The Tasting Room

[Beachfan]

What a divine meal we just had at the Tasting Room.  My second visit, both of them pretty much perfect.

I'm adopting my friends modified scoring system. I used to give dishes 1 to 10 points.  He has a category T, for trancendental.  It's a useful category at the Tasting Room.  I've used it for dishes that erase prior memories of what I previously thought was the best in class.

For those of you who don't know it, items come in two sizes, "taste" and "share".  Really, the portions are "share" and "big".  We split everything, with the dishes coming out two at a time.  Only the Grouper was the Share size.

First Course: Roasted Japanese Eggplan, Fresh Feta Cheese, Rosemary, Vin Cotto

Superb well cooked tender eggplant, flavors and textures playing perfectly of the fresh feta cheese.  Superb (9).

Second First Course:  Chilled Squid Noodles, Olives, Grape Tomatoes, Tangerine Juice

Fabulous offering pairing threads of squid with noodles of same shape and very similar texture.  It was the flavor that contrasted.  The Tangerine Juice and spices gave it an evocation of Thai cusine.  It reminded me of Matsuhisa's squid pasta, taken to the next level conceptually (with Thai instead of Japanese flavors).(10)

Wine Note:  We had a 2000 Martinelli Dry Gewurtztraminer, a fabulous pairing with the pacific rim first cources.  Martinelli and Navarro may be the only two US wineries doing really well with this varietal.  Comparable to a highquality village Alsatian wine (say 90 points for those who count them?).

First Second Course: Smoked Trout, quail Eggs, Spiced Rolled Bacon.  Funny, I don't remember the bacon, but the greens it was served on was outstanding.  Excellent very fresh. lightly smoked trout.  The hard boiled quail eggs were cute but didn't add much to the flavor.  However, the sauce was delightful (9).

Second Second Course: Fois Gras Terrine, Green Apple, Celery Root, Maple

Here the meal shifted gears into trancendental.  By that I mean better than any Fois Gras I've had in the US.  It took me back to my summer in Provence, where the michelin one stars all do house terrines that make you want to move there.  The Celery Root,Apple, Maple combo was a great concept and fantastic counterpoint to the fois gras. (T for transcendental).

Second Second Course, Second Time

The Fois Gras Terrine was so special, sharing a taste was not enough.  We shared another one!

First Third Course:

Manhattan Clam Chowder, Scallops, Littleneck Clams, Potatoes

Wow!  Scallops so tender that Rene (Proprietress/hostess) might have lured them out of the ocean today by singing some sweet siren song.  A tomato broth thinner than a traditional chowder, but rich, redolent of fresh tomato flavors, and spicy.  I'm a Manhatten Chowder fan, and I've never had a better one.  The tiny pototatoes were superb, some tender gourmet variety that I can never remember. Oh, and the clams were very fine!  (T)

Wine Note:  At this point, I switched to a 1994 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape (375 ml), that I brought along.  The Tasting Room's generous corkage policy is buy a bottle, and you can open a bottle with the only fee being a taste for one of the staff.

1994 is supposed to be a slightly off year, but this bottle was gorgeous, and showing very well.  Pretty typical flavors for Beaucastel, but mellower at a younger age than the bigger vintages.

Second Third Course

Seared Grouper, Kabocha Squash Puree, Spinach

What more accolades can I lavish on the food?  Perfectly cooked perfect fish, a little bit of crispy skin still on, the slight sweetness of the squash along with it's texture had me unconciously forking them together, bite by bite.  A top flight dish (10+).

Desert

Lemon Tart, Caramel Sauce, Whipped Cream

Reminiscent of that perfect tart you remember from France, yet much lighter.  Super pure lemon flavor underlying the caramel.  By the time you finish, memories of perfect lemon ice waft in as the last bites levitate off the plate. (10)

My thanks to Steven for his great review at his site for turning me on to this place.

PS If you don't like tight squeezes, ask for the table by the door.  

PPS Cost for this amazing meal was a super reasonable ๘ per head including the first bottle of wine and tax, excluding tip.

[tommy]

it sounds like the menu has changed considerably since my last visit.

one of my top 10 favorite places to eat in NYC.  and i love that all-american wine list.  who knew virginia was a wine-producing state?!?!

[TCD]

Williamsburg Winery produces some well-priced quaffable whites and reds (can't recall the varitials).  Not any better than most NJ wines, but visting the winery is not a bad side trip if your in the Colonial Williamsburg area.  

