NY trip report

[docsconz]

Very nice job with the photography throughout. The Momofuku shots may be the most impressive given the hour and all you had been through!

[alanamoana]

cool! i thought tien had gone back to cafe boulud after cafe gray...i know that david is his friend (probably worked at daniel/cafe boulud together). nice to see a familiar name!

to be honest, on my most recent trip to nyc (in september) i was rather disappointed with desserts at wd-50. i ate every one on the menu at the time and they just didn't satisfy me in the way that i think desserts should satisfy. this is hard to describe because i don't want to discount the very modern approach that alex and wylie have with food. but to compare, the duck app that lorna and henry ate was one of the most delicious things! none of the desserts were as flavorful and exciting in the same way.

lorna and henry, great report so far. can't wait to see the rest of your trip. i'm in awe of both of you with how much you accomplished in such a short time (and how much you ate!!!)

[donbert]

I had a great time with you two at Pegu and Momofuku. Can't wait to see how the rest of your trip was!

I think Johnder and I will seriously have to come visit Seattle now.

[Ling]

Very nice job with the photography throughout. The Momofuku shots may be the most impressive given the hour and all you had been through!

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Thanks! I did the best I could under the circumstances...but I actually took 3 shots of each dish on the trip and we posted the one that was the least fuzzy.

[Ling]

cool!  i thought tien had gone back to cafe boulud after cafe gray...i know that david is his friend (probably worked at daniel/cafe boulud together).  nice to see a familiar name!

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Tien is probably one the nicest and most humble chefs I've ever met. He overheard us telling Don about Gordon Ramsey and he was really excited to hear what we thought of the food, and then was really interested in hearing about the rest of our trip. He talked to us for a long time, and then gave us his contact info and told us to tell the people at Cafe Gray that he sent us in for a kitchen tour. We're going to send him a link to this thread so he can see the pictures we were taking.

But back to the food at Momofuku Ssam bar--everything was very good, especially the squid salad, the sweetbreads, and the terrine banh mi! Hot damn, that was a tasty sandwich!

Edited December 18, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Ling]

I think Johnder and I will seriously have to come visit Seattle now. 

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Yes, definitely come! We need to return the hospitality.

[hhlodesign]

Tien is probably one the nicest and most humble chefs I've ever met. He overheard us telling Don about Gordon Ramsey and he was really excited to hear what we thought of the food, and then was really interested in hearing about the rest of our trip. He talked to us for a long time, and then gave us his contact info and told us to tell the people at Cafe Gray that he sent us in for a kitchen tour. We're going to send him a link to this thread so he can see the pictures we were taking. 

What she said!

Really a remarkable guy. Probably had alot to do with why I enjoyed my Momofuku experience so much. You can tell he was really passionate about what he was doing.

[cchen]

great reports so far. btw, the sam talbot that does the kim chee dogs isn't the same guy thats on top chef.

[Ling]

^It's not? That's funny! I guess Henry didn't miss out on as much as he thought he had!

[hhlodesign]

I am amazed and in awe of your mutual ability to sample and pack so much away in such a short time, but I wonder how much of an effect "the law of diminishing returns" might have had on your ability to really enjoy whatever it was that you were sampling, especially as each day wore on?

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The great thing about being interested in eating, is the fact that it is something that we must do at least twice a day. I hear body-builders eat at many as 6-8 times in one day. While we did hit many places on our trip, we tried to sample many things without gorging ourselves on repetitive items.

The law of diminishing returns only applies when the item in question is the same. By varying the items, the law does not apply.

Edited December 18, 2006 by hhlodesign (log)

[hhlodesign]

great reports so far. btw, the sam talbot that does the kim chee dogs isn't the same guy thats on top chef.

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I was more intrigued by the taste of a kim chee hot dog than who was making it. Have you tried one, is it good?

I'm gonna hit the asian market tomorrow for some kim chee and pick up some Hebrew Nationals. Mmmmmm! It just sounds like my kind of combination.

