Restaurant Review: Le Cirque

As you may know I went to Le Cirque for Restaurant Week. I hate to say it because Le Cirque is one of my favorite restaurants, but I wasn’t very impressed. I know…how is that possible? To be honest, I don’t think it’s because the food was that bad, but because I went into it with such high expectations.

To Le Cirque’s credit, I could have made wiser course selections. I started with the escargot, ordered the duck for the entrée and finished with crème brûlée for dessert. With the exception of my dessert choice I really went out on a limb, and I wish I had stuck with my old reliables.

Luckily I was with @jerpdavis, who not only eats everything, but just wants me to be happy. When I wasn’t enjoying the escargot we traded appetizers, so I ended up having the pasta instead, which was quite good, but quite “regular.”

When I wasn’t enjoying the duck, @jerpdavis arranged for me to try the chicken instead, which turned out to be delicious (crispy skin - delectable).

Very different from me, @jerpdavis enjoyed everything he tried at Le Cirque. About the escargot he says, "In a departure from true French fashion, the escargot was coupled with delicious Gruyere gnocchi. Served in a red wine sauce, this dish was an excellent change of pace from the typical snails in garlicky oil that you usually get.”

And about his pork steak entrée he says, “The pork steak was tender, beautifully cooked and had the textural assistance of some nuts (pine nuts maybe?). Delicious food all in all, but not the triumph I remembered from my first visit. “

@jerpdavis’ assessments leave me confused about what went wrong. Do I have a hard time with just how much the ingredients in these options were honored?  I usually really enjoy duck, but this dish was particularly “ducky.” It also wasn’t a duck breast – it was completely dark meat, which I didn’t expect or really enjoy.

As for the escargot, I was hoping the escargot itself would be a little more masked since I was still wrapping my head around what I was eating, but it was very straightforward, and I think that was difficult for me. I digress.

For dessert we both hit home runs. My crème brûlée was as delicious as I remembered from my first Le Cirque visit, and @jerpdavis’ chocolate cannelloni was exquisite.

Overall the experience at Le Cirque was OK. The space is truly gorgeous - a perfect balance of playful and elegant. @jerpdavis describes, “Delicious food all in all, but not the triumph I remembered from our first visit. Perhaps it was an off night, or perhaps our culinary exploits in the years since first trying Le Crique have rendered me a more discerning critic. Regardless, an excellent Restaurant Week value in a beautifully bourgeois room with beautifully bourgeois people eating beautifully bourgeois food."

On that note, the staff couldn’t have taken better care of us. We were able to take our time, all necessary adjustments were accommodated and they even placed our wine bottle label on a postcard for us to take home as a souvenir.

THF $20 Saturday!

Finding fun and inexpensive weekend activities during an NYC winter can be rough. In the summer there is so much to do and see just by walking around and being outside, but who wants to do that when it’s 28° and wintery mixing?

That’s why I have decided to start posting $20 Saturdays – a weekly recommendation of things to do on Saturdays for $20 or less. Before I get started, there are a few assumptions we’ll need to make:

- Recommendations do not included costs of transportation (but are all subway/bus accessible)

- Alcohol consumption will usually not be part of the $20 – I’m a blogger, not a magician

- I assume that you all have some level of self control, so words like “browsing” will be taken literally

With that said, here is your first THF $20 Saturday:

Explore the Flatiron District:

• His & Hers Exhibit at FIT (free)
• Browse at the Limelight Marketplace (free, as long as you BROWSE)
• Lounge with a book at the Ace Hotel Lobby (free, unless you treat yourself to one of the options below)
• $8ish - Coffee and a snack at Stumptown
• $15ish - Sub and soda from No. 7 sub shop
•  $20ish - Cocktail and shared cheese plate at Lobby Bar (great value!!!)
•  And Beyond - Brunch at The Breslin or John Dory
• Madison Square Park Scattered Light Exhibit (free)
• Browse and Brunch/Lunch/Dinner at Eataly ($15-ish, unless you indulge in more than a pizza and soda)

Restaurant Review: Colicchio & Sons / Brooklyn Brewery Beer Dinner

I am a big Tom Colicchio fan and a big beer fan, so a couple weeks ago when I heard about the Colicchio & Sons / Brooklyn Brewery 7-course tasting menu I jumped at the opportunity. When I found out it was only $95 my jump became a leap, and I was on that reservation list like white on rice.

   

On Monday night I was very happy that I took the leap. The whole experience was “on another level,” as I tweeted this afternoon (and Tom Colicchio retweeted!). The event, which took place in the C&S private dining room, was only meant to take 2 hours according to the listing. In fact it took twice that time, and I’m glad it did, for this type of experience is never meant to be rushed. The pairing menu was as follows:

My favorite dishes were the lobster, the partridge and the passion fruit tart. I know, passion fruit tart, you wonder. How could that have been better than venison with black trompettes, Brussels sprouts and black grapes? I remind you, everything was absolutely delicious. The tart stood out to me because never, ever do I order a “fruity” dessert, but somewhere between the perfectly baked shell, the meringue-like filling and the coconut sorbet, I was won.

