LWF&D experiences Nougatine... finally

Nougatine, the slightly more casual part of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's flagship Jean-Georges restaurant, has been on my list of places to go pretty much since I moved to NYC. Now that I'm imminently moving south to Philly, I wasted no time in checking it off my list once and for all, toting Mom along for a delightful dinner.

And delightful it was. We were a little underdressed, to be sure, but we could appreciate the relaxed decor, the friendly and professional servers, and the eye-catching open kitchen bustling with activity at the end of the room. My only room-related gripe was the table: It stood on a tapered pedestal that was thick at the bottom (kind of like a mushroom), which cut drastically into the table's foot room. Kind of a bizarre choice.

But once we got beyond that, it was smooth sailing. One of the greatest things about Nougatine, I discovered, was that they offer wine in half (3oz) pours as well as full pours, which meant I could try two different kinds of wine! I started with a half pour of Domaine Carneros bubbly, which was fantastic, and finished up with a superlative Torrontes that was aromatic, crisp, and pretty darn delicious. Also, notably, for some reason they offer Cristal by the glass (and half glass). Huh.

Bubbles

Two half glasses = more than 1 glass. Yay!

To accompany the wine (and club soda, for Mom), we started with bread. Though the butter was cold and hard to spread, the bread was delicious, with a slight sourdough tang and an irresistibly stretchy inside.

And they give you two pieces at once!

Oh, and there was an amuse-bouche as well. A shot of warm carrot soup was surprisingly yummy; the accompanying rye toast was pretty standard, but it certainly got the job done.

Dollhouse food

To start, Mom went completely rogue and ordered the artichoke with mustard mayonnaise. Crazy town! After a steep but rapid learning curve in terms of how to eat it, she declared her love for the dish. I sense a long and happy artichoke-laden future for her.

The 'choke!

On to the entrees. Mine was warm asparagus topped with mixed mushrooms and a vinaigrette. Though there were only four thick spears (a bit paltry, in my opinion, for an $11 dish), all the ingredients were top-notch and remarkably flavorful. I particularly loved the mushrooms, which were actually the best part of the dish for me.

Lots of flavor, little portion

Mom chose the red snapper, with asparagus, shiitakes, and sesame vinaigrette. It was as satisfying as she expected, with perfectly-cooked fish sporting a crisp crust and a flavorful, Asian-inflected gingery sauce.

Really pretty fish

Of course, dessert was up next. The dessert menu was extensive and enticing, with everything from carrot cake to hazelnut dacquoise. It was hard to choose, but we did. In a startling turn of events, Mom chose the warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. She loved it, but I thought it was surprisingly plain for a Jean-Georges dessert: pretty standard chocolate cake, above average vanilla ice cream, job done.

Mod chocolate cake

Mine, however, was transcendent, one of the best desserts I've had in a while, in fact. This was a coconut and mango-passion mint vacherin with exotic fruit chutney. A cylinder of mango-passion sorbet-ish substance sat atop a dish of crunchy meringue, all crowned with whipped meringue and crystallized mint and surrounded by a small-dice tropical fruit salad. The plate was painted with passion fruit puree, and a long stick of meringue provided both garnish and textural and visual interest. The dessert was an explosion of flavors, fresh and vibrant and sweet and satisfying. And the textural range was impressive, from soft and silken purees and whipped meringues to firm, toothsome fruit to crunchy baked meringue. In.Sane.Ly. Good.

Explosion of color and delight!

Oh, and to send us off were three tiny mignardises each: two pates de fruit of indeterminate flavor and a chocolate-covered orange jelly stick. These were ah-kay, nice sweet bites but nothing too special.

Freebies

All in all, though, Nougatine is quite a special place. The food is spectacular, and the service and overall experience are both pretty great as well. It's a four Offset Spatula destination that's perfect for special occasions and any time you want to feel, well, delighted.

Nougatine
1 Central Park West
212-299-3900

The final birthday dinner: Burgers and cheese at Perry Street

For part of my birthday gift, the bro offered to take me out to dinner at a nice restaurant of my choosing. So last Sunday, we made our way to the West Village, venturing down quaint side streets to our ultimate destination by the West Side Highway: Perry Street.

In the evening light, the airy, minimalist dining room was splashed with sunshine, reminding me of the beautiful restaurant at the Hilton Auckland. We settled into the table and ordered drinks-- a glass of cava for me, a glass of sauvignon blanc for the bro. We're so sophisticated! As we pondered the menu, we munched on the bread, doled out by a stylish bread man. Although I didn't have high hopes for this bread, it turned out to taste better than it looked. Whereas it looked like a relatively flavorless thin-cut slice, it actually had a bit of sourdough tang and a serviceable crust. Still, I prefer my bread in a more interesting form-- a roll, focaccia, something of interest, you know what I mean?

Basic bread

Before our first courses arrived, we were given an amuse-bouche (this is a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant, after all. We're in the big leagues now). It was a tiny white teacup filled with raspberry gazpacho, and it was surprisingly complex, with layers of raspberry and tomato flavors and a good kick of spice at the end.

