this guy's food blog

Archive Page 5

Quique Dacosta Lunch

Well rested after a fantastic dinner the night before and coming off a solid breakfast and a swim in the sea, Rocky and I set off for round two at Quique’s(click here for round one). We were given the option again to begin our meal outside, but we thought the heat was a little much to enjoy our opening snacks on the patio, so we posted up in the adjacent sun room to get started.

A few minutes later, with tweezers and a glass of cava in hand, we were ready to roll. Since a lot of dishes were repeats from the previous night’s dinner, I’ll be brief.

Act 1: Appetizer.

Stick of smoked and fried cheese.

Marinated Pancetta.

Broth of oak barrel and Barceló “Imperial” Rum. Oak rind.

Purple Dye Murex (sea snail). These sea snails were much bigger than the last ones with a more distinguished taste.

Currant of the sea at moment. The broth was different this round. It had a cleaner, less sea-watery flavor.

Mini endive and blood orange.

Raïm of Pastor.

Calamari rings. Octopus. Parsley and garlic Sea weed. They switched these up on us a bit. The calamari and octopus crisps replaced the star fish and sea urchin listed on the menu. They were all much crisper than at dinner, likely because the day was much less humid.

Once again, it was time to move the show inside.

Act 2: Tapas

Mary.

Pepperwort. Again with mackerel. Though they told us the oil of any blue fish will have the same spice-neutralizing effect.

Paper of Cereals.

Dove nest.

Almonds. Almonds prepared into gelee, oil, and slivers. Very clean, light flavor.

Strawberry and vinegar crêpe. Strawberry ‘crepes’ with sliced berry and mint. Incredible. Spectacular little bites. The mint really set it off.

Apple tart and Campari.

Cuttlefish, lime, wasabi and white turnip pie. With flying fish roe. Mild spice, good textures, and clean, distinct flavors. Rocky said: ‘That’s awesome! Way better than what I had at that other place.’ I’m still not sure which other place she was speaking of.

Pork jowls and Paprika.

Red pepper. Once again, the pepper was watermelon. Still brilliant.

Cococha of Iberian ham and pilpil sauce.

Smoked bread. For the ‘cococha’.

Cubalibre of Foie Gras, Rum Barceló Imperial. Still rockin, but much smaller than before.

Bread Service. To accompany Act 3. Again with: traditional, parmesan, pesto, white truffle, and soppressata.

Act 3: Mains.

Tomato. As beautifully savory as before.

Cocopinut – Margarita. Regarding the ‘Cocopinut’.. Well.. Hmm.. I don’t know if interesting is the right word.. Maybe bad? I tried to find pleasure in the coconut-peanut-lime concoction, though it eluded me. Sadly, this was among the worst bites of the trip for me. As for the ‘Margarita’.. a necessary refreshing bite.

Horchata and Tiger nuts. This plate emphasizes the awe in awesome. Light, chilled cocoa butter encapsulating creamy foie gras floating in truffle cream with slices of tiger nuts. Nutty, earthy, sweet, and rich with fun texture play. A big winner.

What’s a tiger nut? Our server brought some out to try, but said we wouldn’t like them. Fibrous, crunchy, and watery, I found that chewing them through was sweetly rewarding and I ate them all.

Red king prawn from Dénia. Tea of king prawns and chards. I was floored again by the excellence of the prawns themselves as well as their preparation, simply lightly cooked in seawater. Alongside was a ‘tea’ made from prawn shells, though it had a consistency closer to a bisque, which was amazing as well.

Eel. Pieces of fresh eel served with faux baby eels(which are popular in the area when in season) made from what seemed to be pasta. A very rich dish. Rocky was mainly excited for the small garlic chip garnish.

Oyster and dew. This dish was the bomb. Normandy oysters with oyster gel and yuzu flying fish roe. Wonderfully intense oyster flavor complemented with citrus and salinity. The tiny popping roe was a fun supplement to the texture.

Cow heart. A fantastic little dish. Thin sliced beef over a bun filled with warm stock(one of those exploding one-bite scenarios). In Midwest terms: it tasted like nice sliced roast beef on top of a fritter filled with jus.

The seven services of the pigeon.

(1) Roasted. (2) Liver. The dish with the foam/mousse had a good cashew and mushroom taste. The liver was very strong flavored, almost too much so, but the sauce around it was nice.

(3) Sweet corn tartlet. This was damn delicious. I think it fit into the pigeon tasting in that the bird’s diet is heavy on corn.

(4) Breast on sprout. The breast was cooked spot-on and had a great radiating flavor. The grains and sprouts were a delightful accompaniment.

(5) Consommé. A glass of pigeon consommé to sip along with the pigeon service. It was okay, but nothing too great on it’s own.

(6) Rice of pigeon, liquorice and orange. Another super-rich rice dish, though more manageable than the previous night’s rice plate. The orange and herbaceous licorice brightened the richness of the densely pigeoned grains.

(7) Chutney of Mango. Small, barely ripe mango pieces with a nice, solid crunch served with vanilla and mango gelee. Nice when paired with the flower petals, and extraordinary when bit with the mint. Not quite cohesive as part of the pigeon service, but nice to bridge the gap into desserts.

Act 4: Desserts.

Iced yoghurt, rose aroma and blood orange. Oh wow. The rose essence was like a punch in the face(in a good way). A juicy orange slice hidden underneath was a good surprise.

Valence:

Biscuit of sweet potato. Squash donut. Cocktail (Michael Jackson). A moist pastry with sweet potato mousse and cinnamon. The squash donut was yummy with smooth pumpkin filling. A cocktail of Arrope, black vodka, coffee liquor, bitter chocolate, and orange zest. I guess I don’t know why ‘Michael Jackson’ was parenthesized on the menu.

By this time the day had cooled a little and we relocated to the patio to finish up.

Act 5: The Magic Box. The Tree.

Macaron of chocolate. Chocolate marshmallow. Rocher of chocolate. Pompon of dry fruit. Chocolate caviar. Red fruit crystal.

Some wines we were served:

Having a meal at Quique Dacosta is like taking a culinary tour of the Costa Blanca. Quique’s understanding and employment of his local bounty is astounding. Though he already has a fair amount of accolades, I’m sure Chef Dacosta is just getting started into his prime years. I look forward to returning for another few rounds next time I’m in Spain.

Date of visit: September 19th, 2012

Quique Dacosta. Ctra. Las Marinas, Km. 3. Dénia, Spain. +34 965 784 179. http://www.quiquedacosta.es/

Quique Dacosta, Dinner

Published January 6, 2013 Quique Dacosta (2) , Spain 1 Comment
Tags: Michelin *, Quique Dacosta (2), Quique Dacosta Denia, Quique Dacosta Restaurant

For a number of years I had wanted to visit Quique Dacosta’s eponymous restaurant(formerly El Poblet), but sadly, I had to scratch it from a few different itineraries for a few different reasons. So when I started piecing together Rocky’s and my euro-dining-trip this past fall, I made it one of the prime pivot points. And as long as we were making our way to Denia, Spain, I figured we may as well double-up. This post covers dinner from our first night in Denia. Click here for the next day’s lunch at Quique.

