Jean Georges and Nougatine 2005 - 2008

[docsconz]

Great photos, Mark. I'm sorry you weren't crazy about the charred corn ravioli. I had them a year ago and recall them as a spectacular dish - one of the very best I had in 2006.

[markk]

Great photos, Mark. I'm sorry you weren't crazy about the charred corn ravioli. I had them a year ago and recall them as a spectacular dish - one of the very best I had in 2006.

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Thanks. Lunchtime = abundant available light.

I can't put my finger on what it was about the dish either. I can't actually fault it on anything, but it didn't dazzle either of us, so I'm assuming it had an off day.

I had a scallops and cauliflower once that really shouldn't have been sent out, so I know it happens. The charred corn ravioli fared way (way) better than that though, but I guess one last dimension got omitted that day.

[BryanZ]

Was at JG for lunch earlier this week. Great as always.

First, the room. I was on the fence after seeing pictures, and after eating there I'm not sure if I'm a fan. It's definitely nice and there's nothing offensive about it, but it seems colder and more sterile. I've actually said the previous dining room looked threadbare in places (carpets, walls) and everything looks really tight right now; it's just a bit generic I suppose. The "alcoves" are even more alcove-like.

As is now commonplace on my visits, JG was in-house, checking his Blackberry, scanning the dining room, etc.

Sampled the foie, peekytoe crab with mango and champagne-chili sabayon (really a foam), the shrimp with avocado and bacon, the skate with chateau chalon sauce, halibut (likely cooked in the C-Vap oven) with honshimeiji mushrooms and an awesome lemongrass-tomato consomme, and the short ribs with jalapeno and mint.

All of it was totally delicious. I think these takes on the shrimp and halibut are somewhat new preparations. I had everything else at least once before.

ETA: I forgot to note we were comped two desserts, a very nice gesture to be sure. One explanation could be that I had congratulated our captain on the restaurant keeping its three stars (this was the day after the '08 release). Then again, it could've been that my mother felt the need to say a discrete hello to JG as we walked in. Perhaps he feared an Amateur Gourmet-esque shitshow if we didn't feel like we were treated like royalty. Needless to say, I was duly mortified.

Edited October 12, 2007 by BryanZ (log)

[chefboy24]

mortified cuz your moms said hello? c'mon, he's in the dining room for a reason! he's actually very nice. i'd be mortified if my mom was like "my son has a food blog and...." and started blabbing!

i think if a celebrity chef is in the dining room, i always say hello, something like. "hey i'm a big fan, i love your corn ravioli! this is my third time here, i have your cookbooks, i went to cia, i work at yada yada" It can't hurt. I promise.

when i worked at jojo, he put that short rib on the jojo menu...and when i was lunching at jg, he stopped by to say hello, asked about the new jojo menu, i told him that guests were scared of the spicey shortrib description, so he should downplay it. next day at jojo, message from corporate to change the menu description of the shortrib. very cool.

paula dean was also in the house. she walked by my table when my boyfriend and i were up to the cheese cart ,and she said, "i don't know how y'all can eat that stinky cheese" in the most beautiful exadurated southern drawl i have ever heard.

[larrylee]

paula dean was also in the house.  she walked by my table when my boyfriend and i were up to the cheese cart ,and she said, "i don't know how y'all can eat that stinky cheese" in the most beautiful exadurated southern drawl i have ever heard.

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Just pour some butter on it!

[markk]

What the hell was Paula Dean doing at Jean-Georges?

Does she even recognize any of that as food? Or did she sit there recoiling in horror from the whole meal? And who let her in there?

[chefboy24]

haha. she was in the corner table closest to the time warner building. she was having a great time!

i think you could bring anyone to jean georges and they'd have a great time, that's the beauty of this restaurant. theres a thread on chow about it, some woman brought her 11 year olds and they were blown away.

jean georges food isn't that complicated! sophisticated yes, but anyone can apreciate correctly cooked fish, meat and vegetables, no? (and i say that with a father who lives in tennessee and just discovered grilling tilapia)

Edited October 15, 2007 by chefboy24 (log)

[Vinotas]

My mother decided to invite me to lunch to celebrate my birthday a few days early as I will be away on the 28th (this Sunday). Lo and behold, she dragged me to Jean-Georges for a leisurely (ie 3 hour) lunch. Now I know where I get this love of slow food from...