Sweet 'n' tangy

On to our appetizers. I had attempted to order simply an appetizer for my entire meal, and when I did so, the server stared at me blankly for a few long seconds and then strongly advised me to order something else as well, so I caved to the pressure and ordered an appetizer. But my heart wasn't in it. The unfortunate appetizer for me was the "house-made mozzarella," with cherry tomatoes and lemon verbena. It was actually a good rendition of the classic caprese, with extra interest provided by the tasty crumbles in piles around the plate, but I didn't enjoy it as fully as I would have if my mind had been set on it. It's all about the mental outlook.

Tiny little bites

The bro's appetizer was the Japanese snapper sashimi, with "lemon, olive oil, crispy skin." He enjoyed this and gave an extra shout-out to his "tasty crumbles" (the crispy skin). Kudos to Perry Street for the textural enhancements-- they really added a lot to the dishes.

Pale pastels

Appetizers dispatched, we were ready for the big show. For the bro, the entree course was a cheeseburger. This was a monster burger with an absurdly well-sesame-seeded bun, complete with melted cheese, all the usual foliage, and even onion rings atop the burger. The accompanying fries were thin and crisp and very tasty. The bro named it "one of the better burgers I've had in a long time."

Check out all those sesame seeds!

My entree-- that is, what I actually wanted--was the frisee and Coach Farms goat cheese salad. This consisted of a tangle of frisee tossed in a goat-cheese dressing (the first time I've ever had flavorful frisee!) next to a tableau of sliced ripe peaches topped with pistachios, goat cheese crumbles, and candied wasabi. This dish was addictive and craveable, perfectly touching on all the key flavors-- sweet, savory, salty, spicy-- and all the key textures-- crunchy, creamy, tender. Delish.

Beautifully thought-out combination

Finally, we were on to dessert. The bro chose the twice-baked butter cookie with coconut cream, which ended up being a sort of upside-down open-faced cookie sandwich. I took a swipe of the coconut cream, which was interesting-- there were abundant shards of coconut right in the cream, which was a curious textural contrast to the smoothness of the cream.

With a ring of raspberries

My choice was the passion fruit sunflower, a gorgeous puddle of pastry cream topped with fresh passion fruit and dotted with tiny crisp meringue kisses around the perimeter. It was very sweet and very delicious. I'm beginning to really like this passion fruit-cream-meringue combo, Mr. Vongerichten, I really am...

Tasty and HAPPY!!

With that, we were out of there, ready to undertake the arduous task of attempting to hail a cab on the West Side Highway. As I'm begining to expect from JGV's restaurants, Perry Street was a solid four Offset Spatula destination, with very well exectued food and a smooth atmosphere (not to mention relatively reasonable prices, especially compared to his other restaurants). I'd definitely be back, even for a non-special occasion, although it was the perfect place to celebrate a birthday. Thanks bro!

Perry Street
176 Perry Street
212-352-1900

Pre-birthday delights at Jojo

On Saturday evening, AV surprised me with the first of many, many birthday celebrations (my birthday is this coming Monday, and like any good six-year-old, I'm SUPER excited). He made the reservation and we hopped in a cab, and only when he told the driver the address did I know where we were going: Jojo!

Jojo, another one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurants, is another place I've been wanting to go for a while. I remember passing it once and noting how cute it looked, all the while making a mental note to check it out. Well, apparently AV also made a mental note, because here we were for birthday dinner #1.

Jojo is situated in a very precious townhouse on the UES, and we were led up an old-fashioned staircase to our table on the second floor. The other parties were all older foursomes, which provided some very interesting eavesdropping (score!). After enduring a highly awkward specials recitation, which included not only every single ingredient in the fois gras brulee but also precisely how the dish was prepared from start to finish, we placed our orders and dove right into the waiting bread basket. This, my friends, was FANTASTIC bread, rivaling that of Blue Hill in the "bread that makes you feel bad about yourself" category. The bread had an enviable sharp crust with a soft, stretchy, chewy interior, feather-light while still substantial in the mouth. Slathered with butter, it was transcendent. The only potential demerit was the fact that they gave us three portions, that loneliest number in the bread basket realm, but fortunately I was more than satisfied with one baguette.

Oh, bread. Perfection.

Then, promptly, on to our appetizers. We had mentioned that we wanted to split the goat cheese appetizer, and without us even asking they plated it separately. Huge extra points there. This delicious dish consisted of a slab of Coach Farms goat cheese enveloped by a slim belt of potato, all bruleed to a warm, tender crisp, and accompanied by a small mesclun salad and a lagoon of arugula puree. The goat cheese here was as delicious as any warm goat cheese can be, expertly complemented by the condiments and the almost shockingly tasty vinaigrette on the lettuce.

Concentrated tastes

On to the entrees. AV had chosen the short ribs, which came with carrot puree and a forest of tiny mushrooms. Not a huge fan of mushrooms, AV offered most of them to me (delish), but he also tried a few himself and didn't recoil. He also very much enjoyed the tender and filling short ribs.

Highly colorful

My own entree was a selection off the vegetarian tasting menu (gracefully offered a la carte upon request). It was an artichoke salad with baby arugula and pine nuts. This was actually quite a hearty portion, fresh and tasty and just filling enough. Well done.

