American – Page 9 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Dovetail

103 West 77th Street off Columbus Avenue
212/362.3800
$70 each for four, with two bottles of wine, with tip
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A week into its opening, and chef-owner John Fraser, previously of Snack Taverna, already showed his guns. With ‘Cesca and Telepan, I am glad that I live close to the upper west side and have access to civilized dining without trekking all the way downtown. I will be completely jealous of the neighborhood residents when the restaurant starts serving its $38 suppers a la Lucques of Los Angeles. Judging from the dishes I had during opening week, I know it will also do well when it opens for brunch this new year.

Four of us met at Dovetail to celebrate the end of the year, but one had to run in the rain on her way to the restaurant. Needless to say, she was very unhappy when she couldn’t find the faintly lit door on 77th Street. We all felt we had to apologize to the maitre d’ for her initial reaction, but the staff instead went out of their way to make it up to her.

We immediately started drinking a bottle of Argentinian Malbec while we waited for our orders. An amuse-bouche of caviar and fried capers were served in artsy spoons on top of lentils. Back in my younger days when I volunteered to work in the Bryant Park fashion shows, I had my share of caviar snubbed by the models backstage. Liking caviar is an acquired taste and I’m sorry to say that I still don’t have it especially if they’re served with capers. Nothing to fret over, of course, because the appetizers started coming in.

The pork belly with warm hen’s egg was delicious. The savory porcini mushrooms was a nice contrast to the runny yolk. I love, love, love runny eggs with my dishes! I wasn’t too keen in ordering the gnocchi since I just had them at Bouley three days before and again at Bacaro a week ago, but my friends really wanted to try the veal short ribs that came with it. With black truffles, prunes and shavings of Pecorino, it was an absolutely indulgent and hearty dish. I could eat this in a bowl on my lap any winter night with a glass of full-bodied red wine.

The beef tartare on top of lobster meat was a good combination. Served cold, I thought it was a nice opposite to all the warm plates. I also couldn’t have enough of the Brussels sprouts leaves with Serrano ham. It was very simple; dressed so appropriately with cauliflower and pears.

Into our second bottle of red, this time a lighter Grenache from Australia, we talked about how everything so far had been very satisfying. We have settled on our warm seats and my lone grouchy friend was no longer. The four of us continued to show our carnivorous sides with the beef sirloin, duck, lamb’s meat and tongue. The sirloin was served with beef cheek lasagna and chantarelle mushrooms. I can now get my favorite Babbo dish uptown! The duck, sent complementary by the chef, tasted like really good and juicy beef steak. They disappeared from the plate before I could get a second piece. The lamb, with a nice tabbouleh wrapped in grape leaves, was jazzed up with Indian spices, mint and yogurt. There just shouldn’t be any other way to eat lamb but medium-rare. The lamb’s tongue was an appetizer, but served with our main courses, it was a bit of an anomaly on the table–I ate on my own after my companions focused their attention on the other meats. The parsley leaves were a good distraction to the powerful offal-olive taste.

As for the desserts, Dovetail’s pastry chef matched Fraser’s performance in the kitchen. The citrus came with a cookie and white chocolate. I’ve previously declared my love for desserts with a combination of tart and sweet, but my friends preferred the rich butter pudding with rum and bananas.

As my first post in 2008, I am very satisfied with Dovetail. I hope this means the rest of 2008 will be even better. Happy eating!

Bouley

120 West Broadway on Duane Street
212/964.2525
$175 for the tasting menu with wine pairings, without tip
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There comes a time in your life when you have an awesome meal with good company and you think back the next day without regrets because you realize you deserve everything. Unfortunately for me, I think that way 80% of the time, but I recently read that desire is never a mistake. For my birthday this year, my good friend Miriam and her fiancÃ©, Eric, showed me that you have to allow yourself to want things, even if that means a lot of them. And boy, Bouley was the perfect place for it.

