Archive
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!
NYC Sushi: Ichimura at Brushstroke (Feb. 2013)
Author: Victor
Restaurant: Ichimura at Brushstroke
Chef: Eiji Ichimura
Website: http://www.davidbouley.com/brushstroke-main/brushstroke-menus/brushstroke-sushi
Date: February 11, 2013
Notes:
I’ve been wanting to try this sushi bar–only restaurant for a while now. It’s in a more private dining area than the main dining area of Brushstroke, and there’s been a lot of hype around this restaurant. Reservations are pretty hard to get for this place right now, and there are only 16 covers a night (two rounds of eight).
There was a pretty large selection of fish, and apparently the vast majority of the fish gets shipped from Japan every few days. Everything was really fresh and high quality. Chef Ichimura had the usual choices (tai, saba, otoro, kohada, uni, and so on), but it was nice being able to try kuromutsu (black bluefish), higetara (a type of cod) , shirasu (baby anchovy), and shiraou (icefish).
The rice was soft and fluffy, though I like the sushi rice more at a few other places in NYC (like Yasuda). On the negative side, it started off too warm at first before finally getting to a good temperature (just sliiiiiiiightly above room temperature).
Anyway, you start off with an appetizer or two (chawanmushi and then some fish/vegetable bite-sized tastings) before trying sashimi, sushi, or a mix of the two. I went sushi-only because I was in a sushi mood. (Then again, I’m usually in a sushi mood…)
Positive dishes/pieces:
-The anago, akamutsu, kuromutsu, tai, and uni were really good.
-The ōtoro and chūtoro were AMAZING. Winter is a great time for toro haha ^_^.
Negative dishes/pieces:
-The one disappointing part was the tamago, which didn’t taste special at all.
I had a really good time here, and I thought the meal was really well-priced for what you get. The value to quality and quantity ratio is REALLY good here for sushi! Chef Ichimura is also REALLY nice. That might have helped haha.
Monte
Victor
tadv3
Happy Noms 