D'Artagnan - The Restaurant (Closed)

[Steve Plotnicki]

Well we haven't said anything about the wines other then how they are regarded by collectors. But I did say I am not surprised that they might have charm to them. But just so you can see the variance in quality, here is a list of Robert Parker's Lynch Bages ratings thoughout the 80's and up through 1991. Unfortunately, I can't find his rating for 1981 but there is no rating for 1984 either which is a vintage that isn't highly regarded either.

1982 - 93

1983 - 89

1984 - NR

1985 - 90

1986 - 92

1987 - 82

1988 - 90

1989 - 96

1990 - 93

1991 - 86

Having tasted most of those wines, I can tell you that the ratings are pretty accurate.

Edited November 23, 2002 by Steve Plotnicki (log)

[marcus]

Steve -- you may have more recent information on Parker ratings, but I looked in my copy of his last printed version of his Bordeaux book which shows his ratings as follows for the years in question:

1981 -- 85

1989 -- 95+

1991 -- 86

1993 -- 86

The score re 1989 is a very significant discrepency, perhaps you could check your source again.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Oops it's a typo. The score in my book is a 96. I've edited the post.

Edited November 23, 2002 by Steve Plotnicki (log)

[Robert Nesta Marley]

Gascogne is my favorite NY restaurant from that region.  Though I haven't ben there in a few years.  It never dissappointed me.

summer brunching is fine at gascogne--a good deal, with decent escargots as part of the prix fixe. dinner there disappoints, though; cassoulet was severely underseasoned last time i visited. interesting horizontal, of sorts, of cahors, which suits the average dinner. we still brought wine, though, which upstaged the food a bit. but again, the garden has got to be one of the most charming places to dine outdoors in the city (and i'm not an outdoor dining kind of person). but i wouldn't return for dinner.

but i have been planning on d'artagnan.

[jaybee]

A few weeks ago I asked for members' experiences with this unique restaurant. I had one special event dinner there which was quite good. On balance, members' did not have god things to report. Last night, joined by several eGers, I went to a "chestnut festival" dinner there. The idea was to recreate a traditional seasonal festival in Gascony featuring roast chestnuts. The dinner consisted of several courses served family style. A dish of duck rillettes and cornichons, followed by a daube of venison with boiled potatoes, ending with a crustade of apples made with armagnac.

I found the food to be dull and unappettizing. Rillettes, never one of my favorites, was a kind of pasty consistency with a kind of doughy taste. The daube was dry and bland tasting, sort of an overcooked pot roast in a gravy that was thin and acrid. The apple crustade was also doughy, as though it needed more coooking, though the apples were tasty.

The highlight of the evening, apart from the company, was a 1947 armagnac that another table guest treated four of us to. it was, perhaps the best I've ever drunk. At $55 a glass, it should have been.

The wine was newly arrived (that day) from Gascony served from a barrel, never having been bottled. Pleasant and fitting with the food.

Ariann Daugin, our hostess is a lovely person and very involved in the event. It is sad that the food does not match the warmth and friendliness of the place. Despite the food, I had a wonderful time.

Edited December 11, 2002 by jaybee (log)

[La Niña]

You took the words right outta my mouth. I really enjoyed our Lynch-Bages dinner last month (I mean the food), but last night was disappointing. Even the chestnuts weren't consistently roasted sufficiently. I thought the daube of venison was barely edible - sour, watery, dried out...yuck. And the dessert left me flat. It was more like way, way too much mille feuille with a few apple peels buried somewhere. I bought mallomars on my way home...

But I did have a lovely time.

I can't believe I missed that Armagnac (I had to leave at 10)...but anyway, I'll go again to their Armagnac tasting this Friday...

I have yet to go to D'Artagnan on a regular night and eat off the menu, so I suppose I'll do that at some point.

[cabrales]

Nina -- As you might have read, the quail legs we sampled as part of the Armagnac tasting at D'Artagnan were described in the NYT Dining section today.

[La Niña]

I can't find it...

Also wanted to note that D'Artagnan serves really good butter. We ate a ton of it. (One person commented that we should have eaten the boiled potatoes with the butter and we'd have been happier).

[cabrales]

Nina -- There's a picture of a circular dish construction with, perhaps 8-12 quails' legs (very small in the picture too). There is a yellow-colored sauce in the "center" of the circular presentation. The text noted that the legs had been cooked in goose fat.

[La Niña]

I don't have the paper, I'm reading it on line...what's the name of the article?

[cabrales]

Nina -- It was in some composite section. I left the paper at home.

[La Niña]

Okay, thanks, I"ll buy the paper in a bit.

[lxt]

On balance, members' did not have good things to report

I’d be inclined to be a little more straightforward by stating that it was rather a frustrating gastronomic experience that didn’t even deserve the precise and detailed description Jaybee kindly provided. Not only was the daube dry and bland, it was as if it was prepared a week in advance, left to dry out on a surface for a while, and then frozen to be served as needed. I wasn’t as fortunate as Jaybee to find apples in my croustade and did seriously wonder whether I heard correctly when the menu was announced that the dessert would indeed be an apple croustade.

However, the chestnuts though, as Nina mentioned, not uniformly cooked, when done right were quite enjoyable: firm and crunchy, with a smoky flavor from the wood fire that slightly offset their sweetness.

