Poste

[vengroff]

I'm going to Poste soon to try out Jay Comfort's cooking. Any particularly special items I should look out for?

[vengroff]

I won't belabor every dish we sampled, but I think the pork loin I had deseves special mention. My initial choice had been lamb (double cut chops plus braised shoulder, with favas and canellinis), but our server spent so much time talking up the pork loin that someone at the table just had to break down and order it.

Pork loin, of course, is notoriously overcooked, dry, and stringy. For that reason I almost never order it and rarely cook it at home. It also tends to be paired with sweet fruity glazes or sauces, which I generally don't care for. In this case though, the loin was described as being cured, so that it required less cooking time, and therefore remained moist and tender. It was served with a mixed mash of potatos and sweet potatos, and haricots verts.

I had never heard of this curing then roasting technique applied to pork loin. I'm hoping some of our curing, smoking, and all around pork experts here on eGullet can give me some additional background.

Whatever was done to this loin, it worked. The thick slices were pink and juicy. The texture was like that of a medium rare prime rib, but with a gentle pork flavor instead of the overt beefiness. I would not have guessed this texture could be acheived from pork loin. Either I've been eating pork loin at the wrong places, or Jay Comfort has figured out something about cooking it that nobody else knows. I thought the sweet potatoes were too sweet, but that's probably just me. I did, however, like the sauce of what looked like English mustard that came with it.

One other thing worth mentioning is the chef's cheese selection. I don't expect a fromagier and a sixty cheese selection wherever I go, but Poste has gone too far to the other extreme. The chef's cheese selection is one cheese. Not a selection of three or four cheeses, but one cheese that he has selected that day. The day we were there it was a perfectly acceptable Morbier, complete with the little line of ash down the center. Nothing at all wrong with that, but why not add a Camenbert and something blue to round out a nice little trio?

Hopefully a couple of my dining companions are lurking here and will chime in with some comments on their meals.

[Varmint]

Vengroff, by "curing" the pork, do you mean they brined it? Brining is often very good with pork.

[col klink]

I'm willing to bet that "curing" is nothing more than brining, which is one of the best things you can do to pork, especially the loin. The other very, very important thing they've done is to serve it medium rare. Know what else is rare? Trich in pigs, that's why you can serve it medium rare.

So, did they serve it with a sauce or straight up? If straight up, that's very impressive. Unless they quick cook the loin to order that is, which sounds probable since they mentioned a shorter cooking time.

[vengroff]

Thanks, guys. It was indeed served straight up, on top of the potatoes. There was garnish on top, but it was not smothered in a sauce. I'm sure you are right about the brining.

[vengroff]

I tried to replicate this at home last night. I brined a pork tenderloin, then grilled it on the Weber. I kept the coals over to one side, got a good char all around, then slid it over to the other side for some indirect heat and smoke from some mesquite chips. Half an hour later it had the medium rare feel to it so I took it off. Five minutes rest and then I sliced it. It was easily the best pork tenderloin I've ever made at home. Totally moist, and just barely pink. Not as good as at the restaurant, but still very good.

[bilrus]

This thread inspired me to do the same thing this weekend, but with a gas grill. I had very good results too, although it was a little salty, but tender and moist. I don't think I did a good job of rinsing the meat before putting it on the grill.

[hjshorter]

vengroff, did you read the review of Poste in the Sunday magazine? It didn't get a rave.

[vengroff]

vengroff, did you read the review of Poste in the Sunday magazine?  It didn't get a rave.

No, I was in New York this weekend, but I'll check it out.

[vengroff]

I think Sietsema was absolutely right about the duck and polenta. I mentioned it in a grits thread somewhere, but I can't find it. I didn't try to short ribs, and I've not been for lunch, so I can't say whether he's accurate there. But he did nail the green apple sorbet, which was delicious. Sadly, the champagne sorbet was much icier and had an off chemical taste.

I wish he had mentioned the cheese selection. I asked him about it in his chat last week, the first time I've ever gotten to the chat live, but he didn't pick my question.

[Steve Klc]

Re-send your question Darren or hold it for the eGullet Q&A. Here's the link to Tom's Poste:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?n...file&id=1075800

A question, do they promote the cheese element somehow? What led you to expect a cheese effort?

[hjshorter]

Thanks for the link Steve, I should have done that in my original post.

It's funny, sometimes a less than stellar review makes me more interested in trying a place. Maybe Poste will be the place for my birthday dinner this year.

[vengroff]

Re-send your question Darren or hold it for the eGullet Q&A.  Here's the link to Tom's Poste:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?n...file&id=1075800

A question, do they promote the cheese element somehow?  What led you to expect a cheese effort?

The cheese selection is listed on the dessert menu along with the other choices. I'm only up in arms about it because the "selection" was a single cheese. I think they should either offer several or not bother at all.

[hjshorter]

The cheese selection is listed on the dessert menu along with the other choices.  I'm only up in arms about it because the "selection" was a single cheese.  I think they should either offer several or not bother at all.

That's puzzling, why offer only one? Did you ask what their reasoning was when you were there, Darren?

[vengroff]

I asked our sever what cheeses were in the chef's selection. He told me it was actually just one cheese. He said it confuses a lot of people, but "chef's cheese selection," means one cheese, selected by the chef, not a selection of several cheeses. If it confuses customers, than that seems like one more reason to change it. Maybe Mr. Comfort has a particular reason for choosing to serve one cheese at a time, but if he does, our server didn't offer it.

[JennyUptown]

Has anyone been to Poste lately? I've never been all that impressed, but it's close to my office so I'm willing to give it another chance (if it makes sense to).

[JRage]

My wife and I are making plans to go there with another couple next week... I will report back shortly.