Blue Hill (NYC)

Bond Girl · July 5, 2003

I like the lobster tail with beets. I think the sweetness of the beets provided a very nice contrast to the smokey favor of the Lobster tails. This is coming from someone who doesn't like beets, so if Blue Hill got me to eat something that contain beets and even proclaim it to be "delicious", that's saying a lot.

robert40 · July 7, 2003

Did anyone happen to read the excellent article Dan Barber wrote in the July

issue of Food and Wine?

I can't help remembering my kitchen tour after a fine meal at Blue Hill last year and as I entered the kitchen sure enough the first thing I heard was his voice asking a waiter how come table #%@* did not finish his scallops.

So many times I doubt what I read concerning restaurant publicity article's.

Not in this case!

Robert. R .

robert40 · July 7, 2003

The more I think of it a meal at Blue Hill is a relaxing afternoon in a hammock

with a tall glass of ice tea and a cool breeze.

On the other hand a recent meal at wd 50 is a wild rollercoaster ride,Thrilling but soon forgotten.

Robert R.

jkirsch · September 16, 2003

FYI-

Blue Hill Restaurant Fall 2003 Events

NEW YORK WINE & GRAPE FOUNDATION

Blue Hill will be participating in “New York Wines & Dines”

throughout the month of September. This program celebrates regional food and wine from the

state of New York.

September 2003

16th – celebration of tomatoes

Dan Barber and Michael Anthony will prepare a special Tasting Menu celebrating the last tomatoes

of the season. Call for your last chance to indulge, 212.539.1776.

19th-21st- new yorker festival

The New Yorker will host a sumptuous one-night-only dinner orchestrated by the godmother

of new American cooking, Alice Waters. Dan Barber will be among the guest

chefs participating in this dinner. Together the chefs will prepare a menu drawn from the

bounty of the city’s local organic farmers, paired with selected wines. For tickets, please call 877.847.TNYF

21st – NOFA annual fundraiser

{Listening Rock Farm, 78 Sinpatch Road, 845.877.6335}

Dan Barber and Michael Anthony will be participating along with other guest chefs

in the preparation of a dinner for 235 people. All proceeds will benefit the Northeastern Organic Farmers Association

of New York (www.nofany.org).

For additional information and tickets, please contact NOFA at 518.734.5495.

October 2003

7th – celebrate the “sweetness” of fall

Pastry Chef Pierre Reboul will unveil the new fall dessert tasting menu. Available after 9:00 p.m.

Please call for reservations, 212.539.1776.

12th – 2003 outstanding in the field

{the Future Site of the Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture} http://www.stonebarnscenter.org

Entering its fourth year, the Outstanding in the Field farm dinner series pairs organic farmers with noted chefs.

This fun, casually elegant evening offers adventurous diners the chance to enjoy “dinner at the source” in the company

of farmers, featured winemakers, and area food artisans. Dan Barber and Michael Anthony will prepare a special Fall Feast.

For information and reservations, please call 877.886.7409.

22nd – champagne and sparkling wine tasting dinner

Wine Director, Pamela Walton, will host a very special dinner focused on a selection of Champagnes and Sparkling wines

in Blue Hill’s Garden Room. Space is limited, please call for reservations, 212.539.1776.

28th – city harvest bid against hunger benefit

http://www.cityharvest.org/news/events.html

the puck building new york, ny

Dan Barber and Michael Anthony have once again been invited to participate in City Harvest’s Bid Against Hunger.

This Halloween-themed event will take place from 6 – 9 p.m. at the Puck Building. For tickets, please call 212.351.8700.

November 2003

1st – making preserves with pierre

Visit the Union Square Green Market with Pastry Chef Pierre Reboul, discover our favorite sources, and return to Blue Hill Restaurant to

experience the pleasures of preserving fruit for the Winter months. Space is limited, please call for reservations, 212.539.1776.

5th – children’s hope foundation 2003 benefit

http://www.childrenshope.org

gotham hall new york, ny

As part of Blue Hill’s continued efforts to support worthy causes, Dan Barber and Michael Anthony will join 30 other chefs in donating

their time and talents for the Children’s Hope Foundation annual fundraiser. For tickets, please call 212.233.5133.

