Brunch at Lacroix

[jmbrightman]

bumping this up because we are going for brunch for the first time next weekend - any changes from the wondrousness previously reported?

[rlibkind]

We were there in May and again in July. Some slight seasonal changes (particularly the ice creams). Holds up well on repeat visits! Only minor disappointment from She Who Must Be Obeyed is the chocolate fountain: more showy than tasty. I'd definitely go for the nitrogen-frozen dessert.

[jmbrightman]

we are going to Cochon for dinner the night before, must...exercise...restraint...

[rlibkind]

Made our quarterly repeat visit to Lacroix Sunday. Don't remember everything, but some highlights:

Off the fish table, what is perhaps the finest piece of smoked, peppered mackerel I've had the pleasure of eating: still moist, peppery without overdosing.

Among the hor d'oeuvres:

Foie gras with house-made smoked marshmallows!

Fennel soup with nice crispy banana bits (think Bacos but made of bananas)

The tenderest grilled octopus ever.

Lamb tataki (barely cooked) with pistachio worked for me.

The red beet gelle looked like a baby whole beet, but it was an über beet jelly (think canned cranberry sauce, but good) served in a spoon with something crunchy (turned out it was pop rocks).

Little capon rillette balls looked like the midwest's famous sauerkraut balls, but tasted better.

The chipotle-apricot bread (micro-muffins) packed a nice little wallop.

I wasn't enthralled with the pine nut panna cotta served (and infused by) smoked black trumpet fungi, but it certainly tasted mushroomy.

Oh, the duck croissants were nothing to sneeze at.

There was a wonderful celery salad with carrots, peanuts and Campari.

The "toasted bagel panzanella" included little bits of smoked salmon.

Onto the kitchen for the main events, where I did manage to pass up a few items but still went wild, because there was just so much I had to taste, even if it didn't make sense eating them together:

Their tiny fried potatoes (crunchy cubic centimeter bits topped with crunchy crystals of French sea salt) continue to amaze me. Just perfect. This went well with the herb sautéed mushrooms.

Tommy DiNic shouldn't have to worry, but I found the duck confit served with rabe and provolone compelling. Maybe Tommy should add it to his menu?

One can never get enough bacon, so I had a couple of bacon slices along with the crispy pork belly atop white beans.

When I was last at Lacroix for Sunday brunch in October, they had a corned veal breast. Today it was an uncorned roasted veal breast; better than the corned version!

The braised red cabbage (excellent with the pork belly or veal) was striking by the use of blackberries as the sweetening agent.

My one regret: not picking up a little ramekin of the "rustic" lobster bread pudding. How could that possibly be "rustic"?

To accompany all this I had a sparkler (the cremant). To accompany the cheese and dessert courses I selected a semilon, which was fine but not nearly as good as the Muscat I ordered last October.

Okay, the desserts:

I always start with a little cheese. Of the four on the cheese table, I selected a hard, truffle-inflected cheese, a little dab of roquefort, and some brie.

Next was the liquid nitrogen station back in the kitchen. Today they were doing a chocolate malt foam surrounding a dollop of chocolate ganache.

Of the ice cream toppings (I skipped the ice cream), the pears poached with verbena sounded the most interesting; I should have tasted those!

The "Black Forest Cake" was topped with some brandy-soaked dried cherries, and was hardly a cake at all, rather lots of sweet cream flavored as a black forest cake.

She Who Must Be Obeyed went back for seconds of the citrus poppyseed cake, which has more "frosting" than cake, though the little round plug of cake was quite nice, too. Oh, it was adorned with some gold leaf.

There were the little lemon meringue tartlets, a cilantro-infused cake-ish treat, and something with some pistachio flavoring, too, as well as a few others I didn't try. All were designed in high style, all were full of sweet fat, all were satisfying. Once again, SWMBO regretted not adhering to her motto: "Live is short, eat dessert first."

So, does Lacroix uphold the initial "expensive, expansive, exceptional" label I gave it? Yes (our tab for two with three drinks and gratuity was just a little under $200), Yes and Yes.

[percyn]

Thanks for your extensive review Bob, it reminds me that a visit for bruch at Lacroix is overdue.

[Andrew Fenton]

My, what an experience the Lacroix brunch is! It's a wonderful mix of slightly avant-garde (chocolate-coated foie gras lollipops, beet gelee with pop rocks), well-prepared variations on classics (terrific smoked fishes, meats of many lands at the carving station) and stuff that's just plain fun (liquid nitrogen station, WHEE).

It's that mix of styles that makes the experience what it is. While the kitchen has no problem turning out a first-rate glazed salmon, for example, they clearly have some fun playing around with and mixing up traditions. For example, duck confit was served with broccoli rabe and provolone: toss that on a Sarcone's roll and you'd have the best sandwich EVER.

Some things didn't work so well. An octopus brochette just doesn't go with lemon cream. There were some items that didn't rise above standard brunch buffet fare: scrambled eggs a la heat lamp, a heavy garlic bread pudding. And I'm sorry, but I get grossed out by the idea of a chocolate fountain. Still, because it's a buffet, you can focus on what's really good.

At the head of the highlights for me was a chilled lobster consomme: the essence of lobster, more intense than the crustacean itself. The peppered mackerel was also wonderful. Pork n' beans, with chunks of belly and tiny white beans, was a rich treat. And that beet gelee pop rocked my world.

[percyn]

Its been a while since anyone posted on this thread and since I just returned from brunch at Lacroix today, I thought I would say that Chef de Cuisine Jason Cichonski does a great job.

Will post a more detailed review in a few days, though menu highlights today included foie & chocolate lolipops, mini duck stuffed croissants, truffled brussel sprouts, salsify lyonnaise, kaffir lime braised short ribs, braised pork belly and gingerbread liquid Nitrogen ice cream. And these were just the highlights ... boy am I full