Archive
OC: Playground (Feb. 2014)
Author: Victor, David, and Simon
Restaurant: The Playground
Exec Chef: Jason Quinn
Website: http://playgrounddtsa.com/
February 7, 2014
General Notes:
This gastropub is really casual and laid-back, but the food is exceptional. Most of the menu changes a bit each day depending on fresh ingredients, but the maple-glazed pork chop and Black Mission fig dessert seem to be permanent.
The kitchen really seems to enjoy cooking, and it kind of shows in the experimentation of both the food and meals. They do special event meals at their sister restaurant, Playground 2.0 (from pop-ups to invitation-only tasting menus), and they also have some fun with Sunday suppers.
Regarding the meal, it was generally really good. There were some dishes that were outstanding, but there were also some that were merely good (they were simply outshone by the amazing ones). All the flavor combinations worked very well, but two dishes were way too salty (the wild mushrooms and broccolini). I’d come back just to eat the rich, indulgent pork chop or the intensely flavorful mazemen, though; they were that amazing! I really have to applaud Chef Quinn. This place is exciting!
NYC: Juni (Jan. 2014)
Authors: Monte and Tad
Exec Chef: Shaun Hergatt
January 20, 2014
Monte: I had tried SHO downtown when Chef Shaun Hergatt was still working there and thought it was great. I had been wondering what he had been up to when I randomly saw that Juni had reservations on OpenTable and I decided to google it since I had never heard of it. Surprise, it’s Shaun Hergatt’s restaurant. The lunch deal of 3 courses for $35 (or 2 courses for $30) looked accessible so Tad and I jumped on it (Tad edit: for the record, I would have jumped on it if it was $100 for three courses).
Tad: It’s been a while since I’ve written on Noms, mostly because I spent the last few months finding myself. After over two decades of schooling, I finally had to face the “real” world (or at least father threatened to cut me off unless I got a real job). So I guess this is my job for now…I will keep writing until I get bored.
I guessed that Shaun left SHO because catering Wall Street business lunches wasn’t what a chef of his caliber deserved (you can’t BUY discerning taste, to paraphrase the old adage). The new restaurant is a way for him to showcase his cuisine at a more centralized location, however icky the new location may be: Jungsik aside, it’s hard to think of Korean food, especially of the type in Koreatown, as anything but what you eat to demonstrate your worldliness in ethnic foods.
NYC: Le Bernardin (Dec. 2013)
Authors: Victor and Monty
Exec Chef: Eric Ripert
December 21, 2013
Food:
Amuse-bouche:
Left: Beet with goat parmesan.
Middle: Tuna tartare with soy glaze and potato crisp.
Right: Cauliflower soup with potato foam and parmesan tuile.
Monte: Oh mah lordy lord this was a marvelous start to the meal. From left to right you first get a soft cheesy bite of sweetness, next a wonderful textural contrast with crispy and creamy salty goodness, and lastly a wonderfully aromatic rich soup. Wunderbar.
Monte
Victor
tadv3
Happy Noms 