Rye, NY's La PANETIERE still puts pops in your mouth after almost 3 decades(1-15-20)

Our 2nd and final night in New York was up in Westchester where we had planned to meet Samuel near his school for dinner along with my cousins. I chose La panetiere mainly for sentimental reasons as our family had gone there for years when it first opened almost 30 years ago.  Indeed this big old house in Rye, New York has been a restaurant for many many years and we have gone there even in its previous incarnations as other restaurants.

 It was fun to remember everything just as it was with the floral Austrian China, white linoleum ceilings with wood beams, the crisp linens and even the old cabbage ceramic salt and pepper shakers.

 Staff here is attentive and the food is still excellent and many people were dressed up to celebrate special occasions, though there really was not a need for that. Flaky puff pastry cheese sticks and a variety of warm rolls were served... and they made a mean dirty Grey Goose martini that was very large as well. 

 A simple amuse bouche of beet salad and goat cheese arrived that wouldn't have bowled anybody over but it was nice nonetheless. 

 The appetizers were all excellent and went from cream of butternut squash soup with ricotta quenelles to an artesian field green salad with pesto vinaigrette and burrata as well as my amazing young grilled romaine lettuce and shaved parmesan with romaine balsamic wine dressing with crunchy fried scallions on top.

 Our wine was a delicious Chorey Les Beaune Vieilles Vignes 2015 from Dominique Lavert  that could only have been improved if they used a little bit classier stemware.

 Main courses were all exceptional with my Seared Long island breast of duck with ras-el-hanout seasoning that had a nice kick as well as Moroccan couscous with almonds, chickpeas and and eggplant-zucchini gratin.  The meat was rare to medium rare and cooked to perfection and another big hit was the Dover sole dressed with artichoke barigoule, braised young artichokes, carrots, onions and a white wine emulsion.

 Samuel went for the ridiculously priced Tagliatelle with perigord black truffles in parmesan at $90, but said it was spectacular.

 I ordered a cheese plate for desert and the accompanying raisin rolls were warm and spectacular and the for cheeses were simply wonderful:

Chevron, Hudson valley camembert, roquefort and my favorite the rich creamy Brillat Savarin!

 It was a most enjoyable family evening and a real trip going back in time to this wonderful restaurant.

LINCOLN at NYC's Lincoln Center is lovely(1-24-20)

We were concerning about timing and getting up to NY on a winter weekend, so decided to eat right across the plaza from the Met(before the opera Porgy & Bess) at LINCOLN, which opened ages ago, but just never crossed my mind as a pre-opera dining option. The place is elegant and cozy with booths and tables on the left and right and a large bar and open kitchen in the center(you can hear the chefs calling the orders!). The glass walls at the front overlook the Vivian Beaumont Theater and side of the Met Opera House while on the other side you see the Julliard School.

Delicious spicy peppery breadsticks arrived first and then a superb amuse of Crab, compressed cucumber and pickled onion. The menu is quite simple and the lowest options starts at $79 for an appetizer and main course, or pasta and main, or appetizer and pasta. They keep it simple and quite pricey, but the service was impeccable and food excellent.

I ordered a bottle of white which they were out of and settled on a Campania white Ischia Bianco Casa d'Ambra "Frassitelli" 2018 Biancolella which is indeed from the small island of Ischia and was quite creamy and delicious. It was ideal with my starter of Insalata di Astice, a salad loaded with chunks of Maine lobster, little blobs of creamy Robiola cheese, blood orange and Castelfranco(a delicious variety of radicchio). Will had the Lumache(pasta) con guazzetto di polpo which was a ragu of braised octopus, tomato, fennel and oregano with Pecorino di sardo. It was tasty, but I think he wanted chunks of fish rather than a sauce.

The mains were absolutely juicy and divine with Will having the Pollo Arosto, pan roasted chicken breast with caramelized Salsify, housemade chicken sausage, white polenta and sage chicken jus. My Costolette di Maiale was a superbly cooked pan roasted Berkshire pork chop with Corona beans and broccoli di Ciccio as well as a pesto made from the same broccoli.

Trying to diet and being quite full(the portions are indeed quite large) we simply asked for coffee but then got treated to a complimentary Lemon sorbet with poached raspberries that was light, divine and refreshing. The coffee came with even more little mignardises, but alas they had a lot of mint in the filling, so a small bite was all I needed.

Expensive yes, but easy, convenient and you won't be late for a Lincoln Center performance for sure!

