Oceana

[Schneier]

I'll put this on the list for my next visit.

[rozrapp]

I read the review in the Post as I was closing tonight and thinking with a 4 star review that I would have problems getting a reservation. I called, thinking a 30 day policy might be possible and was astonished to get a 7:30 reservation on 12/18.

Anything I should know beforehand?

Birthday dinner after all and would prefer a tasting menu.

I do not remember Oceana ever having a 30-day policy. As for the relative ease with which you secured a reservation even after the restaurant received a 4-star rating, I don't think that the NY Post has anywhere near the power of the NY Times when it comes to restaurant reviews.

You can see the dinner menu here. They do not list a tasting menu, but you might call to double check.

Happy Birthday in advance and enjoy!

[Pan]

Yes, Lreda. Enjoy, and when you have a chance, please post a meal report.

[Bond Girl]

Bond Girl,

Was your one time there after Chef Gallagher took over?

RR

Yes, it was. I also a ttended a James Beard Event with Cornelius Gallegher cooking, it was the most phenomenal dinner. He made a smkoed tomato volupte that was amazing.

[robert40]

http://www.observer.com/pages/story.asp?ID=8455

Another review on Oceana.

It really seems like this young man grabbed the bull by the horn's when he took over the kitchen.

Its on the top of my, too go to list this year.

[Bond Girl]

It really seems like this young man grabbed the bull by the horn's when he took over the kitchen.

Its on the top of my, too go to list this year.

Robert, do go. The young man has talent. You encountered many unexpected elements in his cooking, flavors that surprisingly work together. I had one of the most beautifully prepared skates dish there, and the Loup de Mer was truly sensational in the way that allows you to experience different textures. I even ate the pork belly and risk allergic reactions to it.

[jogoode]

You went!? What else did you try?

[Bond Girl]

JJ if I tell you more that might spoil your experience. Let's just say, the food there impressed this girl who is not easily impressed.

[jogoode]

I'm there! Actually, I am thinking of eating there soon. Anyone have any recs beside the skate? A particular appetizer, maybe, representative of Gallagher's cooking? I can never choose from menus...

[Bond Girl]

JJ, try the Tuna tartar, the Maya shrimp or the pork belly, the sheep's milk gnocchi is also awesome. As for entrees go for teh loup or the skate. Can't tell you much about desserts though, but i heard they were very good.

[jogoode]

The gnocchi sounds great, but I was thinking of concentrating my ordering on seafood. Though I am intrigued by the pork belly. How is it pork belly served? (The online menu doesn't list that dish.)

[robert40]

jogoode,

The menu I received last week by fax list the pork belly as.

12 Hour Braised Pork Belly

flat leaf spinach, quince and natural pork jus.

Fresh shaved black truffle- $30.00 supplement.

[jogoode]

Thank you, Robert. If I do decide to try this dish -- and I think I might, because it sounds very interesting -- I would do it without the truffles, not just because supplements are a bit out of my price range, but because I wonder whether the dish would be enhanced with truffles. I suppose I'd have to try the dish and see what quince's roll is before I judge the combination.

Also, pork belly might not be the best match for the skate entree I plan to try.

[jogoode]

On Monday, I had lunch at Oceana with slkinsey. I had been planning to go for a long time, and couldn't because of work. I was hoping to meet the chef, Mr. Gallagher, but he wasn't there. Despite that, slkinsey and I had a great lunch. I didn't take notes, so I'm sure I've omitted or distorted some of the components of our dishes. I tried to use the online menu only when I was at a loss, because I'm not sure how current it is.

I started with the salad of jonah crab. This was the finest crab dish I've had at a three/four star: the crab's taste was very clear and amplified by the "herb veloute" surrounding it. I detected tiny stripes of blackish-purple in the deep-green veloute, which I think was olive puree. Small touches like that showed up throughout the meal – we clearly didn't try every dish but I would guess that these touches appear in most of Gallagher's creations, surprising the diner and making each bite slightly different. (Mrs. B, posting back in June about her meal at Oceana felt similarly about the Rollettes of Diver Sea Scallops (not on the menu now)).

