Quick Bites: Veritas (The Tête Is Back In Town)

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  November 17, 2008]

Veteran readers will remember my rave about the tête de veau  at L'Atelier de Robuchon, which I nominated as my best Manhattan dish of 2007.

It's back, courtesy of the very same chef who prepared this heavenly puck of headmeat and jelly at Robuchon's place; Grégory Pugin, now at Veritas.

Even if a full dinner at Veritas, including a bout with the astonishing wine list, isn't in your Fall dining budget, consider dropping by the bar for either of the sensational savory dishes I sampled there recently.

Chef Pugin is turning out some of the most precise, classical French cooking available in New York, reminding you that it's hard to find a better gastronomic experience than haute cuisine done really well.  The skills he displays as a charcutier in the rabbit appetizer on the current menu leave some much-heralded attempted at French charcuterie around town eating his dust.

It's a tour of tastes and textures.  Starting with the pink slab of meat, that would be what the restaurant calls "rabbit terrine".  It's not mere pedantry to say that it seemed more of a ballotine, the very juicy, rabbit meat boned and rolled, with a layer of sweet fat (American rabbits are fat) traversing the rim.  It's superior to the rabbit ballotine which used to be a fixture on the menu at Craft (and that was a pretty good piece of charcuterie too).

In the center of the plate, well-seasoned rillettes.  Here the meat from the rabbit's leg is gently braised, then shredded and flecked with fresh herbs.  Excellent spread on the restaurant's crisp baguettes.  Green tomato jam was a well-chosen condiment, the sweetness complementing the rillettes nicely. The pickled fennel was a nice idea - a sort of non-spicy fennel kimchee.  For heat, you could nibble the green peppers.

The only element in the plate I found redundant was the toast spread with tapenade.  Nothing wrong with it; I just find tapenade a harsh accent at the best of times, and this was the time to taste the rabbit.

What can I say about this triumphant, festive dish.  To the conception at Robuchon, the chef has added a garnish of small, braised potatoes.  Otherwise, the dish is much the same.  Incredibly rich meat from the calf's head and cheeks is neatly rolled in natural  gelatine, the whole disc of goodness lightly crisped outside, ridiculously unctuous within.

The traditional embellishment is the sauce ravigote: a touch of mustard and vinegar, and chopped egg whites.  Crumbled egg-tolk tops the meat.  Fantastic cooking.

And a great spontaneous dinner at the bar, finishing with a cheese plate.  I strayed into the half-bottles of red as usual, which are far from cheap but represent some good values. The Clos-des-Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape, was a fine accompaniment to the seductive meat courses.

By coincidence, a report today on http://eater.com/archives/2008/11/renovationshutter_report_veritas.php suggests you should at least call ahead before making a bee-line for the tête. In any case, put it high on your list.