Something else very special about the dessert course was the beer pairing. I tweeted this evening that “of course my favorite beers are the rarest beers,” and this one is no exception. The Cuvee de la Crochet Rouge was otherworldly, almost wine-like. The only frustrating thing about this course was that the girl two seats down from me didn’t even take a sip of her beer helping before leaving the event, thus a full glass of a beer with only 20 known cases brewed was tossed out. Sinful. Just sinful.

Anyway, of course lobster made it to the top of my list because lobster is my favorite thing to eat. The way the tail and claw worked with the grapefruit was exceptional – not two flavors you would normally expect together. If nothing else, you always know a dish is amazing if you consume every last drop of broth, and in this case I did just that.

My final favorite was definitely the partridge. It was gamey, but the flavor combination of the partridge, sauerkraut and bacon (a very generous portion, I might add) was unparalleled. And that caramelized chestnut. Can I just have a bowl of those for my afternoon snack every day? What a delight.

Also a delight was the beer pairing served with the partridge, Local 2. Trying this beer is proof that you should never judge a book by the cover. It looked like a Guinness, but it was so light and delicious. Rumor has it it’s served at Citi Field, so guess who’s suddenly a Mets fan. This gal.

Finally, I must recognize my favorite beer of the evening, Wild One. It was served with the Turbot and is also extremely rare (only 100 cases brewed). This beer was so delicious and crisp, and was very champagne-like. All I can say is that if the Brewmaster wants to send me a case for Valentine’s Day or my birthday, I wouldn’t hate it.

On that note, I have to give Brewmaster Garrett Oliver props. He struck the perfect balance of educating the group while allowing us to really enjoy the food and discuss among ourselves. I definitely learned a lot from him and plan to visit Brooklyn Brewery soon so I can learn even more.

So as you can see I definitely feel good about the $95 spent last night. I overheard the restaurant staff discussing similar events taking place once each month at C&S, so I highly recommend you check them out, as they are a great value considering the amazing food and beverage pairings. Brooklyn Brewery also does events on a regular basis, so you never have to worry about being short your favorite brew (unless you’re like me and the ones you love are VIP).

**Thank you Brooklyn Brewery for providing some of the images in this post.**

Winter 2011 NYC Restaurant Week

One of my favorite times of year is upon us – NYCGO.com 's New York City Restaurant Week! Thank goodness it happens more than once a year. For those who are not aware, Restaurant Week is like Christmas or Hanukah all over again. 3-course prixe fixe menus as some of the best NYC restaurants are $24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner (participating restaurants only). Click here to see who is participating.

I have made my RW selections for this season – One if by Land, Two if by Sea and Le Cirque. I am very excited for One if by Land because it has been at the top of my “go-to” list for a while. Le Cirque is an old favorite of mine, so I am thrilled to be going back.

So that you can also make your choice wisely, below I have listed my picks for best RW options. This is based on my experiences at these restaurants both during and not during Restaurant Week:

-      21 Club: The ambiance at this restaurant is very romantic and old school, and the food is amazing. Menu features Pork, Salmon, Chicken and Vegetarian options.

-      A Voce Columbus: This is a place I would describe as “happening” and modern. The RW menu is not available online, but if the chicken is available I insist that you try it. Same with the donuts for dessert. Located in Time Warner Center, overlooks Central Park (try to get a window seat!).

-      Bond St: If you like sushi, you have got to go here. Other than Le Cirque, this is my favorite RW pick by a landslide. The amount of food is insane (actually four courses, not 3), and they have sake and martini specials as well.

-      Convivio: This is one of the best Italian meals in the city. Nestled in Tudor City, it’s one of the most romantic restaurants I have been to. Lunch and Sunday dinner only. Menu not available online.

-      Le Cirque: GO HERE!!! It is my favorite restaurant in the city. The food, the service, the ambiance, everything is perfect. Would act fast, though, as reservations are hard to come by. Menu not available online.

-      Molyvos: I went to this Greek restaurant with authentic Greek people, on their recommendation. Enough said. Do it if you can brave the theater district without the payoff of seeing a Broadway show.

-      Park Ave Winter: I haven’t actually been here, but the menu looks amazing. If I were going for a third sitting this season, I think this would be it.

-      Perilla: This is also one of my favorite restaurants in the city. I have not tried any of the items on the RW menu, but I can’t imagine anything here not being delicious. If not during RW, you have got to try it at some point.