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

At Nolita House, enjoy the soundtrack but skip the food

Friday night was the long-awaited moment when the girls and I finally got together with KVK, a friend from our office's LA location. I chose Nolita House for the scene of the crime, since it was relatively convenient to the apartments of my three downtown companions

I arrived first and immediately noted that this place was LOUD. And I mean you-know-you're-going-to-be-yelling-the-entire-night loud. And rest assured we were-- once we had finally convinced the hostesses that our party of three (soon to be four) was worthy of being seated before our fourth arrived (yes we'd order! Yes we'd start eating!). We were seated in a table in the back, wedged in so tightly with the other tables in the tiny space that we all kept elbowing people at other tables throughout the evening.

But what about the food? SL and KVK put in an order for a couple of apps while we sipped our drinks, SL a prosecco, KVK a beer, and me a glass of tempranillo/garnacha that was suitably light, fruity, and easy-drinking. AC arrived right when the apps did, and they dug in. The verdict was that the artichoke dip was a winner, but the mac and cheese spring rolls weren't worth a second bite. While the apps were passed around, we all dug into the complimentary mini-loaf pan packed full of tiny, addictive, and unabashedly greasy potato chips. Yum.

Toasted cheese crumbles on top?

Fried cheese and carbs. Healthy.

Have some chips!

We finally placed our entree order, and even though the place is a pretty tiny restaurant, it took a notably long time for the plates to arrive. When they did, the results were mixed. AC and SL were relatively happy with their tacos, which came with some generic-looking Mexican sides and condiments.

Chicken 'n' guac

Anemic rice & beans

But KVK wasn't thrilled with his Penne of Mulberry, which he chose with chicken (you can also get it with sausage). He took a few bites and left the rest.

Looks more interesting than it was

My choice was probably the stealth winner of the night-- I simply ordered one cheese from their cheese list. At only $5, my plate of brebirousse d'argental was a true bargain. It was a huge wedge of cheese accompanied by a few afterthought garnishes (undressed mesclun, three dried apricots, a half dozen dry craisins). The flatbread, the same vehicle that was supplied alongside the artichoke dip, was ample but surprisingly bad-- dry and crumbly and flavorless, somewhat stale-tasting, basically lacking any redeeming qualities whatsoever. But the cheese itself was deliciously creamy and soft. I was happy with that choice.

Chunk o' yummy cheese

So Nolita House presents a true Offset Spatula rating dilemma. Did we have fun? Yes. Was it reasonably priced? Quite. Was the food good? On balance, no. Was the service good? Definitely no. But-- and this is a big but-- what would keep me coming back to Nolita House was the music. Yes, I noted it was incredibly loud, but it had by far and away the best bar soundtrack I've ever heard. Let's just say they had me at Jesse's Girl. Turns out the mix was simply the bartender's iPod, and the place turns into a dance party after 11ish. That's certainly worth remembering. Which brings me to my final recommendation: Nolita House gets two Offset Spatulas, but if you go, don't go for dinner. Come after 11 for some reasonably priced drinks and some sick beats.

Nolita House
47 East Houston Street, between Mott and Mulberry
212-625-1712

Great potential at Ciao Bella

On Saturday night, AV and I ventured out into the wilds of the UES to find dinner. It was on the early side and we didn't have anything in particular in mind, so we wandered looking at menus for a while (skipping the new Libertador Argentinian restaurant nearby due to excessive attitude) before ultimately stopping at Ciao Bella.

We were greeted by no fewer than three people as we entered the room. We were then given several choices of tables and ultimately settled on one in the corner, probably the wrong choice as the space was a little awkward. Nevermind; we were there to eat, and we dove right into the expansive menu, making our choices and placing our order with the incredibly badass maitre d', who, as AV put it, looked as though he could grate parmesan cheese with merely a withering stare.

As we waited for our first course, we tackled the bread. The thick, oblong slices of white bread felt a tiny bit on the stale or overbaked side-- the interiors were no longer soft-- but they went very well with the flavorful sun-dried-tomato-and-crushed-red-pepper olive oil, a very nice touch.

Great dipping oil

We had decided to share an appetizer, which emerged quite promptly. The Carciofi alla Romana, or Roman-style artichokes, were supposed to be pan-roasted but emerged as complete grease-bombs. We both really wanted to like this dish--after the artichokes at Eleven Madison Park, we are both very pro-artichoke-- but despite the fresh ground pepper our waiter offered (and we accepted) when the dish appeared (bizarrely), the artichokes were seriously underseasoned and oily to a fault. When we added a bit of salt, trying to salvage the dish, the taste improved a bit, but we both gave up after a while, leaving this app unfinished.

We really wanted to wipe the artichokes off with a napkin or something...

We were more successful with the main courses. AV's choice of fettuccine bolognese was a good one; he said the pasta was perfectly cooked and the sauce was tasty, if perhaps a little salty (which is ironic, given the artichoke situation). The portion size was quite reasonable, as was the price ($15).

Meaty deliciousness

My own selection was the baby spinach salad, which came with raspberries, candied walnuts, mushrooms, pancetta, and raspberry vinaigrette. I asked for a substitution for the pancetta, and the maitre d'/waiter was incredibly accommodating, giving me exactly what I wanted. I went with hearts of palm, which turned out to be the best part of salad. All the ingredients in the salad were really tasty, although they didn't meld together all that well. The strikingly fresh raspberries were a nice treat, however.

Who doesn't love candied walnuts?

Ciao Bella emits a "cool" vibe: it seems like it would be a nice place for a relaxing drink at the bar. Even the bathrooms are sultry, if a bit bordello, in their red-and-black scheme (N.B.: If you visit, be careful about locking the door behind you... you may think it's locked and then someone may barge in on you in the middle of your, um, stay. Just, you know, hypothetically.) And while some of the dishes missed, others were really solid. It's clear if you order well you can have a truly excellent meal here, which makes Ciao Bella a classic three Offset Spatula restaurant.

Ciao Bella
1640 Second Avenue, at 85th Street
212-794-9494