What an absolutely lovely and unexpectedly fantastic dinner at Alexandre. Easily the most vibrant plates I have had this year and some awesome surprises like the airy cheese course. The hard candies to end the meal still bring a smile to my face and I nearly channeled my grandmother and pocketed all of them. Unfortunately no menu and I did not take notes as usual but many dishes are self explanatory.
I hope the Chef’s Counter tasting menu makes a comeback. But regardless I am so happy that Juniper & Ivy exists in what can otherwise be the dining abyss of San Diego.
hoshigaki, serrano ham
graffiti eggplant, ratatouille
sweetbreads, hot sauce
sea urchin, squid ink toast
oyster, pearls
yellowtail, mango, fermented jalapeno, achiote
foie gras, glazed walnuts, poached figs, watercress
porcini mushrooms, soft boiled egg, charred leeks, roasted chicken jus
spot prawn paella, chanterelles, corn, garlic aioli, lardo
ribeye, alaskan fingerling potato, crispy onion rings, broccoli
melon shaved ice
poached pear, fried ice cream
As I dine out a fair amount, sometimes the meals tend to run together. And when it takes me months to complete a blog post, it is not unheard of that I can’t remember anything about it. Chef Christophe Hardiquest’s Bon Bon was a truly memorable experience. I had what I thought was the best seat in the house at the chef’s counter which was so close that my bread is literally on top of a ticket in one of my photos. Dinner started with a long serious of snacks. They aren’t on my typed menu and I can’t remember all of the ingredients of each, but many are at least partially self explanatory and all were delicious. There were many great touches in dinnerware such as the egg cup and the multitude of amazing knife handles. Its funny that I will probably remember those knives forever. I have a weakness for a cheese cart of any sort, let alone one with this many selections, but a macaroon cart? Brilliant. Highly recommend.
Saint-Jacques de Dieppe – Finement tranchees, Chantilly d’echalote, Gaspacho d’huitres
Moules parquees 2016 – A la marollienne
Raviole – A la truffe blanche d’Alba
Coeur de cabillaud – Broccoli, emulsion chaude aux huitres
Caille farcie – Racine de persil, Jus de caille, genevrier-gin
Incredible knife handles. Each one in the block was different.
Assortiment de fromages
Il n’y a pas d’omelette sans casser des oeufs
Truffe – Mousse de lait cru a la truffe blanche, Opaline de chocolat, Poire pochee
Macaroon cart!
Cafe Boulud seems to have become the place for the most frequent family dinners on the UES. It was one of the first places I dined when I moved to NYC longer ago than I care to admit, and is just as solid as it was back then.
seafood ceviche – shrimp, scallop, tomato, yucca
beef duo “makgalbijjim” – braised shortrib, wagyu bavette, housemade kimchee
Running right off of the plate….
madelines
Bar Marco
So glad to finally make it to Bar Marco which has been on my to-do list for ages it seems. This was an absolutely lovely brunch. Plenty of eggs and enough beans and greens that I did not feel too badly about it afterwards. And perhaps my new favorite brunch cocktail!
tiber fizz – gin, lemon, st. germain, egg white, red wine
a.m. salad – red leaf, purple potato, bacon, egg
beans and greens – kale, cannellini, egg, parmigiano, meatballs
quiche – foraged mushrooms, herbs, ricotta
Tako
This may be the most perfect slushy drink ever.
Squeal Mountain – tequila, green chartreuse, yellow chartreuse, Mountain Dew, herbs
Butcher and the Rye
Steel City certainly is fond of its very dark restaurants. Another night of poor quality photos and extremely high quality food. From the second floor we had this fantastic view down to the bar. The portion sizes certainly were larger than they appear and larger than I am used to. The lamb neck is definitely one of the best lamb dishes I had in 2016. Actually this was a meal of many of my favorite things – the Lion’s Tail cocktail, brussels, farro and lamb. Kind of perfect.
Lion’s Tail’s
Cauliflower – roasted farro, carrots, pine nuts, brown butter, harissa yogurt
Caesar – kale, compressed tomatoes, parmesan, anchovy garlic bread, caesar dressing
Smoked lamb neck – sumac & black pepper, spicy greens & beans, marinated feta, mint chimichurri
Brussels – brown butter, dill, parmigiano reggiano, preserved lemon aioli
We loved everything about Morcilla except the noise level. The lighting was not conducive to photography but these dishes were far far better than they may look here. I thought that we would be taking much of the “All of the Meats,” and enormous platter of charcuterie, with us but we finished it all. Absolutely fantastic. As were the gin & tonics. Working my way through the Bon Appetit best new restaurant’s list never disappoints.