We drove into town after a few days in Valencia, played in the sea for bit, then walked along beach to dinner. We were encouraged to ‘start with the MENU “LOCAL UNIVERS” tonight then have the MENU “MEDITERANIAN FLAVOR” for lunch tomorrow’. We started our meal on the restaurant’s patio. It was a little humid, but overall beautiful.

Act 1: Appetizer.

Stick of smoked and fried cheese. These cheese sticks had an impressively delicate casing. The flavor was great, though a little sweet for a first bite.

Marinated Pancetta. Beautifully thin cuts of pancetta draped over steamed buns. Rocky exclaimed ‘Knocks the socks off David Chang’s’.

Broth of oak barrel and Barceló “Imperial” Rum. Oak Rind. The oak rinds were light and crisp with a nice toasty smoke flavor. They were set off by an amazing savory consommé.

Purple Dye Murex (sea snail). A very meaty sea snail served in a shell with a sweet broth to finish.

Currant of the sea at moment. The broth had a strong sea/salt water flavor. The ‘sea currants’ had a great snap and were fun to eat.

Mini endive and blood orange. Wonderful pairing of bitter flavors and acid. Brilliant use of citrus.

Raïm of Pastor. Raïm of Pastor, which is found throughout the Valencian region, lightly pickled. These had a good crunch and nice briny taste.

Star Fish. Sea Urchin. Parsley and garlic Sea weed. Three different sea themed rice crisps, each flavored with their respective inspirations. The stars had a savory powder that made me think of SpongeBob Doritos. The sauce on the urchins was great. The parsley chips tasted like a snack an old roommate of mine used to have shipped from Japan. Sadly, the crisps weren’t terribly crispy, likely due to the humidity they were served in.

That concluded ‘Act 1’, and we moved inside for the remainder of the meal.

Act 2: Table of cured fish.

Delicatessens. (Bonito, ling fish, sea bass, dry octopus) A plate of salt-cured and dried sea fare. The bonito was like a fish jerky. The ling fish, or mullet, roe had a good gummy chew with a bitter finish. The sea bass roe was delightfully salty. The cured and flamed octopus had a nice strong char.

Paper of Cereals. A thin cracker of grains to accompany the cured plate.

Pickled onion. Acidic allium bites were great between the dense salty fish and roe.

Fig. Dehydrated fig crumbles in rice paper packets. They tasted like fig flavored Lucky Charms marshmallows.

Act 3: Tapas.

Mary. Though I don’t like the taste of Bloody Marys, this little dish was impressive. An amazing thin shell holding in remarkable Bloody Mary flavor. Alongside a lovely slice of celery.

Pepperwort. We were instructed to first eat the leaf and the fish together, but to save a piece of the leaf to eat alone. On its own, the leaf had a crazy horseradish/wasabi type spice. Though with the mackerel, the spice was neutralized by the fish’s oil.

Dove nest. Faux eggs set in nests. Based with yolks and flavored with truffle and olive. The smooth texture of the eggs were great against the crispy nests.

Apple tart and Campari. The apple cake had a fun disappearing quality. The small flower gave a pleasant mellowing chew to balance the in-your-face bitterness of the Campari granite.

Pork jowls and Paprika. The crisps underneath had a little sweet that was good with the melt-away fattiness of the pork jowls.

Red pepper. ‘Piquillo peppers’. My first comment after trying this was ‘It tastes like watermelon’. When we were asked what we thought it was, I nailed it. Dehydrated watermelon with mustard seeds.

Cococha of Iberian ham and pilpil sauce. I wish I had been familiar with Cococha(a fleshy part of the jaw of cod) before trying this faux version so I would have had more appreciation for it.

Smoked bread. To accompany the ‘Cococha’.

Act 4: Mains.

The water of dried tomatoes. Fantastic ice flavored with sun dried tomato. Great restrained savory taste.

Cubalibre of Foie Gras, lemon, rocket salad with Rum Barceló Imperial. A gel of Coke, rum, and lemon, emulsified with foie gras. This was a big, rich wow. I think the acid from the Coke kept it from being too over the top.

The haze. A striking compilation of peas, pork, and mushroom served over aromatic moss and pine. The ‘fog’ added the to the idea of a walk in the forest.

Denia Red king prawns. This was our first encounter with Denia’s famous prawns. Since we were going to have the menu preparation of prawns the next day, they were served to us very simply: boiled in seawater, accompanied by sea salt. Meaty, sweet, exquisite.

Red mullet with incrustation of its guts with eucalyptus. A very meaty piece of red mullet dressed with a killer sea urchin sauce. Topped with flat beans tossed in eucalyptus oil.

Rice Sénia, ashes. Black Senia rice with black truffle and braised pigeon liver. Holy smokes. This was intense; probably the hardest hitting dish of the trip.

Bread service with Act 4. Five flavors of breadsticks: traditional, parmesan, pesto, white truffle, and soppressata.

Act 5: Desserts.

Citrus field. Various local citrus treated and presented in various ways. Lovely variations of tastes and textures.

Milk. A solid milk skin served over gelato and pastry.

The Tree. Pompon of dry fruit, chocolate caviar, both served in rice packets. Red fruit crystal.

The Magic Box. Soft chocolate macaron. Chocolate and passionfruit marshmallow. Chocolate Rocher with nice crispies inside.

Quite an amazing first meal we had at the hands of Quique Dacosta and his team. To see what they served us for lunch the next day, click here.

Some wines we were served:

And Rocky wants to make sure anyone that actually finds this page and scrolls this far down knows that she caught a small lizard on our walk back to the hotel.

Date of visit: September 18th, 2012

Quique Dacosta. Ctra. Las Marinas, Km. 3. Dénia, Spain. +34 965 784 179. http://www.quiquedacosta.es/

Relæ, Copenhagen

Published November 27, 2012 Denmark , Relæ 1 Comment
Tags: Christian F Puglisi, Michelin *, Relae Copenhagen, Relæ, Relæ Restaurant

Leading up to our recent Euro-dining-trip, Rocky and I were on the lookout for ideas to fill in the gaps between our major dining destinations. Concerning Copenhagen, we already had a decent amount of our short stay booked up, so we gathered a few suggestions that sounded good to throw in our back pockets and play by ear in our free time.

Fast-forward a little. During half-time of our two-a-day at Noma, while chatting with Chef Rene Redzepi, he found out we had no definite dinner plans for the following night. Rene first recommended we have dinner at Relæ, then he insisted on it, then he went so far as to have his buddy Ali make a reservation for us(which was great, since we likely wouldn’t have scored a spot ourselves because of the late planning). Chef exclaimed: ‘You guys have to go there. Not just because those guys are friends of mine, but because it’s fucking amazing. Nobody else is doing what they’re doing.’ Since I had received a similar endorsement from Matthew Lightner at Atera a few weeks before, I was excited to see what Chef Christian Puglisi was cooking.

Moving forward a day, Rocky and I were feeling good from a great lunch at Geranium, and were out touring Copenhagen with our new friend Jonas The Dane, when I got the text from Ali. We were all set for dinner at Relæ. With dinner plans locked down, we went to see what there was to see in Christiania, had a couple beers just off Pusher Street, then made our way across town and up to Jægersborggade.

