Bond Girl
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The live scallop was just raw, not "live". It was supposedly taken out of the shell just a few minutes before it was served to us. The thing came in a serving dish that resembled a ice block with a little hole dug out of it. The scallop was cut into little tiny pieces topped with bits of balsamic gelee and sitting in a celery broth with hints of avocado flavor in it. I think Cru is a lot more fun and has a bit more refinement than Union Pacific ever was, but then again, it was over five years ago that I last dined at Union Pacific and I don't remember being all that impressed.
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If my dinner at Cru wasn't one of the most memorable meals I ever had, it's in the running. Chef Shea Gallante's food is wonderfully clever and exudes a simple elegance that seemed rare to my jaded palate. What made it even more amazing was the fact that the place has only been open for 4 weeks. There were more food than I can remember so JJ Goode will have to fill you guys in on what I missed.
We started with an amuse of beet puree on a beet chip shaped like an ice cream cone, which has such an adorable sweet taste that it made you forget that your are eating a rather un-glamorous vegetable like beets. Next up was another set of amuse, equally cute in appearance. I couldn't eat the Prociuttos, but the cheese tart was flavorful and provided a nice change to the sweet beet amuse. Shea then sent out another set of amuses among which was a phenomenal small dish of braised leeks topped with caviar that tasted like heaven and a tasting of cucumber sorbet that was so lovely. However, the star of the show was a live scallop topped with balsamic gelee in a celery consume with avocado. It was so delicious that both JJ and I were spooning up every last bit of the sauce.
While all this amuse has being consumed Robert, the wonderful sommelier was pouring splashes of white wine into our glasses. (A note of interest for the wine affacionadoes out there, the wine list at Cru was the size of a webster's dictionary and there were two of them: one red and one white) Not that I would know the difference but for those interested, we started out a Condrieu 'Ravines' Niero-Rhone when we sat down and moved on to a Chasselas 'Veilles Vigne' Alsace through the amuse.
The crudo that came next was paired with a Verdicchio dei Castello. I had the Lagoustine with green papaya truffle salad and gin sauce-a sweet melt in your mouth experience. And, JJ had the white tuna that came with an esspresso sauce, which was surprisingly addictive. Next to Oceana's Tuna Tartar, this ranks among one of the most creative raw tuna dishes that I ever had.
By this time I am already full and the first course hasn't even arrived.
My first course made its appearance as a marinated Heirloom tomatoes with hyssop and what looks like bush basil. It wasn't the most creative dish in the world but the late summer heirloom tomatoes need no creativity to be pretty damn good. Meanwhile, JJ managed to eat his piece of spiced dusted skate while drnking the red current sauce from my tomatoe dish.
Just as we thought we were getting a break, the servers laid out another set of utensils and out comes a tasting of octopus on white beans. Okay, this is not yet on the menu, and I'm not sure if it will be, but anyone who makes a reservation at Cru should ask about this dish. According to Shea, the octopus is left unpeeled, and seared on the pan with a balsamic glaze. Thie result is a rich intense flavor that almost sang with the white beans its served with. Paired with a Brindisi Rosso Vallone, this is the stuff dreams are made of.
Pasta course came as a trio of roasted tomato pasta, a parsely ravioli and a sea urchin risotto. By this time I do not think I could eat anymore, but The sea urchin risotto was so good that I couldn't stop eating.
The main course rolled around at 11:30 in the evening, and it was a seared bass on a bed of corn and potatoes for me and a veal for JJ. My striped bass has skin that was crisped to perfection and it was topped with green tomatoes, but by that time, I was so full that I couldn't eat anymore. Though, the small bits that I had consumed was the perfect end of summer dish. The wine by then was a lovely red burgundy with flavors of cherry and current from Domaine Bachelet. I don't know much about wine but I like the way this one tasted.
