No. 9 Park Review

[Schneier]

"Which two courses are removed if you order the seven-course menu?"

"The foie gras and the Kobe beef."

"Ouch. Then I guess I will have the nine-course menu."

No. 9 Park has two set menus: a "Chef's Tasting Menu" and a vegetarian "Market Menu." They are either available as a nine-course menu or, with two courses deleted, as a seven-course menu. With or without a wine pairing.

Course 1 was a seared pepper-crusted Bluefin tuna, with white bean puree and a few edamames for color--sage seasoning as well. Excellent fish course. It was red and cool and just barely seared. The beans worked well, as did the pepper and fish.

Course 2 was corn chowder with clams and mussels. The menu claimed lardons, but I didn't see or taste any. Very good.

Course 3 was the foie gras the waiter threatened to take away. It was seared and served on a piece of bacon with turnips, gooseberries, and a Bayuls reduction. VG.

Course 4: fish again. This time a poached John Dory with sassafras, black trumpet mushrooms, and served on a verbena leaf. Another good course. A nice blend of flavors: light citrus and light fish.

Course 5 was fettucini, served in a light sauced with confit chicken, baby zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and savory. This was nicely cooked and another good blend of flavors. Honestly, I barely noticed the chicken

Course 6 was breast of squab, with potatoes, chantertelles, and black truffles. It was okay. From the description, it should have been better. But it was just okay.

Course 7: "Wagyu Kobe Beef Rib Eye," served on a small piece of brioche, some baby carrots, and juice from the beef. Okay. (What do you want; it's just a piece of beef?)

Course 8 was cheese, an absolutely delicious piece of Roquefort.

Then a delicious pineapple sorbet. And finally dessert, a coconut meringue cake served on rhubarb ginger confiture with a lime frappe.

All in all, a very good and filling meal. A few comments, though.

1. The prices were wacky. Seven courses: $85, wine an extra $25. Nine courses: $135, with wine an extra $50. There's just no way the two extra courses were worth $50, and the two extra pours of wine were certainly not worth $25. I made my decision in haste, and it was a wrong one.

2. The portions were small. I think this is a good thing, but I could imagine some people being annoyed at this. Good for the restaurant for serving lots of small courses.

3. The wine pours were teeny, not even 2 oz pours. Speaking as someone who would rather taste than drink, I was fine with that. But the prices did not reflect such small pours.

No. 9 Park is a pretty restaurant. There are two rooms, a main room with the bar, and a quieter room off to the right. Ask for the quieter room.

Service was friendly and professional. I never felt rushed, and I never felt like I was waiting too long. Solo diners always eat faster than groups, and they accommodated that.

Good restaurant, but I'm not sure I'll be back.

Bruce

[speidec]

We had the 7 course tasting but opted for the prune stuffed gnocchi (her specialty) as a supplement. The service was fabulous as the kitchen was overtaxed. It was a Monday, a while back so I needn't go into course detail, but a 10 top sat just after we did and slowed our meal down considerably. 15 minutes from the oysters to the chantanay carot soup with caraway and lobster (tasty, but two spoonfuls). We did have the wine pairings and were treated to extra pours while waiting for our plates. Back to the gnocchi, dissapointing, very small, only four, mushy and the foie gras consisted of four cubes horribly overseared. Had this been a tasting course it would have been perfect in size, but it was an appetizer-sized supplement for $20. Had this been my appetizer only, I would have been very dissapointed. The rest of our experience was delightful and, again, the service made it a very enjoyable night. I would give it another shot if I were you.

[Schneier]

Here are the wines that came with the menu.

Tuna: 2002 Huber Gruner-Veltliner "Alte Setzen"

Corn Chowder: 2001 Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi

Foie Gras: 1998 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling "Clos Windsbuhl" Vendange Tardive

John Dory: 2001 Tablas Creek "Esprit de Beaucastel" Blanc

Fettuchine: 1998 Selvapiana Chianti Rufina

Squab: 2001 Chateau de la Maltroye Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge

Beef: 1998 Rietranera Brunello di Montalcino

Roquefort: 1998 Chateau la Rame Sauterenes Reserve

Coconut Cake: 2002 Saracco Moscato d'Asti

Bruce

[bushey]

It looks like the wines were very thoughtfully chosen.

At 2 oz pours, that's 14 oz of wine, or almost 3 glasses, with the seven course menu for $25. The nine course menu adds on two high-end wines, the Zind-Humbrecht VT and a Brunello for $25. A little steep for 2 oz pours each, but these would probably go for $16-18 per glass, I'd imagine.

[Schneier]

They were good wines. And yes, they were thoughtfully chosen. And--doing otherwise is one of my pet peeves about wine pairings--they were not simply wines off the per-glass menu, they were wines chosen to complement the food.

But the pours were <i>not</i> 2-oz pours. They were smaller.

B

[bushey]

You have to wonder sometimes what people are thinking -- an additional ounce or two would have made your experience and overall impression of the restaurant much more positive at a very low cost.

I took a wine class with Cat Silirie, No. 9 Park's sommelier, a couple of years ago and was quite taken with her. I learned an incredible amount (yes, a little knowledge can be dangerous!) in just a few weeks and her love for wine was infectious. So it's really very disappointing to hear about your experience.

[Schneier]

You have to wonder sometimes what people are thinking -- an additional ounce or two would have made your experience and overall impression of the restaurant much more positive at a very low cost. 

And it would have mostly been an impression. I probably wouldn't have even drunk the extra wine.

Bruce

[liamdc]

I was back in my hometown on business this past week and stopped in for drinks & a meal at the bar before returning to DC.

In the Drink Dept., I had an amazing pear martini, one of the house specials to start. My friends and I had a great conversation with Eli, the manger, before things got really busy. And the bartender was terrific, very attentive, with great wine suggestions during the evening, plenty of bread. I forget his name though! Sorry! It's been a long week.

I had the Truffle Gnocchi off the bar menu ($20). It was a very generously sized portion, garnished with lobster, mushrooms & peas. A creamy, but not overly heavy sauce. With it, I had a glass of the Refosco from Santa Barbara County. A very nice suggestions from the bartender.

The dessert was amazing: a Black Pepper Cheesecake (soft cheese, pineapple, and tart green apple). A refreshing Kracher Cuvee from Austria accompanied the dessert splendidly.

Even though the restaurant got very busy toward 7:30, it was a very cozy spot. Easy to hold a conversation. Very rich, old-style decor. Nicely lit. I'll be visiting the next time I'm in Boston. And I have my eye on the tasting menu, too.