Edited December 18, 2006 by hhlodesign (log)

[algy]

"great photos"

I can't see them! Too hard to take

[Sneakeater]

And also, Henry wanted to fit in Joe's Shanghai before dinner at WD-50.

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For some reason, when I got to that sentence I couldn't stop laughing.

You guys are machines.

[foodite]

I keep reading over your list of places and I still can't imagine how you did all that in 66 hours.... when I saw Bouley and then Danube right after, I picture you guys literally walking out the door of Bouley, strolling down a half block, and walking into Danube for one tasting menu right after the other!

Seriously - hardcore culinary weekend!

I'm excited to hear the report on the next two days.

[herbacidal]

Uh, scratch that last comment on the other thread.

Nice going!

Edited December 18, 2006 by herbacidal (log)

[donbert]

great reports so far. btw, the sam talbot that does the kim chee dogs isn't the same guy thats on top chef.

I was more intrigued by the taste of a kim chee hot dog than who was making it. Have you tried one, is it good?

I'm gonna hit the asian market tomorrow for some kim chee and pick up some Hebrew Nationals. Mmmmmm! It just sounds like my kind of combination.

Here's Sam "The Red Chef" Talbot's website.

Looks like he closes up for the winter in Oct.

Edited December 18, 2006 by donbert (log)

[Ling]

And also, Henry wanted to fit in Joe's Shanghai before dinner at WD-50.

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For some reason, when I got to that sentence I couldn't stop laughing.

You guys are machines.

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Joe's Shanghai was a last minute addition! We saw it as we were walking from GR to Fauchon, and Henry insisted that we go there. I needed an extra 15 minutes to digest, so we compromised and went to Fauchon first.

[johnder]

Doh, well I forget where someone told me it was the same Sam (TC and foodcart), oh well. Sounds like you had a blast at momo regardless. Did you ever make it to DUMBO Jacques or did you stay in the city?

John

[Ling]

I keep reading over your list of places and I still can't imagine how you did all that in 66 hours.... when I saw Bouley and then Danube right after, I picture you guys literally walking out the door of Bouley, strolling down a half block, and walking into Danube for one tasting menu right after the other!

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The order we did the restaurants was actually Danube, then Bouley...we had an hour to kill before our reservation at Bouley, so we went for a "snack" and a drink at Danube cocktail lounge first.

(At the time, Upstairs at Bouley had a 2.5 hour wait, and we also visited the bakery, but for some reason, the people seated inside--not the staff, but the customers--kept giving us dirty looks for no apparent reason. And the lights were off, even though the hours listed said they were open until 10p.m. So Danube was the default choice.)

[Ling]

Doh, well I forget where someone told me it was the same Sam (TC and foodcart), oh well.   Sounds like you had a blast at momo regardless.   Did you ever make it to DUMBO Jacques or did you stay in the city?

John

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We stayed in the city! Sorry we didn't call the next day, because we ended up sleeping in until half an hour before our Jean Georges reservations (blame it on Momo and the cocktails!) We ended up making it to JT on Saturday, right before we left NY. But this Jacques Torres had a production facility as well, and I got to meet Jacques there!

Edited December 18, 2006 by Ling (log)

[mukki]

BTW--an EGer came up to us after their meal to say "hello". I think I see her lurking in this thread right now!   

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That was me! My SO and I spent last week in NYC and happened to have a lunch reservation at Gordon Ramsey about the same time as Lorna and Henry.

We covered quite a few places, too. Here's an overview.