Rocky and I showed up, dried off a few moments(it had started pouring rain as we left Christiania), then were seated at a small chef’s counter overlooking part of the kitchen. Soon after, Jonas The Dane arrived, somehow much drier than us(which is worth mentioning since we hired a cab and he rode his bicycle), and we ordered some aperitifs.

In front of each of us was a drawer containing a menu, napkin, and enough silverware to make it through the meal. The menu presented two options for dinner. Jonas The Dane and I ordered the chef menu and Rocky opted for the vegetable menu(which differed only in two of the four courses). Supplements were offered in three places, so of course, we added all three: a small starter, a cheese course, and a post dessert.

My overall booze consumption for the day was pretty decent, so I’ll try to piece together what I can remember:

Celeriac taco. Tasty little tacos with good root vegetable crunch, peppery greens-watercress and nasturtium, and hints of richness from cured egg yolks.

Bread service. Thick-crusted sourdough accompanied by cold-pressed Sicilian olive oil.

Lamb from havervadgård, shrimps and dill. The shrimp, dried and powdered, provided a little ocean salinity to the slices of lamb. The onions lent an outstanding allium flavor to the plate.

Eggplant, seawater and elderflower. First course from the vegetable menu. I had been on a stretch of having terrible eggplant dishes at great restaurants the previous couple months. When I saw Rocky’s dish show up, I thought the streak would continue. This however was fantastic. Nicely salted, good acid, and honest eggplant flavor.

Turnip, chervil and hourseradish. Dehydrated and rehydrated turnips had a fun texture, which was enlivened even more by the occasional pop of a mustard seed. The more I chewed the turnips, the more layers of flavor they revealed.

Dried courgettes and bitter leaves. Third course of the vegetable menu. I could be way off here, but I think they may have said that this zucchini was also dehydrated and rehydrated, then dusted with seaweed and salt. Rocky told me this was the only time she enjoyed eating zucchini that wasn’t baked into a cake.

Veal sweetbread, cauliflower and basil. I love cauliflower. I love basil. Sometimes I like sweetbreads. Every now and then I love sweetbreads. I was astounded by how good this plate was. The glands were cooked perfectly. The chopped cauliflower was seasoned superbly. Taking the time to thoroughly chew these bites was a wonderfully rewarding experience.

Fresh goat cheese and parsley. A composed course of light, subtly tangy Swedish goat cheese and parsley puree presented in a Jackson Pollack fashion and served with more house sourdough in lieu of additional silverware.

Corn, breadcrumbs and marjoram. Another winner. The creaminess of sweet corn ice cream over an Italian meringue. The herbal tang of the marjoram was a fresh counterbalance. Breadcrumbs and whole corn kernels changed up the texture.

Söl toffee. Seaweed accented toffee on small pastry tarts. Small, rich bites to finish the meal.

Chef Christian Puglisi’s food is bad-ass. Inventive, sometimes daring combinations, but still clean and fresh. Our meal was full of bold flavors, but didn’t hit us too hard, and left us feeling great. Thanks to Redzepi for the recommendation and Ali for the reservation.

Some wines we were served:

Date of visit: September 14th, 2012

Relæ. Jægersborggade 41.Copenhagen, Denmark. +45 3696 6609 http://restaurant-relae.dk/

Geranium, Copenhagen

Published November 7, 2012 Geranium 2 Comments
Tags: Geranium, Geranium Copenhagen, Geranium Restaurant, Michelin *, Rasmus Kofoed

After following the success of Chef Rasmus Kofoed in the prestigious Bocuse d’Or competition(three medals, including one gold in 2011), I decided that a visit to his restaurant Geranium, in Copenhagen, would be a great addition to the line-up for me and Rocky’s recent Euro-eating-trip.

Coming off of a killer two-a-day at Noma the day before, we made our way to Geranium for lunch. Before arriving, we had already decided we were having the Lunch Universe Tasting Menu with their juice pairings(which were overall great, at moments transcendent) and a bottle of Champagne.

Our Tasting Menu:

Seaweed Chips. Good crunch with good ocean flavor.

Carrot & Seabuckthorn. Delicate shell that was almost like candy, but not too sweet.

Sea Salt Cheese & Ramson. Savory cheese ‘sticks’ with ramson mayo for dipping.

Dried Flowers & Apple. Great floral and fruit flavor in a bite size packet.

Mushrooms. Pickled mushroom soup. Very light body and taste. Maybe too light.

“Razor Clams”. Crisp, brittle, faux shells with razor clam, creme fraiche, and parsley. Apparently edible fake shells are en vogue in haut cuisine.

Jerusalem Artichoke “Tree” & Walnut Oil. These crispy strips of tubers were tasty snacks and were fun to eat.

Burned Potato & Sheep’s Milk Butter. Charred potatoes, to be placed on spoons full of flavored sheep butter and eaten together. Nothing wrong here.

Jellied Ham, Tomato Water & Savory Flowers. Beautifully light savory flavors freshened with lemon thyme. Brilliantly paired with pine needle lemonade.

“Dillstone” & Fermented Vegetables. Visually arresting, the ‘stones’ were like denser, smoother, herbaceous gum drops. To be passed through the vegetable and salmon roe sauce.

Mackerel, Burned Juniper, Horseradish & Cucumber. The granite of cucumber and horseradish was impeccably balanced with uplifting freshness and spice and played perfectly with the salted mackerel. Served with green apple, cucumber, elderflower juice, which was exquisite.

Bread with Emmer & Spelt. Small sourdough grain bread with buttermilk butter.

Onions & Melted Hay Cheese. Wonderfully restrained allium flavors balanced by a soup of melted hay cheese and topped with crumbled rye bread and chamomile.

“Iron & Minerals” A superb lightly cooked oyster, cabbage, and bleak roe sauce. Paired with a vibrant apple and tarragon juice.

Langoustine & Hay Aroma. A nice savory, perfectly seasoned langoustine with herbs, flowers, and lovely herb sauce. The apple juice served alongside was far too sweet for the dish, but our Champagne was great.

Venison, Red Leaves & Stems. Holy smokes. This dish was effing incredible. An intense venison tartare, cherry vinegar gelee, beets, and dried mushroom and berry sauce. All the components were individually very bold, and yet all worked to together to elevate the whole plate. To match, we were poured juniper berry and red grape juice, which was good stand alone, and with the food, put the combo in contention for the best pairing of the trip.

Elderflower Soda. After savories, we were invited into the kitchen to have a little treat of elderberry gelee with sparkling elderberry foam, while standing at a high top adorned with three Paul Bocuse statuettes.

Herb Tea, Plums & Sheep’s Milk Yoghurt. Lemon balm herb ice with sheep yogurt and yellow peaches. Very cooling and refreshing. Paired well with green plum, lemon balm lemon juice.

Grilled Raspberries “Flora Danica” & Goat’s Milk Cream. Grilling the raspberries concentrated the sugar just enough to suit the tang of the goat milk cream. The flower petals and crystallized thyme were as pleasing to the palate as they were to the eye. The rhubarb rose petal juice complemented nicely.

“Green Egg” & “Carrot Leaf”. Light, sweet carrot leaves. Chocolate, caramel, pine ‘eggs’.

Kofoed’s food is beautiful and thoughtful, with disciplined, restrained vibrance. Our experience at Geranium was enlightening and just overall classy.

