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Bouley


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So, Bouley, I'm of two minds on you. On the one hand, a very good restaurant and a great value at lunch. On the other, not as good as I would've hoped.

Unfortunately, the restaurant can't match the creativity at Corton, the elegance at EMP or the technical precision at Per Se. It's a clear step down from these restaurants based on what's on the plate. The closest analogs for me are Daniel and Picholine. While the room is certainly ornate--that's an understatement--the feeling of luxury, real or not, one gets at Daniel seems more complete. Furthermore, just as I prefer the style of cooking at Picholine to that at Daniel, the same preference holds when comparing Picholine to Bouley.

As Bruni and others have written, Bouley serves meals heavy on the silky and supple textures. This in itself doesn't bother me as much as others. What I found lacking in today's meal, however, was the lightness that perhaps made Bouley's food feel dated in today big-flavor-loving culinary world but also made it unique. Where was the Return from Chiang Mai? A version of the phyllo crusted shrimp with ocean herbal broth remains on the a la carte menu but has no spiritual successor on the new tasting menu.

Still, one can't ignore that $48 for a five-course tasting menu at this level is a fantastic deal. Neither JG, nor EMP, nor any of the lunch mainstays can match that. I hope the price doesn't go up, though my instincts tell me otherwise. One also has choices at each course save the pre-dessert, so I was effectively able to try double the number of dishes with my sister, my dining companion this afternoon. Kudos to the kitchen for that.

Here's a copy of the menu. It's roughly accurate, though the menu we were presented with today had a couple small changes.

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Anyway...who's ready for some bad iPhone pictures? In the absence of high-quality photojournalism surrounding this restaurant I thought I might as well contribute to the mediocrity.

Cauliflower foam, trout roe, 25 year vinegar

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This amuse was perhaps my favorite dish. Really light and elegant, but not boring to eat thanks to the sweet-sour of the vinegar and the salinity of the roe. This was served before we had even ordered, however, as if it was a canape. A small point, but I'm particular about this kind of thing.

Bread comes in two services, a finer point I liked. First, two warm rolls, an apple one and one with provençal herbs. Later, a selection of about five sliced varieties is offered.

The service was fine, but somehow a bit mechanical. I've had less than stellar service experiences at many of the city's top restaurants but you can often tell when they're having a bad day or, at the least, pick out the captains and backwaiters who are really engaging with their guests. Not so much the case here. Also, the staff, surprisingly, felt stretched thin. It was close to full but not crushingly so and it wasn't as easy as I would've liked to get a server's attention. The pacing of the meal was a bit uneven too. All in, just under two hours sounds about right, but some courses were pushed out quickly while there was about a 20 minute wait between desserts.

The first courses were very different. One was all about lightness. The other was super rich. The oyster/scallop was one of the more interesting dishes of the meal, but I was distracted by a strong, though not necessarily unpleasant, methol-soapy note. The porcini flan is more crab than flan. A seriously tasty dish if not the prettiest. The hit of truffle and dashi when the dish is uncovered is quite pleasant. We really liked this start to the meal.

Oysters

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Missing the center of the plate? Really?

Porcini flan

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Next was fish, a definite step down. Both dishes lacked a certain vibrancy or brightness. Some fish, some sauce, nothing offensive but pretty forgettable too. I was searching out the onions in the borscht sauce with the monkfish for that allium hit. This dish was also quite undersalted. The skate was better--the preparation was different than the one listed on the menu above--with celery root and a vaguely acidic hazelnut vinaigrette of sorts. I thought both plates were rather drab looking.

Monkfish

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Skate

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Things thankfully got much better with the main courses. Both were a bit old school but really delicious. The chicken was described as "braised." Umm, if sous vide is braising then I suppose that's accurate. It was amazingly tender and well balanced. A bit more interesting, though not necessarily tastier, was the duck breast with truffle honey. The snow peas with ginger dressing were a nice foil to the protein.

Chicken

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Duck

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The pre-dessert is similar to a signature dish at Gramercy Tavern. I must say I like the Gramercy Tavern version more. Bruni waxed poetic about this Bouley dish, but it felt a bit clunky to me. The quenelles they scoop here are, across the board, huge, too big even.

Pre-dessert

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We opted out of the chocolate dessert and requested a different fruit one instead. We were served a pineapple carpaccio--not sure how this was cooked, if at all--with lime sorbet and muscat grapes. Simple, maybe overly so, but refreshing. The snowball is a cool dessert. The ten fruit sorbet didn't have any single discernible flavor but tasted different, to an extent. The main thing here is the variety of textures. We were also comped a rather large creme brulee. Not sure if all the tables get this. It was a nice gesture but there was a lot of food.