Ample veggie goodness

On to desserts, of course. AV went with the molten chocolate cake. You can't go wrong here, and Jojo certainly didn't-- the cake was rich and warm and melty, and the vanilla ice cream was perfect.

The classic

My choice, the passion pavlova, was incredible: a fragile sphere of crisp meringue, filled with passionfruit sorbet and topped with fresh passion fruit, all garnished with fresh whipped cream. Incredibly fruity, sweet, and delicious.

Slimy but sweet!

Oh, and of course, there were cocoa-dusted almonds at the end. Delicioso!

Freebies

Jojo provided a very, very special birthday meal. The setting is incomparable-- an ornate townhouse in which I instantly felt both comfortable and serene. The other patrons inadvertently offer some solid entertainment, and the food (of course) is enviable. The thoughtfulness of AV underlying the whole evening didn't hurt, either. I would highly, highly recommend Jojo for a special occasion. If you're aiming for a refined atmosphere without a lot of stuffiness, Jojo is a four Offset Spatula destination that fits the bill perfectly.

Jojo
160 E. 64th Street, at Lexington Ave
212-223-5656

Vong: Thanks for being in my life

In my experience, when you are fortunate enough to eat a five Offset Spatula meal, you know what you're getting into. At least, you have a suspicion on the way in that this could be the Big One, or at least one of them. But sometimes you have a dining experience that completely blindsides you, that you didn't see coming. This past weekend, AV and I experienced just that: a sleeper five OS restaurant.

It was Saturday night, and I'd spent all day at the Billy's Tribeca opening. I was exhausted, to say the least. Both AV and I wanted an early night, so we decided to make dinner our "entertainment" for the night. I browsed around Opentable and finally settled upon Vong, one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurants. I've never been to any of his places, which is a surprising and relatively shameful admission for an NYC foodie to make, and while I've wanted to go to Spice Market and Jojo for a while, I chose Vong because a) its menu looked decent, and b) there was a reservation available. So we traipsed across the city in the drizzle to our final destination.

The dining room itself is beautiful. Everything is vaguely Asian-ish, sleek, and chic. The tables are somewhat low to the ground, and the chairs deposit you in a semi-reclining position. Our no-nonsense waiter took our drink orders (tap water, thank you) and our food orders. Nothing special so far but no deductions either.

And then the first punch: our appetizer arrived. We had chosen to share the vegetable and avocado summer rolls, which usually come with raw tuna but are also available in a veggie version. One bite of the roll with its accompanying ginger dipping sauce left us both reeling. The rolls had all different textures-- the chewy rice paper, the crunchy asparagus and carrot, the smooth shiitake mushrooms, and the creamy avocado. The sauce had approximately 1,000 different flavors, all of which combined for an incredible pop. After we each downed our three bites, we contemplated ordering about 40 more orders, stuffing them in my purse, and running for the hills (after paying, of course). I could live happily on those summer rolls for weeks if not months at a time.

Unassumingly superlative

But we weren't done. A tiny dish of papadums landed on the table, which we dipped in the peanutty sauce. A perfect interlude between courses. Strike two.

Simple and perfect

And then the third punch: our entrees. AV had selected the crispy salt-and-pepper calamari with the sriracha dipping sauce. One bite and he declared, "This is pretty much perfection." Not relying on the batter and oil for flavor, the calamari was high quality, seasoned, and enhanced by the spicy sauce. Excellent.

Seasoned and tasty

My choice was the green papaya and apple salad. This was one of the most incredible things I've ever eaten. There was green papaya, shredded apple, cashews, fried green beans, cranberries, tiny tomatoes, shredded lettuce... everything was just so incredibly flavorful and texturally accurate, if that makes sense, that I nearly swooned. The combination of the summer rolls and this papaya salad was pretty close to the perfect meal.

Definitely top 10 of all time

It was clear by this point that we had a five OS contender on our hands. But you can't really earn five spats without dessert, so we pressed on to the final punch. I chose caramelized pineapple with vanilla and coconut sorbet. AV had said he didn't really want to share it, but once it arrived he changed his mind. The pineapple was syrupy-sweet and perfumed with vanilla. The berries were showered with tiny bits of mango, which I love. The coconut sorbet was cool and delicious, and the bonus macaroon cookies were a total delight. Overall: very impressive, not to mention beautiful.

Fruity and sweet... the best combo

It looked as though Vong's fate was sealed, but just as we were about to ask for the check, our waiter brought over two tiny complimentary mignardises: mint ice cream lollipops encased in chocolate. One bite brought a cool, if a teensy bit icy (I'm nitpicking here) finale.

The cherry on top

It would be an understatement to say that Vong took us by complete surprsise. We were woefully unprepared for a five OS night-- which, in truth, made the experience all the more delightful. That night, I ate some of the best food I've ever had, in a cool and chic dining space, and at a relatively reasonable price. I can't recommend Vong more highly, and I also can't wait to try J-G's other restaurants. Who knows what other surprises they have in store?

Vong
200 E. 54th Street
212-486-9592