The night started off with the scent of apples in the foyer. Ever since I stepped in Bouley a couple of years ago to check out the menu, I have known that smell. It’s of the holidays, of cider, and of something warm and cozy inside. The small bar at the receptionist’s counter was a different matter. Our table was for 8pm, but it seemed like the entire New York Japanese population was also waiting to be seated. It had been drizzling outside and the coat check lady was flustered with requests from customers who have already eaten and from customers waiting to be relieved of their coats. We started afresh as soon as we were seated in the dining room.

The ambiance reminded me of Daniel and Le Bernardin, though it isn’t as expansive as Daniel’s and the crowd around us was less older than that of Le Bernardin’s. The jacquard chairs and the tassels on the lamps belong more in Versailles than the TriBeCa neighborhood this incarnation now stands, but you know to expect that the food will be as polished and refined as any old New York institution.

Below is a list of what I ate with their wine pairings:

1. Phyllo-crusted Florida shrimp, Cape Cod baby squid, scuba-dived sea scallop and sweet Maryland crab meat in ocean herbal broth with Pouilly FumÃ© Domaine Lebrun 2006

Restaurants need to cook shellfish more this way: you don’t have to force the meat; they just give. The baby squid was a spoonful of tenderness that softly went “squish” in my mouth.

2. Potato-crusted Mediterranean rouget with a mung bean saffron risotto, rose-olive sauce and Parmesan cloud with Viognier, Alban Vineyards, Edna Valley, California 2006

The potato gave the fish texture and the olive sauce gave it a bit of tart that harmoniously fused with the delicate touch of cheese. I could have enjoyed this even without the very yellow risotto. Extra points for calling the cheese a “cloud”.

3. Organic Pennsylvania rack of lamb baked with rocket salad, fava beans, sage and a purÃ©e of zucchini and mint with Crozes-Hermitage, Domaine des Vins de Vienne, Rhone Valley 2005

The best of all the racks I’ve had this year mainly because I wasn’t inebriated by the time this course was served. I thoroughly enjoyed the juiciness of the meat and couldn’t have enough. The touch of zucchini-mint was just right. The greens wonderfully matched. Just like the risotto with the rouget, I could have done without the gnocchi.

4. Texas pink grapefruit soup infused with green cardamon, star anise and Tahitian vanilla with Campari sugar and fromage blanc sorbet with Moscato Dâ€™Asti, Francesco Coppo 2006

The three of us all had this “soup” as a palate cleanser. I could have ended our night here with this flawless dessert. This is the kind of dessert I aim to make someday.

5. Warm passion fruit and blueberry meringue with caramel sauce, huckleberry coulis and Provence lavender ice cream with Muscat de Rivesaltes, Domaine des Schistes 2006

I loved the lavender ice cream, but I thought the meringue was too sweet with the caramel sauce.

Talk about decadence, but hey, I am allowed to want things. Happy birthday, me.

Noble Food and Wine

7 Spring Street between Elizabeth and Bowery
212/777.0877
about $120 for two, with wine pairings, with tip
â™¥

The $15,000 Enomatic Enoline 8 machine was in place behind the bar when I visited with a friend, but it wasn’t functioning. Tonight’s not the night if you were in the mood for a $90 glass of wine, our friendly bartender told us. The expensive toy is an argon gas preservation system which keeps wine fresh after it’s uncorked for up to two months–I’ve only used it to decide which bottles to buy from Union Square Wines.

Noble Food and Wine has been quiet even though it opened in mid-September. It first made news with the machine and it made a buzz again when chef Daniel Dorado, previously of Marema, reportedly walked out several weeks later. This hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the space looked like it was waiting for a party that refused to start. Maybe because it was six days before Christmas, but we felt a little weird for being the only two people there for dinner time.

