COURT Street Revisited

RER 3.17.14

It felt like an emergency; no one could think of anything for dinner, and we were running out of time before the hangry came out. Court Street was the first idea, but having my reservations, I sought other options. After getting progressively hungrier studying menus, we settled on Court Street anyway. Never have been a huge fan, but I was hoping this time would convert me.

After waiting in the front bar, which was rowdy because of St. Patrick’s, we were sat at a table in the dinning room. The menu is sleek on the outside, but the inside feels clunky, more rushed. For the holiday, our breadbasket included some Irish soda bread, a sweet pleasant surprise to our famished bellies. After deliberation and eating the olive tapenade with a fork (ok, maybe that was just me), we ordered just mains.

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My father had the Beef Burgundy, which was served on a bed of yellow egg noodles. The stew looked pretty non-descript, with similar colored meat chunks, carrots and other dull veggies. The portion was heaping and the sauce hot. No complaints from my dad.

For my mother, the penne with seared scallops, artichoke hearts, tomato, and basil, coated in a little garlicky olive oil, which was one of the specials. The plate was attractive, but just looked like pasta. The plump scallops had a nice sear, and the garlic and tomatoes played up their sweetness. Each penne was al dente, a nice textural counter point to the succulence of the scallops and the acidic tomatoes.

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The chicken Francaise that my sister had was tasty, but dull. It was something that would have tasted just as good if made at home. The mashed potatoes were the same. The battered chicken, drowned in a lemon butter sauce was not totally dry, but flavorless. It would do for the extreme hunger situation.

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I took a leap and ordered the panko-encrusted tuna dish— sushi grade tuna, seared but a perfect rare on the inside. That is what I got, but it too lacked flavor and excitement. For some reason the fish was quite lemony and the panko crust almost overwhelming. The sauces on the side (a thin, wet spicy wasabi dressing, and a thick sesame aioli) made up for the missing flavor in the fish. The wasabi addition was super hot and almost uncomfortable.

In the end, once again, the best things seemed to be sides and garnish. First of all, the olive tapenade served with the bread is super amazing, briny, creamy, chunky and delicious. The vegetable of the evening, sautéed green beans, were salty, buttery, tasty and addictive. And that puree garnish, sitting pretty on the plate, was sweet and savory, like carrots.

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A quick look at the dessert menu told us everything we needed to know. There was nothing remotely tempting or different for dessert, so quite unlike us, we skipped it.

All this being said, Court Street is like a family place. Eating there is almost like sitting down to dinner at home and digging into home-cooked food. There is nothing extraordinary about the food, the menu or the place, but that is not what it’s supposed to be. Court Street has stood the test of time with a focus on traditional food and that warm atmosphere. It is not about the avant-garde or innovative, but the classics that people can rely on. If only those classics were taken up a notch.

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3.17.14

RER 3.17.14

truffle TAKEOVER: STK Meatpacking

RER 10.3.13

Dinner was more of a dance party than anything. STK wants to be an experience. Instead, it was just a place where some old masters mates could eat and be merry. Bumping music, red wine, and overblown food induced the desired merriment.

I was almost not hungry it was so late. But I was with foodies familiar with the menu, so decisions were swift and assertive. Only the starters seemed interesting, so my close friend and I greedily decided to share four. In the end, there was a lot of plate passing and seated gyrations.

The two plump scallops were perfect— seared, succulent and lovely. The heat was a welcomed unexpected contrast. The lemon ­­preserve, however, was unappealing. Its bitterness overwhelmed the delicate sweetness of the scallop, casting a dingy shadow on the appetizer.

The two wagyu beef sliders of the downsized Lil’ Burgers appetizer were a three bite take on comfort food. But the truffle oil doused bun did the sliders no favors. It was strong and felt forced, like a mask for the simple favorite to become something elevated.

Topped with moot frisee, served with forgotten crackers and bathed in black truffle aioli, the beef tartar was luxurious but also dirtily addictive. The raw meat flavors were lost in the combative aroma of truffles. Only the chewy texture remained, hinting at what it was meant to be. Though the tuna tartar was lighter, the soy honey emulsion had a similar cloaking effect as the truffle.

We didn’t really want to share the decadent foie gras French toast with our long lost colleagues, but sharing is caring. Sweet, savory, buttery, meaty, rich; the appetizer was a whimsical play on pan prepared foie gras with plain toast points. The airy almond brioche drizzled with sherry gastrique housed a thin slab of foie gras topped with soft tart green apples. The different supple textures echoed the luxurious flavors and the spike of tangy apple.

RER 10.3.13

The shape of the pasta in the lobster mac and cheese was reminiscent of the elbows of memories past, but the mature addition of lobster sweetened the cheesy dish. As many adult mac and cheeses use real cheese (not the bright orange variety from a pouch), this too had a grainy texture that baffled the mouth while the flavors seduced it.

The soufflé-like corn pudding was shockingly appetizing, sweet and pillowy, with a dark decadence that sided with the savory. It tasted like heavenly warm ice cream, interrupted with terrestrial golden corn kernels.

After consuming far too much liver, fancy beef, raw items and truffle (and wine for that matter), we indulged further with the requisite dessert. Each dessert was a playful rendition of a staple or a memory. Like the doughnuts coated in white sugar with white and milk chocolate sauces, served from a paper bag like at a fair with a trendy twist.

