Very occasionally I am wrong. When Chef’s Club opened I thought the concept was a bit ridiculous. Considering the general dislike that New Yorker’s have for out-of-town absentee chef’s I saw little that made sense about a menu that was a compilation of dishes by 3 such chefs. A permanent pop-up concept like Intro in Chicago is more of what I thought Chef’s Club would be. I have previously dined in the Chef’s Club Studio and the experience was wonderful. But this was my first time in the dining room as well as my only restaurant week meal this year. I may have mentioned it in a prior review, but this dining room is probably one of my favorites in NYC. The layout of the open kitchen allows for a maximum number of guests to have a fantastic view, the bar is absolutely stunning and the Puck building an icon on its own. I can’t even imagine how long just the bar miss en place takes. And while I am always skeptical of restaurant week menus, Chef’s Club used only the regular menu which indicated which dishes could be part of the restaurant week price as well as supplements for all others. I believe we were evenly split on supplements or not and did add a pizza after watching them being made in front of us all evening. An overall lovely experience and it was fantastic to enjoy restaurant week without feeling like you were settling for a menu you didn’t really want.
Salad of the month – market tomatoes, ricotta, garlic crouton, soppressata, basil, charred tomato vinaigrette 
Maine diver scallops – quinoa, meyer lemon, calabrian chili oil 
Thai glazed short ribs – barrel aged fish sauce, broccoli, peanuts, mint cilantro 
Colorado lamb chops, cotechino, endive, white beans, pear 
Diavola pizzetta – salami napolitana, smoked mozzarella, san marzano tomato, chili oil 
Dessert of the month – plum upside down cake, lemon sorbet, cream anglaise, plum caramel sauce 
Ice cream and sorbet 
Tag Archives: Erik Anderson
Chicago – 5/15/15 – Embeya and Intro
Embeya
As frequently as I am in Chicago there are still restaurants that I have always wanted to go to but somehow never seem to have the time for. Embeya has been on my to-do list probably since it opened but it took the relaunched version with Mike Sheerin at the helm to get me there. An absolutely lovely lunch and perhaps our only complaint was that the broth of the mussel dish was under seasoned.
Tete charcuterie Sai Krok Isan – pineapple, green garlic, cilantro
Charred baby carrots – cured ham, togarashi, yuzu vinaigrette, mint
Green papaya – cucumber, Chrissy shallots, Thai basil, mint
Steamed mussels – spot prawns, halibut, lemongrass-lobster broth
Chicken thigh – steamed cabbage, roasted potato, soy-mirin jus
Yuzu semifreddo – sake soaked strawberries, angel food cake
Ganache – whole wheat graham cracker,miso-caramel ice cream
Intro
For those not familiar Intro is sort of a long term pop-up concept where the chef rotates every few months. Erik Anderson was the second chef in residence at Intro, and while I generally avoid opening nights of anything, we planned our trip around this dinner. The last time I was in this space was in the L2O Laurent Gras days and remember it as a dining room out of a tv show…so sophisticated and modern and just perfect. So it was certainly very strange to be back with taxidermy on the walls! But if I avoided the comparisons I did like the decor. I’ve previously loved Erik’s cooking and this meal was no exception. And while the entire meal was great, the foie tart was so memorable that I’ve almost totally forgotten about all of the other courses.
Island Creek Oyster – Gueuze
Preserved Foie Gras Tart – Salted Strawberries – Hazelnut Milk – Radishes
Pike Boudin in Onion – Lettuce – Snap Peas – Ramps – Egg Yolk – Smoked Lamb’s Tongue
Roasted Poularde – Lobster – Morcilla – Fava Beans – Madeira and Black Truffle Sauce
Roasted Hay Custard – Fresh Creme – Maple Syrup
Bourbon – Tea Baba
NYC – 1/10/14 – Chef’s Club Studio – Erik Anderson
I will admit that I don’t really get the concept of the Chef’s Club. When it was first announced I thought it would be more of a rotating pop-up concept. But it is actually a regular restaurant with a menu created by four visiting chefs (selected each year) but helmed by a different executive chef. I’m not sure that I would ever visit just for dinner but I was happy to see that others are supporting it and the dining room was quite full. But there is a separate ‘studio’ space where dinners are hosted when the visiting chefs are in residence and I was lucky enough to reserve a spot for one of Erik Anderson’s dinners. I have regretted not having made it to Catbird Seat while he was there so was thrilled to FINALLY be able to have his food. Expectations certainly exceeded.
The Puck – bourbon, bee pollen, pear, pepper (at the bar pre-dinner)
Maine diver scallops – raw & cooked
Potato – creme fraiche, caviar
Squab liver Bon-Bon
White truffle porridge – Danish rye bread, goat butter, hickory nuts, tonka bean
Tart – potato, black truffle
Pike – onions, roasted chicken skin bouillon, preserved lemon
Roasted pigeon – cranberry, juniper, chestnut, turnip, pine
Hay custard – roasted sweet grass hay, fresh cream, barrel-aged maple syrup
Burnt sugar and Rosemary pudding – buttermilk, pecan, sable
Wine Pairing
Raventos I Blanc ‘de nit’ Rose Cava 2012
Les Granges Paquenesses Cremant Du Jura Brut NV
Lanson ‘Black Label’ Champagne Brut NV
Domaine De La Pinte, ‘La Capitaine’ Arbois 2011
Charles Joguet ‘Cuvee Terroir’ Chinon 2012
Vinhos Barbeitos, Rare Wine Co. ‘Historic Series’ Savannah Verdehlo NV
iwillmakeualist 