Jean Georges and Nougatine

[pcloguda]

The active discussion thread for Jean Georges and Nougatine may be found here.

We returned to Jean=Georges last night. Bar area was v. crowded and noisey, the diningroom full & noisey. Service was very good. All 4 guests had the tasting menus. We Left feeling that the restaurant had lost its edge. The signature 'egg' was runny, without even soft curds. The terrine of foie gras was over wrought w. a candy-pistachio wafer ["ice] & pistachio cream on the plate. The chestnut broth was delicious but the mushroom ravioli, tasteless. The fish had a dense, hard crust of seeds. The succulent lobster morsel was overwhelmed by the tamarind sauce and the venison was simply subpar, both grainy and lacking taste.

Did we hit an off night ---albeit a rather expensive one-- or is this restaurant on the down slope?

[Steve Plotnicki]

Paula - I love Jean-Georges, especially the menu in the bar.  Whether it is going downhill or it was just an off night can only be determined by repeat reviews by the people who go. But one has to wonder how much J-G can bite off before he has too much to chew, and whether they can keep the old standard while operating places in NY, Vegas, London and Paris.

[Majmaj4]

I am visiting New York for the first time. Based on all the writeups on Jean Georges I was interested in trying it. But it is closed on Sunday. My free evening. I now have reservations at Nougatine. Is the food as good? Creative? I couldn't find a menu on their website.

[Majmaj4]

I ate at Nougatine while on a mini-vacation.

I thought the food was some of the best I had ever had. Better than the meal a few days earlier at Daniel. (although one dinner is not very much to judge a restaurant on). I had the crab appetizer with papaya - one of the best things I have ever tasted. Lamb & risotto dish was also excellent. I savored every bite of the appetizer & main course. Dessert was okay but not special.

There were some disappointments with the meal also. 1) Service was not very good. As an example - they either wanted to give me bread or take my bread plate away as soon as I had finished the last piece, saying that they would get in trouble if my bread plate was empty. Seems like they could come up with some sort of symbol. For simple questions about wine by the glass they had to get the sommelier.

2) The bread seemed stale, and was not very tasty. I tried both varieties available. Since the main restaurant was closed the day I was there - I wondered if it was cooked the previous day.

3) The bar area was noisy - hard floors and walls made it pretty loud. I like a little noise, but seemed a little excessive.

I was eating alone. They did not have a problem making a reservation for one, but the small tables were put in the back corners. I would have preferred being able to see more.

Conclusion - I would get into the main dining room if at all possible, but if you can't enjoy the food.

[vivin]

I have been to the Nougatine room twice for lunch and the main dining room once for dinner. Lunch was very good. Dinner was only so so. Since both are served by the same kitchen, I am not sure that the food is that much different. That is just my take on it.

Overall, it is enjoyable as long as the dollars expended are reasonable. If the bill has to be over 200 per person, there are other places in the city where I would rather spend the money then Jean Georges.

[Andy Lynes]

I had dinner at Nougatine about 3 years ago and Jean Georges was in the house. As I was dining alone, I appreciated the excellent view of the open kitchen and seeing the comings and goings. Some fabulous food, including crab salad with mango salsa and cumin tuiles and the chocolate cake, a bottle of Cloudy Bay and quite a trendy scene at the bar made for a great evening.

[Felonius]

I live up the street from J-G, and I used to eat in the Nougatine/Bar area several times a month. I found the food ranged from merely good to extraordinary, depending on the evening. As with any restaurant, consistency seems to be an elusive holy grail, even at this level of dining (I've experienced even greater inconsistency at Bouley, for example).

I especially like Nougatine for several reasons:

Atmosphere: The modern and somewhat minimalist decor, along with a hopping bar scene, give the place a more casual feel than most places serving this caliber of food. It's a good place to take a date or eat by oneself without having to deal with the formality of a place like Daniel or Cafe Boulud.

Selection: In addition to the prix-fixe menu and more limited selections at Nougatine, one can pretty much order anything off the main Jean-Georges menu by request. This is a welcome option if the formality of the main dining is not desired or if table are unavailable.