We sat around waiting for our check to come, but instead the server laid out more place setting, and bought dessert. A vanilla foam with blueberries was the palate cleanser, and a lovely chocolate cream with passion fruit sorbet and creme fraiche followed. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Finally we were given a cup of chocolate cream, some grapefruit jelly and marengue as petiti fours. By that time, I was having trouble deciding what was better heaven or dining at Cru.
My only complaint at Cru was that the decor seemed a little drab, however, given that the place has only been in existence for four weeks, one can hardly fault them for it. The service on the other hand, had the professionalism of a world class restaurant. Even better was the attitude free ambience of the place. Cru may very well be one of the best restaurant to open this year.
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what about Batali's new place?
Here is the scoop from New York Metro, Batali's new place Bistro Du Vent is expected to open in October. The chef there is David Pasternack from Esca. Bistro Du Vent is located at 411 west 42nd Street. Here is the link
Also much anticipated is Modern in the Museum of Modern Art-another jewel in the Danny Meyer empire. Gabriel Kreuther of former Atlas fame will head up the kitchen. Modern opens in late November.
source: NY Metro.com from September 13 issue
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I just had the most wonderful dinner at Cafe Boulud. My friend Sarah had decided to take me for my birthday after hearing me talked about going. Chef Andrew Carmellini greeted us at the table and joked that had he known that I was going, he would have bought in fresh food.
The tasting went above and beyond our expectations. We started the meal with a single Oyster, then moved on to a wonderful plate artfully arranged with two soup spoons: one containing a fresh tomato salad with basil, the other a lovely green beans and asparagus salad. Next to the spoons were a fantastic foie gras terrine on a bread with sweet apricot and toasted brioche, and a little ball of fried rice and ricotta cheese. This was followed by a fresh cucumber gazpacho with topped with smoked salmon that was simple and yet pleasing to the palate. Then we moved into a bold flavored octopus with cranberry beans that balanced the subtlely of lemon confit with the strong spicy peppery accents. A note here is that I usually compare eating octopus to chewing rubber and refrain from ordering it. However, the octopus here is so well done that it has the crunchy texture without being chewy. Next up was a spicy thai curry lobster with basmati rice. Okay, if you are expecting the average thai curry, you would be very pleasantly surprised. This dish was so perfectly scented that it makes you never want to order from your average thai places ever again. The sauce was a rich red curry redolent of fresh lemon grass, and the lobster was complimented with lovely baby asparagus and cherry tomatos and finished with thai basil. Lastly, we were served with a seared main scallop wih corns and shitake mushrooms-the dish is quietly inventive, contrasting the sweet summer corn with the earthy flavors of shitake mushrooms, topped by a almost caramelized sea scallop.
Desserts came in two parts: First, we were served a strawberry sorbet with cherry and straberry compote and creme friche. The strawberry sorbet has a sharp lime flavor that cleansed the palate and the creme friche provided a great counterpoint. Then there was a chocolate dessert with a rice crispy granache that was luscious and creamy and made you think of heaven.
The service was very attentive even though the room can get very loud at times. Atomsphere was friendly and warm. Not a date place, but definitely a good gathering place among friends. If the place wasn't uptown, I'd go back there anytime.
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Hearth just keeps getting better. Last saturday night, I had the most flavorful tuna salad there with tender green and yellow beans and fresh red and yellow tomatoes with basil. The appetizer was followed by a light parpadelle in tomatoe sauce and bush basil that tasted of late summer. Monk fish wrapped in prosciutto with eggplants was a similar success. I'm not a big monk fish fan but this one nice and moist with prosciutto lending flavors to the monk fish. The eggplants compliments the fish with a deep smokey flavor that is balanced by the bush basil topping. A peach and blueberry ravioli with peach ice cream provided the perfect end. The whole dinner was a little rustic, not very complicated but definitely delicious.
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May be my palates got screwed up in my ripe old age, or may be it was an off night. I was sick with the cream sauce and butter from that place. I simply don't find the food modern enough, everything there seemed too excessive. While the road of excess may lead to the palace of wisdom according to some, this one is morelikely to land you in some cardiologist office without the taste to make up for it.
