Union Pacific (Closed)

[cabrales]

That banana dessert was good, from the sample I received. I wonder why I have been tending to get chocolate-type desserts. This happened at Blue Hill too, and again when I received an extra dessert during a Bouley dinner and others received different items. Do dining room team members think that female diners like chocolate more?

(That reminds me of a question I had. Given ahr's appreciation for chocolate, why did we not switch his fruit-based dessert with my chocolate rendition at BH?)

The interesting thing is that I don't ordinarily place particular emphasis on dessert in evaluating a meal. However, it is weird that I keep on getting chocolate desserts in NY when I prefer fruit- or egg-based desserts.  :confused: I am going to have to continue observations.

[Jinmyo]

cabrales, the presumption that women are passionate about chocolate is pervasive. You read Vogue, no? Magazine articles on women and chocolate are ubiqitous. So the kitchen tends to throw chocolate at female diners.

Personally, the thought of the stuff makes my teeth hurt.

[ahr]

(That reminds me of a question I had. Given ahr's appreciation for chocolate, why did we not switch his fruit-based dessert with my chocolate rendition at BH?)

He appreciates fruit tarts about equally, but observed at the time that he had been served the same dessert on his previous visit, and that the woman at the table on that visit had also been served the chocolate.

He offered to switch, but you professed indifference.

[lxt]

Given ahr's appreciation for chocolate...

Him and all the rest of us.

I stumbled across an educational and captivating article describing in detail the history of chocolate and some “obscure chocolate ingredients.”  The article seems to lift the curtain of mystery from our chocolate “love affair."

One expert reveals that “chocolate contains a natural 'love drug'. Tryptophan is a chemical that the brain uses to make a neurotransmitter called serotonin. High levels of serotonin can produce feelings of elation, even ecstasy - hence the name of the designer drug that also works by increasing serotonin levels... While tryptophan could be considered 'chocolate's ecstasy', another chemical called phenylethylamine has earned the nickname ‘chocolate amphetamine’… Phenylethylamine works by stimulating the brain's pleasure…”

May we not make reasonable, consequent conclusions as to why some of our self-indulgences extend to the mystical world of chocolate?

[cabrales]

The Amex Platinum newsletter of June 2002 reports on a "After Dark with Colin Cowie" event at Union Pacific on October 7, 2002. The cost is $395/person, with the description below: "Join Colin Cowie, lifestyle guru to the stars, and celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito at New York hot spot Union Pacific for a private evening of style. Host of Women's Entertainment Network's Everyday Elegance, Cowie will dazzle you with his secrets on creating magical and memorable parties and meals from his upcoming book, Dinner After Dark. Chef DiSpirito will prepare an elegant feast, complimented [wrong spelling] by wines from Champagne Veuve Cliquot."

The price appears very high relative to a normal dinner, and the presence of Cowie and other guests who might be interested in what he has to say would appear to be a significant distraction. Sounds like a terrible deal for members. However, if members are interested, there are 4 reservations available to each cardholder.

[jordyn]

There's a more recent thread on Union Pacific, but it got a little...er...distracted, so I'm reviving this one.

Matt Zito and I visited Union Paciifc for lunch today. We had originally hoped to try the $20.02 lunch menu; unfortunately, there was no vegetarian option for Matt and neither of the entree choices (salmon or turkey schnitzel sandwich) looked appealing to me, so we ordered a la carte.

My first course was a warm corn soup. This dish was garnished with an appealing bit of technical wizardry--floating on the top of the soup was a drizzle of oil, and individual corn kernels were suspended within the oil. This gave the soup an unexpected and appealing appearance. Unfortunately, while the soup was acceptable, it did not produce the same level of excitement on the tongue as in the eye. Compared to the shot of corn soup I enjoyed on Sunday evening at Blue Hill, for example, the Union Pacific effort lacked in both depth of flavor as well as the intensity of the corn itself. Matt ordered the asparagus dish, which I did not sample.

