jeunefilleparis

Admin: threads merged. I'm sorry, i m too lazy to find the other thread, but i wanted to say How fabulous I thought that my mini meal at WD 50 was last night. I was in the area to see a band play at the Mercury lounge and had some time to kill so why not indulge right? I sat at the bar and began to examine the menu. Everthing seemed to jump out at me, i could hardly decide what to order. I started with the venison carpaccio with the anjou pear crisps and edamame icecream. The presentation was so perfect, a round of carpaccio with the very thin crisps between the quennelle of icecream. The carpaccio had a lovely flavor, i ve only had venison sauteed or cooked in a fragrant sauce so it was nice to try it on its own. The edamame icecream was so creamy and smooth. It reminded me of the avocado milkshake i had in KY with Ron. I love the raw meaty taste of the venison paired with the icecream. I then skipped to dessert , a pinenut parfait , bittersweet chocolate cream and saffron sauce. agan it was such a great presentation, all of it art to me. It was sweet without being overly so, and the saffron sauce perfectly swirled around the dessert added a fabulous spark of color to the dish and a unique taste. I was so moved by the food that i made a reservation for the middle of April! Now i m broke, i gotta save up the pennies for a while!

Yes, I suppose there is small trend in my eating habits lately, sometimes i just crave red meat:) and any type of creamy potato-y substance, well, thats a no brainer for me:) i had quite a different meal at WD 50 last night which i will post next:)

Well, as they say, better late than never. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Aureole with 2 of my closest friends. Upon arriving I was greeted by a very friendly hostess ( not always common, especially in my experience on the upper east side). I went to the bar and knowing that it was my birthday, the bar tender made me a birthday drink called a wildflower, which he said was on him. What a nice start. I dont like to start on a negative note bc everything about dinner was perfect food wise, I just wasnt very impressed by the space. There was no "wow" upon entering the restaurant like at Jean George or Chanterelle. But that aside, I ll move onto the food. for the first course, I chose the Hudson Valley Foie Gras with crisp pancetta, baked golden delicious apples, and sour cherries. My first foie gras experience was at last years birthday dinner at Fleur de Sel. AFter that, I fell in love. the combination of the different ingredients was just so perfect. i love the sweetness of the apples with the foie gras that just melted, and then the subtle tartness of the cherries topped it off so nicely. I had a bite of my friends Peeky toe crah , green apple salad with mangos, watercress and lime oil and it was very nice. everthing was incredibly fresh lots of bright flavors. The crisp seared duck confit with warm celery root and black trumpet salad was wonderful though incredibly rich. for the 2nd course, I chose the Duo of beef filet mignon and short rib with creamy horseradish pototo puree and baby turnips. Again an excellent choice. Very flavorful meat, perfectly rare and the short ribs were so tender they fell off the bone, the potatoes were nice,i cant really recall the horseradish in them and I always love turnips my 2 friends both got the six spice roasted and braised pork with baby bok choy, mango tempura and spicy yuzo. I tried some of this but cant really describe it, though the mango tempura was one of them yummiest things i ve ever eaten. fried mango! wow and then of course dessert, for people on the list who know me, i love for this.... I chose the caramelized hazelnut pyramid with warm bittersweet chocolate praline sauce and frozen praline custard- Do i REALLY need to say how amazing this was. it wall went together so well, the sweet hazelnut pyramid with the bittersweet chocolate praline sauce was an impeccable pair, took away from some of the sweetness but leaving plenty still,,,,,,, the other desserts were the tasting of apples: golden delicious tart tatin, cortland apple butter cake and granny smith apple sorbet and the "decadent triple mousse , spiced hot chocolate, macadamia icecream and chocolate gelato. all excellent. ( i m sorry that i cant be more descriptive, but they are pretty detailed) on top of that, the captain had a "small" crush on my friend and brought us out an additional dessert of anjou pear and red currant cobbleer with vanilla bean icecream and poire williams gelee, that was excellent and great buttery taste to the crust and the tart currants and pears were great together. also, we had their special truffles and petit fours, and then a little breakfast snack, which i cant recall bc i didnt eat it,,,,, my roomie did all in all, it was an amazing meal, one of my very best ever. we didnt drink that much we each paid $140 with tip. I would recommend it to anyone. Eventhough the space wasnt memorable, the food, and service were out of this world! I cant wait to go back when i save up some money!