She said:

 

the chopped up little vegetables around it which exploded in different parts of your mouth with wonderful flavors…

Arranged around the mound of crab were balls of piquillo pepper, each about the size of a small marble. They were subtly sweet, cool and added textural contrast to the crab. On top of the crab was a beautiful, thin shaving of dried piquillo pepper (it might have been the skin) that was shaped to resemble a crown or a rose. I dismissed it as silly garnish until I tasted it: here the taste of the pepper was concentrated, sweet and smoky. Another surprise in both texture and taste.

slkinsey had the tartare of yellowfin tuna, with horseradish sorbet and marinated daikon radish. I wrangled a bite and thought it was an excellent tartare, which is so often the dullest option for an appetizer, one of the most exciting I've tried. The fish was cut into cubes, about 1/3-1/2 of an inch, and therefore retained a meaty texture. The daikon was tender and acidic. The taste of horseradish and the chill of the sorbet were welcome surprises. (The online menu lists the sorbet in its description of the dish. While we were eating, however, Sam and I weren't sure where the horseradish taste was coming from. I used to like memorizing the menu's descriptions of the dishes I chose, so I could identify exactly what I was eating; now I find it's more fun to try to forget what's coming, so I'm surprised by what I get.) Sam and I first thought the flavor of horseradish was coming from the tiny cubes of dark green gelee he found as he toppled the tartare. But we couldn't tell exactly what those cubes were, but, to me, they were another example of Gallagher trying to make every bite different. The taste of horseradish, by the way, was stronger than it usually is in haute dishes, assertive and nose-filling without crossing the line and dominating the dish.

We were given an extra course of roasted "Maya" shrimp.(This article from The Wine Spectator tells us that they're from the Pacific coast of Guatemala.) The shrimp were very sweet and cooked until they were tender enough to cut with only a bit of pressure from a fork. They were served with curry oil (British-style, curry-powder curry, I think), cauliflower puree, two deep-red segments of blood orange. Underneath the two shrimp were little shreds of something acidic that I couldn't identify (the online dinner menu suggests that these might have been pickled ramps.) I loved this course and thought it was a great contrast to our cold apps, warming and richer.

On to mains…

Both of us had a very difficult time turning down butter cooked sturgeon with white asparagus and cardoons. If (when) I return, I'll be sure to try that dish.

For the main, Sam had halibut -- with hen of the woods, truffled grits and brussels sprouts in a chicken liver jus -- was excellent. I had only a bite, but that chicken liver jus was reduced so much that it had Sam constantly sticking his spoon in and smiling as the sauce coated the spoon.

I didn't love the combination of skate and pastrami, like I thought I would. But the mustard emulsion was excellent and I would have liked more of it and less of the sweet huckleberry sauce. Hidden under the large piece of skate, bursting with pastrami, were walnuts (or pecans, I couldn't tell), a surprising, dense crunch. The cabbage was silken and portions on the outside of the skate were crisped. A very interesting dish, overall.

We also ate lots of bread, which was all great, especially a very sour sourdough.

The wine list is a lot of fun to look through; I like to ogle the big names. But it also offered at least 50 half bottles, and modestly priced fulls. We ordered a half bottle of a nicely acidic Trimbach Riesling 1999, which our great waiter helped us pick. The service was seamless: completely unintrusive and very helpful. (Surprising because I thought, on the whole, the servers and hosts were unusually young.)

I was also impressed with Carmichael's desserts. On a triangular plate, with four equal-sized triangle sections, the hot chocolate trio featured an ultra-light chocolate fritter, coated with sugar and sitting in a pool of red fruit syrup. (Guesses as to what red fruit it was, anyone?) A perfect little warm chocolate cake waded in a passion fruit syrup, and a chocolate pot de creme -- without any embellishment -- was the richest I've had. The section in the middle contained an extremely high-fat vanilla ice cream, perched on a tiny tart shell.

