Bon Anniversaire: La Panetière

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Opened in 1985 by Jacques Loupiac, La Panetière is celebrating its 31^st Anniversary this year. The French restaurant has been serving Rye, New York, from a handsome house built in the 1800’s for thirty-one years, and their reputation for modern French cuisine remains stalwart.

 Entering La Panetière is like arriving at a retreat in Provence, complete with foliage clinging to the face of the 19^th century home, the charming colorful Provençal décor filled with folklore, and a delicious twist on classic French cuisine. The restaurant is intimate and romantic, cozy like a lovely cottage; however, the food is refined and elegant while the team is knowledgeable about the dishes and wine. There is a focus on the highest quality seasonal ingredients and authenticity inspired by the southeastern region of France.

To commemorate the anniversary, Loupiac and his team put together a veritable birthday party including a special six-course prix fixe dinner with a wine pairing option and an accordionist playing tableside. La Panetière regularly offers both a lunch and dinner prix fixe, but this menu was especially created and presented between August 2^nd and 4^th to celebrate its anniversary.

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The first course comprised of a ring of thinly sliced scallops dancing around a bite of briny sturgeon caviar in a pleasant pool of bittersweet grapefruit aspic. Fresh tomatoes and cleansing celery dotted the scallop carpaccio completing the fresh and clean flavors.

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A petit Hudson Valley foie gras flan was the second course of the special anniversary menu. It was both savory and creamy, complex without pretension. The flan was light as air grounded in earthy simmered mushrooms.

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The sizzling casserole of Maine lobster achieved a lovely balance, with raw almonds adding crunch and bite to the buttery succulence of the lobster tail peeled from its shell at the table. The green beans remained fresh and lively, bringing even more brightness to the aromatic third course.

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Veal filet mignon medallions rounded off the savory courses combining fragrances and malleable textures. The meat was tender and buttery, the curry was like a soft hum, and the vegetables were soft but not lost in the hearty quinoa.

The fifth course, a sweet course, piled summer fresh cherries in Greek Yogurt with a tingling mimosa jelly and Kirshwasser cappuccino. The summery dessert was refreshing, light, and not too sweet, but it was also decadent and layered with unexpected flavors.  

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To end, a caranoix cake, a mix of pecan nougat and caramel with nutella mousse, appealed to luxury. The expertly layered chocolaty dessert was decadent but not too heavy or overwhelming despite a variety of textures.

La Panetière offers an escape to the south of France in the middle of Rye using delectable food, superb service, and a warm atmosphere, all reminiscent of Provence. Here’s to more years of excellence! Joyeux Anniversaire!

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8.16.16

HudsonRW: Greene Hook

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Greene Hook is new in town. It is rough around the edges, ready for refinement, but full of promise. Imbalance and excess were apparent throughout the regular menu items and the Hudson Restaurant Week prix fixe menu. Not only did the dishes feel unperfected, but also the fluidity of the eatery has not yet reached full potential. But, Greene Hook is on its way.

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The Spanish octopus starter from the main menu was scrumptious and layered. The octopus was tender and delicious with a fatty, succulent feel. It was the reference point for the feel of the other elements of the dish: surprise avocado echoed the texture of the octopus, while slinky shishito peppers paired with the slinky yuzu-compressed cucumber. The charred purple pink of octopus stood out against the melee of greens and the frizzy tempura, but each element combined to delight the senses.

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The skin of the entrée duck breast was crispy, whereas the center was almost over done, so the meat lost that gamey lusciousness that is associated with duck. Cashew crumble offered a richness that is already innate in duck, while sweet tart pickled grapes cut the decadence of the meat. A sunchoke puree brought a creamy element to the dish, its color and flavor matching the roasted turnips. Green beans brought color and freshness to the plate, helping with equilibrium.

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Proportions were off in the prix fixe pork belly appetizer— not enough crispiness to forgive the fat of the pork belly, not enough meat to savor the flavor, not enough peach to cleanse the palate, and not enough corn pudding to usher in summer. The peach and corn pudding were nice touches, helping to tip the scale towards balance, but the greasy fat outweighed and overwhelmed all, leaking into the golden yellow pool, contaminating it. The concept and aesthetics were on point, but its execution underwhelmed.

