Gilt

[iheartoffal]

In my experience, the Per Me has a slightly smoky heft to it with a spicy finish, while the Per Mio Figlio has more fruit/herb characteristics. Both are truly extraordinary olive oils unmatched in their quality by anything I've tried.

Edited December 22, 2005 by iheartoffal (log)

[Vadouvan]

Philadining.....It was specifically used on the kampachi dish. I think Chef Leib concieved it that was so it was finished tableside. The bottle has a tag behind it saying it was partly developed by the university of Firenze...i think.

[twodogs]

we currently use both oils in our kitchen. per me figlio was the first oil developed in order for armando manni to provide an important nutrient source for his son. the oil is soft, buttery and rich.

per me was developed, well for armando himself. it is spicy, grassy intense and an oil for punctuation.

i find it disturbing that you would dine in a restaurant getting off the ground and ask for an ingredient which is costly and take advantage of the willness of pleasing or just uninformed staff. if the restaurant is openly serving armando manni's oil with bread service, then no harm in asking for a fifth of a bottle for your table. if not, well it appears you made that choice.

[Vadouvan]

I think you misunderstand my previous statement....

2 Points.

1. The staff at GILT is Faaaaaaaar from Uninformed. They know everything about everything they served. Even the freaking hostess walked by the table and gave food descriptions off the top of her head.

2. No one was taken advantage of, we asked for Oil, they poured it.

Each bottle of Manni Oil wholesale costs $26, the problem is they only sell 10 bottles at a time.

One fifth of the bottle cost the restaurant $5.25

Not to be pretentious about money but despite the quality and price of the Oil, $5.25 isnt a big deal when you go to a restaurant and spend $300 on food, $7 for an espresso and $12 for bottled water.....Plus wine and Tip 30%

$510.

Admittedly, we drank very little wine but we morphed 3 ...3 course tastings into 2..5 course tastings.

Most high end kitchens use those first few days to get thier sea legs.

Although they are willing to please, they certainly were not being taken advantage of.

GILT is super well financed.....A couple of bottles of Oil isnt going to break the bank when you have like 6 circulators buzzing away in the kitchen with 10 plus cooks and huge Bonnet stoves.

Edited December 22, 2005 by Vadouvan (log)

[NYCCHEF]

Circulator huh.....are you a Chef Vadouvan?

Edited December 23, 2005 by NYCCHEF (log)

[Vadouvan]

Not a Chef Yet.....Just a super serious enthusiast.

Like William Shatner said on the old star trek......."dont call me captain till we get back to the enterprise".

On a serious note, knowledge of the use of circulators/thermal water baths for sous-videry is now commonplace that the use of the term does not neccesarily mean you are a chef.....some of us just pay attention to whats going on in this cooking revolution.

Long before I joined the Gullet, I was reading the Soap Opera "The Alinea Chronicles" where the character ChefG (Achatz) posted a picture of all the Polyscience Goodies.

"Like kelcoGEL in an hourglass, so are the days of our lives...at Alinea"

[flinflon28]

I can honestly say thay my birthday dinner at Gilt last night was the best meal I have ever had. We called th day before our desired dining date and were told the only available seating times were 6:15 and 6:30. We took the 6:30 seating time and arrived at 6:00 to get a drink at the bar and take in the War of the Worldslike sculpture enveloping the bar area. It's an neat looking contrast with the palacial setting of the Villard House and it nicely set up the theme of the evening which seemed to be expect the unexpected.

The wine list is painfully expensive but even with my minute knowledge of wine I know that there are amazing selections on there. I believe I saw a glass of Lafite Rothchild going for $1000. While an offering like that seems like a stunt to me I know that there are individuals out there who would drop the cash.

We went with some cocktails instead and they were expertly prepared and came in stunning glasses.

We were shown to our table and I thought it was neat that our coats were checked and but we were issued no ticket. I've never been to a restaurant or event where they track the coat check without ticket stubs.