Date of visit: September 14th 2012

Geranium. Per Henrik Lings Allé 4, 8. Copenhagen, Denmark. +45 69 96 00 20. http://geranium.dk/

Noma – Two-a-day, Part 2.

Published November 1, 2012 Denmark , Noma (2) 1 Comment
Tags: Michelin *, Noma (2), Noma Copenhagen, Noma Restaurant, Rene Redzepi

Riding the high from a life-changing lunch and a beautiful day in Copenhagen, Rocky and I once again made our way up Strandgade for round 2 of our two-a-day at Rene Redzepi’s Noma(click here for round 1).

The flood of sunlight was replaced with candle glow and soft lamps. The dining room was more energetic than at lunch, and the staff was just as warmly and enthusiastically welcoming as eight hours before. After a few kind greetings and a few glasses of bubbles, we were ready to go again.

Snacks:

Since we had most of these openers at lunch, I’ll try to breeze through them here.

Malt flatbread and juniper. Again tucked away inside the flower vase and accompanied with creme fraiche.

Moss and cep. Fantastic again.

Crispy pork skin and black currant.

Blue mussel and celery.

Cheese cookie, rocket and stems.

Potato and duck liver.

Dried carrot and sorrel. Once more I’ll iterate: this dish was mind-blowingly incredible and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for weeks.

Caramelized milk and cod liver.

Pickled and smoked quails egg.

Radish, soil and grass.

Herb toast and smoked cod roe. An addition to our lunch line-up from earlier. 17 herbs, vinegar powder, and cod roe mayo sandwiched with duck stock crisps. Fresh herbaceous bites with bursts of acidity and ocean salinity book-ended by savory richness.

Æbleskiver. A take on the traditional Danish spherical pancakes with the addition of smoked bleak and pickled cucumber. Rocky excitedly exclaimed it as a ‘fish donut’.

Veal neck and söl. Veal fibers, creme fraiche, söl. Crispy, oily, savory little bites.

Grilled corn. Rocky wants me to make clear again: these were perfect.

Sorrel leaf and cricket paste.

Menu:

Potato and snails. New potatoes cooked with juniper wood. Rose hip salt. Snails cooked in their own juices with herbs and herb sauce. We were told to use the herb picks to skewer the potatoes and dip them in the rose hip salt, then do the same with the snails. And afterwards, dip the herbs in the butter and eat them too. Fantastic.

Razor clam and parsley, Dill and horseradish. Raw local razor clam wrapped in parsley gelee, bordered by horseradish ice, and finished with razor clam and dill sauce. Superb, fresh, bright flavors.

Dried scallops and beech nuts, Biodynamic grains and watercress. The dehydrated Norwegian scallop slices had a beautiful crisp texture and nicely concentrated sweetness balanced by the meaty grains, spicy watercress, and squid ink sauce. Even Rocky, who claims to hate scallops, after a moment of silence, with a contemplative look on her face uttered ‘This is a really cool dish’.

Tartare of beef, Sorrel and juniper. Mild and precise beef tartare topped with spicy, acidic wood sorrel and a little onion. Meant to be scooped up with fingers and dragged through the ground juniper and lively tarragon emulsion. The primal mode of consumption gave a deeper connection to the food and its viking roots.

Vegetables and red currant. With leeks, fennel, and hazelnut. Simple, high quality ingredients treated and assembled beautifully. Maybe not as mind-blowing or thought-provoking as most of the plates we had, but still impeccably balanced great flavors.

Pike perch and cabbage. Danish pike perch cooked out back on their barbecue, wrapped in cabbage. Accompanied with lemon verbena sauce and fish bone sauce. Gorgeously presented and dynamically flavored. The combination of sauces made for great depth with the leaf-bound perfect fillet.

Beef cheek and fresh cheese. This dish was certainly firing on all cylinders. The rich cheeks paired well with the cooling house-made cheese. The duo was enhanced by ramson’s allium spice, savory chicken and mushroom sauce, and earthy, tangy Swedish chanterelles.

Carrot and sea buckthorn. A soft, airy carrot cake with sea-buckthorn berries sitting on a bed of sheep’s milk foam and livened with grated licorice. Likely the purest iteration of a carrot cake I’ve encountered. A perfect dessert.

Cucumber and elderflower. Light elderflower mousse surrounded by cucumber sorbet. Fresh, floral, addictive. A wonderful ending to the written menu.

Petit fours:

Chocolate potato crisps. Whey meringues.

Bone marrow caramels. Magnificently rich and savory caramels, served in the bone, wrapped in butcher paper.

Some wines we were served:

When I travel and try out restaurants I’ve never been to, I do pretty well about coming in without expectations, and bringing in only hopes. Though when I visit a place with as much acclaim(and holding as grand a title) as Noma, it’s hard to leave it all at home and anticipation takes over at least some part. But both my meals at Noma exceeded everything I hoped they would be. I would love to learn more about Nordic cuisine and gain insights to the history and inspirations behind the food then revisit for another couple meals and see if Redzepi’s menus are even more mind-blowing. Every member of their team and every step experience struck a positive chord and created a masterful symphony. Echoing the exclamations of countless enthusiasts over the past few years: Noma just may be the best restaurant in the world.

Date of visit: September 13th, 2012

Noma. Strandgade 93. Copenhagen, Denmark. +45 3296 3297. http://noma.dk/

Noma – Two-a-day, Part 1.

Published November 1, 2012 Denmark , Noma (2) Leave a Comment
Tags: Michelin *, Noma (2), Noma Copenhagen, Noma Restaurant, Rene Redzepi

Earlier this year, during the roasting NYC summer, I was sitting at home on the computer, window unit on full-blast, clicking from one food site to the next, when I got the thought: I need to eat at Noma. So I checked out their website, and the next window of reservations was set to open in a about a week. I kept my eye on the calendar and set my alarm on the eve of availability to make sure to be out of bed and on the computer at 4 AM, in time to secure a spot for Rocky and me. During the thought process I figured as long as I was crossing the pond, why not make stops in Barcelona, Valencia, Denia, and San Sebastian, in addition to Copenhagen; and why not throw in some two-a-days at a few of the world’s most exciting restaurants.

Fast forward to mid-September. After a great morning run through Copenhagen, I arrived(with Rocky) for lunch at Noma, the first round of the two-a-day(to see the second round, click here).

The dining room was abundant with vibrant sunlight, and the staff seemed the most genuinely hospitable and welcoming group of smiling faces I’ve come across. We were told that the kitchen prepared two different menus for us for lunch and dinner and were asked if that was okay. Of course that sounded great, so we got started.

Snacks:

Malt flatbread and juniper. Among the flowers in the white vase on our table were unleavened bread ‘sticks’ with moss. We were told to rustle them out of the arrangement and run them through a little dish of creme fraiche. They were crisp with a good bitterness.

Moss and cep. Reindeer moss from Northern Sweden, fried, and sprinkled with dried cep powder. Also meant to pass through the creme fraiche. Delicious.

Crispy pork skin and black currant. Like a michelin-starred version of a fruit roll-up over a pork rind. Great sweet/savory and crispy/chewy contrasts.

Blue mussel and celery. Roasted blue mussels with mussel emulsion on an edible faux shell colored with squid ink. Nice sea flavor.

