An Englishman in NY

[Scottf]

I hope someone out there may be interested in my experience on NY eateries from Thanksgiving weekend.  I flew in from Heathrow on Wednesday 21st for 5 days and it was my first visit to NY.

I met my wife Samantha at our hotel (Hotel Grand Union on  32nd between Madison and Park) and we embarked on a stroll around the immediate area.  Later that evening we headed to a bar in Tribeca called The Knitting Factory to meet a colleague of Sam’s.  I was tired and by this time hungry so we looked for somewhere on the way back to the Metro to eat.  There was a tiny Chinese dumpling house on the junction of Canal St and Lafayette St called The Excellent Dumpling House, and after a brief perusal of the menu we went it.  In the window there was also reviews of the restaurant dating back to 1984 which made us chuckle!  We ordered hot spicy wonton soup (fiery aftertaste, great dumplings); Beef and broccoli stir fry (excellent stock), chicken rice and the star of the show Seafood noodles.  Thick noodles perfectly cooked with lobster, shrimp and scallops (Ů.80 or £5.00).  Portions were larger than I’ve experienced in Chinese restaurants in England and the bill totalled ษ, around £18 – Amazing value as in England I’d expect to pay maybe £15 for a dish containing lobster and scallop.  We had plenty left over so took away the leftovers and fed the National Guard, State Trooper and NYPD outside!

On Friday after a morning carriage ride in Central Park we headed across to the swanky boutiques on Madison for some window-shopping.  A swift check of our guide confirmed Café Boulud would be nearby so we went to enquire about a table for lunch.  The desk staff were great allowing us to check the menu for prices, dress code was no problem even though I was wearing jeans and trainers, so we booked for 12.30.

Lunch was prix fixe or a la carte and we both chose to eat prix fixe.  The format was a choice of 3 starters, 3 mains and 2 desserts and the prices were อ for 2 and ิ for 3 courses.  We both started with Peeky toe crab salad, a cylindrical mound of crabmeat surrounded by apple gelee, (a recurring theme), topped with frisee and walnuts.  It was a perfectly competent dish but the sort of starter often seen on set lunches – cold and prepare able in advance.  For mains Sam chose Fettuccini with veal, beef and pork mince, basically a posh spaghetti Bolognese.  I had Veal ‘Blanquette’.  It was thin sheets of veal welded together by stewing I’d guess to form a tower.  Very tender and tasty.  The accompanying spinach was excellent.  Sam ducked dessert as we were eating out again that night but I had Fall fruit tart.  It was an individual tart with an almost biscuit base but light, crispy pastry.  It was filled with mainly apple plus pear and cranberry.  The waiter spooned a cinnamon cream on top and there was a honey drizzle around the plate.  It was fabulous, the highlight of the meal and I could’ve eaten a lot more!

The cheapest wine we could find was ึ (£28), and although not under obligation to have wine we chose a dry white Chardonnay for ฼.  The wine expense was a bit of a letdown and certainly bumped up the cost of the meal to 贗 (£88) before tip.  The service was very good all meal, Sam had water accidentally knocked on her from a neighbouring table and the tablecloth was changed in an instant.  Speaking of water, the waiter offered us tap water as soon as we were seated without even mentioning bottled.  Could someone of influence be reading Egullet?!  Although we declined coffee a basket of very good lemon madelaines were offered and accepted!  All in all a pleasant lunch but not enough ‘wow’ factor.

For dinner that night we’d managed to obtain a 10pm slot at Gramercy Tavern.  We were seated through the bar and grill area to the right.  The table was roomy with plenty of space to the neighbouring table.  The menu was extremely difficult to choose from and whilst deciding we were presented with a crudite topped with apple gelee and foie gras.  An exquisite mouthful.  The pre-starter was a cold piece of sardine fillet with beans, olives, red peppers and pasta shapes.  It certainly reminded me how tasty sardine is.

I started with Nantucket bay scallops with roasted pumpkin and a vegetable puree that I can’t remember.  8 perfectly cooked queen size crustaceans.  Sam led with Celery root soup with a parmesan tuile topped with crème fraiche.  An intensely tasting soup.