[Fat Guy]

The thing about the menu at the Tasting Room is that it changes at least once every week, and within the space of a month or two you'll find most every dish fundamentally altered or replaced. And now that Colin Alevras has renovated his kitchen and has twice as much space, he's cooking with even more ambition.

I actually attended an all-Virginia wine dinner at the Tasting Room last year, and found several of the specimens quite drinkable though not particularly price-competitive with the more established regions. Still, it's gotten to the point where you can drink a broad range very good American wine without looking to the West Coast.

[Beachfan]

As asked, I'm reporting back on another lovely Tasting Room excursion. Here's what I had:

First Wine - Delas Clos Boucher 1998 Condrieu (from my cellar).  As our waiter said "it rocks".

First Course consists of next two dishes shared:

Marinated Squid and Scallops - Fresh Mint, Lime and Shallot

This was a stunner.  I thought I had had it last time in January, but I was wrong.  In retrospect I wonder if it was made like a cerviche but the thin, delicate slices and intensely fresh mint/lime flavors made it seem truly unique.  A real winner.

Sliced fresh cod, green mango, chiles, olive oil.

This was a substitution, the menu mentioned sea bass.  No matter, it was a wow!  A perfect pairing with the dish above.  I never would have thought fresh cod could be so ethereal.

Second course:

Fois Grois Terrine, Pickled Ramps, Plum, Mint Oil

I love their fois grois and this time was no exception.  Interestingly enough, I had a comparison to D'Artagnan since I sereved their trio of fois gras to one of my dining companions.  I think Tasting Room is Hudson Valley and D'Artagnan is French (anyone know for sure?), but they were extremely comparable, and the plum/mint oil adornment made the Tasting Rooms a real treat.  Quite a nice portion for the "taste" size.

Second wine: Navarro 1999 late harvest Reisling.  A lovely accompaniement to the fois gras (and for desert).

Third Course (next two dishes shared)

Manhatten Clam Chowder: razor clams, potatoes, smoked paprika.

I love this dish.  Super rich tomato broth, with the smoke flavor showing itself in just the right way.

Third wine: L'Ecosse 1996 Dolcetto.  A California Dolcetto, suprisingly nice, drinking very well right now.

Pan Roasted Monkfish, Shitake Mushroom, Ramp Greens, Carrot Sauce

A credible dish, but not the culinary wow of the others.  Nonetheless, a nice piece of fish.

Sour Cream Tart with Walnut Crumble, Chocolate Sauce, Whipped Cream.

Such a nice version of this desert.  A perfect ending.

By the way, I took my vegetarian wife.  Although there was plenty of notice, and confirmation, at first only one vegetarian dish was offered to my wife.  Hardly the Tasting Room experience. Due to greenmarket shorfalls, there weren't any on the menu that day (the next day, one was added).  I guess Collin was feeling a little extra cramped; luckily Renee sorted it out and my wife got three courses to keep pace with the omnivores, and she loved her meal.  The first course was a fennel salad, the last was a mushroom dish ( I forget the middle one, and she's sleeping right now :>)).

[Jinmyo]

Very nice report, Beachfan. Please keep eating and telling the tale afterwards.  

[Liza]

Ramps already? I wonder if they're Michigan ramps as the NY ones aren't in the market yet...

[tommy]

i saw ramps at Whole Foods in NJ yesterday, much to my delight.  although, i still have no freakin idea what to do with them.  

[Liza]

I've always peeled the ooky stuff off, trimmed the ends and sauted with garlic and Earl. I think they're done when they start poofing - that's a techical term, somewhere...

[Wilfrid]

Quite aside from ookiness and poofability, I think they look like scallions (or spring onions), so I just treat them the same way.  Although they are a bit "oomphy" chopped raw into a salad.  I saw a sign for fiddlehead ferns in a store yesterday, but none of the curly little chaps were in attendance.

[Liza]

I'll call for squiggly ferns and ramps down at the farm. D. reports that fiddleheads should be at the market in about two weeks. The ramps are coming in slowly and small-ly - with the dry winter, they're pretty small.

[rockefeller666]

Beachfan--

I saw you said you had wine from your own cellar.  Does this mean that Tasting Room lets you bring in your own bottle of wine, like in California?  If they do, can you do it during any meal or did you have to make a special request?  Also, how much was the corkage?  Thanks.

[Beachfan]

Their corkage policy is buy one bottle and you can bring one bottle (w/o any fee).  They have a very nice wine list with obscure Californian wines that are not even know to obscure Californians such as myself.

