Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

NY trip report


hhlodesign

Recommended Posts

Ling and I just got back from an incredible trip to NY. No time to write much tonight as we are both jet-lagged and tired. But here's a list of the places we will be giving reports and pictures of in the next few days.

Dinner at Daniel and Alicia's

La Maison du Chocolat

Gordon Ramsey

Fauchon

Joe's Shanghai

WD-50

Pegu Club

Momofuku Ssam Bar

Jean Georges

Room 4 Dessert

Danube

Bouley

Katz's

Kee's

Jacques Torres

Amy's Bread

Murray's Cheese Shop

Rocco's

Lots of pictures to come!

Edited by hhlodesign (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You did all that in three days?????  Wow! 

Actually, we did it in 66 hours, to be precise. :wink:

The only time I remember not eating (or being en route to a restaurant or bakery) was when I collapsed in bed for 2 hours due to a food coma after Jean Georges. :laugh:

Our trip got off to a bad start--we showed up for dinner at Daniel and Alicia's 3 hours later than we expected because our plane got delayed. Not only that, but I soon realized I had forgotton my purse in the taxi! I thought it was a lost cause but the taxi driver soon came back to the building to return the purse. Things were looking up at that point...I'm happy to report that lucky streak continued for the next few days. :smile:

Daniel and Alicia invited us over for dinner when they found out we were coming on a quick food trip. They were warm and engaging hosts, and are great cooks to boot!

We started off with a seared foie gras course with apple salad and caramel.

R. Dumont Douce Cuvee demi sec

325370748_8f6968697f.jpg

Saffron mussel soup with caramelized onions--this was very tasty and I liked the off-center plating.

325370594_f6d97382e3.jpg

fried potato pancake tower with smoked salmon, eggs, creme fraiche, and caviar, dill oil around the outside

Meursault 2002

325370466_3ed80813b7.jpg

beet and ricotta ravioli

325370314_d5b0d4960f.jpg

seared duck breast with sourdough bacon stuffing, foie, sour cherry and cabernet sauce, sweet potato puree, peas

Volnay Santenots 1st Cru 1993

325370149_9267280877.jpg

Frozen rum eggnog souffle--this was delicious and oh-so-boozy

325370880_770c7766fd.jpg

flourless chocolate cake served with armagnac--this was one of the best flourless chocolate cakes I've ever had. It was characteristically rich, yet melted on your tongue and still felt light.

325370986_160f297e49.jpg

Rocco's lobster tail pastry--when Daniel read that I wanted to try this, he bought a box of them after work to serve as a "surprise" dessert course. :wub: They were ENORMOUS! Check out the amount of cream inside...

325371127_a239698ad8.jpg

We were so drunk by the end of this meal...obviously, I forgot to write down some of the wines that were poured. We both had a fantastic evening and felt so lucky to have such awesome people open up their homes to us. :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A beautiful and delicious looking meal. That is a nice relaxing way to start the trip once you settled down from the journey itself.

A good lobster tail is a wonderful thing whether it be crustacean or pastry!

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The next morning, we woke up quite late and a bit hungover, but managed to get to La Maison du Chocolat for breakfast.

window displays

325102957_9e8136b37c.jpg

325103400_71b6c7bb5e.jpg

325104225_2a9a30e50e.jpg

inside displays

325104839_d29366a27b.jpg

325105170_20a8089ab8.jpg

325105532_2cafcb38e8.jpg

325105934_be03676d11.jpg

I bought a few boxes of chocolates, a caramel macaroon, and a florentine. The macaroon was particularly good, and I don't even normally enjoy macaroons. The chocolates were definitely top-notch and very fresh. The fillings were well-balanced, and the chocolate didn't overpower the flavours. Some of the ones I tried were the Bacchus (raisins flambeed in rum), Andalouise (lemon), Maiko (fresh ginger), Garrigue (fennel), and Jolika (pistachio with almond paste). I haven't finished tasting them all yet, but I'll post a picture of the ones I have left tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then we walked to Gordon Ramsey at the London, stopping for some touristy things along the way.

325106348_c3b911f267.jpg

325107082_88dc2dace4.jpg

325108059_21d21f8a3d.jpg

325109112_7c17036d15.jpg

Finally sitting down to a wonderful place setting at GRATL.