--

DC's IRON GATE gets great ratings for a family dinner(1-22-20)

Four of us headed to IRON GATE last night and we were treated to a wonderful variety of flavors and tastes in a truly wonderful "Family Table" which simply means you get a pile of different starters, mains and desserts all for one price and easily shared at the table, which really works well if you can't decide what to eat.   We ate inside but there were tons of folks eating outdoors at the tables with firepits and heaters, but there is no way they could have been comfy. There was a blazing fire indoors next to our table so we were toasty warm all evening. We drank  Rizes 2016 Tetralmythos from the Roditis grape of Pelopponese in Greece which we all adored and was crisp with melon notes. The red served later by our super server Kevin was a Ginomavro(A grape we know well from Greece) called The Lady of Naoussea 2015 which was nice, but not super full bodied as one might prefer with the meat. The last for dessert was a wonderful Murgo Brut from Sicily which winery we have actually visited!

As we sat we got a wonderful plate of two dips: Beet-Walnut and Spinach-Parsley with crudites and wonderful Fennel Seed crackers. I liked the spicier spinach better and despite the fennel seed, the crackers were fab.  A gorgeous hot pan of potato foccacia with olives rosemary and aged provolone that was irresistible, but I stopped after 1/2 a piece!

Grilled White Stone Oysters were indeed grilled, but still tasted raw, which I loved, in Goat's Milk Butter with Calabrian Chili for a kick and pickled shallots; a true dream. Batter Fried Halloumi had a crunch and acidity burst from Pomegranate seeds and was not rubbery at all, which it can so often be. Maple Roasted Squash was laced with Fresh Goat Cheese and Nuts & Seeds for a nice crunch along with Asian Pears and Balsamic; any vegetarian would have loved this. The last starter was Crispy Catfish Agrodolce with chili, sesame seed and cashews and it was a perfectly fried piece of fish with none of that gooey catfish taste you can so often get; it would make you love catfish.

The portions were not large and just right for the four of us.

The main course was a gorgeous New Frontier Bison Hanger Steak with a fab rub and served sliced with Trumpet Mushrooms and Green Peppercorn Sauce. It was perfectly cooked and seasoned and wonderfully tender. Goat Cheese Cappellacci was a rich pasta with Heirloom Beets, Poppyseed and Walnuts, but it was the divine Earth & Eats Kale Caesar Salad that I loved more than anything with baby tomato, B&B onion, anchovy, parmesan and croutons!!

Dessert was a bowl (way too big) of small Crispy Grrek Yeast Doughnuts in Orange Blossom Syrup paired with two divine sweets:

Blood Orange Tart with Itlain meringue, Opal Basil and Honey-Ginger Ice Cream

& Mile Chocolate Semifreddo with Charred Pineapple, Cashews and Chocolate Ganache.

Chef Tony Chittum had a packed house(restaurant week extended), but I know the food is so good here, it is always full, as we were when we left!

DC's COMPASS ROSE encompasses cuisine that circles the globe(1-13-20)

Four of us got into Compass Rose(yes they now take reservations, but you have to be ready to click on RESY at 10am exactly a month prior!) and had a spectacular time making our way through the international menu. Our server Ayla was super helpful explaining the categories(seafood/vegetarian/meat) which were clear cut and the sizes of the plates, all meant to be shared -- which we loved.

 I asked about the Selian Carignan Red from Tunisia and Ayla brought over a taste which had a slight sweetness to it, so we chose the Lacrima Christi Scianscinoso red, a nice full-bodied option on a cold night for spicy food.

We all chose our favorites and each dish arrived one a time and we enjoyed them all save for the Baja Fish tacos (from Mexico) with mahi mahi, pico de gallo, chipotle crema and cabbage which just lacked the excitement that all the other dishes excelled in.

Sambal Udang was Malaysian shrimp with tofu crisp wafers, lemongrass and fermented chile and tomato that was indeed exciting and tantalized our taste buds. Yum Talay was a Thai salad with Chesapeake Crab, Poached Shrimp, Tomato, Shallot, Mint, Cilantro, Radish and a to die for Fish Sauce Vinaigrette(that I am going to try and recreate next week at home) that was so amazing we ordered a second portion of the huge and truly invigorating salad.

Szechuan Green beans with sesame, house fermented chiles and a rice wine vinegar are excellent, though not  novel like many of the other dishes.

Gado Gado is an Indonesian salad of Napa cabbage with daikon, tofu, hard-boiled egg and a peanut dressing with crispy shallots that is a vegetarian dream.

The Spice Bag from Ireland is crispy chicken, potatoes, red peppers, onions, Chinese five spice roasted and served in a paper bag with a spicy mayo dip for the chicken and potatoes; fun, but the highlight was the mayo!

