Mix (with Doug Psaltis as chef de cuisine)

[Bux]

Looking at restaurant food purely as a commodity and not as art, value in food is basically going to be an equation that looks at food and labor cost (kitchen labor, that is) and compares that to price.

Taking this strictly on an abstract level and without reference to particular chefs and restaurant for a moment, I'd have to disagree in that your equation accepts the food and labor costs as reasonable, where one chef might drive better bargains from his supplier or another chef might overpay his staff. We'd need to establish intrinsic value for the materials and salaries. Attempting to go down this route is what lower middle brow reviewers often do to establish that consumers are being ripped off, when they compare steak at so much per pound and potatoes at so much per pound without accounting for exceptional quality. Thus trying to be objective about costs is a losing proposition. Someone needs to make an evaluation of the worth of the food and labor. Not all raw materials are equal, but you can't assume the cost is the real value to the consumer.

I'm pleased you enjoyed that web site. The ultimate level of designer chutzpah. Communication takes a back seat to the designer's skill. Sloppy code writing is covered by not allowing the site to be rendered in any browser but the annointed one. It's not about how many see the site or get the client's information, it's about making sure those who see it, see the designer in the best light. There's a disconnect between form and function unless the site isn't meant to communicate. It's not the only one of its kind. Berasategui's site comes to mind as well. It is quite beautiful if it will run on your browser, although admittedly I also found it quite elegant and very avant garde.

[Fat Guy]

one chef might drive better bargains from his supplier or another chef might overpay his staff

Of course the cost-percentage analysis assumes all other things are equal. If all other things aren't equal, you have to factor them in as well. But all other things being equal enough for the basis of comparison is not a completely ridiculous assumption in the narrow niche of two-, three- and four-star restaurants in New York City. I imagine at the top levels of New York dining these factors aren't all that variable, especially from an overall cost perspective.

For example, it may very well be that Jean-Georges Vongerichten gets a better deal on product X than Daniel Boulud, or has been more clever about finding a supplier, but it's inconceivable to me that he gets better deals across the board. Too much information is out there about exactly what is being paid by whom for what, there's a ton of overlap in suppliers, the chefs all talk to one another, and so do the sous-chefs who do the ordering. If a chef discovers a new ingredient or supplier, everyone else will be on that bandwagon within a few months. And with so many products -- hundreds -- being purchased by a single restaurant every week, there may be some flexibility in the market, but this sort of thing is very likely to average out.

Now if you want to start looking at scale, maybe there's going to be some pricing advantage that affects the value equation. For example, I'm pretty sure that Steve Hanson gets better prices across the board on many products because he has something like 12 extremely active restaurants in New York City. It wouldn't surprise me if he's doing ten times as many covers per night as all of Daniel's restaurants put together. Whatever the numbers, his volume is incredible. And he has a totally integrated purchasing system, as I understand it, so his price per pound for almost any product that he's using chainwide will be better than Daniel's price per pound -- it could easily cost him half as much for nearly equivalent quality raw tuna or salmon or beef or whatever.

But the three- and four-star chefs, for the most part, are running small operations. Even someone like Jean-Georges doesn't operate enough restaurants in New York City to start getting really advantageous bulk wholesale pricing on products. In the grand scheme of things, if you're doing a few hundred covers a night on a large menu, the quantities you buy of any one thing per delivery are surprisingly small.

As for labor, I think the pay scale is in a relatively narrow range for line cooks at top restaurants around town. I'd appreciate hearing from someone in the business about that, though, because it's not an area in which I have a lot of information.

The reason I think it's interesting to reduce it to cost as a percentage of price, though, is that it's the most immediate and decisive refutation of the reductionist Ralph Nader complaint about high restaurant prices. If the local diner is running a 20% food cost and Gramercy Tavern is running 35% food cost, there's a strong argument from the standpoint of pure economics that, all other things being equal, the diner is a ripoff and Gramercy Tavern is a bargain, even though it costs five times as much money to eat at Gramercy Tavern.

[jogoode]

Steingarten to Fat Guy, "Ditto on Mix."

I just glanced at his latest article in Vogue. I can't believe he did a NY restaurant round-up. Not very interesting or relevant. He probably just wanted Vogue to pick up the check...

