Dirty French felt like a French brasserie with a Moroccan twist. High vaulted ceilings, lobby bar, leather booths, large chandeliers, the place is spacious but tables are tiny. When you look up to the beams, there are rooster figures decorated everywhere.
The bread was not your regular French roll, it was a very soft, fluffy, flat bread, almost like a naan, dusted with spice and herbs with olive oil on the side. If I am not saving space for the actual dishes, I could devour at least a dozen of them. The pastry chef with the Major Food Group is an absolute genius. At almost all of their establishments, the bread is always an instant wow and I would go back just for the bread. I highly recommend the lamb Carpaccio. The combination of spice, the yogurt, and the sweetness of the lamb was absolutely extraordinary. (Nov, 2014)
Category: <span>recommended</span>
On a late October evening, we drove up to the Pocantico Hills to finally get a taste of the much praised Blue Hill. The trip wasn’t as long as we thought it would be. After only 20 minutes, skyscrapers are no longer seen in the rear mirror. It surprises me that a working farm is actually so close to the city. The sun had already set as we drove up to the farm house, and the darkness added a mysterious layer to the barn. Old, rustic on the outside, yet contemporary and elegant on the inside. Thru a little wooden door is a bar, then a waiting room with a fireplace, and it lead to a big, bright, high-ceilinged dining room. Dark wood beam ceiling, hard wood floor, with a long wood commune table in the middle displaying the season’s harvest, Blue Hill had transformed this barn to a formal dining room. Service was warm and attentive, tux wearing waiters usually tip-toeing and dance around the table smoothly. But once in a while an army of them would show up with plates in their hands, and in perfect synchronization, elegantly place the dishes in front of you, then disappear until next time. Everything is so perfect, in-sync, and beautifully orchestrated; it is totally up to the White house standard.
Dishes are very contemporary American, barely seasoned and artfully presented. I was skeptical about this farm to table concept, it sounds to me that there will be a lot of vegetables, and I don’t like vegetables much. I don’t normally order vegetables at restaurants. It usually cost a lot more than it should be and I can easily make the same at home. But then, I have never ever tasted vegetables like this. So fresh, so vibrant, such sweet of freshness, and vegetables finally got their justice. Bite after bite, food was full of surprise, even a simple radish tasted like I have never know radish before. The broccoli rabe cube had completely won me over. It was softer than a marshmallow with crushed, fried garlic. Before I fall back from heaven, there comes the Berkshire pork liver pate with chocolate crepes. Who would have thought liver with chocolate, but it is the perfect combination. Even better than foie gras with figs or apple or cranberry, like they are made for each other. Blue Hill was also playful with their Stonebarns “V9”. If only I could get a tray of them to bring home.
Half way thru the dinner, we were lead to another dining room for a “special” course. The area, which I believe was a corridor between what was two farm house, but now is a sun room with a long dining table. In the corner was another table with a display of root vegetables, on the other side was a prosciutto hanging to age. On the table, the were jars of pickled vegetables, and a large ostrich in a wooden bowl. Our course in this special room was bread and butter and an egg dish. There were 3 kinds of butter: regular butter, “sunshine” butter from a dairy cow name sunshine, and pig lardo; and I love “sunshine”. There were many other dishes that I fell in love with at Stone barnes, but to truly appreciate it, one would have to experience it oneself. It surely made me appreciate food and vegetables and the people who grow them like never before. Thank you Blue Hill for giving us a magical evening. (Oct, 2014)
After closing for renovation at the end of 2013, the seasonal themed Park Avenue restaurant had relocated from its Upper East location to Park Ave South, near Madison Square Park. Its décor and menu will still be changing seasonally. On a warm December Sunday, we head to the new Park Ave Winter for Brunch ($32/pp). The winter décor was white, bright and elegant.
Spacious dining room with tall ceiling was divided into two levels. On one side, huge windows let in plenty of light; the other was furnished with cozy booths. Dry tree branches hanging upside down, with the white/clear globe lights hanging, it feels like a winter wonderland with snowflakes slowly falling.
To start, I had a “Winter Citruscello Bellini” from the blend your own bellini selection. It is refreshing, sweet with some sort of seed floating with the bubbles. It is eyes pleasing and unique.
Cinnamon rolls came in a little cast-iron pan, warm, fluffy and soft. I normally steer away from the frosting. The word frosting to me indicates it would be too sweet, too artificially sweet with a lot of sugar. But this cream cheese frosting was light, and the sweetness was just about right. The portions of our appetizers were very generous. It could have been an entrée portion at some other places, especially for pre fixed brunch. The salmon bucatini was creamy, wasabi caviar was clearly for decoration, and it did add an extra texture. I also really appreciate the crunchiness of bread crumb in contrast to the pasta and soft salmon.
Steak hash was surprisingly light and crispy. My partner in crime felt there was a bit too much bell pepper. My sunny side egg with polenta (French for risotto) was heartwarming and delicious, although I would like a little more mushrooms in it.
Dessert was not part of the pre fixe, it was on the house (THANK YOU!!!:)). “Winter White” looked just as it’s named. Big scoop of homemade vanilla ice-cream in a sundae glass, topped with popcorn and a white mocha sauce poured over it. Although it sounded sweet with the white mocha sauce, it wasn’t overwhelming, and was absolutely delightful. The salty popcorn gave it a crunchy contrast and perfect balance.
However, my biggest surprise coconut cake at the very bottom of the sundae. It was a hidden gem, you won’t get to it till the very end. In Chinese, there is a saying “Treasures always sink to the very bottom”, and this is the perfect example. The only suggestion I have was may be add another thin layer of coconut cake in the middle of the ice-cream? since I love it so much. All in all, this brunch was of great value. Great place to spent a Sunday morning/afternoon. Great selections, and just overall good fool.
Park Ave was awarded with a Michelin Star before it closed in 2013, hopefully it won’t be long before it regains its star. (Dec, 2014)
- Park Ave Winter slideshow–
Located in NOHO, right next to Carbone, behind a dark door is a cozy bar/ restaurant that only host 12 seats. If you didn’t look closely, you could walk right passed it and not realize there is a restaurant there. Other than the bouncer outside, the tiny little blue neon sign “ZZ’s” on the window, is the only indication of the place. Why would a restaurant need a bouncer you might think, but once we settled down into the room, we totally understand the need.
The small dimmed-lite room is a treasure box with lots of gems. There is a glamorous antique chandelier hanging atop; antique looking chairs pairing with marble top table. During the course of dinner, we were also told every pieces of silverwares and dinning wares are antique. The bar is equipped with a ice tub countertop. With all the bottles on the shelves and unnamed bottle of odd shapes and height tuck in the ice tub, it looks like a treasure island itself. But of course, guarded by the genius mixologist.
Everything on the cocktail menu are so temping, but at $20 a pop, we only each ordered one cocktail. We both agreed we’d have to come back, even just for drinks, and that we would sample everything on that cocktail menu.
We had heard that dishes are small bite size, and that the beef carpaccio is a whopping $105, so we have to choose wisely. The uni toast each have 5-6 thick, sweet, rich, deliciousness on it; sprinkled with chopped garlic and chives. However, the garlic was a bit too much for my taste.
The beef carpaccio by itself could be a little salty, but when it paired together with the sea urchin’s sweetness, the lobster’s fresh and crunchiness, and atop the airy crispy toast, it is a little piece of heaven. Oh, we found bits of clams on it as well. Bonus!!! Although it did came with a very, very steep price tag, it was worth every penny of it.
The cocktail, beef carpaccio are on top of our list to come back for. And next time, we will definitely try the tuna carpaccio with foie gras. (Dec, 2014)