ckkgourmet

You know, maybe your initial thought is right: maybe he's changed and you and I have not!

As I said in a recent Devi post, I dont' think tasting menus are always the best way to get to know a restaurant, even if they frequently are the restaurants highest expression of itself. At WD-50, I love some of Wylie Dufresne's classics at WD-50 as much as anything on the tasting menu (I probably haven't had the most recent tasting menu, however). I was once told that Dufresne removed dishes from the menu if they were "too popular", that he refused to rehearse a dish if it had found too many fans and threatened to become an institution on the menu. I have no real way of verifying whether or not this is true, but it makes sense given his ceaseless experimentation and desire to upset the rules. Sometimes his dishes strive to be unacceptable on some level, looking for a sort of poetry in their very ugliness. I like to tell friends that if they want to get involved with his cuisine they have to accept that they won't be happy with everything precisely because they will be frequently tasting of the chef's experiments (not always successful). Many of the dishes are quite challenging. Others come and go, and one misses them. I remember last year having a wonderful pineapple desert. I think the pineapple was roasted in pine needles. It was totally odd and very very good. It wasn't on the desert menu the next week!

I can see why some diners haven't enjoyed Devi: it is not always excellent. My first time at Devi I wondered what the fuss was about. On my second, I was in love. I've been back now perhaps a dozen times. The chef's menu is good, but I am surprised to hear myself saying that I think ordering off the regular menu is the way to go--at least based on my experience. Amongst other excellent dishes, I think the Goan preparations of shrimp and other seafoods are generally amazing. All the vegetarian dishes are excellent. The fried okra is also a worthy side to any meal. One of things I particularly enjoy at Devi (and I could name a great many) are the various rice preparations that come with entrees. I remember one that had the consistency of sushi rice in being composed of fat but distinct grains of rice pressed together in a mold. In this case, however, the chef had also dripped some sort of yogurt or kurds (I forget precisely which) into the mixture, giving the whole the slightest effect and accent of a creamy custard. I know not how to adequately describe the effect, but I remember my friends and I remarking that it was one of the best preparations of rice we had ever had. Some of the deserts are unusually good too. I think there is something called the Emperor's morsel that I'd have every night, if I could. But the "tasting of creams" is the best desert on the menu that I've tried. One, particularly good, is a sublime version of rice pudding that conquers all competitors in its high excellence.

Forgive me, but I'm now curious: what exactly is hamachikama?

I was there awhile back and remember particularly liking some of the flavored tofu on the menu, including (I think) a sesame seed tofu that I thought was remarkable for texture and flavor. I also remember the tuna collar, which I had on Bruni's recommendation. It was very good, with several different flavors of meat, some rich and delicious, others with a subtle sourness. It's definitely hard to describe. Does anyone know if the tuna collar is something one can expect more regularly in Japan (my suspicion, although I never saw it there)?

The comments posted here made me intensely curious about Urena, and so I found a friend and went last night. I asked for a reservation at 6pm and got it, on the condition that I'd be gone by 7:45. I asked if that would be a problem and was told it would not be. I was very happy to see that they were doing so well. Upon our arrival at Urena, I was just as disappointed as everyone else by the atmosphere ("it really is bad" was my first thought). If anyone has read Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" in high-school, they will have some idea of the overall "feel" of the physical ambience at Urena. Aesthetic indiscretions imposed themselves upon my consciousness everywhere. While washing my hands in the bathroom (to stay with the "Yellow Wallpaper" theme a little longer), I found myself impressed by what must be the cheapest looking piece of "modern art" faucetry ever conceived. Those who have had the pleasure of the restrooms at Urena will be very aware of what I mean. But I had arrived determined to look beyond such things and focus on food, which I mainly managed to do throughout most of the meal. And the food is truly wonderful. By the time it came to order, we had decided that we'd order the longer chef's tasting menu, which unfolded over the next 2.5 hours like a slow ritual that was, overall, an experience of the highest caliber. Indeed, I would claim that, with a few exceptions--like the good but somewhat over-salted salted cod amuse--one dined on one superb dish after another. I would even claim that after experiencing the sweet corn and basil broth amuse, one waits anxiously in expectation of each subsequent course. I was practically giddy, for instance, after I had experienced a small appetizer of sea bass that mingled the slightest intimations of smokiness with a robust, cirtus sharpness. The texture and flavor of the fish was like that of the finest sushi that I've had. The perfectly portioned piece of seared artic char with blood orange sliver was sublime, a masterpiece of dedicated and inventive cooking, both delicate in texture and sunny in disposition. Memorable also were the chicken with foie gras foam and the short rib stuffed with chorizo mousse and paired with boar in a lush foie gras sauce. By these last dishes, you see what a marvelous progression was made from delicate vegetable and fish flavors and preparations to the more carnal and earthy plates. It was a progression that seemed evocatively Spanish to me. With the short ribs I felt, in fact, like a forraging pig with my snout buried beneath some mouldering leaves in hot pursuit of a truffle. The two deserts were good enough too. Although I wasn't entirely convinced by the chocolate pudding with mustard foam, the beet panna cotta was delicious and interesting, paired as it was with a little chocolate. The chef's tasting menu costs $110. I am not altogether convinced that there are an infinite number of NYC diners who will pay that amount even to experience great food as I did under the conditions set at Urena. My table bordered a serving station that was constantly filled with animated comotion. It was undignified to be spending that much and seated there. The service was good on getting things out, extremely courteous, but not always on clearly annunciating ingredients and explanations. When 7:45 came and went, nobody said a thing (the restaurant, in fact, was not entirely full. Quite a few tables were open). I appreciate their courtesy in overlooking my infraction of the agree-upon time limit. Urena is a restaurant, in my opinion, that deserves our attention and patronage. It serves great, sometimes lofty food. This is enough, in my thinking, for occasional visits. I do hope that they look to a remodel sooner rather than later, if only because I could recommend the restaurant wholeheartedly to my "lay" friends more readily as a result. I would also feel more inclined to return more often myself. But let me end, again, with the core of the Urena experience, the food itself, which was most definitely at 4 star level. To begin so well at the seashore with a sense of the light and color of some of the best Spanish cuisine and to arrive gradually by a luxurious and capable pacing at the more rustic, but deeply sophisticated, earth of the interior (this is my mental image anyhow) was a tremendous dining experience. Urena's kitchen is a great kitchen, and I had a great time.

