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Top 10 Tastes at C-CAP Benefit 2007

March 1, 2007

Here are ten Xs on my tasty treasure map from this year’s C-CAP benefit. Theme ingredients emerged as always, despite perennial attempts to diversify the offerings. This year Perigord trumped the porcine, as pickup Teams Truffle and Foie Gras replaced last year’s Pork Belly and Kumquat crews.

1. Foie Gras Rice Krispie with Fruit Accompaniment: Compass
Compass’s John Fraser proves once again that he’s the most creative chef on the Upper West Side. Captaining Team Foie, Fraser offered the standout treatment of the luxury ingredient and a glorious reminder of why New York will always beat Chicago—we ban transfats, they ban goose fat—when it comes to fine food. Surprise quickly yielded to sense that combination was inevitable. Of course, yesterday it wasn’t.

Oceana made good use of the fatty stuff in a wintery periwinkles and bacon ragout, and Café des Artistes turned a nice PB&J pun into a fun if unoriginal foie and wine reduction dish.

2. Fluke and Halibut Crudo: Esca
Pasternack’s crudo remains the best in the city. Most revisited of the savory stations and for good reason. Likely one of the more talked about offerings as well. Loved the bonus beverage (Spanish sherry) he kept on hand for those inclined to linger a bit by the windows while gazing at New Jersey’s shoreline.

3. Lime Custard, Flame-broiled Meringue and Candied Kumquats: Aureole
Amar Santana and Rachel Lansang have the best palates of any C-CAP alums, and watching the results of their collaboration was a pleasure. This sweet treat was a gourmet’s key lime pie. It also slyly evoked C-CAP of yore when kumquats were everywhere. A top contender for the clean plate club, i.e., no halfsies left on the cocktail tables.

Neighboring Modern’s Panna Cotta with Mangos, pistachio macaroon and fruit gelée was gloriously overambitious—Victorian trifle in a cocktail glass—but offered some beautiful color and bracing citrus that cut through some of the fat overload from Teams Foie and Truffle. Worthy of repeated attentions as well.

4. Wild Mushroom and Morel Flan, Truffle Oil, Mushroom Broth: Payard
A surprise winner for Team Truffle. Perhaps the richest dish of the night bite by bite. Tasted more luxurious than anything I’ve eaten in a long time. Long finish of truffle, earthy mushroom and general deliciousness.

5. Braised Lamb, Peas and Wilted Lettuce: Beacon
Waldy Malouf and Carmen Quagliata at Union Square Café were two of the few to take spring preview seriously in theming their selection. Both used peas brilliantly, Quagliata for a light salad and Malouf for a signature savory meat preparation. He’s always a top hitter at this event. Stop by on the way in and he’ll have you at “Hello.”

6. Chestnut Bisque, Fresh Black Truffles and Vin Jaune: Town
John Johnson’s restaurant may intimidate with its hyper-fashionable servers and almost too-beautiful setting, but out of house he offers unpretentious seasonal luxury. Part of Team Truffle, his easy to eat soup lingered on the palate like Payard’s Flan and made me far more willing to brave the full-Windsored waiters on a return visit to Town.

Gotham’s pigeon-broth ravioli offered similar Falstaffian fun. Great to see Portale inventing so effortlessly 20 years in.

7. Black Cherry Ice Cream Float: Olives
Alfred Stephens, another C-CAP hall of famer, brought this top contender from 2006 back to triumph again in 2007. People shamelessly ordered seconds and thirds for phantom dates or openly doubled and tripled down. Layers of flavor, layers of fun in the glass. Sad to know it will be gone by next year, excited to discover what Stephens comes up with next.

8. Beef Cheeks with Endive Salad and Beet Gelée: Aquavit
Marcus Samuelsson always brings a special treat—homemade infused aquavit— which makes the line at his station that much easier to bear. The food was worth a journey as well, especially for those who thought his creativity ended with fish. A colorful rich and complex bite best bookended by liquid refreshment (the shots aren’t full size anyway).