This is my first time back to JG since they redid the room, and I have to say the place looks great. I liked it before, truth be told, but it was far more formal and a bit cold. Now it's soft and warm, with beige leather seats and an inviting glow from a flowing chandelier anchored to the ceiling.

We ordered the $28 prix-fixe menu for 2 dishes, still one of the city's best QPR lunch deals. Of course, that means I could spend more money on wine...

The meal started off with some interesting amuses bouche: a rice cracker puff with some tuna tartar, a raw Kumamoto oyster with a briney foam, and a soup of chestnut with a ravioli filled with chestnuts. The tuna was delicious, absolutely delicious on the cracker; the oyster slightly overpowered by the foam, which was far too salty; and the soup absolutely fantastic, just the most ethereal and light essence of chestnuts, with a slightly under-cooked ravioli to mar the quality just so.

My first course was a butternut squash soup with tiny cubes of squash, chives and black trumpet mushrooms (one of my favorite 'shrooms!). Thick and creamy, this practically oozed butter but wasn't as heavy as one would think. My pet peeve with butternut squash soup is how absolutely filling it can be if not done properly. This was very, very good, nicely balanced, especially on a dark and dreary fall day. The one fault I could find with it was that every once in a while it was a bit saltier than I wanted it to be. Not by much, but enough to notice. Then again, I've begun to notice a salty trend in NY cuisines lately for some reason, and I know I'm not the only one.

Second course was sweetbreads on a licorice stick with a roast pear and some lemon sauce. Very good, but not as good as the ones I had at 11 Madison Park a few weeks ago, which were sublime. These were delicious, don't get me wrong, and yes I realize I am spoiled sometimes. Beautiful texture, if just so slightly drier than I liked, but I am picky.

Then came the obligatory avalanche of small desserts and guimauve, real marshmellow still quivering. Yummy!

All in all, a wonderful way to spend 3 hours on a Wednesday afternoon.

Cheers!

[BryanZ]

I liked it before, truth be told, but it was far more formal and a bit cold. Now it's soft and warm, with beige leather seats and an inviting glow from a flowing chandelier anchored to the ceiling.

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Seriously? Our impressions are diametrically opposed. I'm not even talking about the the subjective liking of the redesign or not, but "soft" and "warm" are not how I'd describe the room now, especially compared to the old color scheme that was much heavier in greens, browns, and darker creams. The current aesthetic is one of starker contrast. Love the new chargers though.

[Vinotas]

I liked it before, truth be told, but it was far more formal and a bit cold. Now it's soft and warm, with beige leather seats and an inviting glow from a flowing chandelier anchored to the ceiling.

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Seriously? Our impressions are diametrically opposed. I'm not even talking about the the subjective liking of the redesign or not, but "soft" and "warm" are not how I'd describe the room now, especially compared to the old color scheme that was much heavier in greens, browns, and darker creams. The current aesthetic is one of starker contrast. Love the new chargers though.

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Interesting, even my Mom preferred the new decor scheme, saying it was warmer and friendlier than the previous one. But I do agree, the new chargers are quite beautiful.

Still, a very good long lunch.

[Vinotas]

I've posted my review of the lunch on my blog, http://vinotas.blogspot.com/, as well as comments on the wine we ordered, FYI.

Cheers!

[BryanZ]

Back at Jean Georges today for lunch. Lots of tourists and out-of-towners in the room today. One gentleman even tried to dump some of the salt that an oyster rested upon into the oyster itself. Seeing the runner attempt to politely correct him was amusing. Made for interesting people watching.

Anyway, onto the food. Great as always. Had the classics of foie brulee and skate chateau chalon. They seem to vary the portion size based on where you order the item in your meal, something I'd never noticed before. Since my companion ordered the fish as her main, we received an obscenely large piece of fish. I started to pay more attention to other tables and this seemed to be the case with other dishes toward the bottom of the menu.

Also had a couple newer dishes including a bay scallop sashimi with cranberry and fresh wasabi, trout sashimi draped in trout eggs, peekytoe crab fritters, and a new preparation of the short rib with a cheese grits spring roll. The tastiest of the bunch was probably the fritters. Think, like, the best crab cake ever, foiled by apples, cabbage and, I believe, radish. The trout was a beautiful, striking dish. A sour cirtus foam, crispy fried little fish, a bitter green puree, and salty roe all were linked through the fatty fish. Very complex and even challenging. Loved it. The short rib dish may perhaps be better suited to the Nougatine menu--its rather simple and I missed the more assertive spice and acid of previous versions--but this was JG being playful. Also had the Winter dessert. Best part was the pumpkin mousse.