It was quite disappointing, as Arianne was a wonderful hostess who created a sense of community by organizing several competitions/games involving chestnuts with appealing prizes of Dartagnan products. In fact, one of our companions was infected by the spirit of the competition, involving cleaning and eating certain number of chestnuts in the shortest period of time, to the extent that the rest of us at our table simply stopped just to watch the precision with which she meticulously and fiercely proceeded with the process of cleaning chestnuts, placing as many as fit into her mouth, and consuming them with incredible speed. The seriousness and passion with which she approached the task was truly commendable! Well, we were almost there, but unfortunately and unfairly runner-ups were not given prizes.

Sometimes I wonder whether the amount of fun derived is inversely proportional to the quality of the food.

P.S.

Jaybee, I won’t rest until I publicly apologize for stealing your fork, though I may suggest that it was your own fault to place it to the right of your plate, which happened to be my left side! (Not that I.. "use [my] knowledge of which fork to use as a way of maintaining a social hierarchy, [and thus] have bad manners" – Fat Guy.) I am afraid I’ll have to point you toward the etiquette thread now. :raz:

Edited December 11, 2002 by lxt (log)

[jaybee]

Jaybee, I won’t rest until I publicly apologize for stealing your fork, though I may suggest that it was your own fault to place it to the right of your plate, which happened to be my left side!

Apology accepted but not the blame. [Hmm. First Toby chews my shrimp at Babbo (just teasing Toby) and now you steal my fork. What to think?] Truth be told, I placed the fork on my left, which would be to your right. I moved it from the right side of my plate to the left to eat the rillettes with it. Somehow, it got transported from thence to your left hand to your mouth. Oh well, had you kissed the tines of my hand I would have enjoyed it more. But not to worry, the doctor told me the greenish purple circles on my tongue had not yet reached the contageous stage.

[jogoode]

Sorry if this has been posted already; I searched but found nothing.

This page mentions that D'Artagnan has closed, and when I called to check, the number given was not in service, seeming to confirm its demise. Too bad, I liked the restaurant's concept, though I've never been.

[Bux]

I was pretty sure the closing was posted on eGullet. I also liked the concept, but never made to the restaurant. Unfortunately, I've never heard any reports that were better than lukewarm and some that were less postive.

[Suzanne F]

Alas yes, happened weeks ago. We ate there several times -- it was solid, tasty food, and a chance to sample many of the cured and prepared duck and foie products. Arianne was a stitch as a host: coming around and telling HWOE that he had to finish the fava beans that came with something. And going to the loo there was enough to make you let loose before you ever made it into a stall: there was an armoire in the anteroom with a sound system playing barnyard noises.

But when they closed, the item in the Times said it was too much to focus on both a restaurant AND the manufacturing business. I'll miss them. And especially their specialty Armagnac cocktails.

[KatieLoeb]

But when they closed, the item in the Times said it was too much to focus on both a restaurant AND the manufacturing business. I'll miss them. And especially their specialty Armagnac cocktails.

How is it possible I never knew about this? I'd have made a special trip and run, not walked to that bar to scope out Armangnac cocktails!

[rozrapp]

I was pretty sure the closing was posted on eGullet. I also liked the concept, but never made to the restaurant. Unfortunately, I've never heard any reports that were better than lukewarm and some that were less postive.

Mmmm... Well, we ate there several times and had far better than lukewarm experiences.

My husband was crazy about the garbure. We first tasted this peasant soup at a demonstration class at ICE (it was Peter Kump's at that time) when Ariane brought 3 ladies from her hometown in France to cook regional dishes. When we discovered that it was on D'Artagnan's menu, he was thrilled. Since it's a winter item and his birthday falls in January, we celebrated there two years in a row just so he could get his garbure fix. The huge bowl, choc-a-bloc with meat and vegetables, was accompanied by a small glass of armagnac. In the tradition of the "true Gascon," the procedure was to consume the meat, veggies and most of the broth, then pour the armagnac into the remaining broth, lift the bowl and finish it off. My husband just had the best time. I don't know of any other French restaurant that serves it.

The charcuterie platter was excellent. And the last dinner we had there, I had a main course seared foie gras dish that was sensational. Oh, and there was an armagnac-soaked baba that was seriously delicious.

It was fun going there, and Ariane lent it her own special brand of conviviality.

I read that they closed because the rent was going up, and that they were looking for a relocation spot. I did not see the article that Suzanne referred to, but if it's true that they will not be re-opening, that's really too bad.

[cdh]

How is it possible I never knew about this?  I'd have made a special trip and run, not walked to that bar to scope out Armangnac cocktails! 

The armagnac cocktails were great... all based on an unaged white armagnac which was quite nice on its own when they served it with a baba-type dessert cake.

The place will be missed if it doesn't reopen someplace else. The buzz on Chowhound right around when they closed indicated an intent to move it someplace else.

IF the Times says the proverbial fork has been stuck in the rotisserie and it's done, it is sad news and I'll miss it.

Edited March 11, 2004 by cdh (log)

[tommy]

i always enjoyed it for lunch. but in 10 or so visits, i don't recall many people in the place at all. that might be telling for a midtown restaurant.

certainly a good place for a duck and armangnac fix.