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One of the prix fixe offerings is the Scottish salmon entrée. The salmon had a beautiful crust, salty and substantial, but the meat itself was overwrought. The dish was buttery and drowning in that luxurious savoriness without enough relief. Momentary reprieve was found in the thin disks of peppery radish that were fresh and crisp. Even the earthy Swiss chard could not escape the relentless butter notes. The deep green vegetable could have deepened flavor profile and lightened the monotone heaviness through contrast. The bacon, chewy and crunchy, contributed to the buttery decadence with a meaty sharp saltiness.

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A non-conventional crème brûlée was the dessert course of the prix fixe meal. Part of what is so delightful about crème brûlée is texture and the play of warm and cold, the satisfying crack of the brûléed sugar crust, the custard smooth as silk. The modified crème brûlée managed to encapsulate similar flavors with the addition of too dense, too thick, immutable chocolate ganache. The texture of the middle layer was grainy and not completely effortless, while the foam was fun yet almost flavorless. The play on the classic needed a shock of intensified flavor and further play with consistency.

Greene Hook has some innovative and attractive offerings, but it is still quite green. With settling, the bar eatery can be a real regular spot in the neighborhood and a delicious addition to the Paulus Hook community.

There are only a few days left of Hudson Restaurant Week. Take advantage of the deals. See some of foodie ventures previous #HudsonRW adventures here.

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8.3.16

NYCRW: Park Avenue Summer

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Summer loving happened so fast. A prix fixe lunch at Park Avenue Summer for New York City Restaurant Week moved more quickly than desired on the sticky summer’s day, contrary to the languished sighs of summer and the current theme of the space.

There was hardly time to soak in all of the curated details of the restaurant space, which are meant to transport the diner to the summer season: bright yellow walls emulating sunshine, foliage appearing wilted with oppressive summer humidity, and white casts of turtle shells.  Like the menu, with each season the space is transformed to represent the appropriate time of year, and at this moment Park Avenue Summer felt like the dog days of summer, hot and sticky, sweltering with a feeling of lusty temptation.

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Cornbread, bright like the walls of the eatery, radiated fresh warmth and summer corn sweetness. The puffy cornbread bites initially looked like Madeleines, all ruffles and butter, but there was a hint of savory heightened by the spicy brick-red marbled compound butter. The cornbread spoke of lazy days at the end of summer, a familiar feeling even in the City’s unique heat.

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A sole orb of bursting burrata rested on top of a smear of salsa verde, which was bright but not quite right. The creamy cheese oozed from the firm outer skin, melting into the thick tangy salsa verde, colliding with the summer sweetness of peaches and moments of savory basil. Crunchy panzanella added a jolt to reality, bringing a firm texture to the appetizer, like the return trip from a mixed vacation.

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Despite their slightly crunchy exterior, the gnocchi were soft and heavy on the inside, the potato flavor pronounced. Black truffles were shaved on the spot, falling, forming soft peaks, another layer to the appetizer.  Creamy corn with studs of fresh corn surrounded potato pillows. The moat was sweet with an underlying zing that was bright relief from the decadence. This appetizer was a balancing act of light and heavy, sweet and tart, a mix of sun and clouds like an early August day.

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The branzino dish was architectural as two slender steaks of fish were stacked on one another and crispy skin maintained structure. Whimsical disks of firm summer squash echoed fat dots of saffron aioli, a contrast of density and flavors as well. A shallow pool of stewed vegetable ratatouille gave warmth without an expected heaviness. It was an odd but accurate encapsulation of summer.

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Again, corn came to play, but this time with four succulent scallops and tiny pickled peppers. The corn felt raw and tasted green, much like the pretty peppers toasty and slit lengthwise. The dish was a mix of shapes like modern art, while there was more toothy bite from the golden corn and little heat from thin wheels of peppers.  Salt clung to the sweet scallops, like warmth when the sun sets and lingers, mixing with the melodies of the other seasonal ingredients.

Cool and refreshing like the blushing pink frozé, the peach basil sorbet dessert, tickled sweet and savory notes. The basil made the disappointing honey poached peaches sweeter and more refined. However, the poached peaches were reminiscent of those in canned pie filling— saccharine to excess with the constitution of the summer stone fruit compromised.