[jogoode]

Mix's clam chowder, which I've now enjoyed twice, is the best I've ever had by a significant margin.

Le Bernardin is serving a chowder now, too.

"Lobster, Bay Scallop, Clams and Crab Presented New England Chowder Style"

I wonder how they compare...

[Fat Guy]

How bad could it be?

I wonder if it's like the bouillabaisse they do at Bernardin, where the fish are steamed or poached or whatever and they come out in the rimmed soup bowl, and then the broth is poured over them at the table to finish the dish. This would probably work for chowder as well and strikes me as fitting for the way Bernardin does stuff.

What I can say about the bouillabaisse at Bernardin is that it's totally delicious, but not really in the spirit of bouillabaisse. It's so four-star-refined and self-consciously-haute that it no longer possesses the rusticity and heartiness that make bouillabaisse what it is. That's not at all the style in which Mix cooks: at Mix you will find some very robust cooking that purposely lacks that kind of refinement. They use the top level of ingredients and technique, but they're not afraid to serve hearty, chunky, rustic stuff.

[MiguelCardoso]

I wish Grimes's restaurant reviews were as complete, sincere, balanced and finely expressed as this. It passes the ultimate test: the reader feels he's as-near-as been there. Thanks!

As a Portuguese Manhattanophile who was recently shocked to find the 58/58 bar at the Four Seasons Hotel didn't open before lunch (though, give them credit, they did set up specially in the days I was there and served very well-made drinks) the only thing that I considered vaguely (i.e. extremely) upsetting were the pre-lunch bar hours:

"Bar:

Monday to Friday 11:30am to 12am"

But then I suppose half an hour is better than nothing. The question, for us incorrigible Southern Europeans, is who can be ready for lunch before, say ,2:00pm, after one of those fabulous, over-generous New York breakfasts?

[MichaelB]

I had lunch at Mix yesterday. DId I miss any eGulleteers? I was alone;so not the best way to evaluate someplace.

I had this uncomfortable feeling all through my meal. I kept looking at the plexiglass walls and ceiling tiles. All I could think of were those ant farms/colonies/whatever they used to sell (maybe still do). I felt like we all boxed up and on display for someone much larger than we are -- either physically or spiritually, maybe AD himself.

What is up with the total lack of identification on the building? No name, not even the address adorns the outside of the place. Heck, I knew (or sure thought so) exactly where the place was and I walked past -- twice! Then I called. Something is wrong when the reservationist has to give directions like this:

We are located on West 58th Street between Fifth and Sixth. Closer to 6th than 5th. We are ont he south side of the street. Directly across the street from the Ocean Club.

OK, now onto the meal.

The chicken pot pie was as close to perfect as any I remember eating.

I didn't understand the shrimp appetizer that I had. The flavors were quite good; I just couldn't understand the 3/4 inch layer of sauce at the bottom of the bowl or what I was supposed to do with it with only a cocktail fork at my disposal. And, I know that I am being . . . . For $17 I want that salad served insomething other than a clear plastic bowl. I kept having these thoughts about displays inside displays, inside displays.

Finally, someone messed up the grape jelly yesterday. The stuff I was served was the consistency of olive oil.

Maybe I was just thinking too much.

[MiguelCardoso]

This is just to thank the fellow member who was kind enough to point out in a private message to me that Mix's 11:30am to 12:00am bar hours do not mean 30 minutes, as I had thought, but rather 750 minutes. I freely concede this is more than enough for any drinking one might like to do before or after lunch or dinner. :)

[Felonius]

I dined again at Mix last week in the company of another eGulleteer. I may write a more comprehensive post later, but my first response to the meal is this....

ATTENTION ALL MANHATTAN STEAK CONNOISSEURS - GO TO MIX IMMEDIATELY AND ORDER THE STEAK!