Lunch at Gordon Ramsey. The starters and desserts were the better parts of the meal for me. I thought the ham hock starter was quite enjoyable, as was the "lobster ravioli, poached in its own bouillon with celery root cream, shellfish vinaigrette and chervil veloute." The latter was so rich, though, that it made me feel a bit queasy. I found the anchovy sauce on the rabbit a bit overbearing and actually ended up avoiding it. SO had the roast lamb off of the a la carte menu which was merely good (once I find the menu, I'll add in the details of the dish). The apricot souffle was a winner... wonderful apricot flavor and a dish that was out of the ordinary. And I really enjoyed my lime and blackberry parfait. Bon bon trolley didn't wow me, though, and the chocolates had thick shells, heavy fillings and were generally uninteresting. The staff was particularly friendly here, especially once you got back into the kitchen. Gordon immediately handed us off to the chef de cuisine, Neil Ferguson, who chatted us up a bit, as did one of our servers (not sure what her exact position is). I usually find these situations a bit stiff (and I don't help things since I'm not the most talkative person), but was warmed up by the good cheer in the GR kitchen.

Dinner at Otto. Escarole and sunchoke salad with pecorino (?) and lemon dressing was simple and delicious. I think I've been waiting a long time to try spaghetti alla carbonara like the one we had here. It was creamy from the cheese, but not eggy, with a perfect dose of pepper. Pizza was the worst of the lot: crust had a lot of flavor, but I didn't like the texture, and there was too much sauce. Olive oil gelato with blood oranges, candied kumquats, pomegranate, Capezzana olive oil and Maldon sea salt was one of the best things I ate on the trip, though. I couldn't believe how good this was!

Lunch at Jean-Georges. Always a hit. The sea trout sashimi with trout eggs, dill and horseradish, like most of the better dishes here, had a great mix of textures and flavors. Caramelized foie gras with champagne gelee and candied pistachios and dried cherries was excellent. Although I haven't once been amazed by a dessert at JG, I find the chocolates and macarons to be very well done. I also noticed that Jean-Georges was in the kitchen during our visit.

Dinner at Eleven Madison Park. I had an excellent cocktail here, which I don't remember the name of. I know it had tea in it. Very well balanced. Risotto of Acquerello carnaroli rice with parmigiano reggiano and Alba truffles was superb. Alba truffle dishes are usually quite good, but this one was a step above. Mains aren't worth mentioning, but dessert! Lived up to the hype. Sheep's milk cheesecake with roasted pineapple, pineapple sorbet, kaffir lime and kili pepper shortbread was light and tangy. The pineapple paired perfectly in my opinion. Araguani chocolate souffle with caramel popcorn and salted caramel ice cream was a perfect marriage of flavors, as well. It tasted even better than it sounded on paper.

Dinner at Momofuku. Pork buns were as delicious as the first time I ate them. Soft, juicy, salty, a bit sweet with a slight crunch from the cucumber... Anson Mills yellow grits with shrimp, bacon, poached egg, and scallions was (I can't believe I'm going to say this) overburdened by the bacon. It really overpowered the dish, so I ended up leaving most of the bacon behind. The rest was quite good. Momofuku ramen didn't excite me as much as it did last time (perhaps the bacon dulled my palate).

Lunch at City Bakery. I really enjoy City Bakery's salad bar, which always has a number of unique dishes that appeal to me. I also love the pretzel croissants, which are buttery and salty.

Patisserie Claude: Delicious croissants. Flavorful, a bit salty, a bit sweet. Flaky on the outside, but a bit heavy on the inside (which I'm not used to, but turned out to be fine). Definitely the best croissant I've had outside of France.

Kee's Chocolates: As usual, I really enjoy her chocolates, which always have nice, thin shells and taste extremely fresh. I actually had to wait 10 minutes while she finished making the Thompsons in my order. However, I did notice that the chocolate on my turtles may have developed some bloom.

Mariebelle: great hot chocolate. I get the "American-style" made with milk and it's rich without being too heavy or thick.

Bouchon Bakery: The TKO/oreos are rich, chocolately and very satisfying. A ham and cheese baguette sandwich for the plane turned out to be excellent. Apple cider tart had some rum in it and was well made. Caramel macaron didn't taste like caramel to me exactly, but had a deep flavor that was very enjoyable. Gingerbread with lemon icing was very good, as well.