I bring my own wine because I like to drink my wine with food and I'm a limited cook.  So if I want to enjoy my wine with food, it usually means someone else  is cooking.

[Felonius]

Had dinner at the Tasting Room for the first time the other night, and it left me with mixed feelings.  I love the concept of an intimate, friendly and casual place that serves high-end food. The staff couldn’t have been more friendly or knowledgeable about the food, and they made me feel like a “regular” from the first minute I walked in.  This kind of gracious and welcoming attitude served as a stark reminder of just how snobby most other top Manhattan restaurants have become (I'm guessing this is partially a function of demand outstripping supply in NYC during the financial bull market of the 1990's).  

The Tasting Room also has an outstanding wine list, though limited in size and scope (only California wines from what I saw), with many hard to find wines at extremely reasonable mark ups.  They had a list of California Pinots the likes of which I’ve never seen outside of the top restaurants in Northern California – three different wines made with the infamous “Pisoni” grapes particularly caught my eye.  There were also some great dessert wine selections by the glass that will not be found on another list in NYC.  

I like their menu format that allows for tasting portions of all items, and my date and I opted for 6 “tasting” dishes to share.  In the background, they played an eclectic mix of music including 1940’s jazz and even some tracks from Led Zeppelin.  There’s nothing quite like chowing down on haute cuisine while Robert Plant belts out “The Immigrant Song”!  I found the ambience a fun and refreshing alternative to the seriousness of a Bouley, Cafe Boulud, etc.

Then there was the food.  Everything was expertly prepared and novel in concept.  The problem was that much of it did not quite synch with my tastebuds.  Daring flavor and texture compositions seemed the rule, i.e. cold shrimp wrapped in some sort of aspic, with a mint and something-or-other infused broth.  A foie gras terrine had excellent flavor but the consistency was more hard/gelatinous than I would have liked. Of the six dishes we tried, only one or two really made either of us want to dig in and finish every bite, including a sea bass, and now I’ve forgotten the sauce (I apologize for a lack of more accurate descriptions in this post - I had a very beautiful date and was somewhat distracted from my usual food analysis).   Perhaps I'm just not on the same wavelength as the chef in terms of flavor and texture combinations, which may appeal more to others.  The quality was certainly there, the thought and physical execution were there, but the food just didn't click with me.  

Despite this somewhat awkward first visit, I will return for another try.  As the menu changes constantly, one never knows what a subsequent visit may offer.  The price was also reasonable in my opinion given the level of dining experience provided, and the fact that the wines are a better deal than at the majority of the competition.  Finally, I really enjoyed the laid back and friendly atmosphere and excellent service.  The folks at the Tasting Room could teach a few lessons to the rest of Manhattan's elite restauranteurs (except perhaps the Brombergs at Blue Ribbon) in true the meaning of the word "hospitality".

[Wilfrid]

Had dinner at the Tasting Room for the first time the other night...

Me too.  I also shared six of the smaller plates with a companion (they offer each dish in a regular size and a tasting size).  The room is tiny, isn't it?  I think I was a bit unreceptive to the staff, as I decided fairly quickly what I wanted and turned down several offers of assistance.  They seemed particularly disappointed that I was able to understand the menu without assistance (a touch of the Craft disease).  But they were very nice - there was even some touching.  

I think I rated the food a little higher.  Didn't eat the sea bass, but the papardelle with chicken was surprisingly deeply flavored.  Also liked the scallops and sweetcorn with a mushroom and - I suspect - veal stock sauce.  There was tapioca with the cold poached monkfish, but not enough.  The rabbit saddle was good too, although th stuffing lacked oomph.  I thought it was an all round decent dinner, $80 a head including tax and tip.  We didn't get beyond the wines by the glass.

For me, the music started out too loud, but fortunately got quieter.  Don't need music when I'm eating.

[tommy]

For me, the music started out too loud, but fortunately got quieter.  Don't need music when I'm eating.

thankfully wilfrid's old ears are decaying by the minute.

huh?

[Wilfrid]

I had trouble reading that last post.

[Liza]

Fran Lebowitz said it best:

Good music is music I want to hear. Bad music is music I don't want to hear.

[Wilfrid]

No offence to Fran, but I don't agree.  Depends when and where.  A lot of the music I like most just doesn't go well with eating*.  Some of the music I like does.  And anything loud just gets in the way, because when I occasionally pause between mouthfuls, I may attempt to conduct a conversation.  There was a lot of "I'm sorry?  What?"  going on at the Tasting Room, and it's not like there was six feet of table between us.

*Example:  "Neat Neat Neat" by the Damned.  Indigestion.

