Category ... Restaurant Reviews
Mar 24, 2012 | From the kitchen of Rose
in Restaurant Reviews
My New Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant
The Dutch, located in Soho in New York City, on the corner of Prince and Sullivan, is a mere five-minute walk from my house (and a 30 second walk from my favorite butcher Pino). My first visit, a few weeks ago, was for an early dinner. I was so smitten by the crisp fried oyster slider on an exquisite brioche roll I knew I would return again soon. My next experience was lunch. I began with a selection of the oysters of the day, two from the East Coast, two from the West Coast, each exquisitely briny and sweet with a lovely lingering aftertaste. I had no desire to corrupt their pure ocean flavor with any of the usual accompaniments.
Next, both my friend and I ordered the famous fried chicken. We could've ordered just one to share as it was a most generous serving of an entire half chicken. It was the best fried chicken I've ever tasted--juicy on the inside, with a perfectly golden brown and crunchy, fantastically flavored crust, so even when I was full I continued nibbling on little bits of crust alone. The crust was mildly spicy with a touch of paprika and cayenne which gave it a gorgeous russet hue.
Photo Credit: Noah Fecks
My friend Marie Lyons, special event planner for the Dutch and also the nearby Locanda Verde, joined us for a short visit. She encouraged us to try the chicken, telling us that chef Andrew Carmellini searched all over the country to find the very best chicken for this dish. Clearly his hunt proved to be successful. My friend David finished his entire chicken but I packed enough of mine to serve as dinner the next night! The recipe appears is chef Carmellini's exciting new book American Flavor
!
Chef Carmellini most graciously has given me permission to share the recipe on this link:
Fried Chicken.pdf
We were both too full for dessert so my heart fell when the wait person set the table again with new forks--a sure indication that dessert was on its way. It's a real testament to pastry chef Kierin Baldwin that we plowed through most of the two pies, for which she is justifiably famous, in short order. Our favorite was the lemon meringue poppyseed pie.
Lemon poppy seed cake is my signature cake but I never thought of making a pie version. There were poppy seeds in the pâte sucrée (cookie crust), and in the meringue itself. The pie was accompanied by a delicious buttermilk ice cream (sitting on crunchy crumbs made from the same crust), and thin slices of poached lemon, along with a little of the poaching liquid as sauce. Pure bliss.I can't wait to go back again!
Jun 04, 2011 | From the kitchen of Rose
in Restaurant Reviews
My dear friend Marko Gnann never fails to alert me to anything new in pastry in our town--and he is a discriminating critic! So when he told me about Bosie, a tea room minutes from my home, saying I sampled selflessly - purely for research. Pastry chef Damien Hergott was at Ladurée and Pierre Hermé in Paris before coming to NYC to work for David Bouley, I lost no time in running over for an exploratory visit. I just had to have the Ispahan pastry I had enjoyed years ago in Paris.
This exquisitely crafted pastry is a rose macaroon filled with rose buttercream, lychee, and fresh raspberries. Was that a real drop of dew on the rose petal? No--it was a perfectly piped little dew drop of glucose syrup. I was enchanted.
The packaging was as amazingly tasteful as what it contained--a beautiful design on the outside with four petals opening to a plain white interior so as not to compete with the pastry.
I would not have thought to ask, but thorough Marko, ever the investigative reporter, unearthed that the name Bosie was the nickname Oscar Wilde gave to his lover. Don't you just love knowing this?!
Check out the site and you will see a stunning choice of teas as well as lunch items and an intriguing array of pastries. I can't wait to try the Montebello: pistachio dacquoise, pistachio mousseline, raspberries--just up my alley!
May 21, 2011 | From the kitchen of Rose
in Restaurant Reviews
Veritas (a name derived from the Latin phrase in vino veritas--in wine [there is] truth, has long been one of my favorite New York restaurants. I've enjoyed its quiet, intimate ambiance, its extensive wine list, its close proximity to my neighborhood, and the wonderful cuisine. So when I discovered recently that it had changed owner and chef-ship, and the New York Times awarded it 3 stars, I was eager for a revisit.
I couldn't resist the lobster and bone marrow first course--rich but amazingly easy to swallow. Going from the frying pan of richness into the fire of wooly pig, my main course was a delicious, succulent, maple- glazed pork loin.
