Jarnac

[yvonne johnson]

Jarnac, 328 W 12 (at Greenwich), 212/924-3413

Grimes is correct in one way. This is a very pretty bistro. Understated peachy colors and a nice staff. Grimes is incorrect, in my view, in praising the food. Even the house cocktail that Grimes likes isn’t great. Maybe the night he went it really was a splash of cognac and crème de cassis in the sparking wine. The night we went the proportions appeared to be reversed.

Duck rillettes with toast and mustard:  could be described as delicate.  Not much duck flavor though. The house gravlax tasted good.

I went for braised veal.  When taking my order the owner said that this was a fatty piece of meat, and suggested it wasn’t to everyone’s liking.  I went ahead as I’m not averse to fat.  It wasn’t fatty, it was tough and had no flavor to speak of. My husband and friend both went for the cassoulet.  This must’ve been cooked at the earth’s core, as it needed a good 15 minutes to reach a temperature that wouldn’t scald the tongue.  Reports ranged from very good to OK.

My fruit tart looked as though it had seen better days, that re-heated look. Our Cockney friend who loves her “afters” and will eat almost anything sent her coconut-chocolate cake back, saying “this is worst cake I’ve ever had!” She said it was dry and hard. The owner apologized and said it shouldn’t have been like that.

www.jarnacny.com

On a positive note, reservation made though opentable.com worked extrememly well.

[Wilfrid]

Well, I was going to post this at the end of the cassoulet thread, but this now appears more appropriate.  I went to Jarnac last night, specifically to try the cassoulet.  A pretty room, as Yvonne said, and I found the service extremely pleasant and friendly.  I ended up having a long chat with the properitor, Tony, who also heads the service - a fellow British ex-pat, although raised, as Grimes said, in France.

The cassoulet came in a casserole, and was certainly hot, but I was then offered a plate so that I could serve myself from the pot.  I can imagine it would have been very hot eaten directly from pot.  An advantage of eating it this way, was that I was able to use a fork to serve the beans, thus straining the inappropriate liquid.  Yes, as I said way back on the cassoulet thread, cassoulet should be moist but not wet.  When I mentioned to Tony afterwards that I had come to try the cassoulet, he actually said, without any prompting, that it was "runny" because the chef liked it that way.  Well, I suppose I would rather have it runny from preference than from ignorance.

The positive points.  The beans were perfectly cooked.  They used Great Northern beans, which are exactly what I use to make the dish, and they were soft but not mushy.  The sausage was recognisably a Toulouse susage, meaty and peppery.  There were nice chunks of pork.  A meaty duck leg was not a 'confit', and to be fair the menu never claimed it was (cassoulet with duck, pork and sausage was the billing).  Even if you're not going to preserve the duck, I think there is merit in at least some form of pre-cooking to render the fat.  The leg appeared to have been poached in the cassoulet, so the skin was soft and white.  I just lifted it off and ate the meat.

Picky, picky... I thought this was actually a pretty good cassoulet.  Getting the beans right is half the battle.  Since I had not exactly been abstemious at table earlier in the week, I preceded it with a light salad of chanterelles (with some other mushrooms too, and accented with some shreds of fried onion).  I followed it with cheeses bought from Murray's.  Some thought had gone into the accompaniments for the cheese: a piece of membrillo and some tastes of mostarda di frutta.  The food bill came to around ุ, and I drank a decent Cahors for า.

I found it all pretty good, although quite obviously what I ordered didn't tell me much about the chef's ability beyond the cassoulet.

[Fat Guy]

"Well, I suppose I would rather have it runny from preference than from ignorance."

Are you sure? Ignorance strikes me as much easier to forgive.

[yvonne johnson]

I wasn't bowled over by Jarnac, but they host some special events, including this one with winemaker, Michael Hope, this Monday.

http://www.jarnacny.com/myweb/events.html

Andy Lynes' chum Bruce Poole is coming to cook there (as a visiting chef) I see, if "what's in the pipeline" is to be believed. Possible, as the owner of Jarnac used to work at Chez Bruce (in London).

