Gilt

[akwa]

great review vadouvan

sounds like he nailed it

my instincts were that this had the bones to be the best food in nyc

sounds like on the way

rumors of the death of new york gastronomy have been greatly exaggerated?

[Vadouvan]

Whoops..!

REST OF MENU APPS...

We did not try these dishes.

GOLDEN NUGGET VELOUTE

TORTELLIN OF DIVER SCALLOP.CHORIZO, WILD SORREL

OYSTERS AND BLACK TRUFFLES

BEUFORT CHEESE TARTLET,LEMON BUBBLES

BLACK TRUFFLE CRUMBLE

BABY TURNIPS AND ROSE' GRAPEFRUIT,SAUCE VIN JAUNE

SCOTTISH LANGOUSTINE IN PREPARATION,ROYALE, TARTARE AND CRISPY.

[Vadouvan]

No AKWA, not only is the death of NY gastronmy absurd, this is the birth of NEW, New york gastronomy.

I like WD 50 but its like a Phillip Glass concert.

I love Per Se but its like a Bethoven piano sonata by yvgeny Kissin.

Both outstanding.

GILT was Miles Davis "Bitches Brew"

Complex......and Nailed it.

You either love it or dont ge tit.

[docsconz]

Very nice review.

2am wide awake after a day of culinary debauchery in Manhattan that started with some fantastic scrambled eggs and Binjte potatoes from Union square greenmarket, sweetbreads at Casa Mono, plate of Jamon and Pane con tomato at Bar Jamon, arguably manhattans best properly made espresso at St Ambroeus  on Madison and 77th followed by a short walk down to 50 Madison's new "million dollar baby"...GILT.

Hopefully Casa Mono was for lunch

First of all, NO PICTURES. Flash photography would be far too obnoxious in the dining room and I personally think there are intellectual property issues with pictures in high end restaurants with cookbook potential without expressed permission of the chef so use your imagination. If that doesnt work, RUN, dont walk to Gilt as the food was spectacular.

Certainly subject to debate, but in another place. I personally subscribe to the maxim that a picture is worth a thousand words. Nevertheless, you did a nice job below and some restaurants are much more difficult to photograph in than others and some are more amenable.

CANNON OF LAMB,ROASTED WITH FRESH PINE, HEDGEHOG MUSHROOMS, PINE NUT CUTTLEFISH ROYALE.

Presented tableside and then whisked back to the O-R for some quick surgery.

Comes back beautifully presented. The pairing of cuttlefish and lamb was starting to push it but I ate both seperately and they were tasty. I think if you dont process the intellectual thought of the reasoning behind the combo too long and you just eat it while its warm, it was good.

Hell..... if New yorkers are running downtown to eat fried cubes of mayo with a little tongue, they should be cool with some squid with Lamb.

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Interesting. Pine seems to be the current vogue amongst top American avant-garde chefs. Within the past wo weeks I had pine scented/flavored dishes at both Alinea and WD-50. Both happened to be extraordinarily delicious.

The cuttlefish and lamb dish sounds like a Catalan influence as the "Surf and turf" combos are a major part of that cuisine. They call it "Mar y Montana" and come with all sorts of interesting combinations.

[akwa]

Interesting. Pine seems to be the current vogue amongst top American avant-garde chefs. Within the past wo weeks I had pine scented/flavored dishes at both Alinea and WD-50. Both happened to be extraordinarily delicious.

from michel bras and maximin it was in vogue about 1975, from bulli vogue about 10 years ago, culminating in the woods spray, about five years ago.

The cuttlefish and lamb dish sounds like a Catalan influence as the "Surf and turf" combos are a major part of that cuisine. They call it "Mar y Montana" and come with all sorts of interesting combinations.

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also a traditional pairing in the first flavors of the mediterranean cookbook;

probably both of these flavors and combinations date back much longer, but recent fashion in france then spain is pretty linear.

[docsconz]

Interesting. Pine seems to be the current vogue amongst top American avant-garde chefs. Within the past wo weeks I had pine scented/flavored dishes at both Alinea and WD-50. Both happened to be extraordinarily delicious.

from michel bras and maximin it was in vogue about 1975, from bulli vogue about 10 years ago, culminating in the woods spray, about five years ago.

Thanks for the historical context, Akwa. I doubt that they were using pine then like they are now at least back in the 70's. Do you know how they used it then? I have never seen it in any American restaurant prior to Alinea a couple of weeks ago and my high end European experience doesn't go back that far.

The cuttlefish and lamb dish sounds like a Catalan influence as the "Surf and turf" combos are a major part of that cuisine. They call it "Mar y Montana" and come with all sorts of interesting combinations.

←

also a traditional pairing in the first flavors of the mediterranean cookbook;

probably both of these flavors and combinations date back much longer, but recent fashion in france then spain is pretty linear.

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Is the cuttlefish and lamb pairing traditional or the mar y montana? The latter I know is. I wouldn't be surprised if the former is as well, although I am unaware of that particular tradition if it already exists.