It wasn't until after finishing our main courses that my cover was blown when my cousin Bill Howe couldn't resist telling chef-owner Sam Hazen, who was standing nearby, that I write cookbooks. What a charming man! I could see, even before we were introduced, that he radiated interest and enjoyment of his profession. Next out came pastry chef Emily Wallendjack, followed by an impressive dessert tasting for the table. (I suspect that's why my cousin dropped my name but he's forgiven! As a highly successful NY corporate headhunter he delights in seeing the reception I receive from fellow chefs. I have to add that food professionals the world over are among the most welcoming to colleagues.)
Emily is a highly talented pastry chef. She is a graduate of the CIA, and has worked under the famed Pierre Hermé and Johnnie Iuzinni.
The tasting consisted of 4 desserts off the menu. Although they sound incredibly complex, which is high risk in the hands of a less talented pastry chef, each was a perfect harmony of textures and flavors:
1. Apple crisp with Armagnac soaked prunes, spiced apple butter, crème fraîche ice cream (crème fraîche made in house), Saigon cinnamon, and finished with an apple chip. (My personal favorite)
2. Hazelnut crunch bar with devils food cake, feullatine gianduja crunch, praline ganache, hazelnut chantilly, chocolate sheets, and allepo caramel.
3. Dark and stormy sticky toffee pudding with ginger-lime ice cream, Goslings rum toffee sauce, and fresh lime zest.
4. Brioche cranberry bread pudding with cranberries poached in star anise, candied pecans and orange vanilla crème anglaise.
Apr 11, 2011 | From the kitchen of Rose
in Restaurant Reviews
This is a bit of a story so I'll begin with the punch line in case I lose you part way through!
April 2, I was too sick from my head cold to be able to go out for dinner. I held out until shortly before we were due to leave and then gave in when Elliott suggested that if I couldn't taste what was the point of going. So I moved the reservation to a week later and missed a very special birthday cake made by chef Andre de Waal for both me and his dynamic maitre d' wife Tracey who, coincidentally, shares the same birthday!
What an amazingly delicious dinner we had one week later when my taste buds were restored. Since we're both trying to moderate our calories, Elliott chose just a main course but when I saw that the special foie gras of the day was sautéed fresh foie gras, I succumbed instantly. It had a tangerine reduction glaze that was magnificent. But along with my foie gras came house cured salmon for Elliott--the dish he would have chosen had he been planning to have an appetizer. And it was superb.
We eagerly awaited Elliott's chicken and my loin of lamb with maple glaze but to our surprise along came an exquisite dish of perfectly cooked branzini. This fish course was followed by a most unusual salad with a horseradish dressing, so beloved by the clientele chef Andre bottles it for sale.
The chicken turned out to be the best we've had in years--free range organic from a farm in upstate New York. The mashed potatoes were amazing and turned out to be made from Idaho potatoes with butter and cream. We had to take a doggy bag as we were only able to eat about half but then a special dessert appeared: the mini croquembouche shown above, filled with an utterly delicious milk chocolaty cream and glazed with the traditional caramel that holds it together, then encased by the magical spun sugar. Just one more I kept saying as I popped yet another one in my mouth until we came to the last one and I said: "This one's yours." "No! It's yours." Elliott replied and I did not contest it.
On my way out I couldn't resist giving a big hug and kiss to chef Andre and wife Tracey. I wasn't alone--I noticed another guest who followed us doing the same.
How charmed we were to see this talented young couple rejoicing in their profession and giving it 100 percent of their generosity, enthusiasm, and skill. If you live in the area, do not miss it. You may well run into us, as we surely will be back. And do check out chef Andre's website and blog.
Now here's the story behind the story of how I learned about Andre's.
Continue reading "A Terrific New Newton Restaurant Discovery: Andre's" »
Jan 15, 2011 | From the kitchen of Rose
in Restaurant Reviews
My protegé, dearest friend, and restauranteur David Shammah and I wanted to dine at Minetta Tavern for the longest time after seeing rave reviews especially focusing on the steak. We were discouraged because it never seemed possible to get a reservation no matter whose name we dropped. FInally we bit the bullet and took the reservation most people would never consider: 5:30 pm. I really don't mind eating that early--especially when the food is heavy. I can manage to skip lunch and not go to sleep feeling uncomfortable.