[llwb]

A group of 5 had dinner at Jarnac the other evening. The place struck all of us as very simpatico. Both Tony and Maryann were exactly as described here in earlier posts. I had the Duck Rillettes to start and it was disappointing - kind of anemic in taste - really almost tasteless - and overly smooth. But the B.L.T. - quite large enough for a main course - was very tasty and an idea that worked as far as I was concerned. Among other dishes, the "Grilled Jumbo Shrimp with Corn Fritters and a Tarragon Remoulade" and "Roasted Baby Chicken with Walnut Butter" were eaten with pleasure, while "Veal Marengo with Sautéed Mushrooms and Green Olives" was described as "dry" and uninteresting. We liked our wine very, very much - Overlook Chardonnay 2000, Landmark. The "Chocolate Chocolate Cake with Espresso Gelato" was only O.K. The food was not quite up to where I'd hoped it would be, but we all had a really good time anyway - I think because it's a nice place....

llwb

[oakapple]

A friend and I went to Jarnac last Saturday night. We both started with the Duck Rillettes ($10.25), which came in thin wrapped pastry dough and packed plenty of flavor punch. We then tried the Cassoulet-Braised Pork Cheeks ($24), with duck confit, pork sausage, great northern beans, tomato & garlic. It's a heavy meal, which neither of us was able to finish. It comes painfully hot, to a point that some of the flavor potential is cooked out of the ingredients.

Our table was comfortable, service was friendly, and we were pleased to find a reasonably priced wine list. In nice weather, be sure to get one of the window seats (which we had).

[Sneakeater]

I eat at Jarnac now and again, and although I always enjoy it, I also always wish it were a little better than it is.

[Noodlebot]

A friend and I went to Jarnac last Saturday night. We both started with the Duck Rillettes ($10.25), which came in thin wrapped pastry dough and packed plenty of flavor punch. We then tried the Cassoulet-Braised Pork Cheeks ($24), with duck confit, pork sausage, great northern beans, tomato & garlic. It's a heavy meal, which neither of us was able to finish. It comes painfully hot, to a point that some of the flavor potential is cooked out of the ingredients.

←

That's funny that you had that experience with the cassoulet. I had the same dish about 2 months ago and also found it bland and uncomfortably hot. I had to blow on my food throughout the meal to get any of it down, and I even burned my hand on the cassoulet pot when I accidentally brushed it trying to get out some of the food.

[kinichiwa]

It would be interesting if you could rememeber if the waitperson served your cassoulet with the dinner plate, seving spoon and also the reminder that the plate that the cassoulet comes in is hot. I wonder exactly how the pot should be...cool, somewhat cool or lukewarm? This dish could be served out in the kitchen, therein making it cooler and not so "hot", but then wouldn't it lose a little of the romance of what this dish is?

Also, there is always a duck rillettes on Jarnac menu, but never with a thin pastry crust.

thank you for all constructive comments and keep up the good work!

[oakapple]

It would be interesting if you could rememeber if the waitperson served your cassoulet  with the dinner plate, seving spoon and also the reminder that the plate that the cassoulet comes in is hot.  I wonder exactly how the pot should be...cool, somewhat cool or lukewarm?  This dish could be served out in the kitchen, therein making it cooler and not so "hot", but then wouldn't it lose a little of the romance of what this dish is?

Also, there is always a duck rillettes on Jarnac menu, but never with a thin pastry crust.

thank you for all constructive comments and keep up the good work!

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Yes, we did receive that warning about the cassoulet. We weren't burned, but it was simply too hot for comfort. It's possible for something to be too hot to fully enjoy, and that was what happened. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what it should be.

I struggle to describe the duck dish, but it came wrapped in pastry dough that I would call tortillas if the restaurant were Mexican.

Edited April 10, 2006 by oakapple (log)

[kinichiwa]

Are you sure? Might it be confused with some thing else you had somewhere else? I am positive that the duck rillettes has never been served that way.. As for the cassoulet, could you help me understand how hot some thing should be. The cassoulet is served with the option of a dish to serve it out on or to eat straight from the cassoulet pot.

I have always appreciated comments from E-Gullet members, guiding about food, restaurants and the like. I find myself in a little bit of a dilemna when faced with something I know is not correct to the menu and what one should do about it?

[oakapple]

Are you sure? Might it be confused with some thing else you had somewhere else?  I am positive that the duck rillettes has never been served that way..  As for the cassoulet, could you help  me understand how hot some thing should be.  The cassoulet is served with the option of a dish to serve it out on or to eat straight from the cassoulet pot.

I have always appreciated comments from E-Gullet members, guiding about food, restaurants and the like.  I find myself in a little bit of a dilemna when faced with something I know is not correct to the menu and what one should do about it?

←

E-Gullet reviews are based on the diner's recollection, and therefore may be flawed. I am positive I had duck something-or-other as an appetizer. As I didn't remember the exact details, I checked the online menu. The rillettes are the only duck appetizer listed online, so I assumed that's what I had. Perhaps the online menu is outdated.

As for the cassoulet, I felt it was was served at an excessively hot temperature that detracted somewhat from the enjoyment. The comments upthread suggest that others have had the same reaction. Your mileage may vary.

[Sneakeater]

FWIW, I have never gone to Jarnac and been given a menu that was exactly the same as the online menu. I think it even says somewhere on their website that the daily menus differ from the online one.

Edited April 13, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)