Archive
NYC: Daniel (Feb. 2013)
Author: Victor, Monte, and Tad
Restaurant: Daniel
Exec Chef: Daniel Boulud
Date: February 18, 2013
Notes:
Victor:
-I’ve been wanting to come back for a while now, and Monday was a good chance to! The meal was great and better than the other meals I’ve had here before.
-The service was great except for one small issue. I asked for menus after the meal, and the server said he’d give us menus, but both of us forgot after the meal :(. Still, shouldn’t he write that down or something so that he can remember after the meal?
Monte: I had been here 2 years before and was far from impressed. However, this meal was outstanding all around – even the presentation, something I normally don’t care about, brought out a wow from me.
Tad: Daniel Boulud – the Donald Trump of the restaurant world. Although, when you are this skilled, you deserve to flaunt it. Our waiter was excellent, although a menu at the end would have been nice to remember all the dishes we had. The meal was unapologetically French, and I say that with sincere fondness and satisfaction. Excellent plating, immaculate technique. As you will read, there were a few missteps with flavor, but all in all, an excellent and memorable meal.
NYC: Eleven Madison Park (Nov. 2012)
Authors: Victor
Restaurant: Eleven Madison Park
Exec Chef: Daniel Humm
Date: November 20, 2012
Notes:
I’ve been wanting to try EMP’s new tasting menu for a while, ever since I heard that they were changing up their menu. It’s still somewhat similar to their previous setup, except that everything is more focused on dialogue about New York. The carrot tartare and Greensward cheese “picnic” courses were REALLY good, and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I also enjoyed the magic trick, though I can see why others wouldn’t—I have some friends who just want to focus on food and not have all this dialogue and “something as showy as a magic trick” get in the way of things. Oh well; I enjoyed it!
Unfortunately, the pics aren’t great because we ate here for dinner. The lighting wasn’t great :(.
I really need to go back to EMP more often. I’m kind of curious as to how many dishes they actually change. I’m guessing that some dishes are staples: the black-and-white cookie variations, the sturgeon course, the carrot tartare course, the cheese “picnic” course (though the cheese might change), that WONDERFUL egg cream, and the magic trick!
NYC: Per Se (Feb. 2013)
Author: Victor
Restaurant: Per Se
Exec Chef: Thomas Keller
Chef de Cuisine: Eli Kaimeh
Date: February 15, 2013
Notes:
I haven’t had the chance to go to Per Se in quite a while, and I was lucky enough to have the chance to try Per Se again this weekend! I’m happy I made the trip as I got to try out a few extra courses, some from the vegetable section and some that they played around with.
The cauliflower terrine was especially excellent. It’s the highlight of the meal for me, and it was one of the best vegetable courses I’ve had in my life. Also, the beef course was spectacular. (The beef ones tend to be haha.)
ALSO, SOMEBODY PROPOSED TO HIS FIANCÉE THIS MEAL!!! It. Was. Awesome. A waiter carried this huge covered dish to their table (I had never seen a covered plate that big and was wondering what the heck it was…), and the proposal and ring were underneath. It was a subtle proposal that definitely surprised her, and she said yes to him!
All the symptoms of sudden euphoria were there haha: the increased heart rate and breathing, dilated pupils, and higher-pitched speech. She was basically radiating joy. Heck, she was so happy that we couldn’t stop smiling for quite a while. To quote Michelle, “she made my day!”
Good food + good company + a proposal that I got to witness = a successful meal!
Monte
Victor
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Happy Noms 