FROM CITY SEARCH I guess that I was right about the chef being the Emeril to the North,,,,,,,, since he used to work with him! An Emeril alum brings affordable, "Bam!"-worthy Creole-Cajun cooking to the East Village. The Scene The old tile floors, long, white tablecloths and dark wood paneling evoke the French Quarter's easy elegance. One server works the room, while chef-partner Shawn Knight, surrounded by old cookbooks and copper pots, whips up imaginative Cajun-Creole fare in the open kitchen. The Food You'd expect Emeril Lagasse's former sous chef to impress with bold, Big Easy flavor pairings and careful technique, but not at these low prices. Classics starters, like gorgeously-seasoned duck-andouille gumbo, and plump, anise-scented baked oysters, are as winning as more inventive ones, like not-too-sweet coconut shrimp with mango-curry remoulade. Entrees are mini masterpieces: A light roasted-tomato emulsion complements potato-crusted redfish with sweet crab, and bacon-flecked Brussels sprouts with bourbon yams are rich foils for soy-cane syrup lacquered pork. Crunchy homemade potato chips (served with the po' boy) and banana bread pudding alone warrant many happy returns.

sorry, i was too lazy to include prices,,,, aps went up to $12, entrees up to $24, desserts were $6

Last night Princess Y ( aka Bond Girl) and I had dinner at Natchez. It is basically part of the old Patio dining space. You enter through Patio bar and theres a nice loungy area. They do not take reservations, but we only waited for about 15 minutes. The space is very cozy, if not a bit tight, at least where we were seated. The servers could not have been nicer. They were so friendly and accomodating. Here's the menu: Appetizers Baby romaine w. chive buttermilk dressing and paneed oysters ( paneed for people who didnt know that word like me, means pan seared) Mixed field greens with candied pecans and sherry mustard vinaigrette Duck and Andouillle GUmbo with Louisiana popcorn rice Grilled Shrimp Remoulade Crabcake with Louisiana paddlefish caviar , sweet corn butter Braised short ribs raviolo w. truffle herbed salad ENTREES Filet Mignon with hickory smoked mashed potatoes and red wine braised oxtail blackened red fish with lump crabmeat and tomato chili marmalade pork tenderloin "au poivre" with bourbon mashed potatoes and smoked bacon brussel spouts Morocacan spice chicken breast with saffron cous cous and smokd chili butter Shrimp or oyster po'boy with home made potato chips Desserts: Banana bread pudding wiht pecan bourbon ice cream peanut butter chocolate pie with carmelized praline sauce Ok now the details We ordered the crabcakes and the grilled shrimp. both had excellent flavor. the crabcakes were so wonderful, the sweet corn butter was so smoothy and creamy and went very well with the crabcakes. the crab cakes were very nice and moist and had a slight spicy kick to them. The paddlefish caviar ( i ve never even heard of that fish) offered a nice salty bite to them. The shrimp were very fresh and full of flavor( i didnt have any of the remoulade) and again were just slightly spicy, the perfect amount for me, though Ya Roo poured on the Tabasco,,,,,, I didnt try Ya roo's red fish though she said it was excellent ( though she poured more tabasco on it too) my filet was to die for. I had it cooked med. rare though more on the rare side. it was juicy and accompanied with the red wine sauce and mushrooms it was a perfect combination. The oxtail was very tender too. I switched from the hickory smoked mashed potatoes to the bourbon sweet pot. and they were so smooth and seemed to have been whipped a million times. It was the perfect comfort food. We shared both desserts and the banana pudding was one of the best bread puddings i ve ever had. It wasnt too big and overbearing as many are, the pecan bourbon icecream was a nice touch too. THe choc. peanut butter pie was very rich and i only had a bite or two but it was great. I asked to try the smoked chili butter, which was too spicy for me but interesting nonetheless, Blue Smoke has a mint julep butter that I loved! All in all the prices are reasonable, the service was fabulous, the food delicious, i would go back in a heartbeat, just not on a weekend, bc they dont take reservations, oh and its cash only too!