Sardinas Picantonas – preserved sardines in hot sauce
Who Cooks for You Farm “Rocky Balboa” Salad – smoked goat cheese, asian pear, toasted pistachio, concord grape vinaigrette
All of the Meats
Churro de Calabaza – roasted pumpkin churro, tomato membrillo, manchego, vadouvan curry
Cordero En Morena – Jamison farm spiced lamb meatballs, sumac yogurt, golden raisin and leek escabeche
If there wasn’t always a wait I would be at Wildair every night. Actually even if I just lived in the neighborhood I would be here every night regardless. I am pretty sure I could never get tired of the spicy tuna toast which was one of my favorite dishes of 2016. A previous iteration I reordered for dessert. Yes it is that good. I just wish the secret wasn’t out.
Potato darphin, maine uni, jalapeno
Breakfast radishes, seaweed butter
Fluke crudo, pineapple, ‘nduja
Beef tartare, smoked cheddar, brazil nuts
Spicy tuna toast, tomato, scallion
Crispy grain salad, hearts of palm, tarragon
For some reason I don’t think I had the same experience at High Street on Hudson that many others have had. My appetizer of smoked bluefish on toast was quite tasty but I couldn’t detect even a hint of horseradish, which is why I had ordered the dish. And while the happy valley beef was a great piece of meat, the promised chilies were also undetectable. The desert I ordered seemed so promising as how could anything with a snickerdoodle be less than amazing? Yet it was underwhelming as well. I would certainly give it another shot but with so many choices in NY perhaps my expectations are always too high and this just seemed average.
Smoked bluefish on toast – cucumber, radish, horseradish cream cheese
Happy valley beef – late summer squash, chilies
Peaches pecan – snickerdoodle, buttermilk ice cream
mfk.
Yet another fantastic brunch at mfk. I am always baffled as to why this place is not packed at this time of day. Chicago friends you really need to put it in regular rotation!
ceviche, poblano guacamole, squid ink tostada
shrimp and cucumber aguachile, jicama, avocado
chioggia beets, basil, aged goat cheese, orange yogurt
roasted and chilled cauliflower, almond, red onion, xato
pqm bread service, caramelized shallot butter, radishes
seafood fideous, toasted vermicelli, piperade, saffron
albondigas pork & veal, grana padano polenta, tomato jam
Next: French Laundry
Having the Next French Laundry menu to look forward to helped me to get past the letdown of my French Laundry meal a week before being over. Its amazing that the dishes on this menu are 20 years old. They are delicious and still completely relevant. The French Laundry influenced dozens of chefs since it opened and fine dining has evolved in many ways. I love the evolution but at the same time I would eat these dishes everyday if I could. This was absolutely lovely and one of reasons I love Next for allowing me to experience what was before my time.
cornet of atlantic salmon
carrot soup
black trumpet mushroom soup
gulf shrimp and avocado salsa
blinis with peppers and bottarga
barbecue eel with sesame and yuzu
salmon chop
black truffle custard
oysters and pearls – sabayon of pearl tapioca with island creek oysters and golden osetra caviar
tomato salad – yellow tomato sorbet, basil infused oil and brioche crouton
agnolotti – butternut squash, quince and madras curry
pompano “amandine” – orzo, pole beans and preserved meyer lemon
atlantic cod – clam chowder, celery and bacon
sweet butter poached lobster – pommes maxim, melted leeks and beet essence
five-spiced lobster – port poached figs and moulard duck foie gras
“roulade” of duck breast – creamed white corn, huckleberries and chanterelle mushrooms
rabbit “saddle” – applewood smoked bacon with pruneaux d’agen, caramelized fennel and fennel oil
“pot au feu” – beef short rib with root vegetables and sauteed bone marrow
lamb – thyme, tarragon and dried beans
chaource – red plums, chive oil and lolla rossa
roquefort – trifle with french butter pear relish
“verjus” sorbet – peach butter and mint infused oil
“coffee and donuts” – cappuccino semifreddo with cinnamon sugar donuts
mignardises
I started with more than 60 and have narrowed it down as much as possible. In no particular order here are my top dishes of 2016, whatever ‘top’ means on any such lists. Largely these dishes are not representative of my favorite meals of 2016 and many are from what I would consider casual restaurants. They may not all be the best dishes technically but are the dishes that I could eat every day and often have cravings for. In the interest of fairness of I have disqualified the Au Cheval burger, the Humm Dog, Black Truffle Explosion, and Oysters & Pearls as well as all bread courses.