It's very easy to compose a meal at LCB with little (or no) cream or butter in it, just as easy to compose a low carb meal. I can't see how ordering a raw platter and steak there is any different than at other brasserie/bistro places in the city. Looking back at a meal there, there was only one dish out of four that had any cream in it.
I think you're trying to push an idea here of some imaginary modern, healthy cuisine, where flavor is obtained without the use of luxury ingredients or fat, but when you look at dishes served in top nyc restaurants, you'll see that idea has little to do with reality.
That really isn't what I am trying to impart at all. Those that have dined with me on this board know that I am the last person to skip dessert or avoid things with fat or cream. My issue with "excess" lies in the superfluousness of these ingredience. For me excessive means anything that is not necessary and it was, in my opinion, not necessary to drown a piece of fish, or meat or even a plate of pasta in layers of creamy sauce. It doesn't do anything to the food. Just as I hated the Tuna salad at Matsuhisa in Aspen because why bother getting a good piece of blue fin tuna, if you are just going to drown the flavors in soy sauce? That to me is excessive. One of the most excessive dish I had at LCB was a salad of lobster with crabmeat and mango and caviar. Low fat, but why all four together? Lobster and mango works (brings out the sweetness of each other while providing a good contrast of texture). Crabmeat and mango works (same reason). But all together, it doesn't work, at least it doesn't work for me. And, the caviar does nothing for any of the elements of that dish. Take something else that ran along the similar concept, at Le Bernardin, there is a sea urchin and shellfish concoction that is served in a sea urchin shell. The dish has several things in it, Iranian Caviar, Sea Urchin, Shrimp and Scallop and I believe it is slightly poached in butter (I can check that). Not exactly low fat, but it works beautifully because it successfully takes your palate through a range of sensation and taste that balances one another. The Iranian caviar lends an interesting flavor to the shrimp and scallop that is rounded out by the creaminess of the sea urchin.
I believe in dishs composed of ingredience that actually do something with each other and enhance the overall flavor of the dish, and not just there because it looks good or is a luxury ingredient. These are just my own personal opinion.
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playing my role as the "season nazi" (as they refer to me in our test kitchen), i'm finding it weird that you're getting these now. favas and artichokes are traditionally early spring crops.
As one of my chef friend said to me: "It's in season somewheres in the world."
All joking aside, Russ' point is well taken. It's one of the reasons that makes restaurants like Blue Hill such a pleasure to go to.
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Todd, I would love to entertain your discussion more off the board, but let's keep discussions on this thread to Brasserie LCB.
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Just called up for reservation, the very nice lady that answers the phone said that they are not sure when they will be open, but it's targeted for middle of september and they are taking names so when they have a firm date they'll call you back. Geez, I've never seen anything so highly anticipated.
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Ordered three copies for my Indian food loving friends.
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May be my palates got screwed up in my ripe old age, or may be it was an off night. I was sick with the cream sauce and butter from that place. I simply don't find the food modern enough, everything there seemed too excessive. While the road of excess may lead to the palace of wisdom according to some, this one is morelikely to land you in some cardiologist office without the taste to make up for it.
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You guys are cruel.....this is not a thread I should be reading because the next thing I know I'd be making bread pudding and heating up my already hot apartment.
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The restroom at Peep in Soho wins the all time perverse factor award. It's in the middle of the dining room with one wall completely made of one way mirrors.
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I'll throw in my 2 cents here since I am in the process of raising miney for my own restaurant. What I discovered since I began this journey is that you want an investor or group of investors that has some understanding of the restaurant business, otherwise, you'll just have more road blocks to overcome. In that sense Slbunge's analogy to art is very appropriate. More so than the personal connection to the restaurant is the investor's understanding of the operator/chef's vision and his believe that the vision makes good business sense.