I was working on Sunday and found myself in the area of the good old AOl Time Warner Center. I decided to check out the menu at Bar Masa and ended up having a really small meal there. THe place is really beautiful. Behind the bar is volcanic rock and then,the bar itself is gorgeous, its not $60,000 like the one in the main restaurant but apparently it came from a tree in Africa and then was dried 25 years in Japan. Masa said something like "it waited for me". I was actually one of the only diners there,( as it was Oscar Sunday and the soft opening.), and so I spoke to Masa and his wife for a little while. I had a great blood orange pomegranite martini to start that I enjoyed, probably more for the color than the drink. The menu, so far is really simple and it was just printed on good old computer paper as they continue to tweak it a bit more. There were raw oysters, 3 different types of rolls, a tofu dish etc ( my memory fails once again) To start I had a tuna roll. It was served on a beautiful plate and you could tell that Masa and his design team really put a lot of effort to make sure that every detail was attended to. The roll was nice , each piece of roll sliced seemed to be about the size of a silver dollar which was pretty big compared to others I had seen. I really love sashimi, but there wasnt any on the menu but Masa's wife asked him if he could do a tasting and he did. Again the presentation was really beautiful. It was served on a squarish dish and there was crushed ice on the plate ( reminds me of the fromage blanc floating island at Chickalicious) and then the fish was laid carefully on top of that. I had some tuna, toro, white fish and one other that I cant remember. Again, the quality was wonderful, very fresh and delicious. I had some green tea sorbet for dessert that was refreshing and full of flavor. All in all I had a great time, the staff is very friendly and attentive ( yes i know i was practically alone there,,,,,) Masa was so sweet and seemed really excited. The place will do great. Will I go to the actual restaurant, not unless someone else is paying, but if it as good as the bar, it should be worth it.

you know, I was going to take a menu and then after we ordered more food, they took the menu back, damn. The menu is divided in different sections like seafood, meat, salads, soups, and a few others,,,,,,, Red Curry Duck, Pork Vindaloo, Mussels in a lemongrass sauce, bbq skate wing, hmmmmmmm JJ, i m sorry to let you down, mustve been those 2 ginger marguaritas with ginger salt:) I ll if theyll fax me a menu,,,,,,,

<<<I was hoping Spice Market wouldn't be a fusion place! I thought their goal was the bring Southeast Asian street food to NY.>> its is definately not Southeast Asian Street food though either,,,,,,,,, oh one more cool thing, the satay was kep hot by wrapped a hot stone with wire and placing the skewers on top! oh and they have homemade gingerale that is fabulous too

I was hoping Spice Market wouldn't be a fusion place! I thought their goal was the bring Southeast Asian street food to NY. But I'm not that familar with those street foods, so, Pan, what makes you think this is fusion -- something in Lauren's description? I wouldn't call it fusion at all actually, if anything its a "modern" asian but its definately not some type of french asia like Vong or Latin/ Asian like Sushi Samba. All the flavors were very much Asian, a good mix of Asian countries actually,,,,,,,,, I still think that the chili tapioca balls in the salad were so damn cool!

