Blue Hill (NYC)

[tommy]

tourists.

[cabrales]

I had a very good meal at Blue Hill recently. :laugh: Mike and Dan were both on hand, and the restaurant dining room and kitchen teams handled impeccably an unanticipated change in my dining plans. The meal led me to think I have not been to BH nearly enough of late.

(1) Amuses:

-- Hog Island oysters with grapefruit and citrus granite: Two wonderful oysters, their tastes of the sea sharpened by the muted citrus tones.

-- Spanish mackerel, with celery and onion compote: This was an attractive tidbit, with a sliver of raw celery and the darkness of an onion compote that had tiny black raisins folded into them. The onion compote had a hint of a spice like cumin or cardamom (?). As usual, I began the meal drinking champagne.

(2) Spanish mackerel tartare with pomegranate sauce: A nice choice of back-to-back Spanish mackerel, with the amuse bite having been nicely cooked and the first appetizer presented as dices in tartare. The tartare was lyrically presented in a square shape, with little bits of deep pink pomegranate flesh sparsely included on top. Chives and a bit of fleur de sel had also been sprinkled. Burgundy is my favorite color, and here the pomegranate saucing was a deep, mature pink. This dish was not only visually appealing, but also delicious This dish pleased me so. :laugh:

The flesh of the mackerel was clear and impeccable in taste. A nice control of the acidity in the pomegranate, which also carried sweetness.

(3) Maine scallops with chanterelles and leek sauce: This was a nicely executed dish, with an abundance of sauteed chanterelles (among my favorite mushrooms) and an appropriate leek sauce. Paired with a glass of Rieseling. A nice dish, but perhaps (only in a relative sense, to be clear) my leaste favorite dish of the evening.

(4) Braised cod with cabbage and herring roe sauce. This is a relative of the bass with herring roe sauce dish I had sampled at BH with mlpc a few months ago (the bass dish was among the best dishes I have ever sampled there). A nicely constrained butteriness to the cabbage, and commendable utilization of smokiness in the saucing of the dish. The slow-cooked cod was perfect in texture -- with a bit of "crispness" and a great deal of flavor. Cod is not ordinarily a fish I go out of my way to order. At BH, however, I would definitely be most happy taking in this or any other cod dish. I liked this dish very much. It was paired with a white Burgundy, Montaigny.

For reasons on which I would rather not expound, I had contemplated ordering a la carte at the beginning of the meal. I had had my eye on the braised cod (along with a baby beef dish that had been included on that night's tasting menu) as my entree choice. Although I ended up asking Mike and Dan to cook for me, they served up, without any hints from me, what I would have ordered explicitly :laugh: Could a restaurant be more endearing than that?

(5) Violet Farms chicken with escaroles, carrots and black truffle sauce. Yes, the restaurant could serve me luscious chicken with fattiness of the skin exhibited. Three "round" compositions of chicken meat sections (it was white meat, but it was very smooth and had the flavor and intensity of dark meat) "wrapped" around escarole. The fattiness of the skin was outstanding, as was the quality of the chicken flesh.

I would not have imagined carrots to be a tasty combination with black trufles, but at BH this combination was very appealing. A rusticity and slight sweetness from the carrots went well, for some reason I am further considering, with the black truffle sensations. I enjoyed this dish very much.

(6) Apple terrine and gingerbread ice cream: This dish was fairly good, but I usually find gingerbread compositions at any restaurant a bit stark and this was no exception.

(7) "Dollops" of Chestnut Puree with kumquat, and vanilla ice cream: A very promising dessert that included luscious, lukewarm dollops of chestnut puree. Granularity of the puree conveyed delightfully one of the key qualities of chestnut. Beautiful! Where this dish might benefit from a very minor amount of tweaking would be the kumquat, which were appropriate to add, but perhaps could have been cut up a bit more to be less strong relative to the chestnut puree. Nice utilization of vanilla ice cream for balance in the dish.

(8) Avocado with Lime Sorbet and Caramel Tuile: A wonderful dessert. Diced, "just right" (with respect to ripeness) avocado bits were included in a circular-shape. Then, a caramel tuile and little curled ribbons of caramel that were nicely more elastic. The acidity of the lime sorbet was just right as well. A dessert I found to be very tasty.