325110184_34dee74d1f.jpg

We both opted for the 3 course lunch for $45.

They started us off with small toasts with two accompaniments; foie gras with sauternes jelly, and black truffle cream.

325110580_67562854dc.jpg

I liked these both very much! The foie gras spread had just a hint of sauternes taste to it. Maybe not enough, but still nice. and the truffle cream was perfect. Seemed to be just minced black truffles mixed with creme fraiche. I'm not sure if I was supposed to mix the two spreads, but I did; and don't regret it for a second!

Next came our amuse bouche. Shimeji mushroom, white bean capuccino with a slice of black truffle on top.

325110943_a3c8e6b20d.jpg

In my top 5 of favorites on this trip.

The bread was pretty good. Considering that we'd heard not so good things about the bread, I asked if the bread was baked in-house. Our server replied that they were "figuring things out," implying that they may have outsourced.

325111926_d12094bff0.jpg

Our first courses:

325112170_98fa54558b.jpg

Chicken and mushroom tortellini with porcini soup.

325112565_6ce46bfe83.jpg

Foie gras and ham hock terrine with apples

I loved the porcini soup. The foie gras flavor was very minute in the terrine. Possibly a bit bland for my taste.

Our mains:

Pot roasted rabbit leg with confit garlic, oyster mushrooms,

roasted celeriac and an anchovy jus

325112865_5809685036.jpg

Found the rabbit a bit hard to eat without picking it up and gnawing at the bone. I would have liked to taste more anchovy flavour.

Roasted lamb saddle with carrots, beats, pearl onions and rosemary jus

325113185_2a7f82a6cd.jpg

I thought this was one of the best preparations of lamb I've had in awhile (Lorna disagreed.)

I let Lorna pick both of our desserts, since I am not a fan of sweets:

325114450_bfe13ba070.jpg

325114722_6eefec5db2.jpg

One of these I don't think we ordered. The chocolate one. I think they sent out the most photogenic one for use because there was a photographer for NY Magazine taking pictures for the restaurant issue that day. The Matre'd asked us if we would mind if they photgraphed our table for the magazine shoot. We said, "Sure!"

After dessert, the Matre'd asked if we would like a tour of the kitchen and to meet Gordon. We said, "Sure!"

325115447_ff8453d39a.jpg

Other than the noise of working, it was eerily quiet. Not much talking, other than Gordon speaking loudly on the phone in the corner. He then got off the phone to say hi to us. He is quite the larger than life character he appears. Seemed generally interested who we were and how we enjoyed our meal.

325116253_d8b91d3529.jpg

Then back to the table for more:

With the coffee service,

325113934_7694d53f53.jpg

you get the bon bon trolley rolled to your table

325117445_890f364dcb.jpg

Service was some of the best I've experienced in any restaurant. Not a single hiccup, and they made us feel like we were the most important people in the room, (as I'm sure every other table did as well.)

Edited by hhlodesign (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Next came our amuse bouche. Shimeji mushroom, white bean capuccino with a slice of black truffle on top.

325110943_a3c8e6b20d.jpg

In my top 5 of favorites on this trip.

TOP 5?!! It was a bit undersalted for me.

The bread was pretty good.

The bread was passable. The crust was too soft.

Our first courses:

325112170_98fa54558b.jpg

Chicken and mushroom tortellini with porcini soup.

This was simple, but fantastic. Much tastier than the ham hock and foie gras appetizer.

Found the rabbit a bit hard to eat without picking it up and gnawing at the bone. I would have liked to taste more anchovy flavour.

I thought it was very tasty, and the anchovy flavour was probably less apparent in the portion I gave Henry, because I ate most of the sauce. :laugh:

I thought this was one of the best preparations of lamb I've had in awhile (Lorna disagreed.)

I don't mean that it wasn't good--it was. It just wasn't particularly special or creative to me. The lamb was a bit overdone for my taste. (It was medium.)

One of these I don't think we ordered. The chocolate one. I think they sent out the most photogenic one for use because there was a photographer for NY Magazine taking pictures for the restaurant issue that day. The Matre'd asked us if we would mind if they photgraphed our table for the magazine shoot. We said, "Sure!"