Cheese cookie, rocket and stems. Swedish cheese cookie with rocket puree and stems. These little treats had great savory/vegetal balance.

Potato and duck liver. Fried potato strings with duck liver mousse sprinkled with black trumpet mushroom powder.

Dried carrot and sorrel. Birchwood smoked dehydrated carrot on a bed of hay ash, which vikings used commonly as a spice. We were instructed to roll the carrots in the ash and drag them through the sorrel puree. Amazing. When I returned to NYC two weeks later, I couldn’t stop thinking about this compilation of flavor.

Caramelized milk and cod liver. Smoked cod liver on milk crisps with dehydrated seaweed. Good, clean liver taste softened with milk flavor.

Grilled corn. Beautiful young corn. A little sweet, a little tart, good snap, with nice char. They were perfect. Rocky wants me emphasize: THEY WERE PERFECT. Everything corn should be.

Pickled and smoked quails egg. Presented in a cloud of smoke, I liked the idea of the warm, smooth, pickled and smoked eggs more than I actually liked tangible manifestation. This was the singular part of the meal that I wasn’t crazy about.

Radish, soil and grass. Carrots and radishes with stems and leaves still attached to the roots in a pot with hazelnut based edible ‘dirt’ bound with herbed yogurt. The tang of the yogurt with the savory crunch of the soil was phenomenal with the roots and spread over the leaves. With a tub of this and a big spoon, I would be a happy guy.

Sorrel leaf and cricket paste. I love leaves. Especially sorrel with it’s citrus-like acidity. These leaves were perfect. I’m not sure what the cricket contributed flavor-wise, but the nasturtium ice elevated the bright acid of the snack, and beet emulsion added a slight sweetness.

Bread service. Sourdough with Swedish grains. Served with brilliant Swedish virgin butter, tart and bright, and pork fat with fried potato and onion.

Menu:

Cooked fava beans and beach herbs. Lightly cooked fava beans, cooked just to the right tenderness. Wood sorrel, portulak(purslane), and some other leaves. And a gentle buttermilk dressing. Very clean and pure vegetal flavors.

Berries and cucumber. Grilled baby cucumber. Swedish berries. Herbs. Chamomile, lemon thyme, and dry verbena broth. An interesting combination. Eating this felt kind of like walking through the forest.

Brown crab, Egg yolk and herbs. Crab, yolk, crab roe, and beach greens finished with an aged Icelandic seaweed broth. The rich yolk was nice to balance the salinity and add body. Great seashore flavors.

Langoustine and söl, Sea and rye. Oyster and parsley emulsion with rye bread crumbs and söl(Icelandic algae) powder played as condiments to a beautifully(barely) cooked, plump, sweet, lightly fibrous langoustine atop a warm stone. Amazing. A true pleasure to eat.

Cauliflower and pine, Cream and horseradish. A broad slice of cauliflower, caramelized on one side with butter and pine, then steamed. Yogurt whey with pine gave a nice cooling effect. A little horseradish gave a little energy lift.

Salsify and truffle, Bread and milk. Roasted salsify wrapped in milk skin, with a bread salad, over Swedish truffle puree.

The hen and the egg. A DIY fried egg. First, the mise en place of leaves, herbs, petals, oil, seasoned butter, and a timer arrived. Then came a hot skillet with an egg on the side. We were told to crack the egg into the skillet. Then given a sequence of additions to follow as the timer counted down. After seeing a few other diners do this first, I didn’t want to do it, but it actually was a lot of fun.

Turbot and bitter greens, Celeriac and mushroom. A meaty fillet of turbot with fresh hazelnuts and bitter greens, dried mushroom-dried berry-juniper wood sauce, and fantastic caramelized celery root. An outstandingly creative combination of flavors to round out the savories of round one.

Blueberries and ants. An ‘ice cream sandwich’ which we were told had 17 elements, but to focus on the blueberry. Alongside nasturtium leaves with blueberry compote and ant paste(made of large, aggressive ants). Both were bright and herbaceous, a little sweet, and a little tart.

Gammel Dansk. Milk ice cream flavored with Gammel Dansk, an herb and spice Danish bitter liquor. Sorrel sauce, sorrel leaves, milk crisps. A refreshing, almost invigorating, dessert. Very impressive.

Petit Fours:

Caramel yeast fudge. Thornberry jam, Icelandic sour cream, elderflower, salt. Presented frozen, these had a really nice chew, with a subtle, rewarding intensity of flavor.

Whey meringue. Covered in a light chocolate shell, with some type of crunchy biscuit in the bottom.

Chocolate potato crisp. Bitter chocolate coated potato chip with fennel seeds.

Some wines we were served:

After dinner, we took a tour of the kitchen, the outdoor storage, the upstairs PDR, the staff dining room, the prep kitchen, the office, the indoor herb garden, etc. Along way we met Food Snob(who now works in administration at Noma and plays a big part in putting on the MAD Symposium), and chatted with Chef Redzepi, who after discussing past, present, and future dining ventures said ‘You guys are fucking crazy!’ which we considered a great compliment. He also gave us suggestions of where to drink and what to see during our stay in Copenhagen. When we got back to our table we were asked if we ‘want to just settle up tonight’ so, yeah, I had a running tab at Noma. We were extended an invitation to join in on their staff meal, which I was on the verge of doing, but it would have left us without much down time to accomplish a few things we wanted to do between meals. So we just planned to see them again in a few hours for round two(which can be seen here).

Date of visit: September 13th, 2012

Noma. Strandgade 93. Copenhagen, Denmark. +45 3296 3297. http://noma.dk/

Torrisi Italian Specialties, NYC

Published October 25, 2012 Torrisi Italian Specialties Leave a Comment
Tags: Mario Carbone, Michelin *, NYC Restaurants, Rich Torrisi, Torrisi, Torrisi NYC

As our recent Euro-eating-trip was approaching, Rocky and I were supposed to be going easy on the eating out and saving money for our Copenhagen-Denia-San Sebastian line-up. But coming up on my last night off work before departure, I couldn’t help but call up Torrisi to see if they could get us in for their Chef’s Tasting Menu. After a moment on the phone, on and off hold, we were good to go. The menu was composed of roughly 20 ‘courses’, each paying homage to the history of NYC dining and food culture.

OUR AMERICANO. American in Italy. A bitter drink started the night. I believe it was something like Grapefruit, Wormwood, Cherry Bark, and Ginseng.

THE QUAIL’S OLIVE. Canned Bar Snack. Olive-brined quail eggs. They seemed more about the novelty than an attempt at a great flavor combination.

PRETZELS. Street Cart. Soft pretzel bites with caraway and mustard. A great little snack, but a stretch to be called a course.

SABLE CIGARETTES. Stork Club. Gnocco fritto, wrapped in smoked sable, dipped in cod roe, with poppy seed ash. Despite the gimmicky nature of this snack, I thought it was delicious.

OYSTERS. Bloch & Guggenheim Deli Peppers. The peppers left a nice spice on the finish to follow the brine, but were a little strong for the oyster.

LITTLE NECK CLAM. on the Half Shell. The foam had great acid and a little bitterness to compliment the clam and balance with the neighboring half shell.

BUCKWHEAT CAVIAR KNISH. Yonah Shimmel Celebrates. Brilliant. The crunch of the buckwheat, the Hackleback salinity, a little red onion. Great snack.