I followed with Cod, brussel sprouts and potato boulangere.  I chose this due to Steven’s review and the fact Sam chose the Fillet and braised short rib of beef and I expected to share that with her.  As far as I can remember the cod was the best piece of fish I’ve eaten.  It was a skinless fillet, lightly browned top and bottom, and I’m sure it was around 3” cubed.  I didn’t even need a knife to eat it.  It was surrounded by a brussel sprout top broth, which included carrot, leek and apple.  It was light but flavoursome.  I was expecting a large sheet of potato but instead there were 2 tiny rectangular sheets on top of the cod with some stewed onion – An excellent dish.  Apart from a mouthful of both fillet and short rib, Sam to my amazement cleared her plate!  The fillet was cooked rare as asked and was topped with bone marrow and watercress.  The short rib fell apart on cutlery impact, and the dish was completed with baby shallots and a rich consume poured by the waiter at the table.  A creamy potato gratin was served separately in a copper tin and Sam enjoyed every mouthful.

We were presented with a palate cleanser of a spoonful of lemon mousse and sorbet before attempting dessert.  The lemon got Sam on the case and she chose Lemon soufflé tart with ginger ice cream, and though she loved the tart she didn’t like the intensity of the ice cream.  I had baked chocolate mousse, which I’d have called fondant, with cinnamon ice cream and chocolate sorbet.  My ice cream was much more to Sam’s liking but I wasn’t prepared to swap (should have left me more meat darling!).  The mousse was almost crunchy on the outside leading to a soft, runny centre.

I noted a dessert wine on the list called Mead from the Lurgashall winery in West Sussex, England (about 1 hr from my address in England) which is something I’m looking up now I’m home.  We drank a rose’ with our meal (ฦ) which was so fruity I thought I was drinking juice and the whole list was more accessible than Café Boulud.

Steven our server was excellent throughout, extremely knowledgeable about the food and wine menus, even writing down some wines for us to look out for not on the restaurant list.  We again drank tap water all night and it was topped up freely.  The final cost before tip was 赃.45 (£120).  We left around 12.45 after an excellent meal.

We were looking for a cheap eat on Saturday lunch so after consulting the cheap eats section of our Time Out guide we headed to The Corner Bistro on 8th and Jane St.  We sat bar side and it was already busy just before 1.  We ordered 2 beers from the solitary waiter and Bistro burgers and fries from the menu on the wall, as recommended by Time Out.  They arrived on paper plates and it was the best burger I’ve ever eaten.  A meaty lump of packed mince, plenty of juice, topped with cheese, bacon, fresh onion, tomato and lettuce.  Gherkin slices are on the side, which suited Sam, as they’d have ended up there anyway!  The fries were also good and I was sorry to leave, though it was packed and starting to get pretty smoky.  The damage including the beers was ย (£13).

On Saturday night we were treated to dinner at Daniel by one of Sam’s colleagues.  We met in the bar area for an aperitif, there was a smooth, suntanned, dyed white haired guy eating whom Sam believed was famous.  She’s since told me he presents Who Wants to be a Millionaire!

The dining room was spectacular with fantastic flower arrangements and was also full.  We were seated on the raised tier, entrance side, which didn’t suit our American hosts but suited me, as it appeared more spacious.  The prix-fixe menu is ๢ with supplements on some starters.  Whilst we were making our choices a cake stand was placed on the table holding 3 bite sized amuse bouches presented on 3 different stand levels.  From the top goat’s cheese and chive wrapped in a parmesan tuile.  I didn’t expect to like it as I’m not keen on goat’s cheese but it was good – not too salty.  The middle mouthful was a minced prawn mixture in a tiny bowl and the third a bowl holding a piece of lobster with a citrus dressing, again very tasty though my favourite was the prawn.

I started with a special - Lightly battered shrimps (6) with an apple gelee (very similar to apple sauce), and a mixed leaf salad.  The shrimp were plump and succulent though it was a safe dish rather than spectacular.  Sam began with Warm sea scallops with a wild mushroom, bacon and lentil broth.  8 sweet queen sized scallops cooked to melt in the mouth – a very homely dish.  Our hosts both had another special, pan-fried foie gras with apple (ฟ supp.).  Neither left a scrap so I’m guessing it was satisfactory!

For mains our hosts both had Atlantic sea bass in a crisp potato shell with leeks and a syrah sauce.  It wasn’t a large plateful and I’m not surprised their plates were cleared.  I had chestnut crusted venison.  It was a fat free loin cut into 3, cooked rare as asked.  I cannot remember tasting nuts though perhaps the crust was aimed more for the crunchy texture.  The loin was sat on a bed of braised red cabbage, with 2 scoops of sweet potato puree and a cranberry compote completing the dish, all fine accompaniments to a lovely piece of meat.  Sam had Veal chop (a special) which came with baby carrots, leeks and spinach leaves and a boiled sweet potato.  It was too big for Sam so at last I got some extra!