We were th first people to be seated and were shown to a table nearst the entrance of the rstaurant which exposed us to a ton of foot traffic. Even though I have never asked to be moved when we've eaten at Daniel or Bouley, I felt that if we really are the first people in a 50 seat dining room, thy can move us to better spot. We asked and after a moment of conferring with the maitre d' we were graciously moved to a table in the middle of the room...it was so much more comfortable.

The long and the short of it is that we were there for three and a half hours and each of us had the three course prix fixe. As has been explained earlier there were several amuses and mid course extras served and the meal was very well spaced out. Our captain explained that they ar really only doing one seating per evening right now and while that will probably change after the soft opening, they hope to go the several hour tasting menu route so tables will not be turned frequntly at Gilt.

The staff at is incredibly efficient and professional but I felt it took them a few courses to truly let their personalities shine through. I will admit that the dining room itself was so intimidating that it took us a few drinks in order to loosen up too. Especially since we were the only ones there for th first hald hour. Each staff member was personable and had great side stories to share if you are up for interacting with the staff. Most of the diners sitting near us were there because they had fond memories of Paul at Atlas and were thrilled to have him back in NY. By the time we left at 10:15 the room was about half way filled so it's clear they are trying not to overburden the kitchen too soon but they definitely have their hands full as my meal was one for the ages.

With thanks to Vadouvan I will use some of his posting as my reference for some brief menu descriptions:

Canapes:

BUTTER NUT SQUASH TUILE RIBBONS

TAMARIND MARSHMALLOWS

KATAIFFI WITH YUZU AND CORIANDER

OLIVE OIL FINANCIER, SPICY YOGHURT.

These were a real smack in the face to best you to the fact that this isn't your typical evening out of fine dining. There were some very bold flavors and textures in these two bites. The tamarind marshmallows and the squash tuilles really stimulated my taste buds and did something canapes rarely do...they made me really hungry!

Amuse Bouches

CHORISO WITH ANCHOVY

HAZELNUT CLOUD, MOUSSE OF FOIE GRAS

CAULIFLOWER SORBET/ORANGE TUILE

GLAZED DUCK/AVOCADO/OLIVE OIL

These were awsome and I love how each came on its own plate and thy really took up your entire table. I also love that the Captain said there is no order to eating them...just go for what you like first.

Bread and Butter:

housemade, an absolutely fabulous Brioche, serrano ham bread and potato bread.

There was also a chestnut bread that had a sweet filling which was amazing. Let me stress...this bread was served steaming hot...like it was just made. I don't know if that was the case or not but if it is, I hoep thy can continu to do that once they get really busy.

2 butters, one french, one Devon. Both delicious.

1st courses

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We both had:

"FLAVORS OF WINTER"

PEEKY TOE CRAB, SEA HERB GLASS

FINANCIER OF ARUGULA AND STILTON

SEA URCHIN NATURALE

ROASTED BABY ABALONE, NANTUCKET SCALLOPS, OXTAIL GELEE

SWEETBREADS TAMARILLO.

This was another situation where each item came in its own dish and took up the whole table...and it was awsome. There th Financier of arugula and stilton was the richest thing I'v ever tried and it was served in a silvr bowl with a piece of clear plastic streched over it which made it look like it was floating in mid air. The Sea Urchin was delicious and had what felt like champagne foam ovr it and it was served in what appeared to be a fake Ostrich egg. The color of the urchin and th foam of the champagne completed the egg trick.

Sweetbreads with the tamarillo chip was very good.

2nd Course We Shared:

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DRY AGED BLACK ANGUS RIBEYE (POUR DEUX)

WATERCRESS - LEMON BALM PUREE,SMOKED POTATO FONDANT

Wow...even though getting steak did not seem like the most adventurous route, I'm glad we did. Rib eye was brought out whole and then brought back to the kitchen for carving. The presentation was beautful and came with brasied baby vegetables and potatoes three ways. There was a potato souffle with bacon, potato fondu which was decadent in the best way and what appeared to be french fries but were hollow when you bit into them...deliciously seasoned potato shells I guess. Each of these elements was individually added to the plate by our captain adding to the show. Meat was perfectly cooked and there was the right combination of beefly flavor and a few pieces that had a gamier taste making for a nice mix.