Curried Lamb is from Jamaica with allspice, scotch bonnet peppers, thyme and rice and is a large dish but not as good as the amazing Korean Bulgogi Ssam of ribeye, ssam sauce, sesame salt, an amazing kimchi and rice all with romaine lettuce to make a wondrous wrap!

We adored the Khachapuri from Georgia which was "mixed" tableside with the cheese-filled bread, organic egg with local butter and za'atar.

We were quite full  but opted for one Sticky Toffee Pudding(UK) to share which had a superb toffee sauce and whipped cream and Will declared it an official winner--that's the Brit! OMG! Happy group were we with our world tour. (photos on FB)

DC's ESTUARY offers elegance and fine cuisine with some catches at the Conrad Hotel(1-12-20)

Our first dinner out back in DC this year was at the CONRAD Hotel's ESTUARY where the famed Voltaggio brothers have created a fine setting that is elegant, yet casual and offers up some creative cuisine. The large room has a huge open kitchen with a giant table opposite for a group or tasting meal. The lacquer tables are nice, but the silly small black leather place-pads at each setting are too small to hold plates and glasses(and cause massive condensation from the water glasses). we received tasty Old Bay seasoning bread sticks with Pimento Cheese & Espalette Dip, which was meant to harken back to their childhood, but was a bit "cheesy" (use the term multiple ways). The amuse of Suma Orange Sorbet with a Nasturtium on top lacked any excitement or inventiveness and made me wonder what was to come.

We ordered a bottle of Rudi Pichler Gruner Veltliner 2018 to start as the weather was so summery we felt a refreshing white was in order. We also told Blake we wanted to share an appetizer of the Brussels Sprouts, Burrata, Porkskins and Fish Sauce Vinaigrette to start and then have the appetizers. After the delicious dish was cleared a huge plate of the Beef "Tarrte" tar arrived which Will had ordered, but this was apparently a  gift from the chef and meant to be shared. We got confused and gave it to Will and tried to disect the dish which was plated inside a humongous onion ring with French onion dip on top of the tartare , dried gruyere and a huge mound of beluga caviar(not usually on the appetizer) on top!!

It was a bit too intense and the great idea to use endive as scoops to cut carbs seemed brilliant, but alas the leaves tend to be a bit bitter.

We moved on to a Donnafugato 2017 Cataratto Anthilia from Sicily which was great with the other starters:

Cedar Planked Scallops(which arrived after the rest of us had finished our starters!) with Butternut Squash Toast, Yuzu Kosho(fermented pepper paste) and pickled onions.

My Puffer Fish Sticks were novel in that they were the fish tails with a pickled banana and pickled banana tartare that I loved. The Maryland Crab Roll was served with crab chips, Old Bay & ice plant(succulent)!! It was a huge roll with not a lot of crab. 

Our final wine was a brilliant Jura chardonnay from Domaine de Montbourgeau 2015 "L'Etoile Blanc" which Will declared smelled of cabbage farts, but in the mouth it was divine and had an intense minerality! We mentioned to Vanessa, the wine person, that I worked with oopera singers and within secs we had one degree of separation in a  friend and client from NY!!

The main courses were all superb with Griddled Flounder coming with Crema Melon, Sunaomono and Tuna Prosciutto and Benne Seed Crema. The tuna was awesome! Three of us went for the Blackened Monkfish with salsify and lemon brown butter that was a superb hit.

To make up for the timing errors, the staff sent out an array of free desserts(there goes the diet!):

-Passion fruit Gingerbread with White Chocolate Mousse

-Cookies & Cream:Caramelized White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Pudding, Creme Fraiche Rock

-Caramel Apple Sangria, Speculoos Cooke, Salted Caramel Mousse, Honeycrisp Apple Sangria

-Key Lime Coconut, Lime Curd, Brown Butter Meringue

We all had our favorites and ultimately enjoyed most of the dishes, which was rectified by the free desserts and good friends!

Click here to Reply

Thomas Keller is cooking (and charging) at the Suf Club Restaurant at the Four Seasons Suf Club in Miami Beach(Surside,FL)(1-7-20)

Our second and final night in Miami Beach was at the equally, if not more, expensive Surf Club at the magnificent new Four Seasons Surf Club in Surfside, north Miami Beach.

We had another spectacular site visit followed by drinks with the super sales manager Megan followed by amazing craft cocktails from Italy(made with fiery tomato water from Vesuvius to simulate the spice of a bloody mary!!).