I have to say the steak was so amazing I didn't notice how very noisy the place was until I returned for the hamburger that is (though that too was delicious). The little cast-iron pot of potatoes puréed with cheese called Aligot, which gave them a wonderfully stretchy quality, was dreamy. Maybe it was the impossible to resist roasted marrow bones pictured above with the steak and the perfect Balthazar baquettes, together with the richest steak I've ever tasted, not to mention those potatoes, conspired to make me feel slightly queasy by the end of the meal but without regrets. In fact I returned with Elliott--twice--for the special "blue ribbon" burger crowned with deeply caramelized onions! (The first time the french fries were the best I had ever tasted anywhere--they were perfect. But the second time they were slightly tough rather than crisp though still melting soft inside.)The burger is too good to disguise with ketchup but I did accept the offer of mustard for the fries.
The desserts loodek very promising, especially the soufflés, but so far I haven't had room even to consider a taste.
Elliott says next time to call him after I order for us as he can't tolerate the sound level but then neither can I.
Here's a photo of the lovely historic paintings of the west village and a small glimpse of drawings of celebrities beneath them I took before being reproached gently but firmly that "policy discourages taking photos of the walls." Luckily policy doesn't attempt to discourage photos of the food as they would have trouble instituting it--especially with us New Yorkers!
Apr 10, 2010 | From the kitchen of Rose
in Restaurant Reviews
Photo of the Original Cake at the Wedding, Epiphany 2007
Those of you familiar with the Deep Chocolate Passion Wedding Cake in RHC already know what a fan I am of chef Daniel Patterson for whom I made this cake. I made the cake in the kitchen of his then newly opened restaurant Coi (pronounced kwah) but it wasn't until last month, on my first return to San Francisco since making the cake, that I had the pleasure of experiencing a full dinner there. (When I asked for walking directions from the Prescott Hotel the concierge said: Coi! An excellence choice! I smiled and said: I know!
I have followed Daniel when he was chef at two other San Francisco restaurants, the last of which was Frisson, but Coi is the first one he owns and he has already opened a less formal second restaurant, Il Cane Rosso (the red dog) in the Ferry Building. Coi is an arcane French word which means homey. The restaurant is indeed that but it also is a rare combination of comfort, elegance, and exquisite deliciousness.
A dinner at Coi is an experience--a unique adventure. Daniel is the soul of originality married to idealism, intellect, and artistry. He has a finely tuned sense of balance of textures and flavors. I couldn't begin to know how to duplicate the mysteries of a single dish we enjoyed except, of course, the lovely dinner rolls, perfectly round, soft, and wheaty, with a fine crisp crust.
Because Daniel's plating is equally exquisite I'd like to share these photos and description of each from the Spring menu.
Continue reading "Ode to Exquisite Excellence: Daniel's COI" »
Feb 02, 2010 | From the kitchen of Rose
in Special Stories
When I saw Gael Green's writeup on her blog Fork Play on Danny Meyer's newest restaurant Maialino in the Grammercy Park Hotel I lost no time in making a dinner reservation to enjoy the suckling pig from which the restaurant derived its name.
I always knew in my heart that pig potential was far greater than any rendition I had yet to experience--after all, that Chinese farmer and son in Charles Lamb's tale had to have a better reason to burn down their farm than the dry flavorless meat suckling pig so often turns out to be.
Yes!!! Braised in rosemary, garlic, and white wine, with crackling skin true to its descriptor--it was rich, succulent, and perfectly fabulous. And, the potatoes had imbibed the delicious juices!
Our exquisitely charming waitress (and the service could not have been better) suggested an excellent and affordable burgundy from the Alto Adige. The restaurant was packed (including Danny and his family) so it was especially impressive that no one in any way suggested that the two of us give up our four seat banquette in which we were happily ensconced for all of three hours. I was so ridiculously content I didn't even manage to feel too guilty!
We were seated close enough to the panini station to smell the enticing aromas emanating from it and the promising aromas from the coffee station caused me to break my no coffee at restaurants rule (as it invariably disappoints even at the best of them) to end the dinner with an excellent cup of capuccino served with a chocolate biscotti--so delicious I didn't for once add any sugar whatsoever to the coffee and didn't miss it.
But I can't close without mentioning the divinely creamy and intensely pistachio ice cream, fiore di latte ice cream, and refreshingly palate cleansing campari/grapefruit sorbet (which when combined with the fior de latte was reminiscent of the best possible popsickle).
We walked out into the cold January night air and felt no chill--we were radiating heat and happiness. Forgive me for raving--I just couldn't help myself.
P.S. And while I'm in raving mode I might as well confess that Erika's linguini alle vongole (clam sauce) first course was also the best I've ever had including my own.
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