18th – wines of the rhone

Blue Hill will create a unique tasting menu enhanced by a selection of Rhone wines. Space is limited, please call for

reservations, 212.539.1776.

24-26th – thanksgiving week

In honor of Thanksgiving, Blue Hill will offer special tasting menus focused on very special Heritage Breed Turkeys. Please call for

reservations, 212.539.1776.NOFA

tanabutler · September 16, 2003

Wow, talk about a "plate o' shrimp."* I just booked my flights for the farm dinner on October 12 (I'm the web designer and photographer for Outstanding in the Field). I also made reservations for Saturday night dinner at Blue Hill. I was coming to the NYC forum to see if people have recommendations for lodgings (both in NYC and near the Stone Barn Center). I'm on a tight budget, unfortunately, but am determined to dine at Blue Hill.

Whee!

FYI, here is the Outstanding in the Field website. Lots and lots of photos, menus, history, etc. there, including the recent dinner with Alice Waters in a peach orchard.

I am so looking forward to being back in the Hudson River Valley.

*gratuitous "Repo Man" reference

Edited September 16, 2003 by tanabutler (log)

mjc · October 7, 2003

Went to blue hill on Thursday night. We had a great meal and the highlight for me was definetly dessert.

Started with an amuse of corn soup with coconut foam. It was served in a tall shot glass. The corn soup had a very nice corn flavor along with some fall spices (nutmeg, etc).

For appetizers we had the crab meat lasagna, which was excellent.

The foei gras with duck consommé and root vegetables. This was really fantastic the broth had a great flavor and the vegetables (like water chestnut I think) provided a nice crunch.

Also I ordered the seafood salad with yogurt sorbet, but didn’t care for it at all, so switched it for the heirloom tomato salad with tomato sorbet. I really liked the tomato sorbet, which I believe had mint added.

For main courses we had the sea bass with fingerling potatoes and Savoy cabbage. This piece of fish was extremely well prepared. The grass fed lamb and an excellent Berkshire pork dish.

This was really a great meal, but the highlight for me was really the desserts.

I’ll write about those in the pastry forum.

jeunefilleparis · October 8, 2003

Bond girl and I had a fabulous meal at Blue Hill in July. I cant remember all of the dishes but there was this roasted fig dessert with an exotic flavored icecream that escapes me, that was so good!. Everything was amazing. Bond girl when are we going out to eat again>>>??

Lauren

Pan · October 8, 2003

Also I ordered the seafood salad with yogurt sorbet, but didn’t care for it at all, so switched it for the heirloom tomato salad with tomato sorbet.

You just said you didn't like it and they took it away and gave you something else instead? Or did they ask you how everything was and, when you were so prompted, told them? How did this all work out?

mjc · October 8, 2003

Also I ordered the seafood salad with yogurt sorbet, but didn’t care for it at all, so switched it for the heirloom tomato salad with tomato sorbet.
You just said you didn't like it and they took it away and gave you something else instead? Or did they ask you how everything was and, when you were so prompted, told them? How did this all work out?

I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure that we called the waitress over. I said that I really didn't like it and would like to try the tomato salad instead

Pan · October 9, 2003

It was gracious of the staff to exchange the dish. Did you up your tip because of that? Just curious. For what it's worth, I probably would have.

mjc · October 9, 2003

It was gracious of the staff to exchange the dish. Did you up your tip because of that? Just curious. For what it's worth, I probably would have.

Just to say a little more. This was the only negative to an otherwise excellent meal. When I got this dish I tasted the yogurt sorbet, which did not taste as all fresh. It was very icy and my companions suggested that it was freezer burnt. This left me with a rather negative feeling about the dish and then with a taste of the other element I decided that I just couldn't eat it. My first thought actually was not to send it back, but my companions suggested that in a restaurant as good as this one, the chefs/staff, would want me to enjoy my meal so I sent it back.