RABBIT TERRINE. Toasted Italian Bread. Another winner. Rich rabbit game, nicely seasoned, countered by sour cherry jam, lemon zest, and rosemary.

CASHEW CHICKEN. A Southern Mulberry Classic. Fried chicken oysters rolled in chopped cashews, served on century-old Tiffany & Co. spoons. Outstanding.

PROSCIUTTO’D MELON. Eldorado 5-8654. A lovely slice of melon, with a beautiful cut of prosciutto. Some livening freshness from the herbs, and a few big salt crystals. Simple, classic, and perfect.

RAW CAPONATA. Bensonhurst BBQ. The feature of the dish, the BBQ eggplant, fell pretty flat. Though the caponata was nice, with good vegetable crunch and a little spice. The raisin creme fraiche ice cream gave a pleasant cooling effect.

MACKEREL IN CRAZY WATER. Atlantic Aqua Pazza. A pretty slice of Mackerel, barely touched, accompanied by seaweed ash, sea beans, and tomato compote, and finished with a fantastic acqua pazza.

FOIE GRAS NEWBERG. Wenberg & Ranhofer. Excellent foie. Rich and smooth. Topped with brandy gelee. A fowl take on the original Lobster Newberg.

DELMONICO STEAK TARTARE. 25 William Street. A bold flavored tartare with a good amount of black pepper, petite cornichons, and encapsulated béarnaise.

SHEEP MILK RICOTTA GNOCCHI. Dancing Ewe Farms. Well-executed ricotta gnocchi tossed with buttery sweet corn. This plate was damn delicious.

OCTOPUS SPAGHETTONI. A Sunday on Long Island. The octopus was nicely tender with a strong ocean flavor. Toasted bread crumbs were a plus, texturally. The dish was initially too spicy for me, but I numbed to it fairly quickly.

LAMB CAPELLACI. Pope John Paul Goldstein III. Artichoke hearts, matzah, mint, Manischewitz. Good pasta, the lamb was cooked well, and none of the components were overbearing. A pleasant dish.

DRY-AGED GUINEA HEN. French in Italian. Black truffle. Boudin noir. This was a great plate. Nothing ground-breaking, but honest and impeccable.

CHEESE DANISH. Bagel Shop. A fluffy, buttery, poppy seed danish, with sweet onion jam and cheese. A tasty, balanced, composed cheese course.

GINGER ITALIAN ICE. The Corona King. Pretty much what one could expect from ginger italian ice. Densely packed, and almost spicy in flavor.

MARASCHINO FLOAT. Soda Parlor. The root beer financier was great. Sour cherry ice cream over pretzel crumble was great as well. The milk straw and cherry soda were a nice novelty.

PASTRIES. Ferrara Bakery. Let’s see if I can name all these…Ricotta cannoli with orange zest. Polenta cake with ricotta and rhubarb. Peppermint truffles. A honey something that just kind of poofed away. Seaweed Taffy, dry and bitter. An interesting and kind of unpleasant olive wafer. A pistachio thing. Celery cake with concord jelly, which was much better than expected.

A take-home menu and some rainbow cake/cookies.

Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone certainly have good things going with their current restaurants. They make food and experiences that are fun and honest. I’m excited to check out their new endeavor: Carbone, which is aiming for a late fall opening.

Date of visit: September 5, 2012

Torrisi Italian Specialties. 250 Mulberry Street. NYC. 212.965.0955 http://www.torrisinyc.com/

Atera, again

Published August 30, 2012 Atera (2) 2 Comments
Tags: Atera (2), Atera NYC, Atera Restaurant, Matthew Lightner, NYC Restaurants

Atera, the multi-course chef’s counter experience headed by Wonder-Chef Matthew Lightner in Tribeca, is in my opinion, the most exciting restaurant in NYC at the moment. Lightner’s creative vision, technical precision, and new naturalism perception make for a dining experience unmatched by any other in the city. So when I had a night off, and they had an open seat for me, I returned without hesitation(even though I’m supposed to be saving for my upcoming dining trip across the pond with Rocky).

I just posted a brief recap of my first meal at Atera to accompany this post. My second visit to the small Worth Street dining room started with a beer cocktail. Voisin Belgian Saison was the base, mixed with rhubarb, wildflower honey, lemon, and bitters. It was a great way to start off. If I don’t have bubbles, I’ll usually always have a bitter drink to begin. This had a slightly-more-than-subtle bitterness matched with fresh citrus and herb layers. It played nicely with the series of opening bites as well.

Snacks:

Flaxseed Cookie, Pine Nut Butter, Dried Mushroom. Served cold, the cookie was crisp and crunchy, with a little sweetness, and a light earthiness from the mushroom.

Lobster Roll. Lightner’s small-bite-play on the east coast classic. The claw meat in mayonnaise had a nice chew. The yeast meringue ‘bun’ had a nice puff to it.

Horseradish Parfait, Salted Halibut, Mustard Seed. Mild fresh fish taste, with a little horseradish heat on the finish. I was a little unsure how to eat this. I didn’t have utensils yet, and this was somewhat cumbersome for finger food.

Beer & Creme Fraiche Macaron with Caviar. I’m still not sure what was going on here, but it was damn delicious; I wish I had asked for an explanation. Light, crisp texture, a little something sweet, and caviar salinity to finish.

Foie Gras Peanut. Creamy, peanutty, with more foie flavor than I remember from last time. I liked it much more this time for some reason.

Pickled Quail Egg. Quail egg made into an aioli, reshaped into an egg, and pickled. Still more of a miss than a hit for me.

Pig’s Blood Wafer with Whipped Pork Fat. This was very interesting, if nothing else. I couldn’t decide if I liked it overall. I definitely like the crackle of the cracker, and there was some pleasant bitterness.

‘Whole Razor Clam’. Razor clam mousseline, poached razor clams, and seaweed in a baguette painted with squid ink. Between the clam and the ink, this had great ocean flavor. I love the texture of the crust too.

Rock Tripe, Herb Aioli, Malt Vinegar. As far as I know, I had never had rock tripe, a lichen, or algae, that grows on rocks. The taste was very mild until enhanced by the tang of the aioli.

Smoked Tomato Ice, Fresh Sea Urchin, Shallot Oil. I’m actually not sure if this was intended as part of the snacks or as the first course. Since it wasn’t printed on my menu, I’m putting it with the snacks. Either way, this was amazing. Nice, smoky aroma. Delicate, chilled urchin. Beautiful balance, spot-on umami.

Menu:

1st Course: Diver Scallops. Purslane. Pickled Green Tomatoes, Sesame. Scallops cured in gin botanicals. Tomato juice ice. Not so much balance, as a fun imbalance. Dynamic, sharp flavor. The scallops had a much better taste and texture than in the scallop dish I had last time. The seeds had a fun snap.

2nd Course: Peeky-Toe Crab. Artichoke. Cold Herb Infusion, Strained Buttermilk. A Creative course. The artichoke petals were beautifully tender and a fun textural play with the crab meat. The sour of the buttermilk set everything off and made it sing.

3rd Course: Lamb Tartare. Wood Sorrel. Smoked Tomato. The smoked Beefsteak Tomato was a wonderful compliment to the tartare. The black malt cracker tasted like a space-age Triscuit, and made a great vessel.