9. Morimoto Fishwich of Fried Cod, White Truffle Garlic Mayo and Cheddar on a Bun
Morimoto shows real humor with this fun spin on a McDonald’s delight. Cheddar was perfect sharp counterpoint to Portugal-worthy cod and punchy aioli. Another top player on Team Truffle. Pedantry-free food.

10. Steak Tartare and Herb Salad: Patroon
A surprise hit and the perfect portion for party eating. I was halfway down the center aisle with tartare well swallowed before I realized how good this plate had been. No fudge factor stunt ingredients, just perfect balance. Fortunately, circling round for seconds was taken as a compliment by the chef. Thirds were greeted with bewildered but generally benign tolerance.

Posted in Food | 4 Comments »

DB BISTRO MODERNE: Miracle on 44th Street

February 5, 2007

Welcoming warm intuitive service wasn’t what I expected in mid-town pre-theater dining, nor consistently excellent, well-priced food. Nonetheless, on a recent visit, DB BISTRO MODERNO raised the bar from greeting to goodbye.

My spouse and I arrived for dinner at the peak hour on the peak day of pre-theater rush with no reservation, no insider connections and no illusions. Nonetheless, the maitre d’ smiled, welcomed and accomodated us at one of two marble communal tables. This was precisely what we had wanted, and we got it with nary a sniffle or snort about failing to have planned ahead.

The table’s waiter (one worked all three parties) was fast on his feet but also unhurried, gracious and pleasantly non-Parisian French. In the course of the meal, he managed to adjust our wine order twice on the fly, get us the proper temperature on the foie and short rib burger while splitting it unasked, sequence an obscenely generous Marc after coffee on request and chat up a neighboring solo diner, all while serving other tables, dodging main room diners and otherwise making himself useful.

He also wrangled a pair of aggressive and obvious photo bloggers. In fact, DB seemed to be a bloggers’ paradise. When the maitre d’ observed the flashing camera and telltale notepad, he invited the bloggers to speak with anyone in the kitchen who might have insights for them. NB: Lose the notetaking at the table, and cut back on the flash photography! Blatant blogging is bad blogging and a desperate call for extra attention. Observe don’t alter the experience.

Fortunately, the food more than redeemed the ersatz amateur media frenzy. Fries were excellent, especially dipped in house mayo, where the French are many steps ahead of our Hellman’s/Miracle Whip red state/blue state divide. The burger on the other hand, was worth a detour not a journey. A bit on the boiled tasting side, it was more of a great idea than a thought-provoking act of deliciousness-making. Like Mario’s beef cheeks or Gray’s short ribs, it’s something to try and talk about. Unlike those dishes though, I wouldn’t come back for seconds. Messieurs Boulud and Tourondel, the French have a great cuisine, but let’s be clear, you’re not burger people. In the future, I’ll stick to Shake Shack.

More fun by far was the meal’s front and back matter, i.e., the appetizers, desserts and drinks. A torchon of foie gras was full bodied, full-flavored and full sized, easily enough for two. Tuna tartare was a bit CIA-level but by no means reproachable. Plus, it helped prevent a full on post-prandial crise de foie. A Banana chocolate tart and Baba au Rhum were superb takes on classics, especially the rum-soaked latter which served as a sort of digestif before the digestif. A surprisingly tasty Corey Vineyards North Fork wine, a powerful if pricey Chassagne Montrachet, and, again, that wonderful whopper of a snifter of Marc, all left me impressed by the beverage program.

Most of all though, it was the courtesy of professionally and personally adept service, from runners and coat checkers to servers and hosts, that made good food taste better. DB may not have wood smoke like Gramercy, nor flames like Landmarc, but it has the warmth of home on an otherwise cold stretch of 44th Street.