My second course was also an appetizer, as none of the entrees look as appealing to me as the tuna tartare with wasabi and cilantro. I felt like this dish would have been a good amuse. The wasabi was a notable element in the flavor of the dish, and the tuna seemed to be of acceptable quality. However, my palate tired of the dish quite quickly and I ended up not finishing. Because there were no vegetarian entrees on the menu, Matt accepted our server's offer of a pasta dish. This appeared to be orrechiette with some sort of tomato sauce.

Although we did not order dessert, we were provided with free sorbet. Unfortunately, I had to leave prior to the arrival of the sorbet, so I cannot comment on it. Hopefully Matt will follow up with his take on his dishes, although I think that his take on the overall meal was similar to mine.

In both of my meals at Union Pacific so far, I've felt like I've been missing something. Many people whose taste I generally trust have made positive comments about the place, but my meals have been solid, technically proficient, but uninspired. There's enough promise in the space, service, and execution that I will probably return for a dinner of more of the Asian influenced dishes, as has been suggested, but so far I am mostly just a bit puzzled.

[marcus]

In my one visit to UP, I was struck by what appeared to be the overwhelming use of sugar in all the dishes that I ordered. The end result verged on unpleasant and I would be very reluctant to try it again.

[Wilfrid]

Just wanted to comment on Marcus's post. I think, to be fair, that UP sweeten their dishes using techniques other than the addition of sugar, but I would agree that I have had too many sweet dishes in one meal on more than one occasion.

[Scottf]

On a recent visit, Sam and I lunched at UP after dinners at Blue Hill, Veritas and GT. I will write up in more detail when I get a moment but I found UP to be a breath of fresh air and was my favourite meal of the trip.

I had Yellow curry and Baby calamari, Halibut with young ginger,pork and shallot cracklin, and Choc fondant and Hazelnut parfait.

The dishes were slightly sweet but for example the main had like a Shallot marmalade which was sweet. Every time I got close to wincing at the sweetness the savoury cracklin' kicked in to counteract the shallot. I found it to work a treat but Sam thought it was too sweet. Each to their own I suppose.

[marcus]

Wilfrid, I'd like to be sure that we're not just having a semantic difference. When I referred to sugar I didn't just mean granulated sugar, or sugar syrup, but any substance containing sugar. I never assumed that they were using artificial sweetners. Is there anything else that you would refer to as sweet.

[Matt Zito]

There's a more recent thread on Union Pacific, but it got a little...er...distracted, so I'm reviving this one.

Matt Zito and I visited Union Paciifc for lunch today.  We had originally hoped to try the $20.02 lunch menu; unfortunately, there was no vegetarian option for Matt and neither of the entree choices (salmon or turkey schnitzel sandwich) looked appealing to me, so we ordered a la carte.

Because there were no vegetarian entrees on the menu, Matt accepted our server's offer of a pasta dish.  This appeared to be orrechiette with some sort of tomato sauce.

Although we did not order dessert, we were provided with free sorbet.  Unfortunately, I had to leave prior to the arrival of the sorbet, so I cannot comment on it.  Hopefully Matt will follow up with his take on his dishes, although I think that his take on the overall meal was similar to mine.

I had the asparagus with morels and shaved pecorino. The asparagus was enjoyable, but a little mushy and the morels rather tasteless. Adding the cheese helped the dish considerably, but there was unfortunately not enough cheese to carry the dish through.

The entree was indeed orrechiette with a tomato and basil sauce. It was very competently executed - the pasta was firm and the sauce very fresh, but there was nothing enthralling about it. It felt as though it was a dish the chef would prepare if I'd requested "pasta with tomato sauce" rather than letting the chef make anything he wanted. Incidentally, the wine list we were given makes reference in the pairings section to a "Spring Vegetables with Truffled Grits" that sounded much more interesting, but wasn't offered as a possibility.

The sorbet was excellent - strawberry, mango, and another fruit I couldn't place. It had an almost carbonated tingle to it that was surprising and enhanced the overall experience. When Jordyn had to leave, the server suggested that I eat his as well - I was rather tempted.

Overall, I agree with what everyone said - the food was definitely enjoyable, and the environment is just beautiful. I feel like the food should have been much better, considering how much some people whose opinions I trust rave about it. I'll give it another shot, at dinner, and hopefully experience what other people loved.