I agree. Despite all the negative press (e.g. the infamous "spent condom" dumpling review), I thought that 66 was generally quite good. I went there at least a dozen times after it opened for lunch, and perhaps 3 times for dinner. On all but two occasions I was extremely pleased with what I had. I remember admiring the scallion pancakes in particular. But I haven't been there for at least a year, so I cannot comment about the place in the present tense. I have the sense that if 66 fails it will be because it attempted to win the NYC glitterati restaurant popularity contest and, somehow or another, lost. But perhaps one reason for its failure is simply its location. The glitterati obviously have recently concentrated their bling and buzz to the North, near JGV's other restaurant in the Meatpacking.

I have eaten at Bouchon twice in the last few days. I was inspired to try Bouchon because I had an excellent meal (no surprise) last week at the French Laundry during a trip to the Bay Area. Last week's meal was itself inspired by two very fine meals at Per Se last Fall. Perhaps naively, I went thinking that any place with Thomas Keller's name associated with it must be amazing, setting entirely new standards of craft in the field of baking. Indeed, I had had an image of a new bakery that would rise to new, stellar heights of perfection, reforming my entire image of bread and pastry, and thus changing the entire NY bakery universe. What I found was certainly very good, but not the uber-bakery-lunch spot that I had imagined. Having tasted the reality, I would say that the nature of the product and even the range of selections makes Bouchon something like the well-heeled version of 'witchcraft. Putting my dreams aside, I realize that this is probably what Keller intended. My first meal was lunch. I had the chicken soup with herbal dumplings. The broth and dumplings were both good, the chicken just a little tough. It was served convincingly hot, which was extremely satisfying. The chicken soup comes with an excellent roll with butter. For desert I tried the coffee cake, which held out promise, so to speak, but was veering sligtly towards stale. I sat at a communcal table and service was satisfying. My second meal was an evening snack. I had the roast beef sandwhich which was warmed in their press. It was very nice. I tried several pastries. The millefeuille creme was far too sweet. The pastry itself was fine. A chocolate eclaire was, again, too sweet, and a little stale (forgivable perhaps at about 6pm). The chocolate struck me as too mild too. A chocolate macaroon was, typically, stale. In retrospect, I don't know why I ordered it knowing what might happen. The best thing about the meal was the package of shortbread that they sell at the registers. This shortbread, I was informed, is the same that is given to diners at the French Laundry when they are done dining. The shortbread is fully worthy if none of the other pastries are.