It was indeed nice of them to exchange in for me, but I don't feel that it was exceptionaly gracious. In fact I believe this is exactly the way a restaurant should respond. If you don't like something, you can send it back and get something else. For example if you get a bottle of wine, they give you a taste first, and not that I've seen this happen (except maybe once), if you don't like it, back it goes. Same thing applies for the food, especially at a restaurant of this caliber. And with what I consider to be excellent (well above average) service.

I think we left a very good tip, but I don't think we thought at all about this particular exchange when leaving it. It didn't really occur to me at the time (probably because we had sort of forgotten about it), but in the future I will take it into consideration.

sammy · October 9, 2003

If you don't like something, you can send it back and get something else. For example if you get a bottle of wine, they give you a taste first, and not that I've seen this happen (except maybe once), if you don't like it, back it goes.

Wrong. You get to taste the wine to see if there is anything wrong with it, not whether or not you like it. Two very different things. Ordering what you will like is the responsibility of the customer, not the restaurant. Preparing and serving it properly is the responsibility of the restaurant.

I agree with Pan that it was gracious on the restaurant's part to exchange the dish because you didn't care for it. If you communicated to them the flaws in preparation and service, I would then agree with you that they should replace it.

Edited October 9, 2003 by sammy (log)

tanabutler · October 14, 2003

Oh. My. God.

I went to Blue Hill Saturday night with my chef friend who's a graduate of the French Culinary Institute. She was the perfect companion.

Blue Hill was the reason I was in NYC for the weekend, as they were the guest chefs for the farm dinners that I photograph. I'd made reservations, saying I would be meeting and photographing the chefs on Sunday. When we arrived, I told the hostess that we were not very hungry (sometimes you aren't), and she sounded disappointed.

We said we just wanted a little food...and this was not a problem. Uncustomarily, the waitress wanted to know what we would be drinking before they made food. I ordered a bottle of Gruner Veltliner, and every single course was perfect with it, including the desserts (though we were done by the time the chocolate arrived).

Here is what we were served (and I regret deeply that I didn't photograph all this, but it was just too much at the time, with so much going on):

Goat cheese with walnut and micro-arugula on homemade papadum (this was amuse bouche sized)

Anchovies and soy beans with micro-mache in rice pepper cup (ditto)

Green gazpacho with tomato sorbet

Trout with golden beets, pine nuts in citrus-lavendar honey reduction (one of the best things ever)

Roast capon with stew of roasted veggies and purée of winter squash with swiss chard and au jus

Avocado with lime sorbet and salty brulée crust

Peach melba with sabayon, raspberry compote, tuile, pistachios and vanilla ice cream

Chocolate with fresh mint (think micro-thin solid chocolate Girl Scout "Thin Mints")

Frozen peppermint sorbet bon bons

Apple gelée with lemon curd and dried apple slice

Chocolate mousse with hazelnut praline

The staff were flawless.

Afterwards, Betsy got to meet Dan because she has a rather unique "résumé." Her chef's coat is autographed by just about every chef in NYC, and some beyond. Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Daniel Boulud, Bobby Flay, Emeril, and everyone (except Tony Bourdain, and I'll kill her if she goes without me). So she got Dan to sign it, and the whole kitchen was wide-eyed. It's a totally cool coat.

The farm dinner was out of this world, and I'll post those courses another time. I'm working but I snuck in here to post this.

Betsy has had many many fabulous meals, as have I, and not only was the food perfect, but the service (and the service-minded kitchen staff) made the evening incomparably beautiful and delicious.

Consider this a flat-out rave.

Pan · October 15, 2003

Unbelievable. I simply have to get someone to take me there some time or win the lottery. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

(Hell, maybe I'll splurge someday. )

tanabutler · October 15, 2003

I just wanna say that the bottle of wine was only $30. You cannot imagine a better deal in the city. Or anywhere.

jkirsch · October 17, 2003

I know there are lots of Blue Hill fans out there, myself included, so this might be of some interest.

Blue Hill Restaurant Event

Wednesday, October 22nd

Please join us at Blue Hill for a very special evening as Wine Director

Pam Walton pairs five sparkling wines with Dan Barber and Michael Anthony's

creative local cuisine.

