To Start
AMUSE BUCHE
Oyster with foam and black truffle oil
I wish I could remember exactly what was in this. Neither of us could understand the waiter at first, perhaps from the excitement of finally being there and the anticipation of dining at a 3-Michelin-star restaurant. All we could make out was that it was an oyster (location was mentioned, but again, couldn’t understand), some kind of foam (it was brown), sauteed vegetables of some sort, and the truffle oil. Whatever was in it, this was the most delicious little bite and a great way to start out our meal.
BREADS
Selection of various breads: sourdough, wheat, olive, and 2 others I don’t recall.
Breads were offered next and we tried the sourdough and olive bread. Both good especially with yummy French butter. Why is French butter so much better than what you get here?
Chef’s Tasting Menu
TUNA
Smoked yellowfin tuna “prosciutto”; Japanese pickled vegetables (daikon) and crispy kombu
A nice, light start to the tasting menu. The portion was actually larger than we expected. The fish was so fresh tasting (like sashimi, but more firm) and the daikon and crispy seaweed added so much texture to each bite.
EGG – CAVIAR
Poached pastured egg; Osetra caviar; mariniere brother and English muffin
This was amazingly delicious and simple. Even the English muffin was perfectly toasted. I guess this is an Eric Ripert specialty and should be on every menu. Perfectly poached egg – nice and runny, just the way I like it. Topped with caviar and then finished at the table with the broth. Once you break the egg open in the broth, it’s like a rich soup which is perfect to dip the strips of muffin to sop up all the goodness.
LANGOUSTINE
Seared langoustine, mache, wild mushroom salad; shaved foie gras; white balsamic vinaigrette
This too was delicious. The vinaigrette was delicate and added just the right amount of acid to balance the richness of the mushrooms and foie gras. I was surprised that it wasn’t too bright as vinaigrettes tend to be. B felt like the foie gras was too overpowering for the sweetness of the langoustine. The earthiness was like eating country pate. But I love country pate. :)
MONKFISH
Pan roasted monkfish; hon shimeji mushrooms; turnip-ginger emulsion; sake broth
Mmmm, this dish definitely had Asian notes with the ginger. The mushrooms especially, took on the gingery flavor. It may be possible that these cute little mushrooms stole the show as far as this dish goes. Again, the dish was finished at the table with the sake broth and it all worked nicely. Balanced, but still delicately flavored.
BLACK BASS
Crispy black bass; braised celery and parsnip custard; Iberico ham-green peppercorn sauce
This was my least favorite dish of the evening. The entire dish was incredibly meaty to me after having such delicate and well-balanced courses before. The ham flavor definitely came through in the sauce, not so much the peppercorns. The fish itself was delicious, but again, very meaty. There was a generous portion so I had to donate the rest of the fish to B to finish for me. As for the parsnip custard, it was actually really interesting. Normally I don’t like parsnip, but the bottom of the custard was coated with a layer of flan, so mixing it up gave a nice mix of salty and sweet. Much better than I was expecting.
LOBSTER
Baked lobster on a bed of truffled foie gras stuffing; brandy red wine sauce
This dish was SO rich, but delicious. Even with foie gras and a very strong wine sauce, the sweetness of the lobster still came through and all of the other flavors didn’t overpower the delicate meat. The portion again, was huge – one Maine lobster tail and one claw (the tail was better and probably would have been enough). B still prefers crab over lobster and found the texture to be a little tougher than he expected. I thought it was delicious, but again I had to share with B because I was so stuffed. J
CHEVRE
Creamy goat cheese spheres, concord grape, candied walnut, black pepper
OMG, what a surprise the cheese course was. I cannot describe it in any way to do this dish justice. The spheres had the most interesting texture – soft and moist little orbs of goat cheese. The grapes were perfect with it. Such a lovely surprise – maybe one of my favorite courses of the evening. So simple with clean flavors that married well together.
CORN-PRALINE
Caramelized corn custard, hazelnut praline, brown butter ice cream, popcorn tuile
This was different and not what I expected. The custard was okay. I was so full at this point, I just ate the praline and ice cream which were delicious. The popcorn flavor did not come through on the tuile. It actually just seemed like a thin, crispy sugar wafer.
Extras
EXTRA SPECIAL BIRTHDAY DESSERT
White chocolate passion fruit cheesecake with passion fruit sorbet
The plating was beautiful with a skinny tapered candle and Happy Birthday scrawled in chocolate on the plate. The cheesecake and sorbet were incredible with fresh, bright flavors. I actually didn’t notice the white chocolate too much, but the waiter made it sound like there was just a thin white chocolate “wash” over the top of the cheesecake. Delicious!
EVEN MORE SWEETS
Petits fours – miniature bites of pistachio tarts with cherry and cream puffs
Ugh, we definitely didn’t need any more food at this point, but we tried them all. After all, they were teeny tiny little bites of goodness. I thought the cream puffs tasted very much like cereal milk. In fact, I went so far as to say it tasted like Lucky Charms marshmallows. This is not a bad thing, just unexpected. The pistachio tarts were good, but I was so done eating.
WINES
Muscadet ‘Close des Briords’, Pepiere, Loire 2008
Riesling Feinherb, Karthauserhof, Mosel, Germany 2008
We had the first two whites with the first four courses in the tasting menu. Well chosen and within our budget too. The Riesling had nice floral notes without being too fruity or too cloyingly sweet.
Rioja, Reserve ‘Vina Ardanza’, La Rioja Alta, Spain 2000
Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy, France 2006
The two reds paired with the last four courses of the tasting menu. The burgundy was great with the food, but the rioja had nice body and could definitely stand on its own, even with a meaty steak.
Chateau La Rame, Reserve, Sainte-Croix-du-Mont, France 1998
This dessert wine came with the birthday dessert and petit fours. I mentioned that I liked sauternes and she came up with a glass of this stuff. Delicious with strong notes of black tea.
SERVICE
A quick note on service. It was efficient and friendly. I love service that is unobtrusive and you don’t even notice when they give you new silverware or refill your water. The sommelier was so helpful and not at all snooty. She knew we were on a budget and worked within those limits to deliver some nice wines for us. The waiter described in detail each and every course. And they took care not to serve any cocoa because of B’s allergy. We were excited to see Eric Ripert himself come out to the floor, but alas, he didn't stop at our table.
AMBIENCE
The setting is pretty, but very corporate feeling. I would say most people dining there looked like they came straight from a business meeting. There were a handful of “special occasion looking” couples. Not my favorite decor, but it didn't detract from the entire experience. Noise levels were reasonable – not too quiet, not too noisy. Tables are arranged in such a way that is intimate and private. Our dinner lasted about 2 1/2 hours but the time flew by and we really enjoyed ourselves. I had been to a few similar tasting menu dinners but this was B's first and I think it's safe to say, it will not be his last!
I left not impressed by the decadence of it all, but by just how good simple and delicate flavors can be. Ripert seems to have a great respect for the main ingredient and lets the seafood shine. What a great birthday!
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