Sam had a sticky toffee pudding with walnut ice cream and pomegranate sauce. The bite I had was great, but I'll let Sam describe this one, and the halibut.

The kitchen also sent out a third dessert(!): a huckleberry creme brulee, which our waiter said was Oceana's signature dessert. It was wonderfully rich, but tart huckleberry syrup helped me eat more of it than I thought I could -- though at this point in the meal I was ready to pass out from fullness.

Does anyone else feel more stuffed than usual after a meal at one of these places? I could finish thirty of the appetizers, but once the mains and desserts come... There should be an appetizer tasting menu -- does anyone know if that would mean a lot more work for the kitchen?

The lunch lasted about two hours and was well paced. If I could've stayed for another half hour without eating, I would have done it all again.

[JosephB]

JJ, you did this without taking notes? Very impressive.

By the way, where do you think white asparagus and huckleberries are coming from this time of year?

[jogoode]

You did this without taking notes? Very impressive.

By the way, where do you think white asparagus and huckleberries are coming from this time of year?

Thanks, Joe.

The huckleberries were, on the menu, "mountain huckleberries." Huckleberries on mountains are always in season, didn't you know that?

As for white asparagus, what is its season? I've heard chefs can get it from France, Italy and Germany, but I'm not sure what the temperatures are like in these places now. Any ideas?

[slkinsey]

JJ, great write up, dude. I am not sure I have much to add to what you have said. Since we talked about the dishes as we ate them, you've captured my impressions very well.

The one thing I'd mention is that it is damn reasonable for lunch at a 3 star place. We ate a lot of food and ended up spending around 80 bucks a person. Probably would have spent around 65 if we had each had a glass of wine instead of the half bottle of riesling.

[Pan]

That meal sounds fabulous! One of these days...

[Bux]

It's great to read that kind of report about a chef and restaurant than I just don't hear enough about. For all that talk about how great a food town New York is, there are more people and press following trends and social scenes than the good food. I've only had dinner there and the very major tasting menu to boot, but from the web site, it appears as if most all of the dinner offerings on the three course menu are offered at lunch at a significantly lower price. Dinner is hardly inexpensive, but probably not unreasonably priced by NY standards. Lunch however, would be an incredible bargain.

[slkinsey]

Yea, lunch is an amazing bargain -- probably one of the best in the city for a restaurant of that caliber. I'd go back for that in a second.

The other thing I forgot to mention... we me there for lunch at 1:30, which didn't strike me as all that late. But it quickly became apparent that we were their last lunch seating, and we more or less had the place to ourselves from 2:15 to 3:30. What was great about that is that we were totally comfortable, didn't feel like eyes were on us, didn't feel any pressure to hurry our meal, basically were made to feel that it was their pleasure to have us there for a long lunch. When it came time to ask for the check, I had only to look back at the waiter's station where I immediately caught our waiter's eye and he came over with the check already prepared. This highly trained, entirely unobtrusive yet always available service that is not stuffy or overly formal is really something I appreciate and one of the things I feel makes a big difference between a two star and a three star place.

Oh, and one other thing... It was very interesting for me to eat at what is more or less a neo-French fish restaurant, because I tend to favor more simple, elemental fish preparations such as one finds in Italian cooking. Both JJ and I agreed that the dishes there, while really quite excellent, did not necessarily highlight the essence of the main ingredient the way they do at, say, Esca. This is to say that the halibut dish, which I really enjoyed and would order again in a second, was not exactly bursting with halibut flavor. Rather, the chicken liver jus seemed to play the starring role and the halibut was a textural companion offering some flavor accents. Indeed, if I were to get really picky I'd say the halibut was slightly overcooked to my taste when I tried it on its own, and could have been moister. But, interestingly, this didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the dish the way it might have in a more minimalistic Italian-influenced presentation.