The fruit tart was pretty as a picture, a collection of summer’s berry bounty. Deep velvet red cherries, striking strawberries, royal blueberries, and gem-like raspberries were looked painted, like glossy jewels on top of the thick short crust and tangy passion-fruit flavors. It tasted like summer should.

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Like the seasons, the dishes and pace were imbalanced. There was not time for constants and stability, subtly or depth. Flavors were intense and at times abrasive much like the celebrated season. The meal mimicked unpredictable and contradictory summer days, with harsh, hot, sun casting a golden glow in one instant, and glowering clouds clinging heavy but ushering cool refreshing raindrops.

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8.1.16

SPRING has sprung: Vai Restaurant

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We have been teased with sunshine and warm weather, and even oppressive intense heat. On those pleasant sunny Sundays, New York City streets are flooded with revelers, soaking up the sun and inhaling the first tastes of spring. Brunch culture flourishes as windows open to the rising temperatures, sun filters in spaces, and outdoor seating becomes a must.

With the change in the season comes a change in the brunch menu at Vai Restaurant. With the expertise of Chef/Owner Vincent Chirico, the small upper west side Mediterranean-inspired restaurant celebrates the season with the freshest ingredients that sing spring with euphonious and delicious melodies.

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Chef Chirico presents fleshy bright delicate Muscat grapes, fragrant Thai basil, salty cured meat, and voluptuous burrata in a chilled appetizer, and satin soft fingerling potatoes piled with succulent and perfect charred octopus with just enough heat to compete with spring weather in a warm appetizer.

Textures play tag in a sumptuous hamachi crudo, decorated with silky avocado and grapefruit gems ready to burst at the touch, while deep green asparagus and velvet pink fat-lined meat nestle runny bright yellow egg yolk and wide briny flakes of cheese.  

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A shallow bowl of pearlescent white polenta supports a plump poached egg hidden beneath earth tones of ramps and mushrooms, laced with large chips of cheese.

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And dessert is just as smooth and fresh, light but decadent with an ombre of chocolate and just enough sweetness to end.

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Each of these offer a taste of spring amongst the other dishes featured on the menu. Not only is spring highlighted in the seasonal ingredients that are featured on the brunch menu and brunch prix fixe, but also the textures and aesthetic of the dishes bring to mind that whimsical playfulness and flirty feeling of the season.

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5.2016

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our time : Maritime Parc

It was the last date night before all hell broke loose. I exaggerate… just a little. But it was the last time we would sit down, peaceful and calm, happy and hungry, before the storm. It was the storm of parent-teacher-student conferences and a frenetic work schedule that seemed limitless.

This was our time.  

We held hands in the hushed restaurant and laughed with the backdrop of crisp contemporary and the winking sky-line.

We spent too much time examining the Maritime Parc menus that we were faintly familiar with, weighing the options as if these were our last choices. To do the prix fixe or not do the prix fixe? To do the wine pairing or not do the wine pairing? We mixed and matched. We indulged.

We oohed and awwhed at the refined array of appetizers like the intensely savory French onion soup mussels, salty with bacon and briny with the sea. Or the decadent lobster gnudi that slid on the tongue like exotic silk and cream seeped with luxury, studded with sweet squash and crisp, bitter Brussels sprout leaves.

We wanted to taste every entrée offered, struggling to imagine each flavor and dish without proof. But we couldn’t. We wouldn’t. We made up our minds and clung to old favorites, specialties that we could not escape, nor did we want to. We plunged our forks deep into lemon scented spiraled strigoli pasta with plentiful seafood gem obstacles.  We reveled in the succulent scallops, using the sides of our forks cute our prizes and shift earthy bright green peas and clear corn to create tiny voluptuous bites.

We chatted and chuckled. We observed soon-to-be-married couples, exploring tasting menus and venue perks, and sipping pretty colored cocktails that danced in the mood lighting. And we devoured dessert, despite our satiety from our lounging dinner.  We noted the sweet, the spice, the cold, the warm.

We relished. We enjoyed. We slowed down and savored all of the morsels and washed down all the delicious memories with bubbling prosecco. We lived this meal.

This was our time.

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2.4.16