[Robert Nesta Marley]

It felt as though it was a dish the chef would prepare if I'd requested "pasta with tomato sauce" rather than letting the chef make anything he wanted.

i think that's an interesting point, matt, because isn't the projected image of UP one of inventiveness & suprise?????? i mean, i know it was lunch & maybe he wasn't in the kitchen, but pasta with tomato sauce is straight off of the kid's menu!!!!! i am really suprised that there were no veg entrees to choose from , but beyond that i would have expected the kitchen to do something else with the pasta. freshness aside, how boring!!!!!

i thank everyone for their responses here to UP. i was trying to go there on monday night, but they were closed for a private party. so we went to GT instead.

we should've gone to blue hill......i love great posts.

[cabrales]

nesita -- Note that some restaurants provide less interesting dishes and limited selections as part of their $20.02 lunches. At Gotham Bar & Grill and Union Square Cafe, I subjectively found the composition of the dishes less interesting when visiting for the $20.02 lunches. Note I am in favor of having such lunches, work permitting.

[Robert Nesta Marley]

i agree on the prix fixe selections being less compelling (especially at gotham). but jordyn & matt ordered a la carte....

[jordyn]

Note that several of the dishes that have been previously mentioned as particularly good at Union Pacific were not available on the lunch menu, so despite ordering a la carte we did not have access to some options that might have been more appealing.

[cabrales]

I had a good-to-very-good meal at Union Pacific. The restaurant is now offering a $45 prix fixe menu for the pre-theater period (seating prior to 5:45 pm for Saturdays, prior to 6:00 pm on other days) that offers *the same* selection as UP's regular $68 prix fixe menu.

Taylor Bay Scallops with uni, tomato water, and mustard oil, with glass of Paul Georg Blanc de Blanc

Wild Scottish Wood Pigeon, with porcini and a winesap chutney ($9 supp), with glass of Pinot Noir Ladoix "Vieilles Vignes", Edmond Cornu 1998

Lemon three ways with Pistachio Cream, with Muscat Beaume de Venise, Belingard 2000

[Chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream and huckleberry sauce, complimentary]

The amuse was a small serving of haricot verts, with a bit of dark proscuitto on top and an acidic apricot vinaigrette. This was appropriate, and a nice, quiet opening to the meal. The haricots were appropriately "crisp".

Then, my first sampling of DiSpirito's signature dish of Taylor bay scallops with uni. This was appealing, with a large circular base of ice with strewn strands of evergreen- and mauve-colored seaweed on top of the ice. Five to six small (clam-sized) scallop shells sat on top of the ice. Each contained about a 50/50 split of nicely-textured scallop and sea urchin, together with a clear liquid that had acidity. I thought it was the citrus-like, "clean" aspects of yuzu and was right, although the mustard oil also expressed itself a bit towards the end to a very limited extent. The dining room team member indicated the scallops were to be held in one's fingers and kind of "drunk" to capture the liquid, essentially a tomato water with relatively limited tomato aspects. Overall, a very good dish.

There followed a small cup of pumpkin veloute, which was nice.

The wood pigeon was from Scotland, and perhaps that accounted for it having a somewhat different flavor from the palombes I have sampled. However, the wood pigeon was a good dish, although not as unabashedly "gamey" as palombe. (Note it was sufficiently gamey). The flesh was presented medium-rare, which was appropriate -- flavorful and evocative. Nice thin layers of cepes aka porcini (sliced relatively thinly from large mushrooms) and celeryroot, almost in a loose "medium" millefeuille or thin lasagne composition. Saucing was appealing, with jus-focused base and connotations of the texture of chestnuts (likely not included) and the taste of mushrooms. There was a "loose" "ring" of very softened (appropriately) potato puree surrounding the base of the vegetable millefeuille-like item.

UP has wine by the glass suggested for every dish on the menu. For the wood pigeon, the suggested glass was Cinsaut, Frick 1999. This was apparently a single grape CA wine developed from a Rhone varietal. The sommelier advised me that it acquires some of the properties of 15-yr-old Bordeaux (note the word "some") within 4-5 years, and this vintage would be drinking nicely for a very short period of time in about 1-2 years (with significant tapering off). I tasted a decent amoutn of the Cinsaut grauit from the sommelier, who was very helpful. The Bordeaux I ordered by the glass was nice.