[Pan]

Great report, Vadouvan! (Though I like pictures, too, and would look forward to any post with pictures.) The menu looks exciting! One question: What does the "naturale" in "SEA URCHIN NATURALE" mean?

[cupcakequeen]

does anyone know who's in charge of pastry there?

[Vadouvan]

Sea Urchin Naturale, I translated as "sea urchin not screwed with too much".

Although it wasnt pure UNI a la Yasuda, it was a custard texture that was pure sea urchin flavor with caviar and sone white foam I dont remember.......Stunning!

I dont know who the pastry chef is, although as I said earlier, while the pastry was OK, it wasnt as ambitious as the food.

If Gilt needs anything, it needs a Sam mason type modern dessert architect.

Interestingly, referring back to my old Art Culinaires.....sam was Leibrandts pastry chef at Atlas.

Edited December 19, 2005 by Vadouvan (log)

[xdrixn]

oscar palacios is the pastry chef

[akwa]

Thanks for the historical context, Akwa. I doubt that they were using pine then like they are now at least back in the 70's. Do you know how they used it then? I have never seen it in any American restaurant prior to Alinea a couple of weeks ago and my high end European experience doesn't go back that far.

70's included pine sirop, pine parfait, pine ice cream, to name a few; albert worked on pine flan extensively; the pinonada bulli 98 was the ultimate pine development followed by the spray bosque

or woods spray developed with an olfactory specialist (i believe from san sebastien region)

Is the cuttlefish and lamb pairing traditional or the mar y montana? The latter I know is. I wouldn't be surprised if the former is as well, although I am unaware of that particular tradition if it already exists.

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[BryanZ]

So I'm going on the 2nd of January. Incidentally, only 2 days after a meal at Alinea. Should be interesting to see how the two compare. I'm quite excited.

[docsconz]

Thanks for the historical context, Akwa. I doubt that they were using pine then like they are now at least back in the 70's. Do you know how they used it then? I have never seen it in any American restaurant prior to Alinea a couple of weeks ago and my high end European experience doesn't go back that far.

70's included pine sirop, pine parfait, pine ice cream, to name a few; albert worked on pine flan extensively; the pinonada bulli 98 was the ultimate pine development followed by the spray bosque

or woods spray developed with an olfactory specialist (i believe from san sebastien region)

Is the cuttlefish and lamb pairing traditional or the mar y montana? The latter I know is. I wouldn't be surprised if the former is as well, although I am unaware of that particular tradition if it already exists.

←

the cuttlefish and lamb is traditional mar y montana: the sheep graze in the hills above the mediterranean where the squids are loaded before being redistributed.

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What were the techniques like in the 70's with which they were successfully able to use pine? I am not in the least bit surprised by the Adria's in the 90's. I know Bras is one of the earler Molecular Gastronomists as well, but I wonder how they manipulated things then before the real advent of the molecular gastronomy movement.

Just for the sake of clarity cuttlefish and squid are terms often used interchangeably and while the creatures are indeed similar, they are different with different characteristics on the platter and the palate.

[peteswanson]

What were the techniques like in the 70's with which they were successfully able to use pine? I am not in the least bit surprised by the Adria's in the 90's. I know Bras is one of the earler Molecular Gastronomists as well, but I wonder how they manipulated things then before the real advent of the molecular gastronomy movement.

Bras' dish "licked by the embers" I believe it is called...is salmon perfumed with smoking pine needles..this is also something which is quite common in France...I recall being told by a customer at a restaurant I worked at years ago, that she and her family used to cook mussels on pine on top of a fire when she was a child...apparantly something commonplace, which I was quite surprised about.

[docsconz]

What were the techniques like in the 70's with which they were successfully able to use pine? I am not in the least bit surprised by the Adria's in the 90's. I know Bras is one of the earler Molecular Gastronomists as well, but I wonder how they manipulated things then before the real advent of the molecular gastronomy movement.

Bras' dish "licked by the embers" I believe it is called...is salmon perfumed with smoking pine needles..this is also something which is quite common in  France...I recall being told by a customer at a restaurant I worked at years ago, that she and her family used to cook mussels on pine on top of a fire when she was a child...apparantly something commonplace, which I was quite surprised about.

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Interesting. I would think that flavor would be a smoky pine and very different than the pine essence I got at Alinea and WD-50. That also doesn't sound much different than what cedar planking does for salmon.

[tetsujustin]

What were the techniques like in the 70's with which they were successfully able to use pine? I am not in the least bit surprised by the Adria's in the 90's. I know Bras is one of the earler Molecular Gastronomists as well, but I wonder how they manipulated things then before the real advent of the molecular gastronomy movement.

Bras' dish "licked by the embers" I believe it is called...is salmon perfumed with smoking pine needles..this is also something which is quite common in  France...I recall being told by a customer at a restaurant I worked at years ago, that she and her family used to cook mussels on pine on top of a fire when she was a child...apparantly something commonplace, which I was quite surprised about.