Desserts were great but don't hold a candle to what came earlier.

This was the best way to usher in my 30th birthday. I really hope Gilt will be there for my 31st. Paul has toned down some of his more avant garde trimmings but has kept making fantastic food. It has the makings to be one of the best in NY.

[BryanZ]

flinflon, do you remember if they offered any other tasting menus? If so, how many courses and how much are they? I'd like to know what to expect when I go next week.

[Vadouvan]

Flinflon28.......No problem brother........glad you enjoyed it.

Fantastic place and a greatly inspirational meal.

You review was right on.

[M.X.Hassett]

Sorry I know this is off topic but holy s&^$ this is some good oil. I shall be ordering a second case forthwith.

[foodexile]

flinflon, do you remember if they offered any other tasting menus?  If so, how many courses and how much are they?  I'd like to know what to expect when I go next week.

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From what I understand, they are still concoting a tasting.

I have heard, however, that the amount of food one gets currently is nearly the same amout as a traditional tasting.

[xdrixn]

thanks for sharing flinfoln. I'd like to hear more about the desserts, please.

[flinflon28]

All together I think we had an 8-9 course meal over close to 4 hours even though the menu listed it as a three course experience. And it left us quite full. I think there will be more formal tastings in the future...and from what I've heard there will be something called a "What's on Paul's Mind?" tasting as well. From what I experienced I feel there are nothing but good things on Paul's mind.

[R Washburn]

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.

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They will if you ask for it at JG. The table next to mine this past Friday went through alot of olive oil, and they were NOT regulars.

[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.

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They will if you ask for it at JG. The table next to mine this past Friday went through alot of olive oil, and they were NOT regulars.

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Oh trust me, I know. I ask for it all the time and am, unfortunately, not a regular.

[tan319]

thanks for sharing flinfoln.  I'd like to hear more about the desserts, please.

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Ditto!!

[tan319]

Just in case no ones seen it yet, here is a link to Gilt's website.

Gilt

You can download the dessert menu PDF, which looks good, not real unusual but solid?

[BryanZ]

Just returned from a very, very good meal at Gilt tonight. Had a 6:30 reservation and took up the table for about 4 hours. Things could have gone faster but it was in no way dragging.

The space is quite appealing, tons of rich wood paneling, red lights, and large tables. My only design complaint is that the open kitchen door is somewhat unbecoming to the elegant feel of the restaurant. It's not quite an open kitchen so seeing the kitchen in action through a small sliding door was perhaps a little bit inappropriate given the space.

Service is polished and attentive but perhaps not as engaging as Alinea or as smooth as Per Se. Nonetheless, the staff seems to care about its customers and the food the restaurant serves.

Our 3-course meal was more like a 20-course one. We started with an assortment of canapes, amuses, and other preappetizers too numerous to recall concretely. Bread service is also very strong, one of the best I've had in the city--both butters and olive oils are quite delicious. When you add in the pungent truffle butter that came with one of my dining companions foie gras, and you could've made a great meal on bread and condiments alone.

From the menu my party of three had:

"First"

Ballotine of Foie Gras - A delicious dish. Thie foie gras was very creamy and subtle and was paired with quince in two different forms. It was a very intriguing combination as the quince seemed to show its characteristic frutiness but also some flavors evocative of sea salt--not sea salt in the traditional form but perhaps subtle sea water

Oysters & Black Truffles - Another very tasty dish, but perhaps the weakest of the "first" courses. The beaufort cheese tartlet actually worked well the oysters giving the oysters a depth and richness when eaten together. The truffle flavor was subtle and perhaps could've been more pronounced.

Flavors of Winter - A wide assortment of five dishes. The peekytoe crab was like a reimagined crab cake/salad, very tasty and probably my favorite of the group. The sweetbreads were also excellent. The sea urchin aspect should've been more pronounced, but then again I love sea urchin and wanted something more akin the sea urchin in the raw as opposed to a sea urchin mousse.