The three forms of lemon included in my dessert were (1) panna cotta, (2) custard, ,and (3) sorbet. The panna cotta was nice, with hints of possible pistachio (the aroma of almond, which I appreciate was not utilized) incorporated. The custard was a large cube-shaped serving that was appropriate, with a little base of lemon sponge-cake-like material. The sorbet was slightly weak, being too tart for the overall composition of the dish. The pistachio saucing, which carried quasi-almond aromas, was nice. Overall, a good dessert. I did not have very much of the comp'd chocolate fondant, given my subjective preferences, but it was appropriate.

The total bill was $110 before tips, a good price taking into account the three glasses of wine ordered by the glass (includikng a $18 Bordeaux) and bottled water. The service was good, except that there was an (honest) initial miscalculation that included the price of the "normal" prix fixe, instead of the pre-theater menu. Nice service from a French manager-level individual.

Note that UP is serving a white truffle risotto with gameri rossi and a tomato fondue ($45 supp for appetizer size, $75 supp for entree).

[robert40]

Hi Cabrales.

I'll never forget a meal my wife and I had at Union Pacific a few years back.

My wife had ordered the bay scallops with uni and as I was returning from the rest room our apps had arrived and my wife was staring down at the plate with a look of despair on her face. Needless to say we exchanged appetizers. An at my first taste of the scallops my thought was Shocking, but I found it refreshing and brisk.

Did you know the White Truffle Risotto is on the menu in honor of Gray Kunz?

Another great report Cabrales

Robert40

[Robert Nesta Marley]

cabrales, which bordeaux did you have by the glass? you list a cornu (ladoix old vines) that you had with your entree, but edmond cornu is definitely in burgundy (cote de nuits, although he makes some wine from regions in the beaune as well).

[Steve Plotnicki]

Cabrales - Your meal would have been more then a mite better if you stuck to Asian fusion dishes instead of being sucked in by game and French style dishes. To a person, everyone I know who goes to UP is disappointed when they stray from fusion inspired dishes.

[cabrales]

Steve -- I liked my wood pigeon. UP used to be one of my favorite restaurants in the US (that's a significant qualifier); I guess it still is. Suzanne -- If you're sure, then it was a Burgundy. I vaguely recall the wine list mentioning that it was a Bordeaux, though (?).

[Wilfrid]

The wood pigeon is a nice dish, and I'm glad to hear they're calling it wood pigeon these days, not "grouse".

[Liza]

Mighty W and others might be interested in the spectacular dinner we had this evening at Union Pacific.

After a two minute wait while they reset the table, we were led to a lovely roomy booth in the rear section of the room. Champagne glasses were already set and we were treated to a glass of the house champagne (which someone else will surely know the name of).

We perused the menu and decided upon these to start:

Crispy Sweetbreads with thai basil glaze and yellow turnip foam

Pungent beef carpaccio with red curry and green papaya

And these for entrees:

Rhubard lacquered white pekin duck

Special Wood pigeon with porcinis and other wild mushrooms (memory is fuzzy).

Before our apps arrived, we were treated to Rocco's signature dish of Taylor Bay scallops with uni, tomato water, and mustard seed; and bruschetta with duck prosciutto and white truffles. The scallops were presented on a bed of ice atop an enormous conch shell and were bristling with lightness on the palate. The duck prosciutto was incredibly savory and balanced very well with the white truffles. Both were incredibly generous with regards to truffles and uni.

My sweetbreads were indeed crispy, which seemed incredible as they were bathed in the foaming turnip and the thai basil glaze. The effect of dark sweetbreads, bright green basil and pale yellow turnip was pleasing to the eye and the balance was achieved: each element tasted exactly of itself and married with its partners very well.

