[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid: March 10, 2014]
It was birthday week ten years ago, which must have been the excuse for lunch at Le Bernardin, followed by dinner at Fleur de Sel, all on the same day. It's also ten years since Mouthfulsfood opened for business, with a review of the former meal.
Well, that saves me rewriting it...
Very good $48 prix fixe lunch at Le Bernardin. We had ordered the 24 hour advance notice red snapper (for two people). It is cooked in a salt and breadcrumb crust; presented dramatically, tableside, first in the crust, and then with the crust removed. At this point, the fresh herb steam is overwhelmingly appetizing. The third time it appears, it has been lifted from the bone, plated, and garnished with fresh rosemary and thyme, very thin strips of lemon (or orange?) zest, and crunchy garlic cloves. It is lavishly dressed with EVOO, of a quality good enough to drink. The fish was good, and the garnishes flavorful; on sight, I thought there was too much olive oil, but it worked very well. A side of vegetables - carrots, beans and broccoli - was surprisingly compelling, drizzled as it was with butter and lemon juice.
From the appetizers I chose an alleged "bouillabaisse". No such thing, as was obvious from the menu description, but it was good. A very loose crab cake dissolves as the waiter pours a brick red lobster and saffron broth over it. Other ingredients were chubby fresh shrimp, slices of fingerling potato colored bright yellow by the saffron, and little croutons.
I chose a dessert which was too sweet for me - my fault; a bombardment of milk chocolate and ice cream and nuts and sticky stuff. Value was enhanced by the full panoply of trimmings: a generous salmon rilettes amuse with toast, a choice of breads, hot madeleines with the coffee. The house champagne by Deutz was disappointing, but the sommelier's recommendation of a white Graves, Chateau Bel-Air (2000 or 2001?) was perfect. The drinks pushed the check up to a ton, but champagne isn't obligatory, and the basic food cost is very reasonable.
What about Fleur de Sel? A nice quail terrine, then loin of venison with potato gratin, and an apple crêpe; Aloxe-Corton '96 with the deer.
And that wasn't all. Arcane, the French-Caribbean restaurant next door to Zum Schneider on Avenue C is going through a transformation at time of writing, into a French-C ambodian eatery called Café Cambodge. Ten years ago, it housed Bao 111, and I visited for swuid noodle in curry soup and a duck confit salad.
Another tenth anniversary: the first time I saw the Hold Steady at Mercury Lounge. Back then, they really were a bar band, and the only reason I went to see them was that I knew one of the members. Before the show, a quick bit at Tenement restaurant: roast salmon, celeriac mash, carrot and coriander sauce.
And where does the time go?
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