[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid: November 24, 2014]
Well this was a great week of eating to look back on. Three fine restaurant meals, and of course a home-cooked Thanksgiving feast. A lot of good casual eating too.
To start at the beginning, does everyone remember what a very good sushi restaurant Jewel Bako was in its heyday?
Years before Masa raised the stakes, before Ushiwakamaru, and of course before 15 East, Jewel Bako vied with Sushi Yasuda if you were wondering where to go for omakase, and didn't want to spend many hundreds of dollars at Kurumazushi. Yasuda more traditional; Bako funkier, with chef Masato Shimizu handling the knives before going on to open 15 East.
And then, of course, there was Jack Lamb, the manic Harold Lloyd lookalike, not only co-owner, but (in those days) maitre d', captain, and sommelier too. He was in full flood ten years ago: walking in with someone known to the restaurant, Jack greeted us effusively before whispering "There are no VIPs at Jewel Bako."
Dinner included monkfish liver, tuna tartare, and uni appetizers, followed by a procession of sashimi. Then, most memorably, live spiny lobster ("Rarely seen at restaurant Jewel Bako," confided Jack). We met the lobster; it was whisked away; then we encountered it again still moving, unwittingly carved into bite-sized pieces. Then sushi, desserts, and throughout the meal Jack's wine pairings.
The next evening, an early look at Blue Smoke, Danny Meyer's new barbecue joint, which disappointed with low levels of smokiness and flavor in the ribs and brisket--but I loved the smoked bologna sandwich. Much better, the following evening's dinner at Café Boulud: oysters, sweetbreads, stuffed lamb saddle, cheeses.
In the mix at various points: slow roast pork roll at 'wichcraft; duck ceviche (yes, raw, marinated duck), followed by pernil and rice at Mancora, cubano sandwiches from Joselito's on Avenue C, and a vegetarian dinner at Counter.
Here's the Thanksgiving menu:
Roast capon, red wine sauce, sweet sausage stuffing
Sweet potato fritters
Pumpkin pie with Bourbon sauce
And to finish the week, white truffles at San Domenico:
Savory tarta antica, truffles
Langoustine, potato crust
Ravioli del plin, truffles
Roast and braised kid, artichoke purée
Chestnut cream in pastry
Chocolate pyramid
Biscotti
A '98 Barolo with that, and goodnight.
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