I haven't seen a post about this yet, so unless it was posted a while back, Spice Market, Jean Georges' newest restaurant is open! A friend of mine went over the weekend, (the soft opening began on feb 12th and to my knowledge it hasnt been publicized yet, but they are definately taking reservations now and are open for business.) The space is absolutely gorgeous. The minute you walk in you are just transported. You feel as though you are in an ancient asian temple of some sorts. Every last detail is attended to, from light fixtures to the incredible carved woodwork at the communal tables in front of the kitchen. There is a huge lower floor too, with some tables, another bar and these very sexy alcove like areas that you can "rent" for a certain amount of time. The GM said prices started at around $300. They can fit about 15 people or so. Oh and I just have to mention that the sinks there are very cool too. I was able to get a table right in front of the great open kitchen. I started off eating alone and ordered shrimp pancakes with a peanut cucumber chutney and a cruchy calamari salad with papaya, cashews in a tamarind sauce with a hint of cayenne pepper. Both dishes were excellent. I have a very weak tongue so I asked the server for things that were not terribly spicy. The shrimp pancakes were pretty light, no too greasy and very savory. I especially liked the peanut cucumber chutney that complimented it so nicely. The calamari salad was excellent too. The fried ( though not greasy either) was perfect and full of flavor. The papaya added a nice textural contrast to the crunchiness of the calamari and its soft creamy sort of flavor also worked nicely with the salty flavors. The sauce itself was actually very spicy for me, there might have been more pepper in there than the server thought,,,,,, My friend showed up a bit later and orderd the shaved tuna salad with asian pear, raddish and chili tapioca. This was strangely less spicy than the other salad and was wonderful too. The tuna was incredibly fresh and full of flavor, the pear slices paired with the bursts of the chili tapioca balls it was so delicous and I thought it was a very creative use of tapioca. Next was the ribs, served off the bone and they were crusted in red chilis and onion on a bed udon noodles. The ribs were so incredibly tender I barely had to chew. The flavors again were so vibrant. I had been talking to the pastry chef earlier in the evening and he decided to send out just about every dessert for us. First was a chocolate and vietnamese coffee tart with condensed milk icecream. Very delicous with subtle coffee flavors, icream was creamy and smooth and reminded me of the condensed milk that they pour in coffee in Vietnma. Next dessert was the thai jewels and fresh fruit which was fresh coconut meat, coconut milk, crushed ice, jack fruit, mango and pomegranate seeds. It was definately an interesting dessert, but i ve never loved coconut so I dont feel right to comment,,,,, but the coconut was very fresh again ( like everything I tried that night) There was an Ovaltine Kulfi, this was the only dessert that I didnt like. It really did taste like Ovaltine, a taste that I find horrible, and quite honestly, I m not sure what they were thinking with this one,,,,,,though my boss had it last week and love it,,,,,, so i guess if you like ovaltine, give it a go Lastly, we were sent out rice pudding, it had passion fruit bits inside and a great carmalized orange top. It came with a great tart passion fruit icecream. I really loved this one. It was served warm and it was both comforting and exotic at the same time. To top it off, when you order the icecream, they sned it out in little half pint chinese boxes and the pastry chef gave me a little box of dorian icream to go because I told him that I had tried the fruit and that the smell was, um well, rather smellly and was curious of what the icecream would be like,,,,,, All in all the experience was great. Food is intersting, and flavorful.The service was wonderful, everyone was friendly and helpful. The space was so gorgeous and unique and I have no doubt that it will do very well. Prices are pretty reasonable,,, aps run between $7- $12 and I believe the highest entree was priced at around $26. I cant wait to go back

I had my first meal at Aquavit during restaurant week of 2002 and fell in love with it then. I went back the next year too for lunch and this past december I had a great dinner there. The food is always excellent, the service wonderful and the space is just beautiful and serene. I especially like sitting near the water fall! Don't forget to try the Artic Circle for dessert, its amazing! I m sorry I cant be more specific about other details but I had too much aquavit to drinkl;) L

I in no way whatsoever was starting an uptown vs dowtown debate.I only said one thing about downtown in my previous post. I don't think the space is anything special (yes the buildings are interesting) aside from some of the views from the top floors. I just dont understand what is so intriguing or different about the stores that they chose to fill the TW center. So, with that said, its a bit snotty for you to just write off my post with a haughty," I ll just say that i disagree with everything you just said." Please, I thought people were allowed to discuss likes and dislikes on this board.

I totally don't get a suburban vibe from the place -- it feels completely urban to me. It reminds me of an ultra-modern indoor commercial complex in an Asian city like Singapore. Everything feels state-of-the-art, and the vertical orientation and views of Central Park and Columbus Circle make the minimalist composition a wise choice. In some cities, like Singapore and Los Angeles, when they build these commercial complexes they need to create a heavily produced look and feel because they're in the middle of nowhere. They could have junked the Time Warner Center up with self-consciously New-Yorkish crap, or made it into a bullshit village with trolleys or whatever, but they decided to let the city speak for itself: the people, the location, the views -- it all adds up to something that strikes me as a logical modern addition to our city. I'm very glad to have the whole center here, and especially the restaurants. The buildings itself are very modern and urban, so I shouldnt have used the word structure, but inside, its no different than a fancy suburban mall. Huge stores, none that are very unique , i mean, they have a borders there, come one, isnt there a barnes and nobles a few blocks north at lincoln center? The whole foods stores is completely packed and so riduculously big. No, its not the manhattan mall at 34th street, but still, it doesnt do anything for me. I dont like uptown anyways, all of it is way too commerical for my taste. Its all very corporate and void of small and unique stores like parts of downtown.