←

Morimoto also used that technique in Iron Chef on his "Japanese grill" in the tag team match where he and Flay teamed up, cooking langostines on top of burning pine branches, if I remember correctly.

I guess it doesn't quite look as cool as when Chefg does it, but I suppose it should do the trick.

[docsconz]

What were the techniques like in the 70's with which they were successfully able to use pine? I am not in the least bit surprised by the Adria's in the 90's. I know Bras is one of the earler Molecular Gastronomists as well, but I wonder how they manipulated things then before the real advent of the molecular gastronomy movement.

Bras' dish "licked by the embers" I believe it is called...is salmon perfumed with smoking pine needles..this is also something which is quite common in  France...I recall being told by a customer at a restaurant I worked at years ago, that she and her family used to cook mussels on pine on top of a fire when she was a child...apparantly something commonplace, which I was quite surprised about.

←

Morimoto also used that technique in Iron Chef on his "Japanese grill" in the tag team match where he and Flay teamed up, cooking langostines on top of burning pine branches, if I remember correctly.

I guess it doesn't quite look as cool as when Chefg does it, but I suppose it should do the trick.

←

This still soundsd like a very different approach that likely resulted in very different flavors secondary to the smoke. I would imagme that Alinea's and WD-50's approaches to pine and perhaps Gilt's owe much more to Adria's technique than this.

[akwa]

with regards to pine and aroma/flavor japanese cuisine has been incorporating pine essence through all ingredients for thousands of years; bras' technique also included infusions in syrup, maximins included in cream;

please remember that the 70s were not before the mg movement, the 70s were an important milestone in a longer process that was only later termed a "movement" by the media

i suspect that the mg movement a la herve this, who coincidentally coined the phrase and defined it, is markedly different from the current vogue of technological applications of food process. though wd and alinea follow the adria school this is not really consistent at all in the fundamental meaning as written by bras.

actually, gagnaire, and therefore paul would be much more consistent with the initial tenets

[docsconz]

Akwa, thank you. I am finding this duscussion very interesting. Although Gilt was the inspiration for this tangent, the body of the tangent involves much more than Gilt. I have many more questions about this history that I would love to hear more about if you and/or others are patient and interested enough to answer, however, they rightfully belong in another broader topic. As such I have starte a topic on this here

[M.X.Hassett]

Butter was good but we noticed 2 bottles on Manni olive oil, which I have been hunting like the CIA is looking for bin laden.....so we promptly had them whisked over.

Some damn good Olive oil.

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Great report.

Manni Olive Oil I'll split it with you.

[Vadouvan]

Deal, I have to say they were quite generous, I think between my table of two had about a 5th of the bottle.

Incidentally, I had just dined at Per Se not too long before and I noticed on the menu Manni Olive Oil "PER ME".......I just chalked it up as another of those gratuitous Per Se quotes.....

You know.........Satur Farms "Radishes" with Chalk Hill "Goat Cheese" and Manni Olive Oil "Per Me"..

(not an actual Perse menu Item) as Thomas Keller saying I have my own olives Damnit.

However upon further googling......It turns out Manni makes two oils..

Per Me and "Per me figlio"...for me and for my child.

Great oils, we tried both at Gilt.

[robert40]

Deal, I have to say they were quite generous, I think between my table of two had about a 5th of the bottle.

Incidentally, I had just dined at Per Se not too long before and I noticed on the menu Manni Olive Oil "PER ME".......I just chalked it up as another of those gratuitous Per Se quotes.....

You know.........Satur Farms "Radishes" with Chalk Hill "Goat Cheese" and Manni Olive Oil "Per Me"..

(not an actual Perse menu Item) as Thomas Keller saying I have my own olives Damnit.

However upon further googling......It turns out Manni makes two oils..

Per Me and "Per me figlio"...for me and for my child.

Great oils, we tried both at Gilt.

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It is very surprising they pass that oil around like that.

Really expensive stuff.

[Vadouvan]

Actually they dont, i wouldnt bet on it if you go now.

See...........this is why I hit high end spots in the first week, every one is eager to please.

New high end restaurants are overstaffed, staff basically do anything you ask for nicely.......

as in " would you bring over that $150/12 fluid ounce of olive oil and pour a bunch of it on this saucer?"

It would be simply economically foolish to pour Manni oil tableside for everyone.

they may be good at Gilt but I am sure they aint stupid

[BryanZ]

This is kind of off topic but one of service differences between lunch and dinner at Jean Georges is that at lunch they don't pour their olive oil. I'm not sure what it's called, but I looked it up at one point and it was quite expensive. This idea is somewhat similar to the Manni olive oil at Gilt, I suppose.

[philadining]

It turns out Manni makes two oils..

Per Me and "Per me figlio"...for me and for my child.

Great oils, we tried both at Gilt.

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I don't want to get too far off the Gilt trip, but what was the flavor difference between the two Manni oils? And did you get the sense that they were using either in any of the dishes?