[Daniel]

Great photos guys and really nice write ups.. They really did New York so well.. My girl and I had the pleasure of meeting Henry and Lorna on two seperate occasions.. I must say there knowledge and passion is really unmatched.. Not to mention they are just really so nice and fun to hang out with.. Lorna mentioned that 5 minutes after arriving at our apartment she remembered she left her purse in the taxi.. She really handled the situation so well :biggrin I still can not believe she got the purse back so quickly.. I am shocked!

Thanks again for including us in your travels..

[judiu]

Oh, I miss, MISS, MISS New York at Christmas! It's been far too long since I've seen snow!

[Ling]

So thanks to EG, we booked a reservation at Jean Georges for their incredible lunch deal ($28 for 2 courses, $12 each additional course). We both enjoyed the food very much, and agreed it was a cut above Gordon Ramsey (though that meal was pretty high up there as well.) The whole experience was incredible. On with the photos!

For this meal, we were both feeling a little under the weather and opted to stay away from the alcohol. Sparkling water is not inexpensive here, at $9 a pop for a small bottle. (And we were a bit dehydrated from the previous night's excessive drinking, so the water alone cost a small fortune! )

There's Jean Georges working the room.

amuse bouche--hamachi, Parmesian panna cotta (this was my favourite--so little gelatin was used to set it, yet the lines were absolutely perfect!), and butternut squash raviolo

sourdough rye from Sullivan Street bakery--delicious

the best bread I ate on this trip--the french roll from Sullivan Street bakery

At this point, the captain came by our table. He said to us, "I noticed you were taking pictures, and I wanted to offer you both what I think is our prettiest dish here."

creamy scrambled eggs topped with vodka cream and caviar

(We got two of these.)

(We looked on the menu when we were figuring out the tip on what the total cost of what our bill should have been, and saw that each of these eggs are a $15 supplement. So a very generous gift indeed!)

Many of you have recommended the hamachi carpaccio with pink grapefruit sorbet and cilantro-chili seasoning, so that's what I got. The fish was very fresh and they did a great job controlling the amount of sugar in the sorbet.

Even though Henry woke up in the morning complaining he was "too full" to eat another big lunch, he opted for two of the biggest and heaviest items on the menu. That worked out great, because he chose two dishes that I wanted to try as well.

The first was the broiled squab with onion confit, preserved lemon, and squab jus.

After our first course, I thought we should try the signature scallop dish as well...how often are we dining at Jean Georges', after all? So I asked the server to add it on our bill, but they also gave us that dish with compliments from the kitchen.

scallops with caramelized cauliflower, caper-raisin emulsion

This was fantastic--easily one of the best dishes I ate on the trip. The scallops were cooked more than I'm used to (they were sliced thinly, as you can see) but I enjoyed them nonetheless.

As we're eating, Henry notices a famous architect in the room--I. M. Pei, the man who designed the pyramids in the Louvre. He was dining with three other people. Jean Georges came out of the kitchen to shake his hand.

I love sweetbreads. I ordered them again--this time with licorice, grilled pear, and lemon.

Henry got the roasted venison, quince madeira condiment, broccoli rabe and Cabrales foam. He enjoyed this more than me--the venison was a bit overdone (medium) and the Cabrales was quite strong for the meat.

No sooner did we order dessert did the matre'd wheel a silver cart to our table.

"I will now carve you a pineapple for your pre-dessert," he said.

He sliced it, then put some kirsch and candied mint on top.

It was a good 10-minute show...almost everyone on our side of the restaurant was transfixed in the process.

I picked the "Late Harvest" dessert, which came with roasted apples on olive oil cake, maple brown butter ice-cream with candied peel, beet parfait on a crispy chocolate base topped with cocoa nib, beet powder, yogurt powder, beet reduction, and a small rectangular piece of chocolate mousse.

The beet side of my dessert plate was a clear winner. The powders and the reduction were both so intense.