Or the birthday cake,  a dessert only a princess could imagine. It was a pretty column; a white fondant encased base topped with a spiral of baby pink frosting and crowned with clear candy and floating sprinkles. Beneath the buttery sweet parapet was a thick layer of dense almond cake, which rested on a cylinder of cookie dough ice cream. Sugary like childhood dreams and fairytales, in the end, was just too much.

 Many aspects of the Meatpacking eatery were just that, excessive. From the incessant and detrimental use of truffles, to the superfluous layers of flavors and ingredients, even to the heart-pounding music and slinky decor, it was hard to fully enjoy the meal. STK did succeed in creating an “experience.”

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10.3.13

RER 10.3.13

SOUTH of the border: la RECOVA

RER 2.7.13

It was my first night in Mexico (my very first night and very first time), and after a long day of travel and finally catching up with two of my very good friends with ample red wine, it was time for a good dinner. I was excited to be in my great friend’s home town of Merida, in the Yucatan region of our southerly neighbor. It was going to be an adventure, and on top of that a food adventure, because my friend is a huge foodie as well. When we were “studying” in London, we often indulged in food and grew closer for it. So now it was time for him to show us around his stomping grounds, and dictate what we were eating. I was beyond thrilled.

This first night, after the sun was completely set, and it was getting later and cooler, he brought us to a nice, rather large restaurant called La Recova, a self titled Argentinean steak house with Yucatan accents and additions. It was late so the place was emptying, but gave us room to speak in English and ask the waiter and our native friend a zillion questions. 

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My friend basically knew what we should and were going to eat before we stepped into the restaurant (this was a recurring theme throughout my trip… loved it).  Because of his foodie nature and the relative smallness of Merida and its food scene (though evolving and changing), he was super familiar with the menu and what was enjoyable.

For starters we had …

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Queso fondido This was a little pot of hot melted cheese, topped with large rounds of fatty chorizo. The cheese was hot and salty, which mimicked the flavors of the meat. It was a heavy combination, but was delicious with the tortillas that it was served with. The ratio of cheese to meat was a little overwhelming though, far too much cheese for the few charred rounds of the sausage.

Carnitas atun This heaping appetizer was a play on the carnitas of the area that is usually made with pork, which is cooked till soft and stringy and then almost friend again. The tuna was prepared in a similar way, and served with tortillas to make little tacos. I was not completely convinced with this appetizer, it was kind of dry and greasy to me at the same time, but adding some of the spicy and flavorful sauces left at the table improved the experience.

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Tostaditas de atun This was by far my favorite appetizer. It was a delicate pile of tuna tartar and a small smear of guacamole, placed on a bite sized crunchy chip. The zing of lime made the raw fish sing, and that same flavor was echoed in the guacamole, creating a brightness that contrasted the crunchy and smooth textures of the bite. The thin sliver of red onion added another texture as well as a bite. Each element was absolutely delicious and exciting, and they were all harmonious in making each bite near perfection.

For mains we indulged in…

The mains to me were less interesting than the appetizers; their flavor profiles were duller, delicious, but not as dynamic.

We had a steak, cooked to a perfect medium rare, and the cut of meat was lean but just fatty enough to eat without being uncomfortable. The seasoning too protected us from steak dry mouth, and it was juicy, but not extreme. The little (but just enough) piece of meat came with a flounce of garnishes, which I completely ignored. The plate was about the steak, its seasoning and its precision in preparation.

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The other main that the three of us shared was an adobo octopus. This generous portion of octopus came with some gently roasted cherry tomatoes and some cooked and seasoned rounds of white potatoes. Once again, I paid little to no attention to the side items on the plate, though the tomatoes ushered in some tang and acidity to counter the smooth, buttery and meaty texture of the octopus, and the potato kind of served as a base to even the decadence of the octopus. Sometimes texture can get between enjoying octopus and not, but this was prepared perfectly, as it lost its gummy feeling but took on the consistency of meat. The spices morphed the seafood into something more terrestrial, just like how it was cooked transformed the octopus to a more meaty realm. The adobe was spicy and dynamic, but also added lovely color and intrigue.

Only room for one dessert…

It was late, we were excited and practically full, but there is always room for more. After hearing the few dessert options, twice (once in Spanish, and once with a loose English translation), we landed on a dulce de leche fondant. We had little idea what this would entail, but anything with sweetness and caramel, was bound to melt my heart.

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When the dessert was placed on the table, practically right under my nose, I was mildly shocked. The plating was more imaginative and modern than any of the other more straight forward dishes. Our fondant dessert was comprised of a little cake dusted with powdered sugar, and busting at its seams with dulce de leche, a curious upright cookie ring, with a heavy scoop of ice cream nestled within, and a dancing design of chocolate and orange decoration.

On a whole, the dessert was delicious, sweet, textured, creamy, hot and cold, crunchy. The little cake was like a chocolate molten cake, only a caramelly cousin. The cake was moist and lovely and the dulce de leche on the inside was smooth, creamy and sweet but not strong. The melty texture of the ice cream and the cake insides played well together, while the crunchy cookie and cake were at odds but cooperated nicely. The only tastes that did not lend well to the rest of the dessert was the tangy bitter dark chocolate that was too close to a cloyingly sweet orange cream. The intense chocolate flavor was nice, breaking up the overall sweetness with a mature twist, while the orange was completely unnecessary and incongruent.

Dinner was a great time, great food, and a lovely time catching up. It was a great place to start off our food adventures in Mexico, though it was a fusion of the region and Argentinean elements. The service was great and patient, the décor warm and trendy, and the food delicious and lively. 

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2.7.13

RER 2.7.13