Desserts

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After the main desserts there were a couple tiered trays of mignardises. They were fine though not particularly elegant or abundant. We were given a lemon cake on the way out.

It seems like the restaurant is really going through the motions--perhaps checking off boxes is a better cliched simile--to be a top-notch restaurant. It's clearly a strong three-star establishment and might even garner two from the Michelin guide, but it seemed a bit lacking in passion or soul to me. In fact, I'd even hazard that while the experience is objectively stronger overall, something was lost in the transition from old space to new.

Edited by BryanZ (log)
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It seems like the restaurant is really going through the motions--perhaps checking off boxes is a better cliched simile--to be a top-notch restaurant.  It's clearly a strong three-star establishment and might even garner two from the Michelin guide, but it seemed a bit lacking in passion or soul to me.  In fact, I'd even hazard that while the experience is objectively stronger overall, something was lost in the transition from old space to new.

Your dishes kind of look like that. Nothing to spectacular, Bruni's critiquing of the interior design was pretty annoying.

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I was surprised to see that the sauces in Bryan's photos looked so runny. No xantham there, I suppose.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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See, this is actually one thing that bothers me to no end. Some say a huge part of modern cooking is, by and large, about controlling how water behaves. I think this is a noble goal. Runny sauces hurt a plate's appearance. They can and should be avoided. If you're going to have a sauce that's not precisely applied to the plate do it tableside.

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  • 3 weeks later...
I guess I'm skeptical (not that I have any real reason to be).  I've liked Bouley more than most for quite a few years.  It was one of my formative fine-dining experiences back in the Bakery days.  There's something that's nagging me such that I think everyone is missing out on the finer points of the experience and isn't reporting back accordingly.

Of course, this isn't the case and all this is the product of some delusion I'm holding.  Really, I need to go and realize there really is that little to talk about.  Nice, overly ornate room, good but unspectacular food, not too expensive but cheap by any means either.

completely agree on bouley's food being one of my formative fine-dining experiences. (other than jl palladin at watergate) my 1st real big deal meal was bouley about 15 years ago. i'm planning on having lunch at the new iteration tomorrow but this thread has me worried. any words of hope, or should i head elsewhere while downtown?

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I guess I'm skeptical (not that I have any real reason to be).  I've liked Bouley more than most for quite a few years.  It was one of my formative fine-dining experiences back in the Bakery days.  There's something that's nagging me such that I think everyone is missing out on the finer points of the experience and isn't reporting back accordingly.

Of course, this isn't the case and all this is the product of some delusion I'm holding.  Really, I need to go and realize there really is that little to talk about.  Nice, overly ornate room, good but unspectacular food, not too expensive but cheap by any means either.

completely agree on bouley's food being one of my formative fine-dining experiences. (other than jl palladin at watergate) my 1st real big deal meal was bouley about 15 years ago. i'm planning on having lunch at the new iteration tomorrow but this thread has me worried. any words of hope, or should i head elsewhere while downtown?

I had a great dinner at the new Bouley in February. Food was delicious and service was very attentive. New decor is exquisite. Definitely do not change your lunch plans. Only thing else that I can add is that I am jealous (wish I was going). Hope you have a wonderful time. Please report back about your lunch.

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The lunch tasting menu is a great value (if they haven't raised the price since the review) and is worth doing just to try the new food and see the room. I'm not rushing back for the full-on dinner tasting with pairings, but lunch is cheap enough that you may as well see for yourself.

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So, Bouley, I'm of two minds on you.  On the one hand, a very good restaurant and a great value at lunch.  On the other, not as good as I would've hoped.

Unfortunately, the restaurant can't match the creativity at Corton, the elegance at EMP or the technical precision at  Per Se.  It's a clear step down from these restaurants based on what's on the plate.

Beautifully put. If this isn't the most gorgeous room in NYC, it's in the top 3. (At least, the front room is. The back room, where we were initially seated, was, to be diplomatic, not to my taste). The bathrooms make you want to genuflect. Service was very good. The food was fine, correct, enjoyable, but there were no "wow" or "oh my god" moments, of which there were several at Corton. If I had to nitpick (and being an UWSer, this is a given), I remember the mignardise being a little sloppy and off-handed (I would have expected one item for each of the two of us, instead of the odd numbers rolling around on the tiered tray). That's my only point. For a Special Occasion or Romance, this is it, especially if and when they have the fireplace going again.

Food, glorious food!