Henry chose the Citrus dessert--Meyer lemon chocolate chiboust, Earl Grey/lemongrass sorbet, dehydrated grapefruit, crispy tangerine, lime curd.

The flavours and textures in this shot glass were incredible. This was one of the best things I tasted on this trip as well.

With coffee, you get a selection of chocolates and marshmallows (grapefruit, vanilla, cocoa).

The fennel chocolate (the one closest to you in the picture) was the best, but they were all very well made and tasty.

Needless to say, we'd be here for lunch as often as we can afford it if we lived in NY!

Edited December 18, 2006 by Ling (log)

[hhlodesign]

amuse bouche--hamachi, Parmesian panna cotta (this was my favourite--so little gelatin was used to set it, yet the lines were absolutely perfect!), and butternut squash raviolo

Parm panna cotta was also my favorite. Such a beautiful presentation!

the best bread I ate on this trip--the french roll from Sullivan Street bakery

I agree. My favorite bread I ate in NY.

At this point, the captain came by our table. He said to us, "I noticed you were taking pictures, and I wanted to offer you both what I think is our prettiest dish here."

creamy scrambled eggs topped with vodka cream and caviar

(We got two of these.)

(We looked on the menu when we were figuring out the tip on what the total cost of what our bill should have been, and saw that each of these eggs are a $15 supplement. So a very generous gift indeed!)

Our friend Susan is good friends with one of the Captains at JG. She made a phone call for us before we got there. I'm pretty sure that had something to do with the treatment we got. Oh, and the egg caviar dish; sublime!

Even though Henry woke up in the morning complaining he was "too full" to eat another big lunch, he opted for two of the biggest and heaviest items on the menu. That worked out great, because he chose two dishes that I wanted to try as well.

I worked up quite the appetite in our cabride to JG!

The first was the broiled squab with onion confit, preserved lemon, and squab jus. 

Great mesh of flavors. The sweet meat with the sour lemon was very interesting.

scallops with caramelized cauliflower, caper-raisin emulsion

This was fantastic--easily one of the best dishes I ate on the trip. The scallops were cooked more than I'm used to (they were sliced thinly, as you can see) but I enjoyed them nonetheless.

Agreed, Also one of my top 5. There was a hint of mustard in the caper raisin emulsion. I never would have thought of scallops ith mustard, but loved the combo.

As we're eating, Henry notices a famous architect in the room--I. M. Pei, the man who designed the pyramids in the Louvre. He was dining with three other people. Jean Georges came out of the kitchen to shake his hand.

This was quite exciting for me. I really wanted to go over and say hi, but didn't want to be rude and interrupt his meal.

Henry got the roasted venison, quince madeira condiment, broccoli rabe and Cabrales foam. He enjoyed this more than me--the venison was a bit overdone (medium) and the Cabrales was quite strong for the meat.

Just to clarify. When Lorna says "medium" she means "medium rare." that's how this and most meats I order are prepared. Which is perfect for me. She likes her meat somewhere betweeen "blue" and "rare."

No sooner did we order dessert did the matre'd wheel a silver cart to our table.

"I will now carve you a pineapple for your pre-dessert," he said.

He sliced it, then put some kirsch and candied mint on top.

It was a good 10-minute show...almost everyone on our side of the restaurant was transfixed in the process. 

This was way too cool! He didn't get a drop of pineapple juice on his perfectly pressed Armani suit.

We had the most incredible time here at JG. The lunch deal has got to be the best bargain in the city. We didn't have any wine, but our bill was just over $100 total. We tipped on the perceived value of the comped items as well, but just the 2 courses for $28 is quite enough for a good lunch.

The service was, like at GRATL, impeccable. Often the topic at our table was about the lack of this kind of service in Seattle and Vancouver. Our table captain, Brady, was professional without being stuffy and overly serious. I think this is a skill of reading the table and reacting to the cues giving by the diners. He did it perfectly.

Edited December 19, 2006 by hhlodesign (log)