The steak would have ordinarily been my last choice on the mix menu. I regularly scarf down steaks at Smith & Wollensky and Sparks, and had come to the hard won conclusion that outside of Peter Lugers there was no reason to venture anywhere else in Manhattan. Well, Doug Psaltis sent the table a tasting portion of his steak (dry aged sirloin cooked bone-in) and made me eat my words. The preparation was simple - steak with some reduction/jus and a side of rather unremarkable hash-browned potatoes. I was prepared to be underwhelmed until I took the first bite of steak. Probably the most flavorful and beautifully textured piece of steak I've ever eaten. Just an incredible nutty/mineral dry-aged flavor beyond anything from Sparks or S&W. I haven't eaten at Luger's in some time, so I'm not going to opine on that comparison.

I'm going back soon for another steak, and not the tasting portion...

[Fat Guy]

I've just returned from lunch at Mix and, aside from that ridiculous apple dessert (which dear Felonius is totally right about), everything was really impressive.

Mix is now into the second phase of its evolution, where the kitchen has the flexibility and confidence to cook improvisationally for repeat customers (and indeed there is a clientele of regulars that has developed). There are also a couple of daily specials every day (available to anyone) based on limited-quantity ingredients, for example they're buying a whole pig or two each week and doing various specials with the different parts -- today I had shoulder served over polenta and chestnuts. There are also Nantucket bay scallops (the season started on November 1) on offer, and cepes/porcinis are in season -- they combined very nicely into a dish of scallops served over a puree of cepes with both raw and sauteed sliced cepes (this is the second dish I've seen at Mix that combines raw and cooked cepes to good effect).

I didn't get to try it, but our captain, Nathan, whom I have come to trust, was pitching the new halibut dish, which is cooked a la plancha and served with black trumpet mushrooms (it's the great halibut from EMS). That will be a priority for my next visit. Also had the clam chowder again, which I believe to be definitive.

Lunch at Mix is in many ways more pleasant than dinner: the place doesn't fill up quite as much, it's not as loud, and the natural light from outside really perks up the room. Plus the lunch prices are lower than at dinner, for essentially the same food (maybe an ounce or two difference on some protein portions, but all the technique and such are identical).

[Felonius]

I hate to sound like a broken record but....

Went back to Mix for the steak today. I had the dinner portion instead of just a few tasting morsels I tried on my last visit.

I can now say definitively that the steak at Mix NY has the best flavor of any I've ever eaten. The sirloin is dry-aged for 28 days I believe, and cooked/served on the bone. I ordered it rare and it was cooked to perfection, with a beautiful browned and caramelized exterior and rare throughout the inside. The meat is a bit firmer than the competition (Sparks, Lugers, etc.), but I suspect this is because the steak is dry aged longer. The payoff is the most rich and complex dry aged flavor (minerals, nuts, earthiness - how can I describe it?) I've ever experienced. It amazing the heights something as simple as a grilled sirloin can reach with the proper quality control and dry aging.

Doug Psaltis and Alain Ducasse have changed my steak reference point. Sparks and Smith & Wollensky's will never be the same for me again.

The rest of the food at Mix was fantastic as well. Tuna tartare with vegetables and the clam chowder were exquisite. My Dad has dietary restrictions (due to a heart condition) and asked if a low fat lunch was possible. He was brought several healthy fish and vegetable dishes that were every bit as delicious and creative as my more sinful selections. If Doug Psaltis continues to turn out food like this, Mix may end up at the top of my personal favorite list in NYC.

[Fat Guy]

On the menu they call it an "L-Bone steak," which is their terminology for a bone-in New York Strip. I think it's aged 25 days, yet it has a substantially more identifiabe "hung" flavor than anything I've had at the top steakhouses, leading me to believe that the steakhouses aren't dry-aging their steaks as long as they say or the aging conditions (temperature? humidity?) are somehow different. I don't think the beef itself is different: I forget which Hunt's Point supplier Mix is using but it's one of the big names that plenty of steakhouses buy from. They may be paying extra for top pick, but I think the real difference is somewhere in the aging process. Then again, there may be some other factors at play here: the cooking method is slower and involves resting the meat, and there's a very nice sauce that comes with it -- I think there's foie gras in the sauce or something of that nature that gives it a really nice gamey kick. I wasn't fond of the accompanying limp rosti thing, but I very much enjoyed the salad that came on the side: a stylized blue-cheese-and-lettuce salad with hot peppers hidden beneath. Was that how it was served to you?