Posted in Food, Midtown | 2 Comments »

Gramercy Tavern’s Mid-Winter Renaissance: A New Voice Emerges

January 30, 2007

I went to Gramercy Tavern last night and had a wonderful dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. New chef Michael Anthony is still finding his voice–he’s not quite ready to jettison that Blue Hill bag of tricks–but after one round of his Winter Tasting and Vegetable Menus, I’ll vote Gramercy a forward-thinking concern again.

Cooks, clients and servers alike seem relieved and recharged now that Captain Tom has finally moved on. Colicchio had a great run, but his inattention was beginning to show. The buzz is coming back now and so are the unforced smiles and belly pats of people eating above expectation.

On a first pass, and I plan to make more, I noticed Anthony’s degustation was a far lighter and less overtly luxurious affair than I’d encountered previously at Gramercy: comforting food without after-dinner discomfort. Little butter, no mushroom cappuccinos, no foie gras and no beef meant no late night fat sweats nor early morning Advil.

The vegetables, greens, herbs, and sauces accompanying this lighter fare were fresher, tastier and more colorful than I’d ever had in the City at this time of year, much less at Gramercy. Cilantro purée was beautifully colored, clean flavored and delicious. Beets, cauliflower and daikons were prepped summery even if they’re winter stalwarts. Citrus accents on scallops didn’t hide the Blue Hill connection; then again, Blue Hill never hid its respect for the Gramercy model, even down to their servers’ uniforms.

After five savories–fluke, mackerel, bass, bacon and lamb–I was still feeling peckish, and thankfully the cheese menu was there to lead me toward satiety. Two full pages of rarities, it’s a far bigger and better affair than on my last go-through. Though I missed the ceremony of the cart in the far backroom, I did appreciate the generous portions, appropriate varieties of bread and, yes, the cheese. All the taste but none of the Artisanal preciousness and portion chintzing. Vacherin slid off the plate into oozy, smile-making pools. A gouda of the fruity, funky high quality parm reg school was mimolette on meth, the kind that makes you proud to be Dutch. A Bayley Hazen blue was less exciting but irreproachable.

Wines were uniformly excellent, though 3AM headache (okay, some Advil was still required) makes me wonder about the Hungarian number. Still, beverage director Juliette Pope has a beautiful nose, so I’ll resist the urge to libel her selection.

Pastry Chef Nancy Olson’s desserts and petits fours were also exceptional. A chocolate multi-parter proved how versatile this ingredient is in the right hands, especially the almond joy riff. I wish I’d ordered a third selection for the table, mainly to find out how much more she can do. Best work since Claudia Fleming.

Would have done a Marc after coffee, but check was already on the table. Server was good, though a bit off on reading our sobremesa mood. Of course, I like to talk to servers and linger while my spouse wants to dine and depart in a veil of silence. I guess it depends on whom she read.

En cinco palabras: A great restaurant leaves you thinking and thinking about coming back. Gramercy: II is on the way. I’m looking forward to the Anthony’s spring creations. By then this place should be in full flower, not pushing up daisies as Mr. Bruni would have it.

Posted in Favorite 5 Lists, Flatiron/Gramercy, Food | 8 Comments »

5 Overrated Foodie Books: 4 Fluffed, 1 Muffed

January 4, 2007

1) Tony Bourdain’s Nasty Bits: Some good, some bad, some ugly, much like Use Your Illusion, II. A few gems, but feels like a series of loosely connected refritos put together on deadline. Bourdain’s having trouble with a second act, other than being the celebrity Tony Bourdain. Fortunately, he’s smart enough to figure out a solution.

2) Jim Harrison’s The Raw and the Cooked: Repetitive. Okay to stitch columns together into a book. It just shouldn’t be so obvious. Anecdotes reappear, including a citation from a wealthy French friend, Jack Nicholson on overeating as only heroic in the Midwest and Elaine’s big veal chops. Even oddly esoteric word-choices, such as “factitious,” are repeated ad nauseum.

3) Michael Ruhlman‘s The Reach of a Chef. Big-font, triple space, wide margins. Much like a Princeton lax player’s senior thesis. Anyone else remember Courier 14? I did like Ruhlmann’s first two books but “Where’s the beef?” This mash note to celebrity chefs is a food version of Almost Famous. Get some distance!