Our hosts skipped dessert but that’s not my style and I ordered Hot chocolate upside down soufflé with pistachio ice cream.  I had to have it as I love pistachio in dessert form, and the soufflé, turned on to the plate with a white chocolate decoration on top (visually stunning), married perfectly.  The dessert menu is split between chocolate and fruit and there is a trio under both sections.  Sam couldn’t decide which so had a combination of both, the highlight being a mini pear soufflé.  She loved all 3.

We skipped coffee for an after dinner Armagnac and left around 12.30 contented.  We drank bottled water with this meal on the insistence of our NY hosts.  We also drank a bottle of Sancere (sp?), which the sommelier described as the best bottle of its kind in the world.  It was certainly a fine selection.  That combined with pre dinner drinks and a couple of table drinks left a final bill in the region of 迀 (£590) before tip, probably not a great amount by Daniel standards but certainly a lot by mine.  However it was a fine meal in spectacular surroundings and I’m glad I was given the opportunity to go.  

I’m sure there’s plenty I’ve left out or forgotten but we had a great time in New York doing all the touristy things and there’s still so much for us to see and do and try – I can’t wait to return!      

(Edited by Scottf at 3:44 pm on Dec. 2, 2001)

(Edited by Scottf at 7:50 am on Dec. 5, 2001)

[Ruby]

Hi Scott, Thanks for sharing your dining experiences with us. You wrote so descriptively well that I felt like I was also in the dining rooms. Believe me, I would have snapped up anything your wife Samantha didn't eat! Especially the desserts!

Come back and visit us soon. And when you get a chance, please let us know your favorite restaurants in England. You certainly picked some winners in NY!

Cheers, :)

[Fat Guy]

Now that's a thorough report! Thanks!

Sorry your experience at Cafe Boulud wasn't up to snuff. One has to wonder why Cafe Boulud bothers with those prix fixe menus or with the Restaurant Week promotion, as I've never heard of anyone being particularly thrilled with those offerings. I mean, I guess I know why they do it, but I wish they'd print a big sign: "This food isn't as good as what we normally serve." I haven't had the exact dishes you mentioned, but I'm pretty sure they weren't typical of the restaurant.

I continue to be amazed at Gramercy Tavern's consistent ability to please its customers. It's nice to see a restaurant so well run.

It sounds as though you didn't have the opportunity to taste the potato-wrapped bass at Daniel. That's pretty much his signature dish -- very nice. And I love that amuse tower; you'd think some of the other four-star places would try a little harder to compete in that area. Daniel really sets the right tone for the evening with that presentation, and with the bread. I suppose Jean Georges does a pretty nice triple-amuse plate, but on account of the tower format the one at Daniel always seems more impressive than all the others.

[Scottf]

Hi Steven

I forgot to mention the bread.  It was excellent in all 3 restaurants with plenty of variety.  And that tower -   That was 'wow' factor, as was the crudite of apple and foie gras in Gramercy.

Maybe my report on Cafe Bould doesn't do it justice.  We didn't dislike it, it was a perfectly competent lunch, but for the money I'm sure we could've eaten just as well elsewhere.

Ruby, my favourite restaurant in the UK at the moment is The Capital in London.  Another obvious one is Gordon Ramsay though I refuse to eat in his restaurants at the moment as I don't believe the practice of turning tables befits a restaurant with 3 michelin stars.  Chez Bruce is also a favourite, consistantly classy but earthy food.  Probably the restaurant I'd most liken to Gramery Tavern in London that I've been to.

[NYFoodie]

Scott,

Just wanted to add a follow-up to your comment re: Gramercy Tavern: "I noted a dessert wine on the list called Mead from the Lurgashall winery in West Sussex, England (about 1 hr from my address in England) which is something I’m looking up now I’m home."  I've found that Mead in half-bottles (375 mL) at Grande Harvest Wines in Grand Central Station.  Very nice, and not too heavy/syrupy like some meads can be.

[Bux]

Regarding Cafe Boulud and Fat Guy's comments, I suspect they have a market for the prix fixe menu and that it's a repeat business market. I don't know. I agree that value is often not in the bargain menus at many restaurants. I've not had lunch at Cafe Boulud and therefore not had the lunch prix fixe menu. I've had lunch at Daniel, when they were serving lunch, and saw others eat the prix fixe menu there. I thought the twice as expensive à la carte menu was infinitely better and thus a better value. I've had the same experience in a fine restaurant in Paris where I had the most expensive seasonal tasting menu and returned for the lunch special at half the price and maybe a quarter of the "wow." I am beginning to think that most of the really fine restaurants should be eaten in less often if necessary, but without concern for budget. The trick is in knowing when you are throwing your money away on flourishes and when you have to spend it to get to the food that made the chef's reputation.