I notice you make no mention of dessert. I guess there's still progress to be made on that front.

[Felonius]

The steak was served with a potato-based gratin, which was sort of long and round in shape. This had good flavor but was a bit greasy in texture to my taste.

The steak was served with a salad sprinkled with bleu cheese crumbles, but the dressing was different (less spicy) than I had on a similar salad previously. A simple salad, but it works perfectly as a cool, light and crisp contrast to the heaviness/gaminess of the steak.

I didn't order dessert because I was too full after two app courses and a big steak! My Dad had the apple dessert, of which I'm not a big fan. He liked it well enough. I did scarf his vanilla ice cream scoop though, and that was excellent.

I would like to try a few more of the desserts. My favorite was the raspberry one with rose ice cream, but it is no longer on the menu. I've tried the apple tart and the savarin as well, which are fine but didn't register too high on the excitement scale for me.

[Fat Guy]

Lunch today at Mix confirmed that the restaurant has really hit its stride and is producing cuisine at New York's top echelon. I asked Doug Psaltis to do a tasting menu (this option is available to any customer, though not printed on the menu -- they are currently doing about 30 tastings a night and a handful during the day) for us and a hardcore gourmand friend from Florida who has been Marathon-eating his way through the top places in New York City for about a week. By the second course he had concluded that this was the best meal of his trip.

Likewise, every one of my best meals in recent memory has been enjoyed at this one restaurant. Today's meal was particularly noteworthy because every dish tightly integrated the Mix concept of hearty French and American comfort food redrawn in the Ducasse mold and injected with a dose of whimsy. When reading about Mix in the advance materials, I had my doubts about this approach, but I'm certainly a convert at this point. It turns out that the approach not only provides plenty of flexibility and room for invention, but also pushes ingredients to the fore while allowing for a lot of application of classic and Ducasse-updated-classic technique.

One highlight, appropriate for Thanksgiving week: cepes and foie gras with cranberry compote, layered in a parfait glass. The cranberry compote -- a variation on the Ducasse multi-textured "marmalade" concept that resurfaces in so many of his dishes -- was laced with orange, vanilla, and apples, and spooned into the glass as a first layer. Tremendously labor-intensive, no doubt, and I'm glad I wasn't the prep cook today, but it's worthwhile effort. The mouthfeel and robustness of Ducasse's marmalades severely overshadows the equivalent substances that most restaurants make in a Robot Coupe. On top of that compote, a similar treatment of cepes, plus cepes sauteed in slices and shaved raw. That plus a piece of seared foie gras and some chervil made for quite a mouthful.

Next came an avalanche of "salads," though none was actually a salad. Still, in concept, each was definitely what I'd call a lunch dish in the best sense of the word: a bit lighter and brighter than dinner fare yet with the same level of technique and quality of product on display.

I've enjoyed the Mix tuna salad in a few iterations, and today's was the best so far. It's so far removed from a tuna sandwich that it's shameful even to make the comparison, but at the same time I easily could have opened up a crusty baguette, dumped this whole dish into it, and eaten it as the world's best tuna sandwich. This plated version of the dish (in the past it has been in a straight-sided glass dish) was built on a base of braised and picked tuna mixed with crushed herbs. On top of that, a salad of frisee and bitter herbs. Scattered around across and on top, tomato confit, cucumber, piquillos, celery, haricots verts, croutons the size of large salt crystals, and pickled onions. On top of all that, two swirls of glistening, gelatinous, raw bluefin tuna. And right down the middle of the plate, on top of everything, a long strip of braised toro. Olive oil from the Riviera and some serious balsamic vinegar capped it off.

A dish in progress that we got to taste in what is an early version (afterwards, Psaltis mentioned that he plans to migrate to monkfish and add clams to the plate) was a "bouillabaisse salad." The fish stock is heavily reduced into something approaching a glace. The bottom of the bowl is painted with this saffron-rich glace, and so are several of the individual items like fingerling potatoes and sweet baby fennel (this baby fennel, from Chef's Garden in Ohio, may very well have been the ingredient of the day). The various fish were all poached or steamed or prepared in whatever way left them the most pure: rouget, bay scallops, squid, and sweet shrimp. Also rouille and a crouton with pistou on top. This is going to be a terrific lunch dish.