Davy's Pungent sliced beef carpaccio with red curry and green papaya was amazingly balanced. I was afraid the dish would overwhelm the palate and ruin it for the following courses, but the spiciness existed briefly on the edges of the tongue and dissolved rather without lingering effect. We were also given a plate of seared foie gras with celeraic puree and beliminging (star fruit) puree. D. and I agreed that this was the best foie gras presentation we've ever had as it perfectly balanced the headiness of the foie gras with the fruitness of the belimging and just settled so wonderfully on the palate.

We were then presented with an extra course of risotto with gamboli rosso and white truffles - essentially, risotto with giant red shrimp and white truffle shaving. Luscious and terrific. They paired this with a lovely Chablis which I'll have to get notes for.

Entrees: Rhubarb-lacquered white Pekin duck again showed Rocco's ability to mix fruitiness with rich meats and find that balance. Davy's Wood Pigeon was scarfed up before I could even dip a finger in the sauce, so I'm guessing it was good.

A cheese course followed with Tete de Moine; Shropshire Blue; Manchego and some kind of lovely goat cheese. All were at the right temperatures and age and presented simply with sliced apples and a basket of toast.

Dessert: Mango and papaya carpaccio with pineapple sorbet was a clear winner in its lightness and unusual presentation: the fruits were cut on a mandoline and served paperthin with a hint of syrup. We also enjoyed the milk parfait with passion fruit and bittersweet chococlate ( shaved on top); and the chocolate hazelnut parfait with milk chocolate icecream.

We really appreciated the wine list which includes their suggestions for pairings for each course. I'd recommend this structure for every restauranteur interested in increasing wine sales - it's a very easy way for the customer to feel in charge of the pairings, when of course the restaurant really is.

Overall, I have to give Union Pacific very high marks all around. Not only were we taken care of, but we noticed that the other tables were made to feel special as well. And of course, when you're talking about Rocco DiSpirito's cuisine, you're going to be thrilled no matter what.

(apologies as this is my first immediate-post-dinner-with-wine-review- and I'm probably giddy to begin with).

[Wilfrid]

Sounds like a winner. I do think Rocco needs to get some therapy about the rhubarb, though. It was all over the place last time I ate there. I gather you didn't have any problems with over-sweet savory dishes, which is the usual carp about his cuisine?

I agree about the wine list (of course). Do they do that at March, or is my memory failing me again?

[cabrales]

I had a good-to-very-good-meal at Union Pacific recently. The meal price was a good bargain, in my mind, as I had taken advantage of the prix fixe pre-theater option. That option ($45; seating and/or ordering ? before 5:45 on Saturday nights) offers the identical menu to the $68 regular prix-fixe at UP. I chose the pre-theater option, even though I did not have anything lined up after dinner, because I have been dieting and had not taken in any food (except perhaps a dozen individual green grapes) since the meal at Jane/Lupa the night before. Also, a savings of $23 is nothing to ignore, under the circumstances.

-- Amuse: Green beans with duck proscuitto, apricot vinaigrette: This dish was only average, despite an interesting application of the apricot. Instead of the sugary sensations one ordinarily associates with apricot, here the fruit conveyed acidity. It still carried the "denser" textures in the saucing that one would ordinarily associate with apricot.

-- Taylor Bay Scallops with Uni, Tomato Water and Mustard Oil, with a glass of champagne Paul Georg Blanc de Blancs. This dish was as previously described, except the mustard oil in the thin tomato water was more evident than previously and the mustard seed bits on top of the scallops were more noticed by me. A stronger mustard oil flavor than previously, but I liked both versions. I chose champagne, instead of the white wine suggested by the glass for this dish. The champagne was from a magnum.

-- Celeryroot Veloute with Hibiscus and All-Spice: This veloute I found to be a work-in-progress. Celeryroot is theoretically a good veloute ingredient, but here the sweetness of the product was suppressed by almost an acidic overnote that should have been reduced. Interestingly, the all spice was in the form of artistic-looking dollops of oil on the surface of the celeryroot veloute. There was a burgundy-colored oil which, upon asking, I was told was cherry oil (I strongly doubted taht explanation). Interestingly, below the whitish celeryroot veloute was a layer of burgundy-colored veloute that I could initially not discern the composition of. I speculated a mix of rhubarb and beetroot, given the chef's inclination to utilize rhubarb, but was wrong. It was hibiscus that wass furnishing the sweetness. A dining room team member advised this dish had only recently been served at the restaurant.