I really enjoy dining at BH.

[Jinmyo]

Very nice review, cabrales. The chicken with escaroles, carrots and black truffle sauce is very appealing.

[jaybee]

I had a very good meal at Blue Hill recently. :laugh: Mike and Dan were both on hand, and the restaurant dining room and kitchen teams handled impeccably an unanticipated change in my dining plans.  The meal led me to think I have not been to BH nearly enough of late.

Cabby, I am dining there Friday night with six in our party. if I want this menu, what shall I tell Michael or Dan? We'll have the Cabby?

Edited February 4, 2003 by jaybee (log)

[Pan]

Your meal sounds great, Cabby. Would you please give me some idea what it cost? Perhaps Blue Hill would be a good place for me to reserve for some kind of special celebration someday - but not if it's, say, $100/person. I'd have to win the lottery or have some wealthy benefactor for that.

[cabrales]

Your meal sounds great, Cabby. Would you please give me some idea what it cost?

Pan -- I trust Blue Hill with the bill, which I do not recall the total for. The on-menu tasting menu is $65, I believe, and includes 3 savory courses (not including the initial amuse), a pre-dessert and a dessert (?). You can ask Dan and Mike to cook for you dishes of their choice in lieu of the dishes on the on-menu tasting menu. If you are interested in lengthier chefs' choice menus, you could inquire about the possibility of that too.

Edited February 4, 2003 by cabrales (log)

[Liza]

Note that the chicken was most likely (and correct me if I'm assuming incorrectly, Cabby) Violet Hill Farm chicken - if so, you'll be pleased to know they are available on Wednesdays at the Union Square greenmarket.

[Bux]

Pan, I am one of those who happen to believe you can eat very well by ordering from the a la carte menu at Blue Hill. I don't know how often the web site is updated, but if the prices on the home page of the web site are accurate, you can have a three course meal for as little as $38 or as much as $54. I think it's unwise to believe you will want the least expensive appetizer, main course and desserts. Their wine list is not full of rock bottom selections. As a matter of fact, it's difficult to find much below $40. You know whether you'll want cocktails or coffee and you know what the tax is and how much you are likely to tip, so you can get an idea of what it will cost to eat there. Check out their web site at bluehillnyc.com.

We usually have the tasting menu and at least one bottle of wine per couple. We usually have espresso and maybe an aperatif or dessert wine. Our tabs run $200-250, but I think it's quite possible to dine well for under $100 a person. It is not a budget restaurant by any means however, though I find it offers good value at its price point.

[Pan]

Thank you for your reply, Cabby, and especially to you, Bux. What a great web site, and what a delicious-looking menu!

It looks to me like that $65 tasting menu might be the best value, but if I were going, I'd do as they suggest and call in advance to find out what's on the latest tasting menu. Problems arise when I go out with people who don't eat things (e.g. no pig, no fish, etc.) or are allergic to things.

I can and do enjoy wine but it isn't a necessity for me.

I think it'll have to be a pretty big occasion, but I look forward to going one of these days.

[robert40]

Is anyone planning on attending this event?

I plan on going and was hopeing to meet some fellow eGulleters.

RR

[robert40]

[ OH SH-T] Are you telling me it's myself and a room full of tourists?

RR

[cabrales]

robert -- I would if I could...

Edited February 14, 2003 by cabrales (log)

[Stephen Jackson]

Okay, folks, I gather you all appreciate reports from far and wide, so here’s a UK chef’s personal view of a few days’ feasting in New York. A memorable trip.

Arrived at Newark airport, ready to transfer to Washington DC for a few days. Unfortunately, the, ahem, ‘Beast Of The East’ blizzard had laid waste to the capital, so we were stuck in delightful New Jersey for the night. Fortunately, Continental put us into the Marriott, which had beds and was warm – that’s about all I can say about it. I can’t remember what I had to eat there, but there were badly-behaved children everywhere, and ketchup. Lots of ketchup. Bad espresso.