Last night, I was in the neighborhood and decided to take a peak at Per Se. Honestly, I find the whole structure to be so out of place. It seems like a fancy suburban mall. Granted the view from any of the restaurants there is spectacular, its still strange to me. Anyways, there was no security guarding the door and we walked right through the glass sliding doors. We were promptly and warmly greeted by a hostess. I told her that I was interested in looking at the space and she couldnt have been nicer. She showed me the small lounge area designated for the waiting diners. Then one of the managers showed me into the opening of the dining room I couldnt believe how small the space was. It was beautiful of course, and the view was exceptional. My friend knows the sous chef there, so we plan on going sometime in late APril, that way I can save lots of money in the meantime! Hopefully we ll have some more posts on here about the menu so i can get more of a feel for it! lauren Oh, btw. we also went to see Asiate and the space there was gorgeous too, an even better view since its on the 35th floor. There was a guard guarding the doors to the Stone Rose bar,,,,,,,,

I m going to Jean George tonight and I promise to actually post about it in the next day or so!

This is a bit late, but better late than never, right? Beth and I went for a late night dessert run 2 saturdays ago and it was just incredible. I was very impressed by the way they changed the space. I had eaten at Tappo once a couple of years ago and I remembered it to be rather different. Anyways, we chose 3 different desserts * hey they re small ok!!* The first dessert was the apple donuts with apple compote and maple cream. The donuts came out hot and fresh. This was my favorite of the night. They were not too sweet at all, and the apple compote and maple cream were lovely dipping sauces. I could eat a whole dozen of them! They should sell them in the morning! the second dessert that we had the goats milk panna cotta with huckleberry compote. This panna cotta was perfect. It was really creamy and smooth, with a slight goat cheese taste. The huckleberries, which I dont ever recall trying previously, was a very nice twist and added a nice semi sweetish taste to the dish. The 3rd dessert was a banana cake layered with mascarpone icing w. sweet potato icecream. This one was a bit less interesting than the other two, but delicious none the less. I mean, really, how can you go wrong with mascarpone icing? The sweet potato icecream was not too differen than a pumpkin icecream. All in all a great, warm, inviting place! I go back in a second!

I had another fabulous CHICKALICIOUS experience last night with my visiting Australian friend. Amuse- Expresso Gelee with Mascarpone Sorbet I had a semolina souffle with kumquat compote and vanilla icecream. It was very homey and comforting- mixed with the exotic kumquat and creamy vanilla it was really lovely. My friend had the warm chocolate tart with peppercorn icecream and red wine sauce which she loved,,,,, I couldnt have her go back to OZ without trying the Fromage Island so we ordered that too. I still say its like eating a cloud! Heaven! Petits Fours: coconut marshmellow, pepper biscotti, little itty bitty chocolate cake with whipped cream All in all it was another wonderful delicious experience! Donna, Chika and Don couldn t have been nicer!

Hi guys, I know its been a while since I ve posted, and firstly, I want to say how great it was to meet everyone at the Pie Potluck a few weeks ago. The food was great as was the conversation and I was stuffed for, at least a few hours.... I am finally going to Jean Georges! I had desserts on the terrace there about 3 years ago and I ate at Nougatine 5 years ago, but never went to J-G! SO my fellow egulleters, what do I order? What are the special dishes? special wines? I am going with a friend who is kindly paying, so...... not too much is off limits!! feel free to PM me or post! Thanks and have a great weekend love lauren

I still love Murrays bagels on 6th and 12st, and it makes me laugh whenever someone gets mad that they wont toast them. multi grain is the best there,,,,,,,,,,,,,

lauren wants to go:)

Ya Roo, if you go,you have to take me, I want to pretend to buy a trophy wife for a night, its always been a dream of mine.......

I love you WW!!( you remember what that means, right Katie?) Great talking to you last night,,,,,,, i m thinking of you L

I was a bit shocked to hear of your experience there. I have eaten there many times now and enjoyed every visit. From my experiences, I can tell you that Chika and Donna always have answered my questiions but without being chatty. Personally, I wouldnt confuse concise answers with being unfriendly or cold. They are afterall working and that is their main focus.......

hey elyse i ll be back in philly for the holidays, I hope to make the next burger outing!! lauren