4th Course: Seared Duck Hearts. Nasturtium. Tender Young Vegetables. Blanched roots and vegetables with herbs. Mushroom vinaigrette, with sunflower oil and fish sauce. Pastrami-cured duck hearts. Amazing. There was a couple dozen different veggies, leaves, petals, roots, and alliums, all individually treated or barely touched. Every bite was fresh and different. It was like eating Michel Bras’ famous Gargouillou, with the bonus of the superb duck hearts.

5th Course: “Ramen”. Salad Burnet. Noodles, shallots, dissolving spice packet, chicken bouillon. Though this wasn’t presented as a Mugaritz-style ‘Guess what it is?’ mystery, I was left on my own to figure out the noodles were made from squid, which wasn’t that tough to do. The squid was lightly blanched with a nice density. This bowl had lots of savory punch without being in-your-face salty.

6th Course: Dried Beet “Ember”. Bull’s Blood Beet Green. With smoked trout roe, toasted bread, and a sea urchin & crustacean emulsion. This dish is the only repeated course from my first meal. Since it was my favorite plate then, I was happy to see its return. The compilation on this slab of slate is an episode of brilliance that I hope never leaves the menu.

7th Course: Brined Hake. Milkweed. Wildflower Honey, Yogurt. A nicely treated, honey-brined piece of Hake. Nice flavors, good balance, and a little dance on the palate. While this had no faults, it wasn’t a huge wow.

8th Course: Barbequed Veal Sweetbreads. Garlic Scape. Hazelnut. The sweetbreads were in a spiced veal demiglace and hazelnut sauce that was lick-the-board good. The garlic scape was pickled and seared. This reminded me of a dish one might find at Mugaritz, with the two complementing/contrasting elements on the plate. A dynamic, almost transcendent back-and-forth. This is in a toss-up with the dried beet and the vegetables with duck hearts for my favorite of the night.

9th Course: Four Story Beef Strip. Lobster Mushroom. Marrow Ragu, Smoked Onion. A gorgeous piece of meat from Four Story Hill Farm. Amazing flavor, especially the fatty end. Pickled and frozen bone marrow was a very interesting item, and great when mixed with the sweet ragu. The dry mushrooms, simply just shaved, absorbed the other flavors on the plate and made for some very special bites.

10th Course: Square Cheese. 80-day raw goat’s milk cheese from Twig Farm in Vermont. With blueberries and apple bread. Semi-soft and rustic, a nice choice for a single cheese plate.

11th Course: White Rose. Sea Rose Mallow. Wildflower Sherbet. A beautifully presented flower made of rose water ice. The petals peeled off like a real rose, and had a pleasant floral flavor.

12th Course: Peach. Magenta Spreen. Sunflower Toffee. I love poached peaches, and this didn’t disappoint. The sunflower ice cream ‘pit’ had a perfect seed taste. The herbs made good refreshers between bites.

13th Course: Strawberry Shortcake. Cinnamon Basil. Wild Strawberries. Raw Milk Ice Cream. The shortcake batter was aerated and frozen and made for a fun take on the classic dessert. Some menthol-ish anise hyssop brightened and elevated the ice cream and fresh berries and left me feeling fresh and minty.

14th Course: Dried Tomato. Parsley Powder. Goat’s Milk Ice Cream. The dried tomato was almost candy-like with its chew and sweetness. This was a nice pairing of creaminess and acidity.

15th Course: Churro. White Cardamom. Salsify, Cinnamon. A salsify ‘churro’ rolled with cinnamon, sugar, and white cardamom. Served with salted hazelnut chocolate. A nice rendition of the Spanish classic. Nice nutty savoriness.

16th Course: Bourbon Cask Ice Cream Sandwich. Oak. Almond, Vanilla. Ice cream aged in bourbon cask. The chocolate cookie was made with flour flavored with toasted oak chips, in addition to cocoa and almond flour. Another fun play on a classic to finish the menu.

Petit Fours: Black Walnut. Nutty Sweetness.

Petit Fours: Hazelnut Truffle. A dense, chocolatey, rich bite. Perfect finisher for an amazing tasting.

Bread Service:

I was served three breads throughout the meal: Salted Rye, Sourdough Roll basted with Pork Fat, and a Whole Grain Seeded Roll. The cream for the butter is aged in house with Jasper Hill Farms Harbison Cheese.

Some wines I was served:

I won’t belabor details about each of these wines and their placement in the meal because I’m running short on time and I want to finish this post. Though I’ll say that the pairings offered are eclectic, intelligent, and exciting. During each of my two visits, I was impressed and wowed a few times by the beverage team.

As I’m sitting here typing, I’m texting back-and-forth with my good friend BLT(The Beltless Tiger), trying to plan a visit to Atera on his next trip to NYC. At this point, I’m planning to take every opportunity I have to experience Lightner’s cuisine before the price doubles and reservations become even more difficult obtain.

Date of visit: August 23, 2012

***Update: A small disclosure: Since having these two meals and posting about them, I’ve joined the Atera team.***

Atera. 77 Worth Street. NYC. 212.226.1444 http://ateranyc.com/

Atera, NYC

Published August 30, 2012 Atera (2) 1 Comment
Tags: Atera (2), Atera NYC, Atera Restaurant, Matthew Lightner, NYC Restaurants

I never made it to Compose. And Compose never made it onto my to-eat list. Though when I learned of the space reopening as a new seasonal-forage-inspired/half-molecular/chef’s counter concept, Atera quickly made it onto my list. Before long, after learning more of Chef Matthew Lightner, and reading some of the early words regarding his new work, the small Tribeca restaurant was number one on said list.

The Bro was planning a combo birthday-slash-James Beard Awards trip, and left the eating decisions up to me. I told him Atera was my number one at the moment, and he didn’t argue. Get ready for an amazing run-on: After a night of heavy drinking at the JBF ceremony, after party, after after party, etc, followed by an earlier than desired wake-up for lunch at EMP(which was the best meal I’ve had there since my first(and also an amazing clean-up from the previous night’s festivities)), then an afternoon of notaries, wire transfers, and lease signing, The Bro, Rocky, and I couldn’t wait to sit at our barstools at the thirteen seat counter(right next to my new friend Doc Sconz and his friend, whose meal can be seen here(on a much fancier and more eloquent blog than mine)).

Now this meal was 3+ months ago, and I’m posting this simultaneously with my meal from last week, so I’m going to be fairly vague and brief for this one.

A bottle of 2000 Gaston Chiquet to begin. It was everything it should be, and a great match for the upcoming ‘snacks’.

Snacks: Sunchoke Skin, Buttermilk, Flowers, Herbs.

Snacks: Mustard, Flax, and Sunflower Seed Granola coated in Black Sesame Butter.

Snacks: Lobster Roll. Claw meat and Mayo on a dry yeast meringue.

Snacks: Malt Cracker.

Snacks: Foie Gras Peanuts.

Snacks: ‘Pickled Quail Eggs’

Snacks: ‘Whole Razor Clams’. Razor clam mousseline, poached razor clams, seaweed, baguette painted with squid ink.

Snacks: Seaweed Cracker. Seaweed pounded and dried with hay ash. Herb Aioli.