Our captain was a bit distant this time around but not to make service suffer or anything. I may end up going back on Monday and will be looking forward to it.

[robert40]

Back at Jean Georges today for lunch. Lots of tourists and out-of-towners in the room today. One gentleman even tried to dump some of the salt that an oyster rested upon into the oyster itself. Seeing the runner attempt to politely correct him was amusing.

And I thought Manhattan tourist were recognized because they were the only people constantly looking up.

[ulterior epicure]

Quick and random: Does anyone recall what kind(s) of wine Jean Georges has paired with his sea scallops with caper-raisin emulsion dish? The more specificity, the better. TIA!

[ulterior epicure]

Quick and random:  Does anyone recall what kind(s) of wine Jean Georges has paired with his sea scallops with caper-raisin emulsion dish?  The more specificity, the better.  TIA!

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On another note, does anyone know:

1. Whether you can order just desserts in Jean Georges?

2. If not, then can you order from the Jean Georges dessert menu at Nougatine?

[Nathan]

Quick and random:  Does anyone recall what kind(s) of wine Jean Georges has paired with his sea scallops with caper-raisin emulsion dish?  The more specificity, the better.  TIA!

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On another note, does anyone know:

1. Whether you can order just desserts in Jean Georges?

2. If not, then can you order from the Jean Georges dessert menu at Nougatine?

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1. No.

2. doubtful.

[twodogs]

actually, if you sit at the bar at JG, you may order the JG menu as well as desserts. You can, and I have, ordered just desserts. At lunch, the desserts are two plays as opposed to the evening 4 plays designed and executed by Johnny.

[Nathan]

actually, if you sit at the bar at JG, you may order the JG menu as well as desserts.  You can, and I have, ordered just desserts.  At lunch, the desserts are two plays as opposed to the evening 4 plays designed and executed by Johnny.

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really? this is news to me. you could always order the Nougatine menu at the bar but.....I've never heard of anyone ordering from the real menu.

[ulterior epicure]

actually, if you sit at the bar at JG, you may order the JG menu as well as desserts.  You can, and I have, ordered just desserts.  At lunch, the desserts are two plays as opposed to the evening 4 plays designed and executed by Johnny.

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A few of us eG'ers (Nathan included, I believe) have carried on an off-forum discussion as to what, exactly, is the "JG bar." Though I have been the restaurant a few times, I'm always in such a hurry to scoot past Nougatine and into the main dining room (same in exiting) that I have failed to establish exactly where the "JG bar" is. Is the "JG bar" you refer to the same bar that sits in Nougatine? If so, I assume it's a shared bar, and presumably, you'd be able to order from the Nougatine a la carte AND (according to you), the JG dessert menus there.

[Nathan]

to the best of my knowledge, the only bar at JG is the Nougatine bar....which serves the Nougatine menu.

[twodogs]

the bar services both JG and Nougatine

I have sat at the bar and ordered the a la carte menu at lunch.

It is a great way to enjoy the food

[Nathan]

the bar services both JG and Nougatine

I have sat at the bar and ordered the a la carte menu at lunch.

It is a great way to enjoy the food

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oh sure. but that says nothing about dinner ... which is what I thought the question was about.

[ulterior epicure]

the bar services both JG and Nougatine

I have sat at the bar and ordered the a la carte menu at lunch.

It is a great way to enjoy the food

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oh sure. but that says nothing about dinner ... which is what I thought the question was about.

Not necessarily dinner, but the Jean Georges desserts, in particular.

I called the restaurant and clarified: yes, you may order from the Jean Georges dessert menu at the bar shared by JG and Nougatine, anytime, night or day.

[Nathan]

see, I didn't understand the question then because lunch is ala carte...while dinner is not...so obviously you can order just desserts at lunch. so it followed that you were asking about dinner....and if you can order ala carte at dinner at the bar from the real menu...that's news.

[ulterior epicure]

paula dean was also in the house.  she walked by my table when my boyfriend and i were up to the cheese cart ,and she said, "i don't know how y'all can eat that stinky cheese" in the most beautiful exadurated southern drawl i have ever heard.

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Forget Paula. Jean Georges has a cheese cart? I've never seen cheese on the menu at Jean Georges, no less a cart.