[Bux]

Yea, lunch is an amazing bargain

it quickly became apparent that we were their last lunch seating, and we more or less had the place to ourselves from 2:15 to 3:30.

At risk of killing the goose that laid the golden egg, it's clear that this kind of bargain is only going to last if the restaurant lunch trade doesn't pick up. A good many restaurants in NY City just don't serve lunch. Oceana is smack in the middle of a business, shopping and hotel district. I don't know why it isn't doing more business at lunch. My guess is that expense account lunches, for all the IRS restrictions are mostly about bad food at high prices to impress clients. Food that's easy to understand and places where the hype is better than the food are the ones who thrive on business meals. The food at Oceana is too interesting. It is, like Blue Hill, a specialized palate pleaser. It may not necessarily please the same palates that are pleased by Blue Hill, but it's not aimed at the casual dinner goer.

Oh, and one other thing...  It was very interesting for me to eat at what is more or less a neo-French fish restaurant, because I tend to favor more simple, elemental fish preparations such as one finds in Italian cooking.  Both JJ and I agreed that the dishes there, while really quite excellent, did not necessarily highlight the essence of the main ingredient the way they do at, say, Esca.  This is to say that the halibut dish, which I really enjoyed and would order again in a second, was not exactly bursting with halibut flavor.  Rather, the chicken liver jus seemed to play the starring role and the halibut was a textural companion offering some flavor accents.  Indeed, if I were to get really picky I'd say the halibut was slightly overcooked to my taste when I tried it on its own, and could have been moister.  But, interestingly, this didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the dish the way it might have in a more minimalistic Italian-influenced presentation.

That's my point, I guess. It's neo-French restaurant much in the same way that the best restaurants in and around San Sebastian/Donostia are. There's homage paid to the style and grace of haute cuisine as developed in France, but the food is contemporary and anti-traditional.

I've had dishes from Pierre Gagnaire in Paris where the taste I would normally expect, look for and enjoy from a principle ingredient in the dish was not so much overpowered by other tastes, but entirely absent as flavors combined and fused into a new taste I could not identify. It sounds disgusting, but if you have an open mind and the chef is not just tossing stuff in the mix, it can work. In can work to such a degree that you are left wondering why you don't miss the taste you miss and why you are so satisfied. There's no accounting for personal taste, but there's no reason one person can't appreciate chamber music and opera, or the music of composers from two entirely different times and places.

To respond to comments on a thread about le Bernardin, Oceana is not a seafood restaurant for those whose tastes demand the obvious. It may not appeal to those whose idea of fish and seafood is represented by the limits of the seafood restaurant equivalent of Peter Lugar.

[jogoode]

Oh, and one other thing... It was very interesting for me to eat at what is more or less a neo-French fish restaurant, because I tend to favor more simple, elemental fish preparations such as one finds in Italian cooking. Both JJ and I agreed that the dishes there, while really quite excellent, did not necessarily highlight the essence of the main ingredient the way they do at, say, Esca.

I agree, though I'd have to try more of the menu to make a general judgment. I say that only because of my jonah crab appetizer, which was mostly about the crab to me.

Yet for me everything else, especially the Maya shrimp app, approached the "new taste" that Bux referred to in his last post.

[oakapple]

I am mindful of restaurants' tendency to over-charge and under-perform on special occasions. (Picholine on New Year's Eve was my latest experience of that kind.) At Oceana on Valentine's Day I am happy to say that we were not disappointed, although I suspect it is possible to have a better meal there than we had.