"Second"

Four Story Farms Milk-Fed Poularde - An amazing dish. Probably the best chicken I've ever had and the best dish of the night. It's easy to make good foie gras, lobster, or find a nice tender piece of venison but this was damn near transcendent. So rich, so good.

Maine Roasted Lobster - Another great preparation. Very attractively presented, the whole tail, tightly balled and glistening--food porn at its finest. This was also served with the chopped knuckle meat and small sous vide scallops in a separate dish. This "side" dish could've been a course in itself.

Millbrook Venison - Similar to Alinea's bison preparation, this is roasted over pine branches and pine cones and presented in this au natural state right before going back to the kitchen for plating. The smoky flavor is a subtle and fitting match to the rich, tender, and just faintly gamey venison. The carrot foam was a nice sweet counterbalance to the slightly sour red cabbage marmalade

Desserts were also quite good, though not as inspiring as much of the food. Still, they were more than sufficient, and we certainly got a wide sampling of them. We were sent out two complimentary palate cleansers and an extra dessert since they overhead me remarking to my family that I wanted to try both chocolate ones.

All in all, Gilt is an excellent restaurant. $92 for "3"-courses is on par with the cities most exclusive dining destinations, but this meal included more courses and much greater range than tasting menus I've had at both Jean Georges and Daniel. I'm not saying that Gilt is explicitly better than either of those venerable NYC dining institutions but on this night it seemed to rise above its more established brethren. My sister remarked that Gilt seems to encompass some of the whimsy of wd-50 while capturing the bold flavors of JG and the elegance of Daniel.

[tan319]

Super great report, BryanZ!

Sounds awesome, thrilled that Liebrandt is kicking some serious butt.

[docsconz]

Bryan, was the pine flavor as pronounced as the juniper at Alinea? You said it was subtle. Do you have a preference for one dish or another?

Very nice report.

[oakapple]

Our 3-course meal was more like a 20-course one.

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Was this a special for you, or is anybody who walks in is getting all of those courses for $92?

[Vadouvan]

Good report BryanZ, everybody was at Gilt last night.

It must stand for GET IN LINE TODAY !!!

Then we all ran down to Pegu to discuss the finer points his WD-50 meal last night with the king of all paparazzi..Philadining.

I had another great meal at gilt last night too so here it is.

GILT..part Deux.

ROOM :

"Roxaaaaaane, you dont have to put on the red light..."

Those days are over (Le cirque), you dont have to sell your body to the night......haha

Glad they removed all that neon crap.

the room is stunning but i personally prefer the backlighting to be a normal color against the wood panelling. Red light just has too much of a clubby feel.

Open kitchen doesnt really intrude on the dining room.

in any case small quibbles.

SERVICE:

Still just as polished. I kinda understand Bryan's point in comparison to Alinea and PerSE.

Per Se just has a ton of space between the tables and its frankly easy to be graceful when you have enough space to land an f-18 between the tables.

Alinea on the other hand.....engaging can be interpreted as "solicitous" which is fine since most Alinea dishes come with instructions from the kitchen.

FOOD :

The things we tried last time were just as good (refer to old post).

Amuses, canapes, flavors of winter.

I have to agree with Bryan, while the sea urchin was good, I rather prefer pure sea urchin from my best sushi experiences. It seemed like it could have benefited from just a touch of caviar to add some brinyness and counterpoint against the urchin mousse and the foam.

Very good though but at the end of the day, I would rather have it plain.

I think that's why the japanese call it Uni, best served Uni-laterally.

NEW DISHES :

Had the same foie Bryan had but ours was covered in a beet Gelee.

Quince cream, nori tuile.

Sunchoke Brandade with green peppercorn tuile was delicious

Fennel and Smoked bacon royale which was very complex.

Bread were just as delicious, the brioche as I said earlier is to die for as is the new chestnut bread.

Eel croquette was interesting but all my previous eel consumptions have been lampreys or Unagi so this was kinda new to me.

Squash soup (golden nugget) with chorizo chips and rabitt rillette "millefuille" with squash tuiles

very good. pure squash flavor, no cream.

Sweetbreads with tamarillo croquant and glazed carrots/turnips.

Excellent.