The next day was a white-out. No traffic, and precious little chance of a flight anywhere. An executive decision was made to forget Washington, and attempt to get into Manhattan sharpish. Dreadful journey on bus and train via delightful Hoboken, stopping and starting, slipping and sliding all the way to Penn Station. Trudged a bit through the snow around Madison Square Garden, and miraculously found a limo fishtailing through the blizzard. Arrived at the W Hotel on Lexington. Nice looking hotel, bursting at the seams with supermodels (and that’s just the staff). Veal-crate rooms (we moved to The Plaza after 4 days) - Bad espresso, and wheatgrass juice/roasted golden beets/pastel eggs for breakfast. Bizzarre.

So that’s a big shame, as I’d been looking forward to dinner at Zaytinya (plus a visit to Red Sage, which many of the parishioners hereabouts had warned me about) – sorry Steve K, it’ll have to wait until the next time!

NYC Day One – Blue Hill

Dinner, Blue Hill, 75 Washington Place. – Wonderful, overall. I made the usual mistake of mentioning that I was a chef, and was therefore ‘subjected’ to an array of differing off-menu freebies and tasters. Life’s hard. My meal was as follows…

amuse-gueule – shot of warm Romaine lettuce and parsnip soup – very mild green flavours to start with, lovely sweet parsnip-y finish.

first course – small plate – raw scallops with mussel juice and sevruga (herring caviar) – I actually ordered the raw scallop with pomegranate and ice-wine vinaigrette, but chef was trying out the mussel juice thing, and wanted an opinion. It was quite the freshest fish appetiser I have ever eaten. The scallops were beautifully marinated, as tender as the finest smoked salmon, and the mussel juice and caviar added fantastic ‘fishy’ notes, without overpowering. Brilliant.

mid-course – smoked brook trout with lemon vinaigrette, micro-greens and broad beans (fava beans, I think they call them in the US) – delicious barely-smoked trout, firm of flesh and mixing well with the lemony emulsion and lettuces. The lemon was, I presume, Meyer lemon, as it was beautifully rounded and fruity in flavour, without being astringent. Could’ve been yuzu juice, I suppose.

Main course – Veal with braised romaine lettuce and roasted fingerling potatoes. Good stuff, here. Excellent meat, good saucing, but if they’re good, you can’t really go wrong. Not as devastating as the previous courses, but most satisfying.

Pre-dessert – avocado with lime sorbet and salty butter caramel tuile. Astonishing. Taken apart, every part of the dessert was too powerful – the crisp too salty, the sorbet too sour, the avocado too bland, but together, it worked a treat. Great flavours.

Dessert – 24-hour apple terrine with gingerbread ice-cream – I presume this is the Vongerichten recipe, and tasted excellent. Really deep caramel-y apple, and the ice-cream was pain d’epices rather than gingerbread – very spicy and warming. These sat in a foamy puddle of yoghurt-flavoured sauce which sharpened everything up nicely.

Extra Desserts – chef must have thought we were still hungry, because he sent out full plates of two other desserts, a milk chocolate tart with caramel ice-cream, and a passionfruit soufflé-sorbet plate. The chocolate tart was delicious, with very short, crisp pastry and a piped whirl of milk chocolate ganache, plus a timid but delicious caramel ice-cream. The soufflé was textbook, but I sometimess find soufflés a bit too eggy, and this needed the intense drizzle of passionfruit pulp and the sorbet to balance things up.

Petits-fours – Brilliantly simple. A pot of excellent pear jam with a napkinful of warm madeleines to dip and slurp.

Coffee – poor espresso, the only let-down, and the first of many disappointing coffees in the city.

Wines: Qupe Roussanne 1999 (very tasty- a favourite grape of mine) and a red Jumilla from Spain, which made friends with the veal instantly. Desserts saw a late-picked Viognier, and I was not disappointed.

Busy little place, this dining room, and the cab driver hadn't a clue where he was going, and so dropped us at the far end of Washington Square, which fortunately gave me the opportunity to walk up an appetite whilst ploughing through the snow, humming Heidi Berry’s ‘Washington Square’ and being offered crack and/or ecstasy by two enormous but very polite gentlemen by the arch.

The welcome was warm, the service attentive, intelligent and unfussy, and I’d say we got value for money by the bucketload. I have a copy of the menu if anyone would like highlights posting.