balsamic, truffle, artichoke
Luskus with Kitchen Table @ Bubbledogs
New York
osetra – plantain, papaya, rum
Alinea
Miami
elvis tartine
Eating House
Miami
beef crudo
Momofuku Nishi
New York
farm egg baked in celery cream
Miller Union
Atlanta
foie gras and truffle macaroon
Osteria Francescana
Modena
sheep’s milk gnocchi
Jockey Hollow
Morristown, NJ
passionfruit semifreddo
Contra @ Gramercy Tavern
New York
carolina gold rice
Roister
Chicago
okonomiyaki
Xiao Bao Biscuit
Charleston
snap pea sushi
Olmsted
New York
pike quenelle
nam tok beans
Kin Khao
San Francisco
spicy tuna toast
Wildair
New York
ko egg
Momofuku Ko
New York
general tso fried chicken
Chaan Teng
New York
The dining room at Smyth is one of my favorites of the year. Perfectly informal is the best description that I can come up. It is inviting in the same way Noma felt to me, as if you are at a dinner party hosted by a friend with an amazing house and decorator. The highlights for me were the brioche donut of sorts fried in beef fat (extras should be offered for a supplement…please?) and the outstanding dessert of egg yolk soaked in salted licorice with yogurt meringue. I’m looking forward to checking out the Loyalist downstairs later this month!
The farm potato
Tomato ice, seaweed, oyster
Smoked & dried beet with scallop
A salad of duck and herbs with roasted squid
Dungeness crab & foie gras with scrambled kani miso
Aged carrot roasted
beef and brioche
Squab, pineapple sage, grapes and peas
Slow cooked saddle of lamb with kelp marmite
Milk chocolate, huckleberries, and preserved shiitake mushroom
Sage honey tart
Egg yolk soaked in salted licorice with yogurt meringue
Frozen tomato mousse, noyaux, and spicy flowers
Au Cheval
Of course now that United’s fares from EWR to ORD have been cut in half there is talk of Au Cheval coming to New York. This burger was my reward for the dozens and dozens of trips I have made to Chicago, especially those early morning flights to be there by 11am when it opens for lunch.
Roister
A seat at the hearth at Roister may be my new favorite place in Chicago. In a way the plating is deceiving as some of these dishes are dark and are not necessarily made for today’s instagram age. And while looks can be deceiving, menu descriptions can be as well. Oysters are one of the very few foods that I genuinely dislike. I have been trying to train myself to like them for 2 years now but was set back by an unfortunate episode of food poisoning. When Chef Brochu kindly sent out a gift of the smoked oysters my stomach sank. I was dining with my mother, the only person I know who dislikes oysters more than I do, and who would be of no help in eating these. I made her try one and she admitted it wasn’t bad at all (which is a very high compliment). I happily ate the rest as they were completely delicious. I love having my mind changed about an ingredient. The fries I likely would not have ordered myself as bonito and tofu are not ingredients I particularly enjoy but a friend ordered them on a previous visit and I had to have them again. Then there is the chicken that I still think about. The leftovers are the first thing I have ever taken in a doggie bag from any meal while traveling. I cleaned out half of the hotel mini bar and we ate the rest for breakfast. It may have been even better.
Tomato bread – mayo, shallot, pecan oil
Aged cheddar rillettes – truffle, cauliflower, fry bread
Chow chow mein – aged cabbage, noodles, relish
Cucumber – melon, smoked creme fraiche
Smoked oysters – garlic butter, breadcrumbs
Yukon fries – soy dusted, bonito flakes, tofu mayo
Whole chicken & chamomile – braised, poached, fried with sunchokes
Hushpuppies – corn crema, sour corn, manchego
iwillmakeualist 