4) Bill Buford’s Heat: Great New Yorker articles on Pasternack and Batali show Buford’s strength as a writer of profiles. However, amateurish sections on Renaissance food history overreach. Also packs a fair amount of stuffing into a book that could have been far shorter. There are four or five great articles in here, but not worth it at hard cover prices.

Muffed:

5) Danny Meyer’s Setting the Table: Concise, clear and larded with personal, sometimes painfully personal, anecdotes. But too many smudges on the glass for such a perfectionist. Counted 4 typos in the book, and big ones.

Could also use a bit more punch. I’d like to see some suggestions for fixing the restaurant industry, applying his ideas to different formats, cities, etc.

Posted in Food, Food books, Overrated Foodie Finds | 6 Comments »

Top 5 Stroller Meals: Yorkville and Beyond

December 7, 2006

1) Café Sabarsky at Neue Galerie: Baby-friendly service upstairs and down. Down is easier for restless little ones and bathroom is close by. Either way, you can eat quickly and well, or savor. Quark cheese-cake, all-Austrian wine list and amazing winter soups (chestnut, for example) are expensive but exceptional pleasures for museum dining (The Modern is in its own league).

2) Shake Shack in Madison Park+nearby Starbucks. Good ’til the dead of winter. Hot chocolate is unbelievable, and fluff enrobed. Burgers and Usinger sausage are perfect this time of year, so don’t be put off by a few snowflakes. Remember, if you can walk in the cold, you can eat warming food in the cold, especially the best burger in town. Steak ‘n Shake and Ted Drewes were never this good. Starbucks is helpful for diaper changes, or head down to Babies ‘R Us.

N.B.: Send someone up the drink line to get hot chocolate; your wait will be much more pleasant.

3) Upstairs at the Vinegar Factory in Yorkville: Big open space. Balloons for the kids. Great bread basket, satisfactory food. Low stress.

4) Bryant Park ‘wichcraft at Christmastime. Watch the ice skaters or skate yourself. Take a moveable feast from ‘wichcraft sandwich to soup to desserts and coffee. Three stations for a full winter meal.

5) The West Side and Brooklyn: They’re just a lot easier. In fact, so is Queens.

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Cocina sin autor: Rock Star Chefs With Writer’s Block

December 6, 2006

Should Rock Star Chefs Do Oldies Shows?

What happens when rock star chefs lose their creative mojo? What happens when people defined and elevated by inventiveness can’t and don’t write great new songs (rock stars) or create great new dishes (rock star chefs)? In Spain they call chef-specific food, cocina de autor, author’s cuisine. In this country we call rock written by a single band, rock and roll, i.e., musica de autor; anything else is bubble gum. In short, rock-star chefs have been and must be autores, authors of their own work.

So what happens when chefs’ new work can’t surpass or even meet the standards of their signature creations, when writer’s block sets in? Batali’s mint love letters, Ming Tsai’s Miso-Sake cod, Gray Kunz’s braised short ribs, Bouley’s Welcome to Chiang Mai, Louiseau’s frog lollipops? Jean-George’s checkerboards? They were amazingly inventive dishes and are musty museum pieces. When Mid-market Muzak versions flood B-towns, or worse, Top Chef, it’s time to move on.

It’s time for something new, or at least an exciting variation (Balanchine always said there are no new steps, only new combinations). The Beatles did it with every album, Dylan with every decade. Zeppelin managed to do so right up to when they lost their beat-keeper, and then they went silent rather than blow their legacy. U2 added world philanthropy to rock and roll, but still lard their albums with catchy hooks.

What about the rock star chefs? Batali seems to launch new restaurant concepts rather than create new dishes, Jean-Georges the same. Ducasse now makes pretty picture books. Gray Kunz lets us in on the action, and it’s beautiful, but I want something fresh.