The day's special entree, which we had as our main course, was a "chicken Caesar salad." The chicken breast is sealed with seasonings in a cryovac wrapping and "poached" in a steam oven -- a common Ducasse method of achieving amazingly tender and evenly cooked poultry. This was sliced and plated with a simple jus on top and, around the plate, a small Caesar-type baby-greens salad, a parmesan crisp, a bacon crisp, and some tapenade. The most noteworthy item on the plate, however, was an egg-in-the-hole, a single egg yolk on a toast round. This egg, from Four Story farm in Pennsylvania (where Mix gets a large percentage of its meat, including the chicken on this plate), is one of the few I've had in America that rivals the best I've had in Europe: deep orange in color, viscous even when cooked soft, and with the near-forgotten, deep, buttery, rich flavor of a real egg.

Mix hasn't yet implemented a cheese course, and doesn't plan to do cheese-cart service (it wouldn't be in keeping with the style of the place), but Psaltis is experimenting with ways to add cheese to the meal. Today he sent out three tiny half-potatoes, each stuffed with a different kind of cheese -- a riff on the twice-baked potato concept. The cheeses were Vacherin Mont D'Or; Grafton Cheddar, and Rogue River Creamery blue, all from Murray's.

And finally, the first truly excellent dessert I've had at Mix -- perhaps things are finally looking up in this department: peeled, seeded, and halved green grapes drizzled with reduced grape juice, mixed with crushed walnuts, lemon juice, and a pie crumble (not sure if that's a real culinary term, but you know what I mean), and topped with a quenelle of vanilla-bean ice cream sprinkled with black pepper.

Wine, again I defaulted to the Haza, served nice and cool in Ducasse's great Hungarian hand-blown crystal stems. Service: getting better; not quite all the way there yet, though.

[Schneier]

Lunch today at Mix....

I had lunch there the day before.

We should learn to coordinate these things.

Bruce

[jogoode]

Mind if i ask how much the tasting cost? Do you think it's a good way to experience Mix for the first time?

[Fat Guy]

My friend paid so I didn't see the bill, and the other time I had lunch there we were undercharged by so much I felt I should report myself to some sort of ethics committee, so I don't have the information on lunch tasting-menu pricing. But I do know that at dinner they price tastings at $100 and $125 (depending on size and scope). I'm sure it's less expensive at lunch but we'd have to ask.

Is it a good way to experience Mix for the first time? I guess it depends what you want to experience. Tastings are the best meals at Mix, but the fixed menu items are more indicative of the restaurant's core. There are a few signature dishes -- the clam chowder, the foie-gras/truffle mac-and-cheese, the bison, etc. -- that you probably won't see in a tasting menu progression but that you definitely would need to try in order to get a handle on the menu. Then again you could ask to see some of the signature dishes in your tasting; they're pretty flexible especially at lunchtime when there's more room to maneuver.

[Schneier]

I wanted to order the BLT. Maybe next time.

[Steve Klc]

Crumble is a culinary term and that dessert sounded fantastic, Steve. Thanks for the report. Was just one dessert served as a part of the tasting menu--i.e. no amuse? Were you all served the same dessert?

[Fat Guy]

We were all served a single dessert, all the same, followed by the standard Mix lunchtime dessert follow-on of warm madeleines with chocolate-hazelnut spread/dip. Last time I had lunch there, however, we each received a different dessert. It would seem there isn't a standard policy in place on that issue. As for a dessert amuse, I don't recall ever being served a dessert amuse at lunch or dinner at Mix, either with a regular menu or a tasting menu -- it doesn't seem to be part of that restaurant's culture. Then again maybe I had one at some point and it was just forgettable; the pastry program is still not where it needs to be, although there are now at least a couple of respectable desserts.