The photographer took many pictures of the bonbon trolley, and he also took quite a few at our table. Both desserts were absolutely delicious. The figs were poached in port and the sabayon (served in a silver sauceboat) was thick and luscious. I didn't take any notes at lunch, but I think the thick chocolate mousse had cocoa nib, raspberry filling, and a sable crust.

After dessert, they Matre'd asked if we would like a tour of the kitchen and to meet Gordon. We said, "Sure!"

Actually, at that point, Gordon had already come by our table since I mentioned to the server that I saw him walking through the dining room and I guess she must've told him he had some fans out there. He walked straight to our table a minute later, shook our hands and said "Merry Christmas", then disappeared back into the kitchen.

Service was some of the best I've experienced in any restaurant. Not a single hiccup, and they made us feel like we were the most important people in the room, (as I'm sure every other table did as well.)

The service was flawless. Quite formal for the most part. Jean-Baptiste was there as well! I told the server I recognized Jean-Baptiste from TV and the server told me not to tell him because his head is already big enough. :laugh:

The lime vanilla candy floss and the canneles were particularly tasty from the bonbon trolley! I wish I got a picture of that because it's just incredible--so many different types of chocolates and candies arranged in old-fashioned glass canisters!

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

Edited by Ling (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's Sullivan Street Bakery bread, which, on any given day, is better than any bakery in Seattle, excepting maybe Tall Grass (the two styles are not really comparable, though).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We walked to Fauchon right after lunch. (We had a reservation at 2pm and left around 4:15pm) Unfortunately, I didn't buy a pastry because I didn't have room for it and I didn't want to keep it around until the next morning. And also, Henry wanted to fit in Joe's Shanghai before dinner at WD-50.

Display cases

325118537_2c1eeec299.jpg

325118828_71e85be5da.jpg

We forgot to take a picture of our xiao long bao from Joe's Shanghai, but we were both excited to try them since we've read quite a few good things. To be honest, I thought the xiao long bao at Joe's Shanghai sucked. They were filled with soup--but it was very mediocre chicken stock, not the fatty porky broth that I love. The skins were of average thickness. I wouldn't recommend them.

Edited by Ling (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's Sullivan Street Bakery bread, which, on any given day, is better than any bakery in Seattle, excepting maybe Tall Grass (the two styles are not really comparable, though).

I think Tall Grass is very mediocre as well, and certainly not even close to Columbia City Bakery.

We had very good Sullivan Street Bakery bread at Jean Georges the next day. I thought the Sullivan Street french roll was the best bread we ate on this trip, and the sourdough rye was good as well. I don't know why I didn't enjoy the bread we had at Gordon Ramsey. Maybe I just don't like that particular loaf.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We forgot to take a picture of our xiao long bao from Joe's Shanghai, but we were both excited to try them since we've read quite a few good things. To be honest, I thought the xiao long bao at Joe's Shanghai sucked. They were filled with soup--but it was very mediocre chicken stock, not the fatty porky broth that I love. The skins were of average thickness. I wouldn't recommend these.

"Sucked" is such a strong word. Lorna is somewhat of a XLB nazi! :raz: I didn't think they were that bad. I liked the amount of soup they had in them. The skins were not too thick, as is so often the problem. About average, but not in the ballpark of some places in Richmond, BC or DTF in Taipei.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's Sullivan Street Bakery bread, which, on any given day, is better than any bakery in Seattle, excepting maybe Tall Grass (the two styles are not really comparable, though).

We loved the SSB bread we had at Jean Georges. Better than any bakery in Seattle? Maybe? But that's quite a blanket statement. Have you tried every one? :hmmm:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depends upon what you appreciate from a loaf of bread. Tall Grass is the only bakery in Seattle that, at this moment, is using starter-only-raised bread, with only a few exceptions. Of course, the resulting loaves have a denser, more cake-like crumb that display a greater range of fermentative flavors than, say, Columbia City Bakery (mediocre bread). Columbia is more similar to Sullivan Street Bakery's production model, except for their retardation and smaller scale. (Sullivan Street makes approximately 90,000 individual pieces of bread on any given day.) Very few New York restaurants have serious in-house bread programs (AD/NY, Per Se and Bouley are the best, with the last two being too variable, especially Bouley), and so most of these use bread that is delivered (or picked up, depending upon the restaurant) very early in the morning. The soft crust you experienced was due in large part to the age of the bread, and nothing else. The Ramsay bread is quickly reheated at the canape station when it is fired, but with a combi heat element, which isn't powerful enough to overcome mushy, old bread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We chose WD-50 because we have nothing like it (that I'm aware of) in Seattle/Vancouver.