Coming next, CRAFT

[Vanessa]

Lovely review, thank you Stephen. Makes me even more keen on a trip up to your neck of the woods.

v

[AdamLawrence]

Lovely review, thank you Stephen.  Makes me even more keen on a trip up to your neck of the woods.

v

Vanessa - you should be. Huddersfield is my home town, and although I don't get up there often enough, I've written with enthusiasm about Stephen's place - the Weaver's Shed - at which I've been eating, although only occasionally - for over ten years. It's very good

Adam

[Vanessa]

Lovely review, thank you Stephen.  Makes me even more keen on a trip up to your neck of the woods.

v

Vanessa - you should be. Huddersfield is my home town, and although I don't get up there often enough, I've written with enthusiasm about Stephen's place - the Weaver's Shed - at which I've been eating, although only occasionally - for over ten years. It's very good

Adam

Adam - written where? - on e-gullet or elsewhere? Can you provide a link?

v

[vengroff]

Excellent report. I'm sorry to hear that the weather interrupted your trip south in pursuit of a Virgina ham.

[AdamLawrence]

Lovely review, thank you Stephen.  Makes me even more keen on a trip up to your neck of the woods.

v

Vanessa - you should be. Huddersfield is my home town, and although I don't get up there often enough, I've written with enthusiasm about Stephen's place - the Weaver's Shed - at which I've been eating, although only occasionally - for over ten years. It's very good

Adam

Adam - written where? - on e-gullet or elsewhere? Can you provide a link?

v

Vanessa

On the following threads. It was more of a passing reference though. Still, as I mentioned above, I think it's the best place in the area to eat, and has been for some years. Any place that serves Old Peculier (as in the Theakston beer) cake with its cheese scores highly with me.

Weavers Shed thread

Adam (who probably should have stuck to PM here - this isn't exactly on-topic in the NY forum)

[Jinmyo]

Great report, Stephen.

[Liza]

Stephen, I've been curious about the starter soups at Blue Hill since I had one there late last summer. How do you feel about starting the meal with such mild flavors? Part of me really wants the first taste to be something more exciting and I'd love to know what you, or other chefs, feel about this introduction of the palate to the restaurant.

[Stephen Jackson]

Well, some meals start with a bang, and others just roll you gently down the hill (ha! the Blue Hill!) I'm pretty easy either way, providing the gentle roll of flavour builds slowly without jerking you around all over the place.

Given that I had the very pale yet delicious scallops and brook trout to follow, the sweet, leafy soup shot was, on this occasion, perfect to get things rolling.

I like little soups to start with - and from a kitchen point of view it can sit in a bain-marie all night without losing its flavour, to be jugged and poured to order, which is nice and easy, but gives the customer a nice tickle on the taste buds to start the meal.

[Bux]

I think the amuse has to preface the meal and set the diner up to appreciate what's coming. It needs as much as anything to tune the diner's palatte to what will follow. I've felt the meals at Blue Hill progress very well from the starters or amuses.

Stephen, Im a bit embarrassed to tell you exactly how sensitive and intelligent I thought your report was, because I've been a long fan of Blue Hill touting the restaurant almost from the time it opened. I remember my daughter telling us we've got to get there quickly before it's discovered. I'm still a great fan and consider the chefs to be friends, so enough said. I'm just thrilled they had the opportunity to serve someone who enjoyed the food as much as I do.

[Stephen Jackson]

Thanks for those kind words, Bux.

It was a pleasure to find such a place, so small and convivial. And I forgot to mention that I found it via eGullet. So thankyou all for bringing it to my notice.

[jeunefilleparis]

I live 2 blocks from Blue Hill and have enjoyed dessert at the bar. The space is lovely and so is the atmosphere. I will definately check it out now that I ve heard more about the food

Lauren

[Bux]

I find their new desserts interesting, but often less successful than the savory dishes. I also like the atmosphere and think the place was very well designed and very handsome. Oddly enough the review in the Times found a lack of decor. I'd prefer brighter lighting however, but that's a complaint I have about many places in NY.

[As for the desserts, they've just hired a pastry chef--see my post below.]