Jean Georges and Nougatine 2005 - 2008

[Sneakeater]

They actually serve Tournedos Rossini in the restaurant inside Avery Fischer Hall. (Or at least they used to.)

Not that I would actually eat there or anything.

[dvs]

what a wonderful meal & experience!! thank you for sharing!!

[dimsum]

Well, everything is an adventure with us, and Thursday night was no exception. 

Terrific photos, Mark. Thank you!

[ulterior epicure]

Thanks, markk!

Is it just me, or do these set of platings seem to be more frenetic, less tidy and more "organic"-looking than in the past?

That galette looks great!

[tupac17616]

Thanks, markk! 

Is it just me, or do these set of platings seem to be more frenetic, less tidy and more "organic"-looking than in the past?

That galette looks great!

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Good eye, U.E. I agree. Exhibit A: that pigeon dish. Yikes.

And is it just me, or does that goat cheese foam with pistachio and beet dish look very reminscent of the tapioca and uni dish at Momofuku Ssam

[larrylee]

And is it just me, or does that goat cheese foam with pistachio and beet dish look very reminscent of the tapioca and uni dish at Momofuku Ssam 

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Well here's the tapioca and uni dish at Momofuku Ssam. Reminiscent seems a bit of a stretch to me but...

[tupac17616]

And is it just me, or does that goat cheese foam with pistachio and beet dish look very reminscent of the tapioca and uni dish at Momofuku Ssam 

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Well here's the tapioca and uni dish at Momofuku Ssam. Reminiscent seems a bit of a stretch to me but...

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Heheh. Okay, okay. Take a look at this picture, take away the stuff sprinkled on top of the whipped tofu, and voila!

I'm not crazy. I promise!

[larrylee]

Heheh.  Okay, okay.  Take a look at this picture, take away the stuff sprinkled on top of the whipped tofu, and voila!

I'm not crazy.  I promise! 

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Heh :-D

[Mayur]

Thanks, markk! 

Is it just me, or do these set of platings seem to be more frenetic, less tidy and more "organic"-looking than in the past?

That galette looks great!

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Good eye, U.E. I agree. Exhibit A: that pigeon dish. Yikes.

And is it just me, or does that goat cheese foam with pistachio and beet dish look very reminscent of the tapioca and uni dish at Momofuku Ssam

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Other way around. The goat cheese foam dish has been on the menu at JG since before Ssam Bar opened, let alone put the uni dish on the menu.

[Bard]

Traveling though the city with food on my mind...

Finally got to eat at the amazing Jean-Georges. A truly influencial wonder of a meal. If at all interested please read on at: http://curdfromwhey.blogspot.com/2007/04/j...s-new-york.html

Thank you.

[BryanZ]

Stopped by Jean Georges for lunch on Monday of this week with a bunch of friends. We were a party of five and ordered a lot, so I was able to try a good portion of the current menu. As usual, most everything was great and the restaurant provided a great venue for which to catch up with friends whom I hadn't seen in a while. We particularly enjoyed having a late seating, so we could sit, relax, and shoot the shit with our captain. Most of my friends were also unfamiliar with this level of fine dining, so it's always fun to introduce people to new food in a relaxed setting.

In an interesting turn of events, one of my friends (the only to order alcohol) was carded. It was surprising but handled firmly yet subtly, with none of the hemming and hawing of the "other" incident. This individual was of age, so there was no trouble. If a fine-dining restaurant is going to card borderline individuals, it should do so in this manner.

In another interesting turn of events, William "Priceline Negotiator" Shatner was in the restaurant, much to the delight of my friends and me. I love those commercials, especially this one and this one.

Anyway, onto the food. The foie gras is still served bruleed but without the brioche bottom. Now, it's the bruleed foie, bits of dehydrated pineapple, rhubarb juice and a brioche stick. A wonderful dish. The fish with the chateau chalon is now skate, more delicate than the turbot I think. Again, that sauce is mindblowing. Roasted sweetbreads are much, much better than the somewhat disappointing grilled sweetbreads with licorice and lemon. This time they're lightly crisped, served with an acidic artichoke garnish and rosemary oil. A dish that I'd never tried before but was especially pretty and striking was the grilled shrimp served with yuzu foam and a shichimi togarashi emulsion. A very forceful but tasty dish. I tried a few other things too, some classics, some newbies, all were very very nice.

Desserts were fine but not great. In fact my favorite was a comped item from the Nougatine menu. It was a carrot cake with coconut creme brulee "icing" and carrot sorbet. This was an excellent dessert, probably one of the best I've had in many meals at JG.

Again, a great experience. Our captain this time around, a tall Asian gentleman was perhaps my favorite of those I've interacted with. He seemed to get a kick out of my friends and me, and, as the dining room cleared out, was able to chat with us freely. My only service complaint was rather peculiar in that the staff had a very hard time coordinating who would remove the domes off the dishes and who would clear what plates in a coordinated fashion. On a couple occasions, the "one..two..three" silent count was disrupted because a runner's hands would not be in the right position, leaving one or more of our dishes unattended. Kind of strange, but we just rolled with it.

