The wine list is quite large and diverse. It has any wine you may want. If you can't figure out what to order there is a pleasant sommelier to guide you to your perfect bottle, half bottle, magnum, glass. He will recommend a fitting wine for your choice of food and will be agreeable to what you have selected, even if he doesn't recommend your pick. The bottle prices are on the high side. There are a scant selection of bottles under $50, but who wants to look cheap? Order from the short, but adequate, by the glass menu or get a nice half bottle for two to share. I do recommend wine with this meal, a soda is an insult to the food and water just dilutes the flavors.
There were several first and second course items to choose from on the menu. All of which were described in a very mouth watering, yet, enigmatic way. I was at the edge of my seat waiting for our starters to arrive. M's tuna tartar was fabulous. The tuna itself was delicious and beautifully presented. The sauce that was poured around the tartar had a mixture of ingredients that, while not extraordinary (ginger, soy, garlic), was so well balanced you could have drank it. I got a mango and goat cheese salad (I know, salad, what was I thinking?). It, too, was delicious and beautiful, but its construction is what impressed me. The frisee was cut to a proper size so it was not awkward to eat and the goat cheese did not top the salad, instead it was in the salad, stuck in little frisee leaves. The flavors of the goat cheese mango melted together along with an occasional kalamata olive for a salty punch. I am definitely going to try making this salad at home.
The second course was nearly as divine as the first. M had beef tenderloin with brussel sprouts. The beef's pink center was bright and slightly warm. It was very tender and flavorful. It was pretty close to perfect. The beautiful, white cod I ordered sat proudly on cranberry beans and leeks. It was the boss of the plate. It tasted fresh and was seasoned perfect. The proteins of this course were impressive, however, the accoutrements weren't very memorable, not that they were bad, they were up against a dominating partner.
The one thing I love about the Prix Fixe lunches I have had so far is that you don't get stuffed on a plateful of shameless food. You have resonable portions of fine, quality ingredients that satisfy you, but not fill you. So, when dessert comes you have little guilt. We ordered the two dessert choices: chocolate and carmel. The warm chocolate cake with vanilla icecream was, well, the bomb. It was chocolate around chocolate with a gooey center flowing from a warm, moist cake. The icecream was a perfect accompaniment. I had the creme de carmel with citrus segments. The creme de carmel was fabulous, not too hard or soft. The citrus segments were good to mix with the flavor of the carmel. A happy ending to a happy lunch.
This was the best lunch so far. The food was extraordinary, the setting was elegant, the service was a bit, well, French (sorry, M & L), but, appropriate. For the price of $26, what a treat! AND, I forget to mention, Jean Georges was there overseeing the restaurants from the open kitchen. I am impressed by that. This is a lunch that will be hard to beat. It has raised the bar for my future lunch adventures. I am so spoiled here in NYC.
1 comment:
That would easier if you had, like me, two distict digestive systems, one for savory, one for sweet, so that even the word guilt would be unknow to your language (at least for food...).
Your post reminds me of my experience for the prix fixe dinner at Nougatine last year. Top quality of proteins, simple ingredients for seasoning but perfect balance.
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