And if the muse were to return? Who would get Batali’s newest offering? Del Posto, Babbo, Esca, NASCAR? Whom would Jean-Georges bless? Vong, Spice Market, Mercer Kitchen or his eponymous 4-star? Would Bouley give his best to Danube, his flagship or his Miami operation?

And if nothing comes? Should the chefs take refuge in the past, executing cover band versions of their own work? Should they reject mediocrity, retreat, regroup and reinvent themselves? Dylan’s had an amazing renaissance doing just that.  Adrià tears it down before we can. It’s a mad dare and yet he pulls it off year in and year out.

Perhaps a third route should be considered, the fashion house model. De la Renta, Balenciaga, Cardin and Blass let young turks pitch ideas tuned to their vision then placed the best under their imprimatur. Ducasse-like, Bouley-like, Batali-like dishes,etc.  could roll down the lines and through the passes for years, authorized, approved slightly disguised mutual plagiarism: Star chefs borrow from their disciples who borrow from the chefs’ older works. This may make great couture, but it sure isn’t rock and roll.

Jagger said he’d rather be dead than singing “Satisfaction” at 50. He passed that milestone ten years ago. So will Mario still be doing beef cheeks in 2010?

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5 West Side Values For Mid-day Indulgence

December 3, 2006

1) Nougatine Room at Jean-Georges. Literally as close as you can get to 4-star food for this kind of money. Waiter service is hotel quality, with good intentions partially compensating for language difficulties, but food is well-prepared, the open kitchen theater is excellent (though no Café Gray) for those who enjoy such action.

2) Telepan: Taking a page from Compass on value, Bill Telepan has given West Siders, and discerning destination diners, a reason to skip dinner and splurge at lunch…and then return with the extra cash for dinner.

3) Compass: Upper West Side’s best claim to ambitious value, especially brunch. Brilliant use of fixed components–bread and pastry basket, starter selection plate and dessert sampler plate–keeps costs down while offering sensation and reality of luxuriant abundance. Weekend mid-day service not as soulful and informative as one might wish, a bit busboy-like, but such is Sunday on the West Side.

A short subway ride away

4) and 5) Double down on The Modern’s and Alto‘s prix-fixes: Feel virtuous on the low-cost subway then settle in for the ultimate Lucullan lunch–take in Midtown’s two new classics’ prix-fixes back to back. Such a feat requires discipline, but you’ll waddle forth fatter and happier than anyone else in Midtown.  As a bonus, if you finish with the Modern, you can take in some half-decent art afterwards .  Ask yourself if the renovations were worth it, that is, from a non-foodie perspective.

Posted in Favorite 5 Lists, Food, West Side | Leave a Comment »

Top 5 Foodie Destinations of Yorkville (Sadly, there are only 3)

December 3, 2006

1) Glaser’s: Butter and sugar generously but judiciously applied as God, if he were a German hausfrau, would intend it. Black and White cookies of exceptional quality. Fun to watch the white part change colors with the seasons (Halloween orange, St. Patrick’s Day green, etc.) Best item is the lace cookie (dark chocolate or white plus an assortment of heart cloggers to make up the crunch skeleton). This seasonal item travels well in the winter months and works great for a last minute gift to bring to a dinner party.

Poppy seed horseshoes are another favorite.

N.B. This is not a Viennese pastry shop. Aesthetics are definitely secondary to rich, homey taste. The proprietors own the building and do things their way in their own time, with great results. Best place to buy a pie if you want to pretend you made it at home. People will believe you until the third bite when genius settles in on the tongue.

2) Schaller&Weber: Masters of pork fat well before the Food Network Fueled Golden Age of the Pig. Butchers give a generous weight on the scale and know enough to steer neophyte chefs, house-spouses, etc. towards the right methods and most forgiving cuts.

