku ko

i’ve been to momofuku ko twice for dinner (within three days…) and kept reading that lunch was better.  obviously i had to try it.  what better time than when a relative is visiting?  somehow lucked out and got a  lunch reservation for the only other day my uncle would be in town, and he agreed to do it, despite the fact meant following up our 7 course dinner at gordon ramsay with a 17-course, three hour lunch.

the meal:

amuse-bouches:
– asparagus w/ black garlic emulsion, sesame seeds, some crunchy bits
– pomme soufflé w/ crème fraiche, chive, and hackleback caviar

raw courses:
– oyster w/ hackleback caviar and lime
– kampachi w/ lemon jam, white soy, and daikon sprouts
– fluke w/ gochujang (lol), artisanal soy, chive, ginger-pickled shallot
– uni w/ fresh yuba, horseradish oil

soft shell crab handroll w/ sugar snap peas, xo sauce, japanese mayo

octopus w/ buckwheat croquette, cabbage, sea beans, miso/yuzu ailoi

puffed egg w/ bacon dashi and kombu + bacon and cream cheese bagel

spring pea soup w/ fresh tofu, stewed morels, and bacon salt

wild turbot w/ cherry blossom broth, swiss chard, cucumber, hearts of palm, caviar, and lemongrass oil(?)

rabbit cannelloni w/ braised rabbit, rabbit bacon, grated fennel, and fennel frawn sauce

shaved torchon of foie gras w/ lychee, pine nut brittle, and riesling gelee

duck breast w/ a layer of duck sausage between the skin and the breast (!!!), grilled rice, swiss chard(?), some sort of jus

cheese course: singing brook sheep’s milk cheese, humboldt fog goat cheese, sweet and sour onions, cantaloupe jam, pork fat brioche

dessert:
– apple cider sorbet w/ burnt marshmallow, graham cracker ganache
– chocolate fudge, grapefruit, hazelnut nougat, parsnip ice cream

save for the octopus and the turbot, which were both good, i loved everything. highlights: the amuses were both perfect; i could eat the soft shell crab hand roll for lunch for the rest of my life; the pea soup was a thing of beauty, delicate and nuanced; as i told one of the chefs at dinner, i have wet dreams about the shaved foie gras dish; the duck was fiendish; apple cider sorbet dessert… mm.  but after looking at other peoples’ meal set lists from lunch at ko, i have to say i’m a little irked.  the menu i got seems to be considerably less adventurous or luxurious in the way of ingredients.  and unless my memory fails me, i only count 16 courses.  i think they counted the bagel as a course, to which i say, “fuck that.”  i’ll have to go back.  the great thing about the meals i’ve had at ko is that the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.  all three times, i’ve left perfectly satiated and basking in the euphoric glory of the most intense food coma this side of thanksgiving.  i also love that ko lacks any of the pretentiousness of fine dining and is entirely about the food.  and awesome music.  lunch is $160, dinner is $100.  if i had the money i would eat here weekly.  good luck getting reservations.

momofuku ko
163 1st ave
new york, ny 10003