For Valentine's Day, Oceana pared its cuisine down to a six-course tasting menu at $125:

Smoked Cod Chowder

Virginia Ham, New Potatoes, Pepperjack Cheese

Crisp Iceberg Lettuce

Marinated Vegetables and Bacon-Buttermilk Dressing

Duck and Pistachio Terrine

Frisee, Cornichon, Mustard and an Apple-Onion Marmalade

Steamed Halibut

Spaghetti Squash, Edamame, Lotus Nuts, Kaffir Fish Tea

Loup de Mer in an Almond Tea Crust

Baby Bok Choy and a Jura Wine Emulsion

  or

Short Rib of Beef Braised in Red Wine

Winter Vegetables, Fingerling Potatoes Garlic-Herb Beef Jus

Valentine’s Day Dessert Sampler

Sarsaparilla Ice Cream Soda, Banana Strudel,

Warm Chocolate Tart, Blood Orange Sorbet

You'll note that the only decision for the diner was Loup de Mer or Short Ribs for the fifth course. (Anyone who'd come to Oceana and order short ribs needs to have his head examined.) I do realize the need for restaurants to simplify on such a busy night, but I should think a professional kitchen could offer more variety than that.

The smoked cod chowder, the duck & pistachio terrine, and the loup de mer—a house specialty—were all superb. I especially would have liked more of the cod chowder and the loup de mer. That's always the drawback of a tasting menu: no matter how good a dish may be, it's gone in a few bites.

My friend wasn't fond of the iceberg lettuce salad, although I thought it was just fine, if unmemorable. For me, the low point was the steamed halibut, which was dry and had left all of its taste in the poaching pan.

The desserts were first-rate. I could have done without the sarsaparilla ice cream soda (basically melted ice cream that you sipped with a straw), but I can't complain about one dud when they give you a four-item sampler.

Paired wines would have been another $100 a person. Here my rip-off alert went into high gear. For well under that figure, one can select a superb white from Oceana's long wine list, and come home with cash to spare. Oceana also has a fine selection of half-bottles, and you could even sample a few of those without spending as much as the house wine pairing. As it was a work night for both of us, we settled for cocktails followed by a half-bottle of chardonnay ($38), with which we were delighted.

Including beverages, tax, and tip, the meal came to $398. Nobody would call that inexpensive, but for a three-star restaurant on Valentine's Day, it was one of the better special-occasion meals I've had.

Edited February 18, 2006 by oakapple (log)

[Bond Girl]

To go into every thing I had at Oceana last friday would be really boring, bot to mention cruel, for those who haven't been there. Needless to say that it was one of those heavenly experience that one languish in for weeks after. There was a sinfully seductive corn panna cotta, that had a silky smooth texture with the most delicate corn favor in your senses. A slightly spicy but fresh crab course that made way for a perfectly cooked salmon topped with cactus. Personally, I can't stand salmon. It's one of those overly popular fish that seemed to be on the menus everywhere, and when you order it, it's dry and greasy. This salmon has the tenderness and the cleaness that marks a true great cook. Simply perfect. And, just as we thought things couldn't get any better, we were served a sable fish with greens, a sweet rice and kalemansi lime sauce. For those who think Cornelius Gallagher's Tuna Tartar is to die for, this one trumps that. The melt in your mouth sweet sable fish is perfectly balance by the slightly bitter but mellow greens, and the two are support by the rice. Although the combination seemed fine enough to stand on its own, the Kalemansi lime sauce adds an extra mouth puckering tartness and made the whole dish virtually sparkle. I always knew Cornelius Gallagher can cook but this is true culinary genius! Desserts are solid with a pistashio ice cream in a chocolate cup, and a cream brulee. There was a strawberry foam thing that I didn't much like, but who reallly cares with a dinner so wonderful?

As we walked out of the restaurant absolutely happy, my friends, a pair foodies and die hard Gilt devotees, said to me: "You know, we have to admit, this is way better than Gilt." But, I always knew that.

[achevres]

Bond Girl, Thanks for the review! Oceana is my favorite restaurant and I'm going next Monday and taking my best friend (her first time). I can't wait.