sesame flatbread

325449716_c2ee2f6b94.jpg

corned duck on rye--this was far and away the best dish of the night

325449059_41c9e18bd1.jpg

hangar steak tartare with bearnaise ice-cream

325448332_b119fa5cd6.jpg

squid noodles with mullet skin...this dish tasted very bitter to me. Henry and our friend were indifferent to it as well.

325447691_895ce58e4e.jpg

Tongue with fried mayonnaise--Henry and our friend loved the fried mayonnaise, but again, it tasted horribly bitter to me. :unsure: Love the plating, though.

325446746_1e92ac723f.jpg

pork belly (this is 1/3 of a main serving). I think the cubes are fried yucca.

325445422_a08bd9fb78.jpg

foie gras with sea grapes, watermelon, pistachio, and foie gras powder--this flavours in this dish didn't work for any of us

325444685_a1d1ac6312.jpg

chocolate sable with menthol cream

325445921_bc76fe6eea.jpg

Edited by Ling (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depends upon what you appreciate from a loaf of bread.  Tall Grass is the only bakery in Seattle that, at this moment, is using starter-only-raised bread, with only a few exceptions.  Of course, the resulting loaves have a denser, more cake-like crumb that display a greater range of fermentative flavors than, say, Columbia City Bakery (mediocre bread). 

That's very interesting. I have tried almost all the breads Tall Grass makes, and I guess I just can't get past the dense crumb. You mentioned Bouley--we did have good bread there as well. One was an apple bun, and the other was a mini baguette.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of Tall Grass' bakers used to work at Bouley, interestingly enough. Bouley Bakery can, depending upon the day, serve the best commercially-available bread in the city, except most of their breads have been consistently underbaked for the last four or five weeks, in part due to staff changes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After WD-50, Lorna and I hopped in a cab and went off to Pegu Club.

There we met up with fellow eGers Johnder and Donbert. Let me say right off the bat, if you ever have a chance to meet up with these guys for drinks, do it! They are both a plethora of cocktail knowledge, and nice guys to boot!

Neither Don or John were there when we arrived. We sat down at the very crowded bar and ordered off the cocktail menu. Lorna had a champagne-apricot-something-or-other, while I had a Jamican Firefly (a rum based drink with ginger beer in it). We loved them both. Sorry, but the room is way too dark for any pictures to come out. We asked our bartender if he knows some regulars named Don and John. He replies, "yeah, they show up every once in awhile :wink: ."

As we were finishing our first drinks, John shows up and introduces us to our bartender Phil. It was at this point that we started venturing off the menu. Instructed by John to just tell Phil what kind of alcohol you like and leave the rest to him, we did so; and loved every drink he came up with.

After a few more drinks, Don shows up carrying a few bottles of rye. Not just any rye, but 23 year old Red Hook Rye from a limited bottling. 200 numbered bottles only. Don had 1 through 3. "Sazeracs all around!" I heard.

To top it off, the manager comes by and tells us that a photographer from New York Magazine will be taking some photographs tonight at the Pegu Club, and would we mind being props for the shots. We said, "Sure!"

Yes, it was the exact same photographer from GRATL. I told him I'd give him the rest of our itinerarary so he could continue following us around. :laugh:

For the shoot, the manager set up 6-8 drinks in front of us. I tried (at least) a sip of each of them and loved every single one. However, by then my judgement may have been a little impaired. I'm not sure how many drinks we had by then end of the night, but I think I was nearing the double digits.

While I don't remember much from the second half of our Pegu Club experience, I DO remember talking about Top Chef with John and Don. They both said that Sam has a Hot Dog Cart near WD-50 that sells kim-chee hot dogs. I got excited! So at 2am, it was off on a mission for Kim Chee Hot Dogs!!!

Alas, the cart was not at the designated corner. We had to settle for Momofuku Ssam Bar. Thank god Sam was taking the night off!