On the dessert amuse point, I do think at the Mix dinner three-course price point of $72 you should get a dessert amuse -- it's standard and expected in this range. Certainly Mix is aiming for a quicker meal pace than a four-star place, but a dessert amuse hardly brings the meal to a halt the way a whole extra course would. And I think there are a couple of desserts that are weak as desserts but would be ideal if repurposed as dessert amuses. The chocolate pizza is a nice dish, the presentation (on big metal pizza trays, served with triangular pizza-server spatula things) is fun, and it's very much in keeping with the Mix formula, but as a dessert proper it's monotonous and one-dimensional. A third of a slice (aka a sliver) would make a great dessert amuse or post-dessert course, though. Ditto the various pots de creme. They're very well made, but I don't find naked pots de creme to be a satisfying dessert no matter how good they are and no matter how many different ones you load onto my plate. For me, a pot de creme only works as part of a larger dessert composition. Yet the jasmine tea petit pot de creme would be a nice dessert amuse.

It's interesting to me that across the street at ADNY they have one of the best pastry programs in America both in terms of craftsmanship and abundance, whereas at Mix it's all too often amateur-hour in the pastry kitchen and they're not particularly giving with desserts. As far as I know the same pastry chef, Frederic Robert, is overseeing both programs. Maybe this is a bad idea, not so much from a labor perspective but from a psychological one: as between ADNY and Mix, there may be an imperative to view Mix as the lesser restaurant and therefore to deliver less. Whereas, if Mix had a totally independent pastry program with its own mission and culture, with a more direct reporting channel to Psaltis (the commanding officer in the trenches who knows what's what on the front lines), it might be able to shine. The independence formula has worked very well for the savory kitchen, where Doug Psaltis is able to put out food that's far more laid back than what Didier Elena does at ADNY, yet it's done in a best-of-breed manner that still very much reflects two facets of the Ducasse style, sort of like the dynamic of Cafe Boulud and Daniel, where oftentimes you get the more enjoyable and interesting meal at Cafe Boulud even though Daniel is clearly in a different, higher category in terms of how many stars you'd assign to the restaurant. I also think perhaps the high-formal dessert concepts in use at ADNY don't translate well to scaled-down versions. You can't separate out the ADNY desserts from their presentation and context; when you try, what you wind up with is a bunch of technically well made components of ADNY-type desserts that are ultimately unsatisfying on their own.

[Schneier]

I was unimpressed with the service. Two people, three courses each, and they messed up 33% of them. One appetizer was wrong--I ordered A but received B--and my guest got my entree.

Bruce

[Fat Guy]

I was unimpressed with the service.

My theory is that you were unimpressed with the service because the service is unimpressive.

Don't even get me started on the impossibility of getting a cocktail made (or should I say mixed) the right way -- I was really glad someone at my table ordered one, just so I could see the whole sequence of events unfold.

There are a few individual skilled folks up there in the dining room, but not quite enough to constitute a bona fide service team. The restaurant is still new enough that the unsteadiness of the front-of-the-house operation isn't particularly annoying to me yet, but I certainly hope they get it all sorted out within the next few months.

However, from your account, it sounds like at most one dish was "messed up" whereas in the other instance the food runner simply got your seat positions reversed. And it's worth bearing in mind that miscommunication and faulty memory are occasional occurrences even in the best restaurants.

[Schneier]

However, from your account, it sounds like at most one dish was "messed up" whereas in the other instance the food runner simply got your seat positions reversed. And it's worth bearing in mind that miscommunication and faulty memory are occasional occurrences even in the best restaurants.

Oh, I know. And I'm not intending to trash the place. I would definitely go back. Although I enjoyed DB Bistro more.

Bruce

[Felonius]

This place started off strong, and keeps getting better every time I visit. Last night was my 6th visit, and the first time I've ordered a tasting menu for dinner. The meal was superb - I'd say the overall quality and execution rivalled the best of NYC.

My date and I arrived just before six, and asked for a tasting menu with no restrictions or special requests. During the next hour and half, we enjoyed one of the best expressions of fall/winter ingredients that I've ever experienced. Here are the dishes Doug Psaltis prepared (with names/descriptions I'm making up as I go along, since there wasn't a menu), in the order served:

1st - Parfait of thinly sliced duck breast, lentils, and foie gras. This was served in a clear conical parfait glass, so all the layers could be seen. On top were two very thin slices of duck breast, which may have been cured in some way, as it had a texture and appearance somewhat like bacon or prosciutto. Next to the duck was a small slice of foie gras pate and a toast. These were on a bed of savory lentils, which were layered on top of some sort of gelee (aspic from a meat stock maybe?) accented with mustard. A very earthy and rich dish, full of contrasting flavors and textures. The gelee and the lentils helped to balance the extreme richness of the duck and foie gras. A very interesting and satisfying dish.