3) Orwasher’s: Unbelievable rye bread. Best in the city. Long list of savory and sweet breads, including a dense, deep pumpernickel. Counter-women on weekdays are unbelievably charming: one has dreds, endless smiles, and unplaceable accent; another is a benevolent East European grandmother type. Samples of new breads (whole wheat cranberry recently) are always available.  Also great for raspberry jelly chanukah doughnuts.  Black and white  cookies aren’t in Glaser’s league, but they’ll do in a pinch.

And then there were three. Not making the cut…

Heidelberg: Ancient restaurant with great tradition behind it still manages to blow it with pricey sloppy food. Subpar mustard, in a place where fat and mustard should be coupling in full fervor, is unforgivable.

Posted in Favorite 5 Lists, Food, Yorkville | Leave a Comment »

5 Meals in France and Spain Before You Die

December 3, 2006

1) Arzak (San Sebastian): The greatest full-year restaurant in Spain. El Bulli’s only open for half the year and you might well die before getting a reservation. Older and wiser than the other Spanish Michelin 3-stars, Arzak is soulful, cutting-edge, cosmopolitan and distinctly Spanish, a heady combination. Wonderful service by all-female server-brigade is a delight, as long as you can communicate in castellano (please don’t call it español). Best orujo I’ve ever tasted.

2) Pierre Gagnaire (Paris): Far less frivolity than the naysayers would suggest. This is molecular gastronomy in the service of deliciousness. Reasonable wine a pleasant surprise and effortlessly elegant service. Tables of locals, solo-dining British rock star and rube Americans (us) all coexisted in the most convivial of the edgy French Michelin 3 Stars.

3) Jean-Luc Figueras (Barcelona): In Balenciaga’s former Barcelona mansion, this place deserves way more press than it has received. Mind-blowing food, sincere and highly competent staff with superb language skills (maintained tri-lingual dialogue with my table). Never felt so loved in a high-end Barcelona restaurant.

4) Crillon Le Brave (Provence): Plenty of Relais in this Relais Chateax hotel/restaurant. Unbelievable views, total absence of Peter Mayle Disney-Provence kitsch and great food sophisticated enough not to tart itself up.

5) Posada de la Casa del Abad de Ampudia (Castilla y Leon): Unbelievable food in the North Dakota of Northern Spain. May smell like donkeys in the streets, but inside the hotel you find a well-deserved Michelin 1-star called Restaurante Arambol: an oasis of lux et volupté and Barcelona funkiness. One of Spain’s great hidden treasures.

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Chefs as Charcuterie: Top Tummies of the Food World

December 2, 2006

Happy foodies are hefty foodies: The joy is in the jowels

1) Mario Batali:A long, sloping scoop of an avoirdupois. Encased by his fleece vest, a sort of hairnet for the belly, this front porch is a wondrous creation. Fernand Point’s Pyramide rises again.

2) Emeril Lagasse: Yes, he corsets the belly on television, but he clearly cossets it off the air. With this well earned, well-marbled roulade of a fat sweater, there’s no denying the evidence that Emeril indeed spends vast amounts of time in his restaurants.

3) Tim Zagat: A Brooks Brothers belly. Low and centered like a late term multiple pregnancy. This is a Roaring Twenties tummy, a spats, top hat, New Yorker cartoon-type tumescence. Testimony to years of self-disciplined indulgence.

4) Rachel Ray: Yes, a pork butt not a pork belly, but Ray’s pork booty is a glorious example of the shapely shaping powers of nature’s insulator.

5) Danny Meyer (the phantom belly): Highly suspicious absence of a belly, not even a shadow of a hint of a suggestion of a buddha. Even more dubious given that he admits to patronizing the Husky Section of Famous-Barr in his younger years. Clearly a Dorian Gray pact was signed. Perhaps a Botero sculpture of the real Danny hides in the walk-ins at Blue Smoke?

Phantom Belly, Honorable Mention: Unnatural forces are at work here, else these ectomorphs would look like Bibendum.

Al Roker and Drew Nieporent: Bariatric surgery.
Anthony Bourdain: Disciplined tobacco dieter.
Bobby Flay: Gynaecomastic, but no belly.

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