Cocktails at 7:00

Dinner at 7:30

The evening is $125.00 per person excluding

tax and gratuity

Seating is limited to 20 guests

For reservations and more information call 212-539-1776,

or e-mail Pam Walton at: pam@bluehillnyc.com

Thank you.

sammy · October 20, 2003

My wife and I celebrated our anniversary with dinner at Blue Hill Saturday evening. It was our first time at the restaurant. All of the savory dishes were wonderful.

There has been some debate over the desserts served at Blue Hill lately so I'll concentrate on that aspect of our meal.

We decided to share the flight of desserts and that's when we thought things swung in the wrong direction. The first dessert was lemon verbena sorbet. I thought it was just okay, my wife didn't like it at all. We were then served the avocado and lime dessert, chocolate bread pudding and the apple terrine. The avocado grew on us but it still never got to the point where we'd ever order it again. The chocolate bread pudding was fabulous. We both agreed that the apple terrine had a lot of flavor but we didn't care for the consistency of the terrine. Maybe a little to jello like. The last dessert was the cheesecake with blueberry sauce. The sauce was excellent, but again, we didn't care for the consistency of the cake. It was very light. Dinner was capped off with financiers (spelling?) and home-made plum preserves which was super. I would have loved to have some for breakfast this morning. We both felt that they were just trying too hard to be creative with desserts while the emphasis on the savory course was for things to taste good. When we go back, we'll probably just go for the cheese for dessert.

Although we weren't big fans of the desserts, I must say that Blue Hill offers a truly great dining experience. The service is professional without being overly obtrusive or stuffy. The room is nice and has a nice buzz to it. The thing that most struck me was what a great value it was. There are inumerable restaurants in NYC (and the suburbs where we live) that offer so much less in quality of food and service yet charge so much more. We will definitely go back, and soon.

mjc · October 20, 2003

what didn't you like about the sorbet?

sammy · October 20, 2003

The flavor was pretty good with subtle lemon and verbena. I think we had more of a problem with the consistency, which was unsorbetlike (a new word). Kind of creamy, in fact my wife said that it reminded her of a facial product. (verbena skin cream).

tanabutler · October 20, 2003

I confess that the avocado dish with lime sorbet and salty brulée crust was our least favorite dish, as well.

I guess, being a Californian for twenty-plus years, I am spoiled on perfect avocados. There is one day in the lifespan of an avocado where it would be a good dessert choice. The avocado I had was a day or two past that. It would make fine guacamole, when blended with other more pungent and hot flavors, but the state for a dessert should be on the first day of perfect ripeness, when it is at its greenest, without being hard.

That is the only critique that my chef friend and I had about the entire meal. That particular avocado should not have been used. But it's hard to tell until you open them up. And it's a brief window of time that they're in that state. Sort of like the perfect pear. Pears can be rock hard and then turn to much in what, a half an hour?

mjc · October 20, 2003

The flavor was pretty good with subtle lemon and verbena. I think we had more of a problem with the consistency, which was unsorbetlike (a new word). Kind of creamy, in fact my wife said that it reminded her of a facial product. (verbena skin cream).

i'm curious what you mean by unsorbetlike.

sammy · October 20, 2003

A creamy consistency but not creamy like ice cream. Or as my wife referred to it, an herbal facial product. I know I'm not doing a good job of describing it. I'll try to come up with a few more things to compare it to.

Maybe there is someone else here that tried it and can comment on the lemon verbena sorbet. :smile:

Edited October 20, 2003 by sammy (log)

Bux · October 21, 2003

I just wanna say that the bottle of wine was only $30. You cannot imagine a better deal in the city. Or anywhere.

This is one way in which an exceptional restaurant that has been well priced has become more accessible lately. It seemed to me that at one time, there was little I could find in the way of selections under $40 and that now there's a good selection closer to $30 and it's a more interesting selection than I find at lesser restaurants offering wines at that price. It's a small list, but it's very serviceable and the steward knows her wines, as do some of the other staff.