In another word, the buyer of a Picasso shouldn't have to ask why the girl in the painting looks looks like a car has ran over her.
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One of my ex's makes this really great fava bean salad with arugula, fava beans and pecorino cheese. Simple combination but very very good.
I love fava beans because I can make them up ahead of times and keep them in the freezer. When I get sick of seeing them, I throw them in the food processor with some mash potatoes and serve them with a nice simple fish.
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Will make a point to go. Heard Shea talked about some of the things he's trying a while back, it'll be an interesting menu.
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No wonder I haven't seen it. Not sure if I can put up with the scene there.
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Okay, where on St. Marks? I live in the East Village? Haven't seen it.
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That one I'm not sure about. I will have to investigate that by eating out more.
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With only a few weeks to fall, the NYC restaurant scene is starting to buzz. Here is what New Yorkers can expect when they get back in town:
BLT Fish
After the success BLT Steak, Laurent Tourondel is opening BLT Fish in the Flatiron neighborhood. The place will have the similar "Craft-like" concept as BLT Steak, except that it will be completely devoted to Fish and Seafood. For us downtowners, this may be the newest place to get our fix of Lobster Rolls and Fried Clams. Watch out for it in November 2004. By the way, if you that you discover you love BLT Fish. Laurent Tourondel is coming out with a new cook book called "Go Fish"
Sapa
If you love French-Vietnamese food but find Indochine too trendy or too passe (depending on who you are and who you talk to), then you can look forward to Sapa, another Flatiron restaurant named after the ancient Vietnamese city. Bought to you by the former Food and Beverage director of the Soho and Tribeca Grand, this will probably up your trendy factor to be seen in it. The ETA is October 2004.
Fornino
Those of you living in the Outer Boroughs will now smile smugly at the fact that your Manhattanite friends may have to come to your neighborhood to have Pizza. Michael Ayoub of Cucina in Park Slope will open Fornino in Williamsburg, serving brick oven pizzas. The draw here? He makes his own cheese, gorws his own vegetable toppings, and even blows his own glass elements. This definitely gives new definition to fresh food. A full menu of antipastos is also available. Hey Pizza Club, we'll be looking for a full report in Fall 2004.
BLT Fish
21 West 17th Street
New York, NY
Sapa
43 West 23rd Street
New York, NY
Fornino
187 Bedford Ave.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
(718)384-6004
Source: press release from Bullfrog and Baum
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It would be a tie between inside the kitchen of Oceana and a restaurant called Indochine in Hanoi Vietnam.
The former was an experience to see how a great ktchen and chef worked and to actually tasted one of the best prepared dinners culinary-wise. The other was a wonderful blend of the exquisite vietnamese food and the wonderful company of my best friend.
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Made this with ground pistaschio and a few drops of orange flower water. Dumped it in the ice cream machine and the result was sooo good that I forgot all about my diet which was suppose to start today.
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Guys, I have a batch of blackberries from the farmer's market and I'm thinking of making blackberry jam, but the seeds are making me absolutely nuts! Any solutions to dealing with this?
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I guess, but you will have to steep the milk/cream mixture in Thai tea and wait until it cools then strain it out. However, I think Thai ice tea (or at least the one's I had) are made with condense milk, so I'm not sure how that figures into the whole ice cream mixture since I'ver never used it in that way.
Cru
in New York: Dining
Posted
Doc, what you said, was what a lot of peole has told me when I expressed my lack of enthusiasm for UP. I was sorry that I never got to know Rocco as an innovative chef. So, my experience may not be a good basis for comparison. And, I'm glad that you are able to offer a different perspective.
The room at UP was and still is stunning, so in that sense, Cru does not have the ambience of UP. I do think, however, that people like you who knows a bit more about wine will get a lot more out of dining at Cru than I did. Because despite best efforts on the part of Robert, the very nice sommelier, his wine pairing was lost on pedestrians like me.