Edited May 18, 2007 by BryanZ (log)

[Fat Guy]

The problem with the lunch desserts is that they're incomplete. At dinner, your dessert comes in four parts (on four square plates arranged on a square platter) and is always a really interesting and synergistic composition. At lunch, you get two parts (on two plates side-by-side on a rectangular platter) and it's just not the same level of experience. (That's why Johnny Iuzzini's forthcoming book is called "Dessert Fourplay.") I also agree that some of the best dessert work being done under that roof is being done for the Nougatine menu. I think there's more ability to use strong, rustic and offbeat flavors at Nougatine (pretzels with Guinness, etc.). The last two times I've been there Johnny has sent over Nougatine items for us to try, and they've been the hits of the dessert course.

[sethd]

Skate replaces the turbot with chateau salon sauce on rare occasions. I had the turbot on monday for dinner.

[BryanZ]

I've had the turbot a couple times, and I will say I love it. I just appreciated the change of skate in this instance, as it was silkier than the usual turbot. While the turbot has a little bit of caramelization on it, if I recall, the skate had none, and was extremely delicate. The zuchinni/veg garnish on top remained the same.

[ulterior epicure]

I've had the turbot a couple times, and I will say I love it.  I just appreciated the change of skate in this instance, as it was silkier than the usual turbot.  While the turbot has a little bit of caramelization on it, if I recall, the skate had none, and was extremely delicate.  The zuchinni/veg garnish on top remained the same.

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Was the skate poached, perhaps?

[BryanZ]

Perhaps is the best answer I can give. Perhaps poached and dressed with a bit of butter for bit more richness.

[Norm357]

Screw dessert! Gimmie the cheese!

[chefboy24]

On a couple occasions, the "one..two..three" silent count was disrupted because a runner's hands would not be in the right position, leaving one or more of our dishes unattended.  Kind of strange, but we just rolled with it.

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i remember this stuff back at CIA.

the best way i've found is to pick a leader, and when he picks up the cloche, everyone else follows him ...usually works best but that feeling of being surrounded by waiters and runners sometimes gives me an anxiety attack!

[kiliki]

Stopped by Jean Georges for lunch on Monday of this week with a bunch of friends.

In another interesting turn of events, William "Priceline Negotiator" Shatner was in the restaurant, much to the delight of my friends and me.

Funny-we were there at the same time on our vacation last week! I saw your party (assuming you were the only party of 5 young-ish people). And we had the very funny experience of sitting right next to Mr. Shatner and listening to him loudly dominate the conversation throughout his business lunch. He was the worst dressed person in the place-jeans, t shirt and an awful, dated leather jacket.

It was a lovely experience overall and I'm so glad I'd read about it here, so thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. I had the asparagus with morels, the shrimp with yuzu and the scallops-the first two were good but not the most fantastic things I've ever had, and the scallops were quite good. My husband's black sea bass was one of the best fish dishes he'd ever had and he loved his crab salad and squab. We both loved our desserts as well (I remember they were called "citrus" and "spring" but I forget their exact components). This is a tiny thing to complain about but the macarons in the petit four service were awful. The worst I've ever had. And does anyone eat all those marshmallows?

Edited May 21, 2007 by kiliki (log)

[ulterior epicure]

This is a tiny thing to complain about but the macarons in the petit four service were awful. The worst I've ever had. And does anyone eat all those marshmallows?

Yes, but only because the macarons are inedible. They could have doubled for marbles. They were *hard.* Is that the problem you had with them?

Edited May 21, 2007 by ulterior epicure (log)

[kiliki]

Lol. Yes, more or less-they were crunchy and brittle at the same time, the way that bad or stale macarons are. They were adorable, though-it's too bad they aren't good.

[tupac17616]

Gotta agree with you both. Looks is all the little macarons have going for them. The texture is absolutely pathetic, and the flavor isn't so hot, either.

[BryanZ]

Funny-we were there at the same time on our vacation last week! I saw your party (assuming you were the only party of 5 young-ish people). And we had the very funny experience of sitting right next to Mr. Shatner and listening to him loudly dominate the conversation throughout his business lunch. He was the worst dressed person in the place-jeans, t shirt and an awful, dated leather jacket. 

Yeah, that was us. I hope we weren't being too obnoxious. First time we'd seen each other in several months after a hard semester at school. Shatner looked pretty gross, I'm not going to lie. It's like he was trying to dress like a young dude circa 1997. I would like to know if. he. talks. like. this.

This is a tiny thing to complain about but the macarons in the petit four service were awful. The worst I've ever had. And does anyone eat all those marshmallows?

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They're not THAT bad. They lack a certain punch to them, but I've never found them to be hard. The marshmallows are also something of an acquired taste. My mother finds them quite disgusting; my g/f looks forward to them at every meal.

[MobyP]

This is a tiny thing to complain about but the macarons in the petit four service were awful. The worst I've ever had. And does anyone eat all those marshmallows?

Yes, but only because the macarons are inedible. They could have doubled for marbles. They were *hard.* Is that the problem you had with them?

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I found them beyond sickly sweet.

[ermintrude]

I ate at Nougatine on the 5th May as I could not get a reservation for the Main Dining room and was unimpressed with the food. The only course that was admired was the Foie Gras Brule and one course arrived arrived tepid and had to be sent back. The rest of the food, while nothing wrong with it never impressed or was a verging on bland so we skipped desert.

Perhaps we were just unlucky as I understand that Nougatine is used to try new dishes before they move into the main dining room is successful.

The service however was very good and the cold dish issue was dealt with very professionally.

Compared to the other meals we had in the USA at higher end restaurants this was at the least rated.