2nd - Pumpkin soup, with chesnut ravioli, foie gras, ham. The ravioli, ham and foie gras arrived in a white porcelain bowl, and the hot pumpkin soup was poured over this beautiful presentation tableside. Rich pumpkin soup, that seemed to be more of a super fine puree of pumpkin as opposed to anything heavily cream-based. Small cubes of what I'm pretty sure were cured ham, along with the foie gras and tender chestnut-filled ravioli, were perfect accents to the soup. Again, the dish blended a variety of textures and flavors - chewy and salty ham, sinfully rich and creamy foie gras, tender but firm ravioli, along with the ultra smooth soup. A truly fantastic winter soup, as good as any I've had.

3rd - Seafood with leeks and mustard, seafood, cream (I think) sauce. Seafood included a small rectangle of monkfish, a shrimp, a scallop, a clam and a mussel artfully arranged on a plate with a yellowish mustard based sauce that had a tangy lemon component as well. Each piece of seafood was cooked to perfection and tasted as if it had come off the boat that day (trust me on this, I grew up a few hundred yards from a fish pier/market on Cape Cod and am very particular about seafood). The sauce was reserved enough to allow the flavor of each piece of seafood to hold its own, yet so delicious I found myself looking around for a piece of bread to scoop of what little was left at the end. This dish to me exemplified what Psaltis/Ducasse do better than anyone else - find the highest quality fresh ingredients possible, cook them to a perfect temperature, add something subtle to bring them together or accent their flavors, and then get out of the way. One word sums of this dish on my tasting notes - WOW!

4th - Venison tenderloin, with stuffed cabbage, chestnuts and pear. Sliced tenderloin pieces arranged on a bed of what I think was cooked squash, next to cooked cabbage leaves stuffed with more squash (?), chestnuts, and a halved baby pear lightly poached. This was accented with rich reduction sauce (venison and maybe some foie gras?), with a slight tinge of sweetness. The venison was of superb quality, cooked perfectly (just past rare) and unusually tender. Much like Mix's bison tenderloin, it sets the standard for how tender and even delicate ultra-lean game meat can be if properly cooked. Ducasse and Psaltis have this equation down to a science. A great dish, and a fitting end to the savory courses.

Desserts brought included the Mix chocolate "cake", chocolate pizza, and rum savarin. All were delicious, but not as exciting as the savory courses. They've been described previously on this thread, so I'll leave it at that.

I asked the sommelier to pair some wines by the glass, and we were served a Bourgogne Blanc, a Meursault from Olivier Leflaive, and a Rhone Red. All the wines were fine and well-matched to the courses, if not particularly memorable.

Overall, I'd say this was one of the best meals I've had this year. I especially liked the interplay of textures and the way certain seasonal ingredients and accents linked the courses (foie gras, chestnuts, cured meat, mustard,etc.) without becoming too familiar. All too often, "tasting" menus are just a hodgepodge of unrelated courses and/or paired down versions of standard menu offerings, without any real thought to the whole. Doug Psaltis' menu at Mix gave the impression of being a carefully orchestrated whole, designed to take you on a colorful voyage through seasonal flavors and ingredients. A thing of beauty, really.

The price for this menu was $100 per person, which seems appropriate given the quality and number of courses served. This meal easily held its own against more expensive ones had recently at Daniel, Jean-Georges and Cafe Boulud.

The service was exemplary throughout the meal. Five courses were delivered in perfectly-timed succession in about 90 minutes, and my date and I made it to our 8pm curtain on time.

The full-on tasting menu is not probably what Mix is aiming at, as the place has more of an upscale casual/fun atmosphere for a la carte diners. Still, I'd highly recommend the experience to anyone who is seeking food nirvana. Doug Psaltis and Alain Ducasse are doing some of the best food in NYC at Mix, and it just keeps getting better......

[Fat Guy]

Psaltis has been holding out on me, that bastard!