Availability: Nougatine stays open fairly late (11pm I think), and isn't that hard a place to get a table when compared to the competition.

Price: The prix-fixe menu Nougatine, though limited to a few items, has to be the best dinner value in the city at about $35. This is cheaper than most upscale restaurants on the upper West side, and the food is far superior to anything even near this price range.

I haven't been recently, so I suppose it's time for another visit to Nougatine!

[weinhen]

Last night, night number two of our hometown vacation, brought us to Jean Georges. By now, its prowess is well-known in New York, but it was our first time there and served as a reminder of what's possible. Last night, along with a handful of previous dinners in France, reset my sensibilities which have regularly been blunted by mediocrity and the passage of time. Whether cooking in my own kitchen, eating at other restaurants, or ordering in, I have recovered for better and for worse, a point of reference. In case you haven't figured it out yet, last night was a WOW.

I've eaten at all the other JG spots in NYC (save Mercer Kitchen) but nothing compares to this.

Amuse Bouche: A tomato basil lollipop, tiny bit of foie gras with peach, and a disc of peeky toe crab with spiced green papaya. The waiter not only provided descriptions of each but also a guide to their correct order of consumption. All the tastes were intriguing and had this teasing quality of sweetness turning savory within each mouthful.

Appetizers: were accompanied by coupes of Billiot NV Rose Champagne, appropriately full yet with a tang.

1. Toasted Foie Gras Brioche with cherry compote and microgreens. This could be simply dismissed as a foie gras sandwich, but what a mistake that would be. Basically it was a foie gras sandwich that offered a generous portion of seared foie gras between crustless brioche toasts. It was an essay in perfection of flavor and especially mouth feel. The contrast between the slight buttery crunch of the bread vs. the decadence of the liver was all that that combination could be. The cherry compote provided the balance but I must admit that I didn't add it to every bite as I just wanted to continue that overwhelming sense in my mouth. Fingerbowls (with lemon and flower petals) are provided afterward to provide a refined touch to a sorta messy experience.

2. Ribbons of Tuna and John Dory in a spicy broth with radish. Long strands of raw fish twirled together, pasta style. The balance of this dish was extraordinary. The spice was always there as a note in the background yet never interfered with the flavor of the absolutely fresh fish. The radish provided textural contrast. An elegant dish.

Main Courses: were accompanied by a '99 Billerot? Chateauneuf du Pape that, while a bit young, was a good partner to both-

1. Lamb loin with a black trumpet mushroom crust, leek puree, sauted wild mushrooms and a ring of sauted potato coins. Yes I know, the lamb recipe is in one of his books, but I defy you to turn it out like this. It was medium rare throughout, as ordered, with the pink meat stopping precisely at the mushroom crust. It was tender, flavorful and all the sides worked together as one to create harmony.

2. Duck breast with a Jordan Almond crust with duck thigh confit, sauted foie gras on fingerling potatoes, sauteed chanterelles and braised baby turnips. Harmony again and everything cooked perfectly. The almond crust was sweet and was a nice foil to the richness of the duck meat. The thigh was served on an odd tool called a moujon which, according to the waiter, dated back to Henry VIII and is essentially impossible to find in these parts. It skewered the confit and you picked it up by the handle and ate it like a drumstick. Odd as it may sound, the braised turnips were so good as to compete with the duck in flavor.

Desserts: are arranged as tasting plates, with the choices being cherry, apricot, "summer", and .... I forget the last one. These were ordered with glasses of an '00 Jurancon sweet wine.

Apricot included small portions of each of the following

- chocolate mousse with apricot and a habanero chili sauce

-apricot panna cotta

-roasted apricot

-raspberry soup with sorbet (not sure where the apricot was hiding here)

All nice combinations of flavors, balancing richness, clarity and "refreshingness".

Cherry.....

-cherry clafoutis with a bit of ice cream

-cherry chocolate tart

-cherry "nougat" with pistachio

-elderberry soup

Comments for the apricot tasing also apply to the cherry.

So there it is. A dinner to educate and spoil you. Enough said.