“Eat! Eat! May you be destroyed if you don’t eat! What sin have I committed that God should punish me with you! Eat! What will become of you if you don’t eat! Imp of darkness, may you sink 10 fathoms into the earth if you don’t eat! Eat!” (A. Kazin)

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i arrived this morning without reservations at 11:30 exactly. the door was finally opened at 11:44 after 3 phone calls to the reservationist (wherever she was located at the time.) i was a little cranky when i came in from the cold, windy drizzle. as noted above, the room is truly beautiful. far nicer than the red one was and better even than i remember the off white, farm-housey original. after some mis-cues with available wines at my table and another accross the room, the captain straightened it all out and the procession of dishes began. all dishes were as photo'd above including the same amuse (although mine didn't look nearly as good as the one pictured), the crab flan (as a bonus dish), the skate, chicken, pre-dessert and then the white, puffy sorbet dish. all were very well executed with the skate and flan being my favorite. as to whether this rises to the level of jg, bernardin, daniel, or per se.....well i don't think so. for a $48 lunch tasting however, i'd go back anytime i was in the area and anytime i needed a special room for lunch.

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Because you get five-courses for that price. That isn't to say that I wouldn't go JG over Bouley eight times out of ten and simply order less food for the same price, but you can't take away from the fact that the tasting menu at lunch at Bouley is a great deal.

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So if its $48 and doesn't rival JG...why not just go to JG?

if they were next door to each other i'd go to jg. i was downtown for business, so bouley it was. (and, as noted above, the extra 2 courses are a nice enticement as well)

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Because you get five-courses for that price.  That isn't to say that I wouldn't go JG over Bouley eight times out of ten and simply order less food for the same price, but you can't take away from the fact that the tasting menu at lunch at Bouley is a great deal.

You could get like 38 courses at McDonalds. ;)

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  • 1 month later...

Bouley in 3 venues---Two weeks ago we dined at Secession. It seemed a restaurant seeking an identity. The garish decor of the now defunct Danube endures while pulsating music blares in the diningroom. The Parisian bistro meets NY palate menu has given way to a lmited and unexciting menu. C Delouvier is the toque. I was just about to order the steak frites when it arrived at an adjacent table, both steak and frites in a black cassarole pan where I assumed it would continue cooking. We ordered entrees which were decent but boring. The service was good but seemed out of place with the decor and music. We won't return here.

We finally made it to the new Bouley. We found the setting fabulous and the service good if a bit jumpy....too much movement. The sommelier could have identified himself. We chose the $95 tasting menu. The amuse was a puree of cauliflower w. tomato and a dab of basil. .,,loved the service dish. We proceeded to the silky porcini flan with its generous chunks of crabmeat,again an eye pleasing presentation. The next course offered a choice of the egg or an orange scented salmon. I had read so much about the egg that I tried it...admittedly not a usual selection by me.. I hated it. I have loved many of Bouley's fish dishes, but this firm salmon was not one of them. The poached lobster in a port sauce was an A+ dish, simply splendid. The duck entree was mealy, coarse textured and totally without interest. The lovely puree potatoes came in both white and green...some things should not be green! For dessert, I had a cheese plate, all in prime condition while my husband was underwhelmed with the meringue snowball. We were remembering the wonderful white chocoloate snow previously enjoyed at Bouley and this didn't approximate. Delicious coffee and adequate mignardises. For me, this was an uneven meal with delicious [lobster], interesting [porcini flan], uninteresting [snowball] and poor [egg + duck] dishes. I hope for better as they go forward.

We had browsed the new bakery before dinner, purchasing some croissants for today's breakfast. They looked gorgeous but were tough rather than flakey & buttery. Not up to the 2.50$ tariff.

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Bouley in 3 venues---Two weeks ago we dined at Secession. It seemed a restaurant seeking an identity. The garish decor of the now defunct Danube endures while pulsating music blares in the diningroom. The Parisian bistro meets NY palate menu has given way to a lmited and unexciting menu. C Delouvier is the toque. I was just about to order the steak frites when it arrived at an adjacent table, both steak and frites in a black cassarole pan where I assumed it would continue cooking. We ordered entrees which were decent but boring. The service was good but seemed out of place with the decor and music. We won't return here.

   

Neither you nor anyone else apparently. It seems that it is closing according to multiple sources on the internet including the NY Times, Eater, etc.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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  • 2 months later...

