Good Value Pre-fixe Lunch @ Nougatine

Last updated on February 13, 2016

In a city where everything is overpriced, a 3 course lunch under $40 at a 3 stars restaurant is consider a steal. No, it is not restaurant week yet, I’m referring to Nougatine @ Jean-Georges. They actually have a fairly good deal for lunch. 3 courses Pre fixe is $38/pp with 5 appetizers and 8 entrées, 2 desserts to choose from. That is actually more choices than a lot of place during restaurant week. See menu here

We chose the tuna tartar and shrimp salad.  Both were ok. I guess we shouldn’t expect top sushi grade tuna (but why shouldn’t we?). The radish was supposedly spicy, but we couldn’t tell. However the ginger marinade balanced the whole dish well. Shrimp salad was a little fishy when the plate set down, and I wish the vinegar would stand out more.

Tuna Tartare, Avocado, Spicy Radish, Ginger Marinade

Shrimp Salad, Avocado, Tomato, Champagne Vinegar Dressing

Sea Bass, like the shrimp, smelled a little fishy, but the skin was perfectly crispy. I can actually hear the “crunch” when my fork tried to break it. Cauliflower  must have just been re-discover, every place we have been to this winter had in cooperated cauliflower in their dishes, which is a good thing. Veal Milanese was decent. Of course we can’t compare to the one at Carbone, that wouldn’t be fair, it’s not the same thing, not even the same cuisine. This veal Milanese was a little thin. There was actually air/space between the veal and the batter created during the deep fried process. Almost like a puff.

Sautéed Black Sea Bass, Caramelized Cauliflower, Poppyseed-Buttermilk Vinaigrette

Veal Milanese with Parmesan, Pecans, Escarole and Lemon

Jean-Georges Warm Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Frozen Toasted Almond, Lemongrass Infused Juice and Candied Orange

The frozen almond mousses with orange was very colorful and eye pleasing. As I was having that, with the sun shining into the window and lite up the place, for a second, I almost forgot we are in the middle of winter.  We had an early lunch, it was just after noon when we sat down. People started to flood in as we were leaving around 1:30. I was a little surprise given it was a weekday. Everything was good, not outstanding; but great value. (Jan, 2015)