We sat and drank at the bar instead of the lower-level dining room with Philippe Starck furnitures–our bartender seemed like he needed some company. He was attentive without being too obtrusive. To make up for the Eno, he generously let us share our wine pairings. We started with a half dozen oysters with sparkling wine. The busboy wasn’t exactly sure which were the Kumamotos from the Blue Points, but our bartender came back to the rescue and clarified. The perfectly-cooked serving of seared scallops came with a nice glass of white from Oregon and the Berkshire pork chops with honey-glazed apples and sautÃ©ed spinach were served with a full-body red. We weren’t sure what wines we were drinking anymore, but we both thought that it was just a sign that we were actually having an okay time.

When it was time for dessert, we also split the goat cheesecake. Our bartender proved that he was really paying attention to his only two customers of the night because he served it with a lit candle after he overheard that my birthday was coming up. Thankfully, two more couples walked in before we paid our bill. We didn’t feel as bad when we left to join the revelry outside.

We appreciated our bartender, but I’m afraid Eater.com’s Deathwatch is looming over Noble Food and Wine.

Smith’s

79 MacDougal Street off Houston
212/260.0100
about $45 each for two, with tip
â™¥

I’ve been wanting to go to Smith’s since it opened, but every time I would remember to walk by, they always give me an estimated hour-long wait. One Monday night, I was able to get a table for two on short notice. The place was full, but when I asked our waitress if we can chill with our drinks first before ordering anything, she told us we can stay as long as we want because it wasn’t going to be a busy night. I was so glad to hear that, too, because I was losing faith with restaurant servers due to most recent experiences. Our waitress continued to be attentive and pleasant the entire night.

When we finally started to feel hungry, we ordered several small plates to share. I loved the squid, charred with lemon, olives and pancetta bits, and I thought it was a good match with the heavier, more substantial artichoke pasta with black truffles. A steamed egg with Gorgonzola and polenta was a sophisticated dish even though I feel like foams have come and gone. The Portuguese sardines were butterflied and were quite tasty with tomato confit, but oh, is that more foam? I loved how crunchy the fish was but the small bones were cumbersome in my mouth. One even pricked my gums and I had to excuse myself and go to the bathroom to pull it out.

Either we were getting more drunk as we sampled dish after dish, or that our choice of sparkling wine really matched everything we ordered. Even the roasted beets became more interesting–I love beets, don’t get me wrong–but with creamy horseradish and a nutty flavor, it was a nice complement to the corzetti pasta and earthy mushrooms.

I loved Smith’s for its location and coziness more than the food itself, but that strip off Houston is so unexciting otherwise I’d definitely come back to make sure it gets a share of my business.

Daisy May’s BBQ USA

623 Eleventh Avenue corner of 46th Street
212/977.1500
$70 each for a whole pig for 12 people, with two sides, BYOB
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There are a few annoying things about reserving a group table at Daisy May’s:
1. You can only reserve half a pig or a whole pork butt to feed up to six people
2. Your other choice is a whole pig for up to twelve people
3. It’s BYOB–that’s annoying because
4. you only have two hours to eat and drink, from 8pm to 10pm, and
5. you also have to bring your own ice and your own drinking glasses

If you have more than five friends, then you’re forced to do the whole pig, but your group needs to have twelve or else each person pays more to contribute to the bill. You know half a pig is enough for you and your big group of friends, but alas, rules are rules.

When you arrive at Daisy May’s for your Big Pig Gig, however, you forget every annoying thing about the restaurant. Even though I’ve done so many pig roasts in my life, the whole pig is still a sight to behold when served on a large wooden block, halved and then chopped in smaller pieces. The meat is juicy and soft and even better with the accompanying brown sauce. But the skin is disappointingly chewy and inedible. There is no crunchy tail to be found, but our chosen sides, creamed corn and the sweet potato, more than compensated. We barely touched the Texas toast and the coleslaw that come with any of the Big Pig Gig, but the watermelon, although bland, was a good finish.

The staff gave us covered plastic containers when we paid our bill. Most of us were able to take the leftovers home. I took home the head and it was made into Filipino lechon paksiw the next day. Daisy May’s serves the pigs that keep on giving.