THE BEST: Amuse Bouche

[harlanturk]

Any great AMUSE BOUCHE lately in NYC/BROOKLYN?

[scottie]

You know, I am so tired of soup as an amuse. It's too easy. Everywhere I go lately, seems like the amuse is always some variation on soup. Boring!

The best amuse I've had in the past year was at the Modern. It was a three-parter: a little cube of swordfish ceviche perched atop a tiny fork, a shot glass of rhubarb bellini, and one small bite of something else that I have entirely forgotten.

It was different, creative, and beautifully presented. Yes, the easy liquid element was there, but the rhubarb juice "bellini" was very tasty and refreshing. Perfect for summer.

[Pan]

This is a very interesting idea for a thread, but I feel impelled to ask whether any of you would go to a restaurant just because you like their amuses? Or another way of asking the question is, how important are the amuses in your evaluation of a restaurant? Hmmm...seems like a General thread, so I've started it here.

Carry on with the quest for the best amuses in New York.

[harlanturk]

Has anyone has the amuse platter from Eleven Madison (since Chef Humm has been there)?

[donbert]

Has anyone has the amuse platter from Eleven Madison (since Chef Humm has been there)?

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Yes, and it was almost more memorable than the rest of the meal. There were 2 platters, a mini salad and a dessert amuse. The first platter was a hamachi tartare w/ tobiko, a vichyssois, foie gras creme brule, and some puff bread. The second was a gazpacho with caviar and a quenelle of tomato sorbet with olive oil. The salad for the aquatic tasting was fennel. The dessert amuse that night was supposed to be a macaroon but we had a late reservation (9pm) and they were out of them by the time we finished our main course. Instead we had strawberries and vanilla ice cream, had they not mentioned the fact that they were out of macaroons though we would have never known.

The best that night was by far the foie gras creme brule.

[tupac17616]

One that sticks out in my memory as being ridiculously delicious was the opener for the chef's degustation menu at Bouley...

Goat Cheese/25-year-old Balsamic/Porcini "Yolk" /Goat Cheese Sorbet

[Sethro]

I think the modern diners' fondness for the Amuse speaks volumes as to where the fine dining experience in general is headed. People like surprises, and they like a chef they can trust to work with impulse and a free hand.

The amuse is to a meal what "noodling" is to a jazz record. A treat, a bonus, unconfined by expectations and often extremely expressive as a result.

More on that later, possibly...

Edited June 4, 2006 by Sethro (log)

[gaya]

Gilt.....the best amuse...changes hour to hour

[BryanZ]

Thank you, gaya. I was waiting for someone to chime on that. If amuses are meant to show off the creativity of the chef and excite the diner for more Gilt definitely succeeds in that category.