If one orders wine with meals, (and I expect most of us do at nice restaurants, at least most of the time) Gramercy Tavern will have a big edge when considering price/value. It still has what appears to be less of a markup, or at least better choices at the lower end, than most places and food and service are uncompromised. I've also spotted great wine bargains at 11 Madison Park and this may be a Danny Meyer gift.

Daniel Boulud has claimed that he'd like to take that potato crusted fish in red wine sauce off the menu as everyone in the kitchen is so fed up with making it, but when tried removing it, there was such a demand for it anyway that he gave in. I think he's taken the liberty of changing the wine. I seem to recall that he once used Barolo.

[Wilfrid]

Interesting to heare that mead can be had from Harvest Wines.  I'd never seen it in the States.  Being pedantic, I shouldn't have thought it was right to call mead "a dessert wine", as it doesn't contain any grapes.  Essentially, it's a fermented honey drink.  And very nice it is too.

[yvonne johnson]

Scottf: Me too. I enjoyed your report. I was at GT last night (I'll try and write a report when I get a decent moment), and I agree with your wife's take on dessert. I had the chocolate-caramel tart with caramel ice cream. "Intense" couldn't sum up how over the top this was. It was barely edible. After two spoonfuls I feared that some more would permanently glue my mouth shut. When our waiter cleared the plate she said that some out of towners ask for seconds of this dessert!

OK, maybe I've got a few mins. Here goes.

Amuse: The tiny toast with foie gras. Good. Could've done with more

Amuse 2: Marinated halibut with sesame toast. Good to very good. Clean tasting, and simple.

I went for the scallops with pumpkin & Sichuan peppers. The scallops were unremarkable. They'd been sautéed, but the pumpkin sauce made them soggy. This might've been a poor choice on my part. My husband's sweetbreads were soft and delicious.

My main was venison with cabbage and chestnuts. The last was not very evident. Again, this was unremarkable. The venison was nicely cooked in that it was rare, warm through, browned on the outside. But it was tasteless.  Not gamey in the slightest. At this point I thought I might be going insane, and asked my husband to taste my venison, and he agreed with me. He also agreed about the scallops, and we don't always agree.

My husband went for the short rib and fillet steak. In common with Scottf's wife's rendition, this was tender, quite flavorful and the accompanying potatoes were very good though my husband didn't find the dish superlative.

We had a cheese course. For me, this was the highlight of the meal, especially the yews blue from Chatham (I think), and the goat with ash was excellent too.

My husbands tart tartin was excellent.

The dining rooms at GT are lovely, the service was competent and when we commented on the cheeses, the cheese man (fromagier?) was brought to our table for a chat. Nice touch.

St Julien les Fiefs de Lagrange 1995 was terrific. I've been looking all over for this as we had some in France this year.

This was our second time at GT, and, overall, neither of us was blown away.

PS: Glad you liked the Corner Bistro Burger! Totally agree. Superb.

[Bux]

Although neither of us are great burger fans, my wife's been trying to get me to go to the Corner Bistro for some time. We used to live almost across the street from it, but that was eons ago, well several decades anyway. We almost made it there once, but it was packed with college kids on vacation and too crowded. The "kids" we were with found it too young as well. I used to love their chili burger, but that was a lifetime of taste growth ago. I've been hearing nothing good about it, until recently. Fat Guy's certainly not a fan as I recall. Current posts suggest I see for myself.

Mead. Purests are offended by the use of "wine" for any drink other than fermented grape juice, althought some will accept it with the proper adjective. Mead is really not honey wine, any more than wine is grape mead, to them. Likewise fermented apple juice is cider not apple wine. By extension, "brandy" is reserved for the distillate of grape wine. Calvados is not apple brandy. This leaves a problem in nomenclature for cider distilled outside the Calvados region.

[Wilfrid]

Yvonne, did your husband's steak come topped with a slice of beef marrow?  I fell in love with GT on my first visit - when I told them how much I loved the little disk of marrow, they brought out a whole side order of marrow for me to wallow in.  Fat city!

Venison seems to be a tricky one to get right.  The best I've had in a restaurant this year was at San Domenico - tender but also distinctly gamey.  As good was some aged French venison I bought from the French Butcher (Monsieur Carre) on 2nd Avenue between 21st and 22nd, which I marinated and cooked myself.

[SamanthaF]

This is the Sam as mentioned in Scotts original posting.

I am currently back in NY for work and looking for quality bargain eats. (We done all our dough last week!)

Any recomendations?