I wanted to report that I had a very good meal at Gilt last night. I cannot say that every dish, or part thereof, was equally good, but I was generally impressed by both the quality of invention and preparation. You will have to forgive me here if I am a bit vague about what I ate. I didn't bring a notebook or a camera--and the number of ingredients per square inch, as Bruni noted, was tremendous. Unlike Bruni, I did not find the number of ingredients to be a weakness. Perhaps the kitchen has developed since Bruni’s review. While we ordered from both the Classic and Modern 3-course menus, there were a number of additions that make describing the whole experience accurately difficult. From what I remember (the waiter’s descriptions were unreliable), my companion and I began with the stilton financier amuse paired with cardamon marshmellow. I thought these were quite good, provocative combinations. A subsequent amuse "group" included a piece of sardine on a bed of white bean ragout with herbs. It was paired with another small amuse consisting of sweet pea and beer foam, I think. Then, I had my official appetizer of foie gras terrine. It came with truffle butter (decadent) and a very nice brioche. The foie gras was also accompanied by a Thai basil sabayon—the quail in this was very well prepared. My companion had an artichoke veloute, which was both original and excellent, accompanied by three small envelopes of stuffed pasta. It came with a cuttlefish salad that was, I think, less successful overall, albeit funky in flavor. At this point, a green apple (?) sorbet drizzled with olive oil intervened. I enjoyed the combination, although it was a stretch. My lamb rack entrée was covered with green tea crumble and paired with a goat cheese royale (the royale seemed to re-use the beer foam of the amuse in an interesting, but ultimately unsuccessful, combination). The lamb was delicious, perfectly prepared. It gave me considerable confidence in the abilities of the kitchen. My companion’s rib eye with spring vegetables (called “winter” by the waiter—the vegetables included pear and pineapple, incidentally, so terminology is apparently not meant to be precise) was apparently a bit on the rare side. It was good, but the lamb rack was better. There was yet another sorbet, lychee I think, and then we had our deserts: the famous chocolate and chili, which was quite good, and the chestnut dome. The deserts were not as good as the rest of the meal. The petits fours were marvelous though. My overall feeling is that Gilt is a fortunate addition to the NY restaurant scene. I very much enjoyed the creativity of the kitchen. But comparisons with WD-50 are inevitable. It seems to me that Wylie Dufresne (WD-50) has an ultimately stronger vision. Perhaps this is because WD’s vision would appear to be more thematic, basing itself in fascinating interpretations of edible Americana that engage cultural and personal memory in a purposeful, even intellectual fashion. In this way, WD’s cuisine is one of the highest permutations of the retro-chic that has pervaded our culture for the last decade or so. Indeed, he is Andy Warhol reborn as a chef. By comparison, Gilt’s creations appear less directed, more given to loose (but skillful) improvisation. I hope to have further meals at Gilt, however, and perhaps those meals will indicate something more about the direction and character of Paul Liebrandt’s own overall vision.

Although I understand the arguments against Bruni's DP anticipatory article, I would suggest that the New York Times, as long as I've been reading it (i.e. the beginning of the Grimes era), has gone out of its way to spot trends and important happenings in NYC dining. I don't remember seeing an article exactly like Bruni's, but Grimes did make it his business to comment on trends, openings, and prospects. I seem to remember that something was written, although I may be confusing publications, about Per Se and Masa before they opened. And I certainly remember that Grimes liked to assess the field on occasion, most notably at the end of his tenure when he was surveying the NYC restaurant scene and the way it had changed during his time as NYTimes critic. And while I realize that Grimes' retrospective wasn't exactly the same as Bruni's prospective review, it shows that the NYTimes critic does consider "trends" and "openings" to be within his traditional purview. I also realize that the arguments against Bruni's BP piece are largely lodged as ethical protests against what is seen as a promotion piece. They assert that Bruni is helping to promote a restaurant before its opening, and that this article is more appropriately the province of those writers commenting about city happenings. All I am trying to point out here is that Bruni can also be understood as fulfilling his job as critic by "surveying the NYC restaurant scene" and writing about something of particular note happening in that scene that is certainly already haunting the minds of many a gourmand. For this reason, I do question whether this article can be said to seriously undermine the credibility of the critic. The review was far from being flat-out praise, as was said above. I myself read it as tending towards the skeptical. I also think that we all might be heading too far if we choose to paint the piece as promotion without having any reason to believe that there should be favoritism tinting Bruni's spectacles. We should wait for the review, eat at the restaurant ourselves, and then decide. I, for one, feel that is what Bruni will do.