Pictures of Momofuku to follow...

Edited by hhlodesign (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We forgot to take a picture of our xiao long bao from Joe's Shanghai, but we were both excited to try them since we've read quite a few good things. To be honest, I thought the xiao long bao at Joe's Shanghai sucked. They were filled with soup--but it was very mediocre chicken stock, not the fatty porky broth that I love. The skins were of average thickness. I wouldn't recommend them.

i agree with you lorna, i don't love joe's shanghai. i prefer "new green bo" for xiao long bao. very divey and in chinatown, but veeeerrry good! almost sticky broth (from the pork fat), always hot and fresh.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

325445921_bc76fe6eea.jpg

Is this the only dessert you had at WD-50? If so you really missed a chance to sample the work of one of the most talented pastry chefs on the planet, Alex Stupak.

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?

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^I regret not trying Alex's desserts. We thought we were running a bit late to meet up at Pegu Club (but we were, in fact, early).

We can both definitely pack away quite a bit, and still found the meals at Jean Georges and Bouley (Day 2) among the best we've had, ever. :smile:

If I were eating 10 different chocolate cakes in a row and were asked to compare them, perhaps my palate would have been tired on the last few, but the food (for the vast majority of this trip) was so good and so different from restaurant to restaurant that I don't think anything was compromised here.

Edited by Ling (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe it's because I was drunk, maybe it's becasue of the rock star treatment we got (thanks to Donbert), or maybe its because its just that good! But Momofuku Ssam Bar was my favorite meal in NY on this trip!

We arrived sometime after 2am. Wylie Dufresne was already there and asked, "Did you not get enough to eat at my place?"

325460480_4212e3b284.jpg

Since we had already ate earlier, and still had gallons of liquid in our body from Pegu, we tried not to order too much food. However, Tien Ho, the chef, recognized Don as a regular and came out to talk to us. We told him about our culinary tour of NY. He was most excited for us and started sending all kinds of stuff out for us to try.

Benton's Smokey Mountain County Ham

325461713_e9ac668f8e.jpg

I don't remember much about the flavor of this ham other than really enjoying it. Especially with the sweet, hot mustard.

Hanger Steak Ssam

325468813_d9f9cf334e.jpg

Every flavor was present and wonderful. The steak was perfectly cooked, just this side of rare. My first ssam. Oh So Good!

Three terrine Bahn Mi

325468062_0501f7d561.jpg

Not sure what the three terrines were. Tien told me but I was drunk. :laugh: This was probably the best sandwich I have ever had! It had every taste; sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. Also, perfect mix of textures. From the crusty Bahn Mi bread to the soft, tender terrines, to the crisp pickles veggies. A perfect sandwich! :biggrin:

Grilled Veal Sweetbreads, with pickled roasted chilies and lime

325467160_8c58c6b754.jpg

Lorna liked this dish more than myself. Not to say I didn't enjoy it. I did. the sweetbreads go very well with a squeeze of lime and the pickled chilies. One of the best preperations of sweetbreads I've had.

Spicy Squid Salad with mizuna, ginger, and scallions

325466067_46523fbca6.jpg

Another dish Lorna enjoyed more than myself. Probably because this arrived at the same time as the Bahn Mi.

Crab Claws with Yuzu Mayo

325462675_b9b3be9303.jpg

Served on ice. Very refreshing. Love the yuzu mayo.

Pork Belly Buns!

325463438_69bd3d3225.jpg

I've been dreaming of these since I read about them months ago. They fully lived up to the hype. Luckily there were only 3 of us eating. Guess who got the extra one? :wink:

Bay scallops with pineapple, scallions and baby sorrel

325464296_24846476df.jpg

Recommended by our waitress. Didn't really stand out for me. Maybe a bit too sweet.

Beet salad

325465216_37ba97a925.jpg

For a beet salad, it was very tasty. Especially with the mustard. But I had hangar ssam waiting for me.

Momofuku was one of the best food experiences I have ever had. Of course the food was good, but above that, it was the late night atmosphere, hanging with regulars, and being treated so well by everyone behind the counter. If I lived in NY, I might just be there every night.

I think we got to bed around 4:30am that night. Full, content, and ready for day 2.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...