[jaybee]

Felonius, you write a good review, and seem to like music too.

I will try the Tasting Room.  Thanks.  By any chance, is your last name Mump?

[Felonius]

Thanks.  With that encouragement perhaps I'll post a few more reviews here in the near future.  I exchange e-mails with a fellow NYC food addict now and then, and that is where these "reviews" generally come from.  

I would generally agree that music such as Led Zeppelin is not conducive to fine dining, but for some reason I liked it at the Tasting Room.  However, it was a bit difficult hear my date at times.  Then again, this may have worked in my favor, as it likely spared her from having to listen to me wax poetic about the Pinot Noir we were drinking.  Maybe I owe that next date to Robert Plant & the Boys for helping me hide my food geek tendencies.

And no my last name is not "Mump".  Why do you ask?

[cabrales]

I had a good-plus dinner at Tasting Room recently, with very welcoming service. Some dishes I liked at more than the good-plus level; others I liked less. Chef Colin Alevras was temporarily helping out in the dining room, and was receptive to discussions about his food and wine. I would readily return to explore this restaurant. My dining companion and I ordered all dishes in the smaller "Taste" portion.

Heirloom Tomatoes; Arugula, Garlic, Sherry Vinegar ($10) -- The taste of the yellow heirlooms was conveyed clearly. I would have preferred greater quantities of the accompanying garlic and sherry vinegar flavors, and that leads to my assessment of the dish as average. However, an appropriate utilization of the bitterness in the arugula. The wine I brought was Corton Charlemagne, Bonneau de Martray 1997.

Maine Lobster Salad; Braised Artichokes, Grapes, Basil ($15) -- This dish was very good. The lobster was cooked just right, and the accompanying smallish grapes had an unusual (in a positive way) developed, sweetness.

Foie Gras Terrine; Gooseberries & Asian Pear, Shallots, Strawberry Syrup ($13) -- I liked this dish as it was initially served to us. "Terrine" is probably not the best word to describe this small, room temperature molded mound of foie gras. It was a nice texture and flavor, with the strawberry syrup being more appealing than I had anticipated. The Asian pear was served in a cluster on the side, in strands. The dish was good enough that we ordered a second portion. The second item was slightly on the hard side, from not having left the refridgerator as early. For this dish, my dining companion and I shared a glass of late harvest Riesling that was nice and non-sticky in the mouth.

Baked Rhode Island Day Boat Scallops; Turnip Puree, Watercress, Shallots, Sherry ($14) -- An average dish because the scallops were softer and more "limp" than I had expected. However, they were fresh-tasting. Bitterness from the watercress saucing was prominent and appropriate (although quite marked).

Organic Pasture-Raised Chicken; Anise Hyssop, Romaine, Candied Beets, Shrimp Reduction ($13) -- A good chicken specimen, with nice utilization of lemon peel to intensify the jus- and shrimp-hinted reduction. I continued drinking the Corton Charlemagne, but my dining companion moved onto a red wine (name unrecorded) purchased from the restaurant. It was a good recommendation from the chef.

Roasted and Braised Shoulder of Lamb; Zucchini, Garlic Confit, Olives, Saffron Jus ($14) -- This was very good. Flavorful; flesh that was not too cooked down, but yet tender. Nice control of the olives ingredient, which could dominate certain dishes in which it is included.

Sullivan County Squab; Honeycomb, Sopressata Sausage, Swiss Chard, Salmis Sauce ($14) -- The squab was cooked medium rare, as we had ordered it, and its flesh was appropriate. I considered the saucing somewhat too honey-intensive.

Selection of American Farmhouse Cheese; plums, melon, blueberries ($14)

Crispy Rice Treat Ice Cream Sandwich; Caramel Sauce, Vanilla Ice Cream ($6)

The corkage policy, already described by Beachfan, is appealing.

[Robert Nesta Marley]

thank you, beachfan & cabrales for sharing. i have wanted to go to the tasting room for the past year (!) but can't because the only days i have off are the days they're closed...

cabrales, could you talk about the cheese you had? did they offer non-american cheese at all? were you able to choose from a selection? thanks!

[Fat Guy]

This would be a good place to mention again that I think William Grimes's least impressive review ever was his review of the Tasting Room. Truly an instance of not getting it.

[Beachfan]

I don't think it's a question of Grimes not "getting it". I think he doesn't like nice people. Having been there, I enjoy the warm welcome. It's not cloying, or false.

It seems like sort of a Scrooge reaction to good cheer.