D-Day (Degustation Day)
My Restaurant Week, continued.
When we last saw our hero, he had just eaten a fantastic meal at Peter Luger. We pick up his story on Saturday morning, in a cozy booth at a small West Village restaurant:
Brunch
We met Conny & Joe in their rented hovel. We liked what they’d done with the place; the glow of the stove burners cast a particularly romantic light.
Walked down the street to Tartine, where the four of us barely fit–especially after a round of croque monsieur and croissants aux amandes (the best almond croissant I’ve had outside of France, I might add. Apparently, others agree).
Snack
Our next stop was Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Haven. We saw Mr. Chocolate himself, working what I think were the hot chocolate mix machines (which are viewable behind a glass wall). Even more exciting, we saw his custom VW Beetle parked outside the shop.
After a quick hot chocolate and a not-so-quick deliberation on which of the overpriced chocolate items to buy, we headed out.
Dinner
Fast forward a few hours, to the day’s (and Restaurant Week’s) main event: dinner at Café Boulud. For 50 minutes, the four of us carefully deliberated over the menu until we finally decided what to order. We shared:
Appetizer »
- Squash risotto, with fried risotto cakes (amuse bouche)
- Wild mushroom soup with chanterelles, croutons and garlic-parsley oil
- Sautéed foie gras (mais oui)
- Pithivier for three: Pheasant stuffed with foie gras, wrapped in a puff pastry
Main Course »
- Sautéed sea scallops with porcini-pomme purée, Brussels sprouts, parsnip and walnut vinaigrette
- Beef Duo: braised short ribs and roasted hanger steak with watercress, salsify and Yukon Gold potatoes
- Duck mostardo
- Grilled daurade with chanterelles, rosemary polenta and olive jus
Dessert »
- Roasted apple with lemon gratin apple cider gelée and Granny Smith apple sorbet
- Black Forest tart with vanilla sorbet
- Pumpkin tart
- Cranberry confit
- Warm madeleines (petits four)
Wines »
- 1999 Leoville Barton (Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon)
- 2002 Puligny Montrachet (White Burgundy)
- A Barbera from the Piedmonte portion of Italy
- 2004 Sancerre
- 2003 Geyser Peak Chardonnay (California)
- A sweet (dessert) Riesling from Muller Catoir
Yes, it was filling. Yes, it was expensive. But it was so much fun. And what a fitting end to My Restaurant Week.
Epilogue
Arrived home to find that a very special delivery had arrived: my 10 bars of Poulain 1848 chocolate, shipped 3 weeks ago (by boat!) from France. (As of this writing, 9 remain.)
Beautiful!
Love food posts!
:) thanks!
we should meet for dinner some time so i can write more food posts.
p.s., how much did you win in AC?