(p.s. Vongerichten was in the restaurant last night and clearly eagle-eyed about everything, even checking the dining room at very regular intervals.)

Sorry about the length of this report but there's no way to describe it in just a few words. And now for something completely different...Thursday, we're off to Blue Smoke.

Andrew

[southern girl]

Thank you for the great review. I am going for my first visit in a little over a week. I was already looking forward to the experience...after hearing about the duck and the foie dishes I can't wait!

[Jinmyo]

weinhen, great report. Welcome to eGullet, by the way. Very interesting about the moujon.

[CathyL]

Weinhen, what a tasty writeup! We were there Friday night for my husband's 50th birthday - six of us, so there were opportunities to taste a lot of the menu. Here are my notes:

Amuses:

- Tomato gelée on a stick sprinkled with powdered popcorn, set on a slick of

vanilla syrup, basil purée

- Duck foie gras on marinated peach with caramel foam

- Peekytoe crab on green papaya

Jean-Georges has been playing with sweetness in savory dishes – it’s most fun with bite-sized offerings, I think. For example, the Jordan almond duck is too much for me. But I love AGs that are really amusing! These make you think, too.

Apps:

- Toasted foie gras on brioche with cherry/ouzo marmalade & microgreens

- Ribbons of tuna & seabass, ginger & radish marinade

- Peekytoe crab with 3 different vinaigrettes (mustard, Asian, ??) and

toasted buckwheat (?) chips

- Diver scallops, caramelized cauliflower, raisin-caper emulsion (a JG

signature, as spectacular as ever)

Middle course: Slow-cooked halibut, marinated peppers,

lemon/garlic/chili sauce, broccoli puree

A beautiful dish, especially the broccoli, which had a very deep but pure flavor.

Mains:

- Lemon butter-poached lobster (sous vide), vegetable tapioca, passion

purée - I didn't want to share this. How can lemon/passion be this intense

without overwhelming the lobster? One of the best lobster dishes I've ever eaten.

- Caramelized beef sirloin with beef cheeks, onion confit & potato gratin

- Dorade (I didn’t taste this one)

- Slow-cooked arctic char with bitter greens

I had the exotic dessert tasting:

- Passion fruit pavlova

- Coconut tapioca with clementine sorbet and a segment of fruit

- Salted peanuts with chewy caramel, topped with chocolate sorbet – this is

to Baby Ruth as db hamburger is to Burger King

- Raspberry petit beurre

This was my first visit since pastry chef Eric Hubert left. About half the desserts listed are still his. The new guy is from Daniel – I can’t remember his name – and everything was delicious. Oh, and the house-made marshmallows are back with the petits fours.

Gruner Veltliner Weingut with apps, a light red Mercurey with mains -

JG sent a sparkling rosé dessert wine.

Southern girl, you are in for a treat!

[Wilfrid]

Posts like those above are a delight to read. I wish I could say more, but that'll have to do. Thanks.

[Liza]

Thank you both for those excellent reviews! Go go with the Gruners!

[Robert Schonfeld]

These great writeups make me want to go back soon.

I also prefer the sweet-with-savory in small bites. I found the Jordan almonds a bit much with the duck, especially since, as has been noted, JG is a master at balance.

[vivin]

Let me add my experience to the one written about above.

Friday night, I went to JG for the fourth time. Previous times, the experience had been not very impressive. $20 lunches should be discounted. OR maybe I made the mistake of not ordering the right dishes. This time however, they served up some kick ass food - we did tasting menus all around).

1) Amuse - A piece of foie gras with Dolce de leche (sp?) ice cream that was dreamy. Two types of water melon + dollop of goat cheese + sprinkle of black pepper = yummy little delight. Tomato gelee that was ok.

2) Slices of foie with toasted pistachios, rock salt crystals and puree of strawberry - the strawberry did not work as well with the foie but the rest of the concoction lit up my palate

3) white asparagus with morrel mushroom sauce with morrel mushrooms. This was just blah! no taste. one off dish of the night.

4) Summer vegetables in dill broth - hints of Thailand and the tropics in this excellent soup.