Snacks: Spring Garlic Roots, Garlic Aioli, Dill.

1st Course: Yogurt. Shad Roe, Rhubarb, Licorice.

2nd Course: Diver Scallops. Citrus, Gin Botanicals, Buttermilk.

3rd Course: Fluke. Barbequed Onion, Coriander, Fennel Seed.

4th Course: Squid. Cured Lardo, Squid Broth. This was presented in the guessing game/blind tasting fashion I encountered at Mugaritz.

5th Course: Dried Beet. Trout Roe, Crustacean Sauce. My favorite dish of the evening. I believe The Bro’s as well. And I think it was Rocky’s favorite, aside from dessert.

6th Course: Softshell Crab. Brown Butter Consommé.

7th Course: North Coast Halibut. Young Garlic, Whey.

8th Course: Squab. Caramelized Ramps, Pear, Tarragon.

9th Course: Lamb. Sprouted Wheatberries, Leek.

At this point we were told we had a choice to sub out one of our dessert courses for a cheese course. I thought it was a silly offer. Substitution, no. Supplement, yes.

10th Course: Cheese. Ascutney Mountain-Cobb Hill Farm, VT. Moses Sleeper-Jasper Hill Farms, VT. Mountaineer-Meadow Creek Dairy, VA. Mossend Blue-Bonnieview Farm, VT.

11th Course: Rock. Meyer Lemon, Wild Ginger.

12th Course: Parsley Root Split. Banana Ice Cream, Chiffon, Milk Skin.

13th Course: Charcoal. Chocolate Meringue, Goat’s Milk Ice Cream. Rocky still talks about this dish every time someone mentions Atera.

14th Course: Oak. Bourbon, Malt.

Petit Fours: Hazelnut Truffles.

Petit Fours: Black Walnuts.

A few more wines we were served:

Certainly a great first impression from an outstanding first meal at the hands of Chef Lightner and his team.

To see what I had for my second visit, with a little more detail, click here.

Date of visit: May 8, 2012

***Update: A small disclosure: Since having these two meals and posting about them, I’ve joined the Atera team.***

Atera. 77 Worth Street. NYC. 212.226.1444 http://ateranyc.com/

Battersby

Published August 27, 2012 Battersby Leave a Comment
Tags: Battersby Brooklyn, Battersby Restaurant, Joseph Ogrodnek, NYC Restaurants, Walker Stern

Several times a week, Rocky saunters along Smith Street in Cobble Hill before or after work. For about a month, she kept mentioning passing by a small restaurant she had read about and how cool it looks. On our most recent night off together, it was her turn to choose our dinner spot. So I hopped on an F train to Brooklyn to join her at Battersby.

Since they operate primarily on a first-come, first-served system(and since it worked perfectly with our schedules), we planned to meet right at opening time(5:30). We were the first guests in the door and were offered our choice of seating. We opted to sit at the far end of the bar, since it provided the best view into the open kitchen, and we wanted to see co-owner/co-chefs Joseph Ogrodnek and Walker Stern in action.

True to form, we started with some bubbles. Pierre Gimonnet Blanc de Blancs, always a welcome friend. I didn’t care for the small glass glasses(as opposed to crystal) which they served our Champagne in, though I’m sure if I had asked to switch to crystal stems they would have graciously obliged. We gave a quick look over the dinner menu and without hesitation ordered the 7-course Chef’s Tasting(a 5-course tasting was offered as well).

Amuse: Chilled Corn Soup. The first bite to hit the table was light and delivered a satisfying sweet corn flavor. It was also a nice treat to have alongside the bubbles.

Bread: Rosemary Flatbread, served hot and fluffy, and generously seasoned. Accompanied by whipped ricotta with olive oil and black pepper.

Amuse: Cod Brandade Croquet, Shishito Pepper, Tomato Compote. The sweetness and acid of the tomato balanced well with the croquet, while the vegetal pepper made for a well-rounded few bites.

1st Course: Heirloom Tomato, Burrata, Basil. A straight-forward plate. Beautiful for the season, and not over-treated. I appreciated the Campania-born Burrata much more than the domestic attempts I’ve been faced with recently.

2nd Course: Heirloom Carrot, Greek Yogurt, Crispy Quinoa. A variety of heirloom carrots treated in a variety of ways. Some had a fresh snap, while some had a tender sweetness that reminded me of my mom’s brown sugar carrots. The tang of the yogurt, with a little dill, livened the plate. The crunch of the quinoa was brilliant. An impressive dish.

3rd Course: Homemade Pork Tortelloni, Cherry Tomato, Dandelion Pesto. The pasta was very well executed; great pork flavor, but somehow very light. The tomatoes are a welcome addition to most any dish this time of year. While I loved the bitter flavor of the greens, for me they were far too strong to balance with the light tortelloni. Even between bites the leaves left too much astringency and overpowered the pasta.

4th Course: Poached Hake, Mangalica Ham, Piperade, Garlic Chips. Fantastic fish, confit in duck fat. The lively, robust flavor of the piperade made me dance in my bar-stool a little with each bite. Of course adding garlic and ham didn’t hurt. Great layers of savory and acidity. This was my favorite dish of the meal. Pretty damn tasty.

5th Course: Chicken Roulade, Spaetzle, Shiitake Mushroom, Bacon. So far, the richest dish, by far. Rocky commented on the heavy salt; I have to agree with her. Though she loved the spaetzle. I thought the roulade was overall well-executed, but a little dry.

We had one more savory course to go. I asked if it hard already started plating, because it if hadn’t, I wanted to supplement the kale salad that Battersby is becoming well-known for. We were told that the chefs had already fired our dish, but that it was built around that salad.

6th Course: Short Ribs, Crispy Kale, Green Papaya, Radish, Cucumber, Peanut. This was the best short rib dish I can recall being served as I’m typing now. They tend to be served either too rich or too sweet for me, but the freshness of the kale setting(which I believe lives up to its acclaim) made for a beautiful, fresh counter-balance. Bravo.

Pre-Dessert: Blueberry & Bay Leaf Panna Cotta. Nice little bite; light and addictive. The panna cotta was slightly herbaceous and soft, not too set. The berries were mild, not too tart or too sweet.

7th Course: Sweet Ricotta, Honey, Pistachio, Black Mission Figs. Rocky was really unfair to this dessert. She felt she had been ripped off by not getting chocolate. So I got to eat most of hers. I thought it was great.

Chefs Ogrodnek and Stern certainly have a great thing going in Cobble Hill. It was fun watching their passionate performance in the kitchen. Judging by the line out the door when we left, they’ll be at it for a while

Date of visit: August 22, 2012

Battersby. 255 Smith Street. Brooklyn, NY. 718.852.8321 http://battersbybrooklyn.com/

« Previous Page — Next Page »

this guy's food blog

Archive Page 5

Quique Dacosta Lunch

Quique Dacosta, Dinner

Relæ, Copenhagen

Geranium, Copenhagen

Noma – Two-a-day, Part 2.

Noma – Two-a-day, Part 1.

Torrisi Italian Specialties, NYC

Atera, again

Atera, NYC

Battersby

Meals

Blogroll

Follow This Guy's Occasional Posts

This Guy on Twitter

This Guy on Facebook