Archive
NYC: Prune (Feb 2013)
Superman, Suzy, Nam, and I all went to Prune for brunch the other week. I’ve read that Prune is be arguably the best brunch spot in the city and wanted to investigate. I read Gabbie Hamilton’s book, Blood, Bones, and Butter and found her to be a really fascinating character (Keep a lookout as in a few weeks I will try to publish a string of thoughts on chefs biographies that I’ve read lately!).
The wait at Prune is supposed to be pretty heft later in the day, so we arrived right when they opened and were seated promptly downstairs. The mimosas there are really unique and combine an unexpected bunch of ingredients.
NYC Kaiseki: Kyo Ya (Feb. 2013)
Author: Victor
Restaurant: Kyo Ya
Chef: Chikara Sono
Date: February 23, 2013
Notes:
-A lot of friends have been saying that Kyo Ya has pretty amazing kaiseki, so I’ve wanted to try it for a while now. However, I never got around to actually trying it until recently, when I finally found some friends who were willing to go with me.
-A lot of the ingredients in the meal were seasonal, and I definitely appreciate how Chef Sono tries to use the best ingredients available.
-Overall, it was a pretty great kaiseki meal! A lot of the courses and ingredients didn’t have flavors that were too strong, so I can definitely see why people see Kyo Ya as really authentic—many of the flavors were more subtle and nuanced.
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.
Monte
Victor
tadv3
Happy Noms 