Last night I celebrated my 50th birthday at Bouley; it was fabulous! My sister and I chose the $95 Tasting Menu, and everything was delicious! The famous porcini flan and crab deserves all of its accolades. The lobster course that followed was also wonderful: I don't recall ever tasting lobster so perfectly cooked (soft and sweet as well as a very generous portion). The egg dish with Serrano ham was superb; the egg yolk mixes perfectly with the ham and the parmesan cheese. Bouley's egg dish rivals my favorite egg dish at Momofuku Ko. The next course was a gift from the Chef: black bass (I'm usually no fan of bass, but this was delicious too). The final savory course was my favorite: the breast of duck with white truffle honey. The coconut soup with passion fruit and yogurt sorbet made a great palate cleanser and a lovely dessert. We ordered the amaretto flan with maple and amaretto ice creams, white coffee mousse and carmelized bananas; the maple ice cream was my favorite. I was brought an extra dessert of creme brulee with "Happy Birthday" written in chocolate -- lovely. The variety of breads offerred was great; my favorites were the apple, raisin, and garlic breads. Service was attentive and warm. We each received the lovely lemon tea cake as we left. Bouley continues to be at the top of its game.

Edited by ellenost (log)
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  • 8 months later...

My sister and I took our mother back to Bouley to celebrate Mother's Day. Our mom hasn't been to Bouley since the relocation, and we thought this would be a nice treat for her since Bouley has been a long time favorite restaurant of ours. When we arrrived, the very charming maitre d' took our coats and told us that he had a very special table for us that would take a few moments to get ready. We sat in the lovely seating area marveling about the beautiful orchids lining the front window sill. I have never seen such a beautiful collection of orchids (except in the Botanical Gardens). After no more than 5 minutes (we were very early for our reservation--great taxi driver avoided all traffic from my sister's apartment in Gramercy Park), we were shown to our table that gave us the best view of the entire restaurant. The room was filled with the most beautiful floral arrangements (all different). To our delight, our captain was a welcome surprise. George had always taken great care of us when he was at Bouley and Danube, but we hadn't seen him for a few years. We hope he stays a long time at Bouley.

Bouley offered a 5-course tasting menu (with choices) for $95. We first started with a lovely amuse of a parfait (bottom layer cheese , topped with a tomato gelee, topped with a little quenelle of basil sorbet. All flavors were wonderful separately, but the real magic was when I dipped my spoon to the bottom to get a little of all the flavors on the spoon at one time.

For the first course, our mom and I both chose the "Spring Garlic and Almond Soup, Parsley Root and Parsley Puree with Roasted Black Trumpet Mushrooms". All the flavors worked beautifully. My sister had the "South of France Jumbo White Asparagus with Roasted Local Pencil Asparagus, Spring Garden Herbs, Bail Dressing in a Comte Cloud". My sister was "swooning" over this. She very begrudgingly let me have two tastes. The asparagus were wonderful (I've always loved white asparagus), and the comte "cloud" was perfect.

We all had the "Porcini Flan, Live Dungeness Crab and Black Truffle Dashi". Both my sister and I have had this course before, and have loved it. Our mom loved it too. There seemed to be more crab than flan. This remains a winner of a dish.

We followed this with the "Organic Colorado Rack of Lamb, Roasted with Grains of Broccoli, Cauliflower and Special Spices, Soubise of Cippolini, Confit of Vine Ripened Cherry Tomatoes, Black Truffle Sauce". The lamb was removed from the bone, and must have been an inch and a half thick. The lamb was a perfect medium-rare and very soft and flavorful (not gamey at all). There also seemed to be a black olive sauce on the plate that since I dislike olives, I skipped. There was also a potato puree that was mixed with a cheese that had to have been the best potato puree I've ever had. We also received a side dish of two potato purees (the first was a traditional potato puree; the second was green in color--my sister believes it was mixed with leeks. Both were excellent.

Our pre-dessert followed: "Coconut Soup, Organic Yogurt Sorbet, Tree Ripe Pineapple Granite, Ten Exotic Fruit Sorbet". This was perfect. All of the flavors worked beautifully for a refreshing dessert. I would have been thrilled to have this as a full dessert.

For the real dessert, our mom and my sister ordered my usual favorite: "Hot Valrhona Chocolate Souffle, Vermont Maple & Prune Armagnac Ice Creams, Chocolate Sorbet". They loved this (as I usually do). I chose a new dessert: "Organic Quark Cheese Souffle, Raspberry and Strawberry Sauce, House Made Mint Ice Cream". This was a lighter dessert and very refreshing.

George brought our mom an autographed menu (which is how I am able to recount the menu). Needless to say this was a truly memorable meal. Our mom, my sister and I look forward to our next dinner (or lunch) at Bouley. Bouley continues to be one of my most favorite restaurants. I hope you all get a chance to have as special a meal at Bouley as we have had at Bouley.

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