Last night I ate at ADNY for the first time since Tony Esnault took the helm. Although I have been an ADNY cynic since its opening, having had uneven meals there on a few occasions before Esnault, I am here to proclaim that I have changed my mind: the new ADNY is a triumph! My previous experiences at ADNY were, as I said, uneven. The typical meal began with an incredible amuse, and then proceeded to an even better appetizer. After the appetizer, trouble set in. The fish and meat courses were invariably disappointments, only partially redeemed by the deserts. These dinners left me doubly disatisfied because they would promise a great deal and deliver imperfect results. So I am both overjoyed (and relieved) to say that the Esnault ADNY offered up a perfect and consistent meal. I began with the wonderfully creamy gougeres, proceeding to a remarkable amuse consisting of tuna tartare, scallop, and crouton. Next I enjoyed the foie gras ravioli in sunchoke broth (with shavings of white truffle over the top). My fish course consisted of chatham cod, perfectly prepared, the flesh just right in consistency and flavor. This cod was served with its "clear essence" and the raw/cooked fennel. The fennel helped to make the dish, by dint of the contrast of textures, both firm and tender. After the cod, I enjoyed the lamb rack "au sautoir." The wonderful lamb was served amongst a medly of dried fruits and piquillos that complimented its delicacy with the sophistication of sweet and moderately sharp flavors. I tried three deserts with my companion, and all three were masterpieces. The apple souffle, as has been noted above, was stunning. It is rare to find a souffle, in my experience, that captures the full flavor of its constituent fruit or berry like this one captured that of the apple. The chocolate hedgehog was about the best mousse preparation I have tried--and was cute to boot! My personal favorite, however, was the "layers of dark chocolate, praline ice cream, and rice crispy." The combination of the chocolate layers with the crispiness of the "rice crispy" and praline was luscious and luxurious. It was executed so well that my fork broke the brittle back of these layers cleanly, collapsing the various layers and melding them seamlessly, into a rich and extraordinarily contrastive concoction of pure tastiness. This desert was both fragile and profound--all at once. While service was fine, it was a little cold. Explanations were rather perfunctory. Our table's main server looked like he'd rather be doing nearly anything else other than serve us, although he did loosen up a bit near the end when his movements and explanations became more fluid and natural. When my companion left the table, it took a long time (almost to the point of her return) for this to be noticed, and for her napkin to be folded. Our entrees were paraded into our small dining room during her absence as well, only to beat a hasty retreat as her absence was finally acknowledged by the staff. Clearly there is still some room for growth in the area of service. But, in the end, it was the food that counted, and I am (at last) ready to join ADNY's many defenders and enthusiasts.

I don't know if I can entirely agree that Bruni is caught in a conflict of interest here. While I underestand that this gesture towards Batali's DP might be viewed as favoritism, one might also conclude that Bruni is doing an admirable service to the public by informing us about Babbo's progress. As I diner, I appreciate it. And besides, Bruni has anticipated the openings of many other restaurants, even if not quite in this lavish way. Not many months ago, I recall reading an article by Bruni that anticipated the openings of dozens of NYC restaurants, including DP. Like everyone else I was intrigued by the idea of Batali's bid for a four star place, which for anyone who is interested in food in NYC must stand as a notable happening of potential consequence. I have frequently wondered ever since Bruni's survey about DP and whether it would open soon. The update, therefore, was most welcome. We can disagree about whether Alto should have received similar "hype" from a reviewer's pen. The fact remains that Batali is one of the country's celebrity chefs and thousands and thousands are devoted to his cooking. Bruni makes a good argument in his article that Batali changed New York City Italian dining by his enterprises, and for this reason alone we continue to be interested in his work. If Batali has decided that he would like to bring his cooking--and Italian cuisine in the US--to the next level, then I want to hear about it, and so do many other people. I do not think that Bruni was overly partial in tone either. Whatever publicity was garnered would have been garnered anyway because we are speaking, after all, of Molto Mario Batali. Resistence, in sum, is futile. Why not the NYTimes?--it's going to come from somewhere--and most diners want to know. Let's just hope that Batali succeeds in making better and better food. I, for one, am a bit skeptical that he can manage, i.e. whether his talent and style is equal to the ambition.

I'm wondering: my experiences in Paris at three star restaurants were not superior to the best food I've had in NYC. Would anyone agree with me on this? Or do I need to try again? In general, my eating experiences at Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe have been a mixed bag. To take a recent example, I was in Rome for a few months recently and tried several of the best-starred restaurants in that city (no 3's in Rome, but 1's and 2's). Often I was profoundly disappointed, and only occasionally pleased by what I had. This leads me to believe that the Michelin stars are biased and frequently wrong no matter what city you are discussing, whether it be Paris, NYC, Rome, or Whatever. I also think it would be naive to think that Michelin doesn't want to prove the superiority of Paris over NYC. It seems likely that our consollation prizes are a sort of damnation with faint praise.

I think that Soutine is missing from the various lists shown here elsewhere. Soutine is a magnificent pastry shop, one of the best in Manhattan, and apparently less well known than it ought to be. When fresh, the tarte tatin is amazing, as are the chocolate napoleons and the creme puffs. Amazing--certainly better than anything I've had at Claude's.