-- Short Ribs of Beef and Truffled Taro Root, with Glass of Cinsaut: A nice entree, and arguably one of the chef's signature dishes. As I had sampled previously, the ribs had a significant amount of bone with marrow inside accompanying it. The bone portion stood upright (as was the case I first sampled a version of this dish, perhaps without the taro component, more than 3-4 years ago) and contained a good amount of almost liquid, fatty-tasting marrow. A little spoon stood poised inside the bone section for my utilization. The short ribs were without bone, and were dark and attractive. Nice utilization of taro (as opposed to potato or celeryroot) -- the taro is earthier and less commonplace on US menus. Nice inclusion of 4-5 whole slices of black truffle, along the "edges" of the taro puree. This matched the dense, dark, jus-based sauce. Arguably slightly aggressive for my subjective tastes, but a dish I enjoyed.

-- Cheese (see below), with a glass of Zabach CA Zin.

-- Toasted Sesame Seed Creme Brulee with Pink Grapefruit Sorbet -- This dessert was average, because the acidity and thinness of the grapefruit sorbet did not match the creme brulee. The creme brulee tasted like a normal brulee, except that the top hard film had toasted sesame seeds. The brulee itself was appropriate, but I am not a fan of desserts to begin with. Nice choice of Muscat de Beaume de Venise by the dining room team, as I find Sauternes heavy on the mouth at times.

-- Molten Chocolate Cake, with Vanilla Ice Cream and Rasberry Coulis -- This dessert was comp'd and not listed on the dessert menu. Nice inclusion of macadamia-like nuts in the vanilla ice cream. For a chocolate lover, this dessert might have been attractive. I took a bite of the chocolate cake, but did finish the ice cream.

I was comp'd on water, the dessert wine (Muscat de baume de Venise), a pre-dessert cheese course (with a particularly nice Shropshire, spelling, Blue; extra points for offering without my request sliced green apple; honey with toasted sesame seeds was not bad either) and an extra dessert (chocolate -- how was the restaurant to know this is not to my subjective liking? ). With espresso, $95 after tax and before tips.

Very attentive service, including by certain dining room members who spoke French. A team whose various members were well-versed in the ingredients in the dishes presented, and seemed genuinely interested in their work.

UP was among my preferred restaurants prior to my experiences at Blue Hill, and, while I prefer BH, UP is still up there. All of this was conferred without my being a known, regular customer. I would strongly recommend the UP pre-theater offer to members who like this type of cuisine. On weeknights, I believe seating or ordering (?) by 6 pm confers the prix fixe price.

CathyL -- Blue Hill offers particularly attractive wine pairings, although the pairings are not listed with respect to dishes on the indvidual dishes like they are at UP.

Edited January 12, 2003 by cabrales (log)

[Liza]

Dinner for four at Union Pacific last night. The usual wonderful and friendly service, with a bunch of extras thrown in. Must comment as I chose an entree I hadn't previously tried: the Miso-Marinated Hangar Steak with honshimeji mushrooms. Cooked rare as requested, this was an incredibly tender piece of meat. I was worried the miso would be too sweet but there were thiny-thin slices of garlic (I'm guessing, but probably double or triple blanched) on top which began the beguine with the miso and didn't stop.

Also new to me (as we usually get the cheese plate) were five desserts: Chocolate hazelnut parfait, which was delicate and not overly sweet. Loved the crunch at the bottom layer. Chocolate panna cotta with espresso foam and caramel popcorn - much more espresso than chocolate and a good choice for those without a sweet tooth. Toasted sesame seed creme brulee with pink grapefruit sorbet - I wish I had tried the sorbet with the brulee but someone else monopolized this one. The one that I monopolized: Banana Nutella Triple Decker with tapioca pudding: before I saw the menu, I thought this was banana french toast with chocolate, which frankly, still sounds pretty good. The tapioca pudding didn't add anything, but the combination of banana, nutella and a thin layer of bittersweet chocolate at the bottom to cut through the sweetness was perfection to me.

Edited January 31, 2003 by Liza (log)