6/7/10 Jim and Jeff's 13th Anniversary Dinner
Colicchio & Sons
The space is cavernous. Even the most gigantic floral arrangements look like hand-held bouquets in here. The lighting is soft though the fixtures themselves remind me of cellular phone antennas on rooftops.
Our waiter was Edward. He was assisted by numerous Latin or South American men whose English pronounciation ranged from good to dubious to inaudible. We were also ably assisted by a wine person (not the Director or a Sommelier?) named Paul.
We began with cocktails. Jim ordered the Cinnamon Sidecar and I ordered a rose cremant-based Sant'gria. The sidecar was very cinnamony but much too sweet. The sant'gria tasted like hardly anything at all had been added to the cremant. So far, so eh.
We ordered the tasting menu. We did not want to order the wine pairings -- too much alcohol for Jim -- so we took Paul's recommendation of:
Gritsch 2007 Gruner Veltliner, Federspiel, "Axpoint" - minerally and bright, Paul thought he could mistake it for a riesling and I see what he means, though it has a strong finish of white pepper that is very un-riesling-like; in any case, the wine works well at the table
Paul also offered us a complimentary glass of (maker? year?) Montagny 1er to match the lobster ragout. Which it did very well, indeed (and I am no admirer of white Burgundy).
We discussed having a glass of red (a Maremma blend?) from the BTG list but, in the event, we did not order it.
On to the food:
No amuses. This must be due to our order because Jim saw other tables receiving something in Japanese soup spoons.
The Steakhouse Rolls. According to reports this is one of the few things held over from Craft Steak. They were certainly presented nicely and had good greasy-salty flavor but, in the end, they were squishy white bread. Yawn.
Plate #1 is our one and only substitution. Jim nixed the white asparagus dish in favor of a selection from the main menu: shrimp with mangalitsa ham, French mache, shrimp gelee and green almonds. What came were tender shrimp wearing thinly-sliced pork dashikis, a dark pink-red rectangle of briny gingery gelee, and a toss of flavorful greens and weirdly juicy semi-transparent almonds. This dish worked. The ginger, the salt, something very tart in the dressing, the unctuous flesh. Note to self: Get an order of this for myself on the next visit.
Plate #2 is seared hamachi with mustard, over here, and farm egg raviolini with bottarga served on white bean puree, over there, and crumbs of black truffle, in a little pile over over there there. Jim liked the fish a lot, I preferred the raviolini and, especially, the puree. The truffle crumbs didn't taste like much to me. Mixed feelings here.
Plate #3 is fluke with sea beans, crisp wild rice, uni, and sauce vin jaune. I should explain that neither one of us is excited by uni so I'm pretty much going to evaluate the dish without it. (There was no problem with the uni, it was minerally and briny, but it just doesn't float our boat.) This was a goodly-sized chunk of firm, white fish with lots of texture contrast... crunchy green and black things, smooth slightly-oxidized yellow sauce. Yum.
Plate #4 is lobster ragout with cockscomb, crispy chicken, and black garlic. Another excellent dish. Served in a little porcelain pot, the lobster was meaty, meaning firm but not defective (hard, rubbery, stringy) in any way. The chicken was tender. The cockscomb was also tender and avoided any rubberiness. The only negative thing I can say for this dish is that it was a tad salty. Still, a good dish.
Plate #5 is rabbit with caramelized yogurt, whole-grain mustard, baby chanterelles, and a slab of watermelon. There were two pieces of rabbit, a rib piece, already dressed with mustard, and a loin piece, au naturel. The mushrooms were a bit vinegary but the watermelon worked to bring everything together. Good but not great.
Plate #6 is lamb with asparagus and baby garlic. The lamb was shank meat that had been "pulled" or in some other way shredded and formed into a patty. The vegetables were both beautifully roasted and tasted vividly of their natures. Hearty and good.
Dessert #1 is frozen yogurt with rose water gelee, pistachio, and cherry. The smear of pistachio paste and the toasted nut meats were the best part, for me. The gelee tasted tinny and the lump of frozen yogurt was icy. A dud. In fact, reminds me of a dud dessert I had at Lespinasse, long ago. Two duds on one plate.
Dessert #2 is molten chocolate cake, milk chocolate panna cotta, strawberry ice cream and strawberry gelee. This is the no-miss plate and it doesn't miss.
To end, a few petit fours: prosecco gelee and peanut gelee filled chocolates. The chocolates were an interesting riff on a peanut butter cup. The gelee were nearly tasteless.
$396 with tax, before tip
As we exit we are given the take-home freebie... a slightly sweet corn muffin with a very tender, fine crumb.
So, time for the assessment:
- Memorable plates were #1, #3, and #4. Not really a high percentage.
- No need to repeat the tasting menu. Ordering appetizer+main is just fine here.
- Wine list is pricy. Presumably, that's a holdover from the steakhouse days. (I never went to Craft Steak but I was told it had Las Vegas sized delusions of grandeur.)
- It was a little disconcerting to be served by so many people. I mean, it's just the two of us. I would have preferred if Edward made all the announcements. Having him occasionally rush over to elucidate what the random kitchen guy said, was distracting.
- A plus for the big room: it was quiet at our table even when every table in the restaurant was filled.
- Sundry service things were fine, water glasses, pouring wine, more bread, folding napkins, etc.
- I think Tom Colicchio has not yet succeeded in producing a cuisine. These plates are still coming from a place of ingredients first, concept second. At Craft he puts only one ingredient on a plate, here he puts 3 or 4 ingredients on a plate.