[Wilfrid]

Quote: from Bux on 2:30 pm on Dec. 3, 2001

This leaves a problem in nomenclature for cider distilled outside the Calvados region.

Sorry, Bux.  I think you were agreeing with me about the mead, but concentrate as I might I can't see what the cider nomenclature problem is.  Unless Cider is a small town in Calvados.

[Bux]

Wilfrid, my obtuse message was about "distilled cider" having a name problem. Fermented apple juice is cider, (actually in the US we also use that word to mean sweet fresh apple juice as well) but the distilled cider is Calvados in a certain area in Normandy, but just eau-de-vie de pomme in other parts of France.

Sam, as you've already discovered. One can eat very good food in Chinatown for next to nothing. The tavern  at Gramercy Tavern is another good spot to eat fairly well at a reasonable price. It's far less expensive than in the dining room, although it's also not quite the same food. Single diners can eat at the bar. It does get crowded however.

[yvonne johnson]

Yes, Wilfrid, my husband's dish at GT came with marrow as well as some foie gras and thin, though richly flavored, broth. As for the venison, I've had much better at Le Madri (several years ago tho') and The Tonic (previous chef). Also surprising was the  tiny amount of reduction that came with it.  Also, why not go for venison that's aged a bit, instead of something that could've been any bland cut of meat?

(Edited by yvonne johnson at 11:11 am on Dec. 4, 2001)

[Wilfrid]

Okay, Bux, I am with you now.

Yvonne, I am glad your husband got the marrow, and you have reminded me I must re-post my question on the Cooking board about how to make large quantities of reduced sauces!  Someone must know.

[robert brown]

Bux, once in Buvron-en-Auge I bought Calvados and Pommeau; but as this was in 1989, I forgot the difference. Pommeau seems to be a short-term affair, perhaps more like our fermented cider. I don't think I ever got to drink it. Do you have anything on that?

(Edited by robert brown at 12:37 pm on Dec. 4, 2001)

[Bux]

Okay, Bux, I am with you now.

You want to be careful then. ;)

[Bux]

once in Buvron-en-Auge I bought Calvados and Pommeau

Calvados is best bought repeatedly. ;)

Oddly enough you've come to the American Pommeau expert. It was the toast before Champagne at my daughter's wedding. My son-in-law is a Breton. Calvados is an AOC apple brandy (eau-de-vie). The bottle of Pommeau I have is "Pommeau de Bretagne" appellation d'origine contrôlée (I assume Pommeau itself is not protected or controlled unless with a place name.) It's an aperatif made from apple juice and "apple brandy." In the case of my bottle, it's 17% alcohol and made from jus de la pomme et eau-de-vie de cidre de Bretagne. It's like a sweetened fortified wine or sweet cocktail. It's an acquired taste. It's not as sweet as the kirs I've had in Brittany--half and half, white wine (or apple cider) and crème de cassis.

[robert brown]

You never know what kind of esoteric expertise is lurking inside this site. Thanks for straightening me out, Bux

[Wilfrid]

Pommeau sounds very like something which used to be - and probably still is - on sale in England under the generic name 'Pommagne'.  A sort of slightly sparking apple cocktail, indeed.

And then, of course, there's perry and pear brandy (which is different from Poire William, of course), but that really is for another Board.

[Bux]

If I might stay off topic for a moment, how does pear brandy differ from poire william (eau-de-vie de poire)? Calvados is just eau-de-vie de pomme made within a delimited area and within certin restrictions. I don't believe it even has to be aged as I'm sure we've had clear Calvados years ago in Normandy.

[Wilfrid]

Uh-oh.  Now that you ask, I'm not sure.  I just recall drinking a brown, brandy-ish drink made from pears (admittedly from the west country of England) which was nothing like Poire William.  I will look into this when I have a moment.

[Bux]

Wilfrid, it may well be that in common parlance, the eaux-de-vie that are aged in wood and brown in color are called brandies and the white ones called eaux-de-vie. It does seem that many terms are bandied about without much thought to communication.

[Scottf]

Getting back on track to my original review if I may, I got home from work last night and there on the mat a letter from Gramercy Tavern, from the Maitre'd, thanking me for my custom, obviously delighted I enjoyed the meal and the restaurant and wishing me a speedy return!  It reminded me that I had filled in a comments card but never for one minute expected to hear anything.  That is after sales service and when I return, hopefully next year, I will definitely go back  (even though my tendency is to try new places).  Top marks to GT!  

[Wilfrid]

That's nice, but I would say it's not that unusual.  I get a steady stream of mailings, including signed stuff, from restaurants where I have left my address in a burst of enthusiasm after polishing off the wine.