5) Slow grilled halibut with chopped up roasted peppers of various kinds. Excellent. more intellectual than heart warming though.

6) some kind of white fish that had been pounded thin with some white wine sauce. good.

7) veal - I was full and could not finish the veal that was pretty good.

8) dessert sampler - exotic - not eye opening but had two items - chilled fruit soup and a cookie atop pashion fruit putdding like substance that were very good.

All in all a very good meal. Excpectations were very low going in though. The wine bottle we ordered ($140) was a chardonnay that did not open up for the 2.5 hrs I let it sit. Not worth the money at all. Champagne was nice. Service was very good.

[CathyL]

Was that the foie gras en torchon? I had trouble deciding between that and the foie on toasted brioche.

Sorry the asparagus was off - it's usually drop-your-fork fabulous. Jean-Georges is the only force in the universe that can make my husband love green vegetables.

My best wine experiences here come from asking one of the sommeliers to choose something exciting based on the dishes ordered. They always recommend a wine we'd never have thought of, and drinking it is both fun and enlightening. But often, Liza, I just order a Gruner.

Vivin, what do you think about the marshmallows? I like the concept but don't actually want to EAT them. Others at my table were enthralled. (Does anyone else remember the cotton candy dessert at the Four Seasons?)

[Aaron T]

What kind of wine is a gruner? Region/color/ What is it similar to? Thanks!

[CathyL]

What kind of wine is a gruner?     Region/color/  What is it similar to?  Thanks!

Gruner Veltliner is a grape native to Austria - the wines are Rieslingesque but taste distinctive, and they're food-friendly. Never met one I didn't like.

[vivin]

Cathy,

I skipped the marshmallows. By the time I got to them, I was full (having also eaten some of my wife's food). Too much food and drink for a Friday night. The miniature merigues (sp??) were OK. I think my exotic dessert sampler was a little different than you described.

My wife had the lobster and thought it to be overcooked. On the other hand, the arctic char with bitter greens you describe sounds delicious.

[vivin]

Cathy,

you were there on Fri night too? that is a coincidence. I was there from 8-12. I think they changed around my lineup of the summer menu because I am allergic to all shellfish .

vivin

[CathyL]

We got there at 8:15. My group was in the rear left corner, trying to behave like grownups.

The meringues, like the marshmallows, are too sweet for me. I love the little chocolate ganache squares, though.

[weinhen]

Oh yeah, I did forget about those marshmallows. The waiter siad they're from JG's grandmother's recipe and came in coffee, strawberry and two other flavors. They were good marshmallows but....they were marshmallows.

Andrew

[Mao]

I went along with Vivin to JG last Friday, and have had similar rather mixed experiences on trips there, that this trip was a very pleasant surprise. I disagree about the Chardonnay though, since I think by the end it had become spectacular, but it was a speciman that needed to be decanted and sit open for a very long time. It was young and simply too tight for a long time though.

But about the food, I will confess to being very pleasantly surprized at its complexity. I found it rather intellectual. Several bites made me stop and ponder their rather brilliant juxtaposition of flavors and elements, ones that I had not encountered before, even on previous visits--the Foie Gras, in particular. It was by far the best of the 4-5 meals I have had there. I must say that I found that his whole style of cuisine is very clever, but also does not touch me on a deeper textual and sensual level. Its hard to put my finger on it, but something about the preparation is slightly emotionally cool. Still, I was able to appreciate the meal, and what he accomplishes a great deal more. I came away thinking of it as an educational meal somehow.

[southern girl]

I just reconfirmed my reservation for this Fri. night...Sounds like the Foie Gras is not to be missed...any other suggestions from recent visits as to what is considered a "must try"?

[CathyL]

For your first visit I would order the scallop/cauliflower app. It's stunning, and a good expression of JG's genius at combining unexpected flavors.

The tasting menu is replaying one of my all-time favorites: squab with onion compote and preserved lemon. (You can order it without going for the whole menu.)

Mao, I agree that the food is intellectual, and I think I know what you mean by 'emotionally cool.' Even when the flavors are big they seem precisely orchestrated. Definitely educational!