SIDEBAR your honor....

I keep going to all these fancy ass restaurants in NY Gilt, JG,Danny's (Boulud and Meyer),Ducasse, perse...........and nobody still has better sweetbreads than the banging almond crusted sweetbreads with fennel pollen at Casa Mono.

Finished with the RIBeye for two.

Four story hills farm, grass fed beef........quite incredible for not even being Wagyu.

Super buttery, great texture.

After the Foie, sweetbreads and beef, I started getting these gastro-syncopish hallucinations of walking down the dark corridor of death row, except instead of other prisoners in the cells, it was cardiologists in thier white jackets whispering....."dead man walking"

All in all, another fantastic meal.

[BryanZ]

Our 3-course meal was more like a 20-course one.

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Was this a special for you, or is anybody who walks in is getting all of those courses for $92?

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This peripherally brings up an interesting point when it comes to fine dining. I usually only dine with my mother and my sister or just my girlfriend (when this is the case we're always the youngest party in the restaurant), so sometimes we don't necessarily receive the most attentive service. Perhaps this isn't on purpose, but that's just the way it seems. Other times, however, servers seem to take a special interest in our table, as we all, or at least my sister and I when I'm dining with family, demonstrate a intense passion for trying all types of good food.

Anyway, this latter instance seemed to be the case at Gilt. We received a few more courses than perhaps the "average" customer of the evening. We also happened to be seated next to some one who was obviously known to the restaurant so he got a pretty awesome looking tasting menu of luxury items, but that was certainly a special case. Regardless, everyone, at least during this initial opening period, receives a wide assortment of canapes, amuses, and extra courses. In our case we just happened to get a few extras on top of the already generous extras.

Edited January 3, 2006 by BryanZ (log)

[BryanZ]

Bryan, was the pine flavor as pronounced as the juniper at Alinea? You said it was subtle. Do you have a preference for one dish or another?

Very nice report.

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The piney flavor was certainly more pronounced at Alinea since it was actually plated over a burning piece of juniper in the huge bowl. At Gilt, the venison loin is presented whole, roasting over pinecones and branches, but is sent back to the kitchen for slicing and plating. At Gilt you're still getting that intense olfactory sensation of burning pine but it's less in your face during the eating process.

Stated crudely, at Alinea you're almost literally eating meat off of a burning bush. At Gilt, you simply know the meat was cooked over a burning bush. They dishes are similar in fundamental preparation but too different to choose a favorite.

[flinflon28]

Our 3-course meal was more like a 20-course one.

←

Was this a special for you, or is anybody who walks in is getting all of those courses for $92?

←

This peripherally brings up an interesting point when it comes to fine dining. I usually only dine with my mother and my sister or just my girlfriend (when this is the case we're always the youngest party in the restaurant), so sometimes we don't necessarily receive the most attentive service. Perhaps this isn't on purpose, but that's just the way it seems. Other times, however, servers seem to take a special interest in our table, as we all, or at least my sister and I when I'm dining with family, demonstrate a intense passion for trying all types of good food.

Anyway, this latter instance seemed to be the case at Gilt. We received a few more courses than perhaps the "average" customer of the evening. We also happened to be seated next to some one who was obviously known to the restaurant so he got a pretty awesome looking tasting menu of luxury items, but that was certainly a special case. Regardless, everyone, at least during this initial opening period, receives a wide assortment of canapes, amuses, and extra courses. In our case we just happened to get a few extras on top of the already generous extras.

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When I was a Gilt it was to celebrate my 30th birthday and my girlfriend and I were probably the youngest ones there and though for the first few minutes it felt like we were abut to go through what felt like the "Oh, the kids are here" type service I have received at the Four Seasons our evening ended up taking a very positive route. I've always felt that if you display a modicum of interest in the dining experience (this doesn't eve have to be food knowledge) servers start to really brighten. Our captain at Gilt was personable, funny and very professional but it was also clear that he would have just stood back and not approached us unless we needed something if that is the kind of dining experience we were looking for. I work in the industry so I always want to know where people worked before and what they really enjoy about their current job.