Dinner was in the elegant Surf Club restaurant by Thomas Keller, where he has forsaken his multi course ways of The French Laundry and Per Se and gone to the dishes that were popular in the 1930's when the original Surf Club opened: think Oysters Rockefeller, steaks, etc.

After we ordered, crudites arrived in a beautiful large holder all standing up in shaved ice with a lemon dill dip. Warm Cheddar sticks were divine as well as we enjoyed our 2016 Domaine George's Vernay "Le Pied de Samson" Viognier Les Collines Rhodaniennes from the Rhone Valley. It was a bit too cold, so I had the sommelier leave it on the table where it came to a perfect temperature with tons of mineral richness.

Appetizers were Caesar Salad prepared tableside and I had a yummy and absolutely gorgeously plated Yellowjack Tartare with ginger creme fraiche, garden vegetables(some pickled) and seasoned Brioche crisps)...it was superb and the fish was truly excellent. Of course photos are on FB!

Mains included the Jumbo Lump Crabcake appetizer(Peekytoe crab from Maine) with spicy mayo for our friend, while Will enjoyed the Rigatoni Bolognese with Basil and Ricotta along with a glass of Barolo which cost more than 1/2 the price of our bottle of Viognier!!

My Lobster Thermador was a rich sauce with an entire tail on top and the claw cut up into the sauce and pastry underneath. While it was superb it was worth nowhere near it's 78$ price range and that doesn't include the tax and mandatory 18% service fee almost every restaurant charges in the area!!

Service and food were excellent and Will enjoyed the yummy Mandarin Orange sorbet for dessert(one scoop brings the dessert price down to half of $14!). The best part was the complementary and beyond irresistible  Caramel peanut popcorn that came before we left.

Miami Beach's Los Fuegos in the Faena Hotel offers fab food for a high flying fare (1-6-20)

Out first night in Miami Beach brought us to the elegant Faena Hotel where I did a site inspection and was completely impressed. After the inspection  We joined our to dearest friends for over 30 years in Miami Beach for dinner at the famous Las Vegas restaurant where Argentine chef Francis Mallman reigns.

It's a huge room and very elegant but a bit noisy because there is a lounge that is a joining the restaurant with an open wall that allows for the live music as well as DJ played music to penetrate through.  There is also a huge covered outdoor patio which might have been a better choice as it would have been further away from The Lounge!

We had a most enjoyable people evening starting with Noemia "A Lisa" 2017 from Rio Negro in Argentina's Patagonia which was mostly Malbec with some Merlot and Petit Verdot for softening making for a luscious soft wine.

The tables are made of beautiful burled lacquer wood and there are gorgeous chargers as well as Laguiole steak knives and beautiful appointments throughout which is why you can understand the prices are sky high.

Octopus a la Plancha  was a monstrous sized appetizer with potato confit garlic aioli, kalamata olives and cilantro that would have satisfied anybody ordering a main course.  Two of us got super tender pieces of seafood but unfortunately mine was slightly chewy.  Prime beef tartare was also quite large and covered with papa Anna or sliced potatoes that had been cooked and served with a black truffle hollandaise that made it as well a monstrous sized and filling dish.  Will could not resist ordering the appetizer of wood fired artichokes with sesame yogurt d'Espalette peppers & sourdough bread crumbs with cilantro for us to share which was away overdose, way huge and totally unnecessary.  They did not come crispy and they actually were mushy and while they were delicious artichokes more attention should have been made to offer them as a crispy dish since they were wood fired.

 We moved on to a second wine which was a delicious 2014 Bonarda "Emma" from Familia Zuccardi. The Bonarda that I chose first was not available so the sommelier suggested we have this one which cost about $20 more and I was quite surprised that he did not offer it at the same price!! Our 3rd red wine was a amazing wine made  exclusively for the hotel: Faena Vista Flors 2014 Gran Malbec from Valle de Uco also in Argentina that could have used some advance airing or decanting but was awesome with our big beef dishes. 

 Will and I ordered a signature dish called Mallman's beef tenderloin "Milanesa."  It was a huge filet of at least 14 oz that had been covered with a crust made of panko and bread crumbs and then served with Boulanger potatoes poached egg and a Dijon mustard, think Filet Mignon Schnitzel!   The portions were so huge we left large pieces along with our guests left overs so they could take them all home and enjoy them the next day. Our friends had the prime beef tenderloin with foie gras source charred brussel sprouts and balsamic vinegar.

 We could not resist the dessert menu and decided to share one Dulce de Leche flan with mascarpone cream between the 4 of us.  Decadent yet delicious it ended our wonderful evening and a truly delicious meal with way too many courses that were way too large.... Not to mention supremely expensive.