You all know I had to the opera a lot in NYC and am always looking for
a pre- or post-performance spot that has quality dining on the Upper
West Side. DOVETAIL (www.dovetailnyc.com) opened at Columbus and 77th
less than two years ago and has already garnered much praise for its
setting, food and chef/owner, JOHN FRASER.
In a few words: I WAS IMPRESSED.
Set in an elegant bi-level townhouse (downstairs seems to be for
private or larger parties, but is also quieter) that has a bar
upstairs at the front and an enclosed wine "cellar" system as you
ascend the steps to the dining area.
Dark wooden tables and chairs are comfy as was the semi-booth I sat in
with cushions if you need them. The table is simple with a votive and
small white round vase with colorful baby marigolds.
While I would have loved to try the 6-course $95 tasting,I only had
just under 2 hours to be at the Met about 12 blocks south.
A trio of amuses arrived and I dove in to the creamy spiced
HORSERADISH PANNA COTTA with House Cured SALMON first. It was a divine
small mouthful bursting with flavor. SHRIMP "Summer" Roll was a small
tasty sushi-looking piece of rice paper roll with shrimp and the
POACHED QUINCE with BUTTERNUT Squash was also quite delish. The Panna
Cotta won the prize, if I had to choose one of the three yummy bites.
I was immediately drawn to the LAMB'S TONGUES, MUFFALATTA PRESSE,
Olives and Capers which my server, Gabrielle (who was a bit austere,
but always confident and helpful) said was one of the signature dishes
that had remained since opening. I jumped at her description of the
"deconstructed" dish, but I would prefer to use the word
"reconstructed." Here the muffalatta are two small breaded and deep
fried LAMB's TONGUES as tender as they can be. The presse would be the
insides of the delectable Southern "sandwich" here recreated as a
roulade, pate, or presse with Provolone, Mortadella, Black Forest Ham,
Capicola and more. On the side was a sauce of olives and capers very
much like a remoulade or aioli in texture to add flavor to the presse
and the breaded lamb. The entire concept was sheer genius and divine
from the first to the last bite.
A glass of GRUNER VELTLINER MEINHARD FORSTREITER "Schieffer" 2007 from
Kremstal in Austria was a great dry pairing, although Gabrielle wanted
to steer me towards sherry (I am not a big sherry nut). The bread was
mini-loaf of warm melt in you mouth WHITE CHEDDAR CORNBREAD with a
crusty top with yummy salt on top as well. While the room is carpeted
and quilted, I did notice that the music was just slightly loud at
times.
I asked Gabrielle for some input and chose an entree from the tasting
menu (they had a similar dish on the main menu, but she thought the
other version was better): HALIBUT CONFIT with CRAB RAVIOLI, MUSHROOM
Duxelles and Red Wine Sauce. I asked why the term "confit," which
really is not proper, as this was a perfectly poached fleshy Halibut
square that was nothing like a confit. No matter, the divine fish was
even tastier with a small bit of the duxelles and the accompanying
Black Tuscan Kale with Gooseberries. Gabrielle suggested a superb ruby
toned Pinot Noir as the sauce was also Pinot based. It was a brilliant
yummy BOURGOGNE PASSETOUTGRAIN from Jean-Luc Joillot 2007 that was not
too fruit forward (like Oregon) but very balanced with great lines. I
perused the wine list and the prices here are NY high, although there
is a section titled "wines under $75" that include 13 whites and 17
reds. WOW-$75!
The two small mezzalune crab ravioli were superb and loaded with crab,
but also each one had a fingernail size piece of shell. One of the
maitre d's noticed me fidgeting to get the shell out of my mouth and
place it gentleman-like on the butter plate and he whisked the plate
away only to return with apologies from the chef and (as I discovered
the second piece of shell) an announcement that the dish would be
complimentary. I told him this was not necessary, but did not argue
the point.
Gabrielle had told me to save room for the desserts of Pastry Chef
Vera Tong and I was not disappointed. While I perused the list a demi-
tasse of HOT SPICED CIDER was delivered and I felt warm and toasty as
I chose the PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSELINE with PEDRO XIMENES PRUNES and
FOIE GRAS ICE CREAM. This was a small, but divine and perfectly
created cigar shaped mousseline half-coated with a thin skin of
chocolate and the tasty prunes on the side with some tiny rosettes of
peanut butter as well. The ice cream was AMAZING and before I could
praise, a second complimentary dessert arrived: HOT BANANA BRIOCHE
BREAD PUDDING with Maple Syrup, Rum Vanilla Ice Cream, Bacon Brittle
(a graham based thick lattice) and a Brulee Crust on the pudding. It
was another divine inspiration. The coffee came with hot milk and
three small mignardises that were nice but not at the level of the
desserts: PEAR PATE-A-FRUITS (where was David Guas?), a dry SWEET
POTATO WHOOPIE PIE which was a cookie sandwich with a marshmallow
filling and a CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE (I forgot the flavors-sorry).
I knew that I would be a bit hungry when I reached my Mom's house at
11pm, so I asked for the CHEESE platter to go and was so glad 4+ hours
later when I opened the well-packaged presentation:
Two breads (plain and nut) three accompaniments (Blueberry Compote,
Caramelized Shallots and Sweet Caramelized Onions with something
fruity) were a treat as well along with the 3 tasty cheeses:
MANCHESTER "Consider" from Bardwell Farm
GREEN HILL Sweet Grass Dairy and
EWE's BLUE from Old Chatham Sheepherding in upstate NY.
The blue was a slightly crumby mild and tasty version and I am not
sure which of the other two cheeses were which. I was told the
Manchester and Green Hill came from Georgia and Vermont (but I don't
know which was from where) and one was a mild nutty tasty semi-hard
cheese in triangles and the other an intense overripe Camembert style
runny "I love this" cheese.
I'll be back at DOVETAIL for a tasting at some point for sure!