Bux · October 21, 2003

It was indeed nice of them to exchange in for me, but I don't feel that it was exceptionaly gracious. In fact I believe this is exactly the way a restaurant should respond. If you don't like something, you can send it back and get something else. For example if you get a bottle of wine, they give you a taste first, and not that I've seen this happen (except maybe once), if you don't like it, back it goes. Same thing applies for the food, especially at a restaurant of this caliber.

Well I also agree that it's exactly the way a restaurant should respond, most of the time. It's in their best interests to see that a diner leaves pleased. It's better for them to take a loss on the dish than to hold to their right not to offer a second dish without charge, but lets understand that the diner doesn't have the right to demand such service and it is a mark of graciousness on the part of the house.

Sammy has already corrected your misunderstanding of wine service, ritual and etiquette, but I don't think it can be emphasized enough how mistaken it is to say one can try a wine to see if one likes it before buying it. I trust no one comes away from reading any post on eGullet with that impression. You do have the right to refuse a bottle that is flawed and the reason you are offered a taste is to determine if the wine is "corked" or has other off tastes. If you order Sauternes with your scallops and then decide the wine is too sweet for your taste, you have no right not to pay for the wine. It is the responsibility of the diner to know what he's ordering and how it should taste. If you ask for a dry wine and the sommelier recommends a Sauternes, then you have a case for refusal, but if you just don't like a wine you ordered, it shouldn't go back. That's not how it works. I'm genuinely surprised to see anyone say that on a web site of this caliber and surprised that it didn't meet up with a greater reaction.

mjc · October 21, 2003

It was indeed nice of them to exchange in for me, but I don't feel that it was exceptionaly gracious. In fact I believe this is exactly the way a restaurant should respond. If you don't like something, you can send it back and get something else. For example if you get a bottle of wine, they give you a taste first, and not that I've seen this happen (except maybe once), if you don't like it, back it goes. Same thing applies for the food, especially at a restaurant of this caliber.
Well I also agree that it's exactly the way a restaurant should respond, most of the time. It's in their best interests to see that a diner leaves pleased. It's better for them to take a loss on the dish than to hold to their right not to offer a second dish without charge, but lets understand that the diner doesn't have the right to demand such service and it is a mark of graciousness on the part of the house.
Sammy has already corrected your misunderstanding of wine service, ritual and etiquette, but I don't think it can be emphasized enough how mistaken it is to say one can try a wine to see if one likes it before buying it. I trust no one comes away from reading any post on eGullet with that impression. You do have the right to refuse a bottle that is flawed and the reason you are offered a taste is to determine if the wine is "corked" or has other off tastes. If you order Sauternes with your scallops and then decide the wine is too sweet for your taste, you have no right not to pay for the wine. It is the responsibility of the diner to know what he's ordering and how it should taste. If you ask for a dry wine and the sommelier recommends a Sauternes, then you have a case for refusal, but if you just don't like a wine you ordered, it shouldn't go back. That's not how it works. I'm genuinely surprised to see anyone say that on a web site of this caliber and surprised that it didn't meet up with a greater reaction.

I agree with you Bux. I believe this is the way a restaurant should act, but as I thought about it more, I think its also was "gracious", but again I felt that the response here to my post was that it was some extraordinary act by the restaurant, which I don't believe it was. Also I want to add again, that its not that I just didn't like that dish--but that it did not meet my expectations with regard to quality, textures, or flavors. Another thing was that I didn't say take this back, I'm not paying for it, bring me something else. I said I would like something else--the server asked no questions about what was wrong with the dish, but only asked me what I would like.

I appreciate the correction on the wine service. Perhaps my right to post on a web sight of this caliber should be revoked.

I clearly didn't totaly understand the tradition of the wine service, but I didn't mean to imply that you just get a bottle of wine to taste it. What I was trying to say was that when you order wine (i'm not talking about myself, but someone who knows wine) and it arrives and it is not what it should be, based on your experience or perhaps the description by the server/sommolier, meaning either an off taste or the wrong taste, you should be able to send it back. Is that wrong too?

Edited October 21, 2003 by mjc (log)

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