Food & Pixels Posts

Lafayette (restaurant week lunch 2014)

It’s February, that means restaurant week is near. Looking at that long list of restaurants, it could be confusing. Some only offer lunch, some only offer dinner on certain days. So I thought I would take the chance and share some of the past restaurant week meals I had.

For the past 2 restaurant weeks (RW Winter & Summer), we went to Lafayette twice. Mostly because of its convenient location. And it is a rather beautiful french restaurant. For the very affordable RW price, and the menu items they offer, Lafayette is quite a steal. I took a glance at the menu, seems like Lafayette are offerings some of the same item this time around. see Lafayette RW 2015 menu here

Frisée Salad, Bacon Maison, Poached Organic Egg

    Frisée Salad, Bacon Maison, Poached Organic Egg

    Salmon Tartare, Sauce Aigrelette, Crispy Potato

      Salmon Tartare, Sauce Aigrelette, Crispy Potato

    Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Coriander Crème Fraîche

      Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Coriander Crème Fraîche

    Crispy Duck Confit, Lentils du Puy, Red Wine

      Crispy Duck Confit, Lentils du Puy, Red Wine
      Duck was very well cooked. really crispy skin and still moist inside. The lentils were a little salty for me. I would hope for a little more carrot to balance the saltiness.

    Steamed Red Snapper, Barigoule Provençal

      Steamed Red Snapper, Barigoule Provençal

    Field Mushroom Risotto

      Field Mushroom Risotto

    Milk Chocolate Pot de Crème, Chai Tea, Espresso

      Milk Chocolate Pot de Crème, Chai Tea, Espresso

    Almond Frangipane Tart, Winter Citrus, Mandarin Granité

      Almond Frangipane Tart, Winter Citrus, Mandarin Granité
      That concludes our first RW visit to Lafayette. It wasn’t out-of-this-world delicious, it was decent and great value. We knew coming in during RW, we were not looking for anything remarkable. We chose Lafayette because of its menu choices. There were decent options, a meat, a fish and a pasta. Portions were good enough that we would not leave half hungry. For those who are on a tight schedule during busy lunch hours, I would suggest to let your server know right the way, because there were a little bit of time gap in between dishes. Comfortable seating, warm service, and lots of sunlight coming through, it is a beautiful place that we can spend an afternoon at.
      Base on that thought, we went to Lafayette again during the summer RW. The hors d’oeuvres were the same as winter RW. Entree choices were hanger streak, a fish, and a pasta. The streak while very well cook, it was a little blend without the sauce. And the veggies were a little boring. From the look of it, it could be mistaken as a Chinese dish. The roasted dourade was just a beautiful dish to look at. It is very colorful and it speaks summer. Skin was crispy as we expect, fish was done just right, broth was delicious. Lafayette also have outdoor sitting during warm season, and that is just what we did. Street traffic wasn’t busy, it was peaceful and clam. With a glass of wine in hand, makes you forget you are in the middle of hectic Manhattan.
    The Clam

    The Clam

    White curved ceiling, white linen, dark chairs, with the semi-open kitchen, The Clam is a cozy restarrant on Hudson St opened over a year ago. Chef/ co-owner Mike Price is cracking up clams everyway there is. On the menu, there are clam dip, clam red sauce, deep fried clams, clam pizza, stuffed clams, clam soup, steamed clams, and of course, raw calms. But I have to say I am surpised that at The Clam where Clam should be the star, none of the entree feature clams. Since we came to The Clam to have clams, so clams we have.
    Purple RainYuzu Pomergranate Swizzle
    There were 8 selections from the cocktails menu. Immediately 2 stands out to us, the Purple Rain and Yuzu Pomegranate Swizzle. Love the Purple Rain, unlike the dark purple color, the drink was light and crisp, and the ginger added a little zest. It was perfectly balance. The Yuzu Pomegranate Swizzle was not as sweet aas we fear. It brought us to that little tropical island, with toes in the sand and enjoying the sun. absolutely love the yuzu. The only thing is that, the tall glass was filled 95% with ice, there were only may be 3 slip of cocktail in it.

    the clam dip zesty potato chips

      THE CLAM DIP zesty potato chips
      Clam Dip is served with large basket of thick crunchy potato chips. The chips seasoned, and would be by itself. The clam dip was very creamy and has plenty of clams in it. Between the dip’s creaminess and chips’ saltiness, I would be happier if it was a little more lemony. This would be the perfect snack/ finger food for the Super Bowl.

    diver scallop crudo

      DIVER SCALLOP CRUDO red blush pear, hazelnuts, chives, lime
      One of my favorite dish of the nigh. The scallop crudo was the only thing we ordered that is not clam, and it did not disappoint. The scallop was sweet. The pears and lime help bring out the sweetness and flavor even more. The crushed hazelnuts on top added crunch. It is refreshing, and just delicious.

    6 littleneck clams with cocktail sauce

      6 LITTLENECK CLAMS cocktail sauce
      Clams were very fresh. Nice cocktail sauce with a little kick.

    steamed littlenecks

      STEAMED LITTLENECK juicy bread, natural broth
      This was a bigger portion than I thought it would be. Clam broth was great. All the flavor from the clam came out. I could drink it as soup. While the broth was perfect, the clams were a little bit salty for me. And the garlic bread was fantastic.

    spaghetti & clams spicy gravy, fried clam & lobster sliders

      SPAGHETTI & CLAMS spicy gravy, salad on top, FRIED BELLY CLAM & LOBSTER SLIDERS griddled bun & OLD BAY FRIES cocktail sauce
      Since we were sharing everything, our server was very thoughtful to have the portion split in 2 for us, so the tiny table doesn’t seems as crowed. For any pasta dish, the sauce is the soul. And this spicy clam sauce was excellent. It was rich with a just enough kick. The salad on top was a great idea. since the spaghetti is rather heavy, salad added a certain lightness to the dish.
      Fried belly clam was gorgeous. Not too much dough, crispy on the outside and juicy inside. Griddled bun was buttery and soft, lightly toasted. Lobster on the other hand, was kind of absent here. I would wish for a little more lobster and tartar sauce or maybe a slide of lemon on the side, to balance out the greasiness of the clam and buttered bun.

      For so long, oyster has been taking the spotlight, it is about time that clam takes the stage. After a clam-ful night, we didn’t have any room for dessert. My high note was definitely the scallop curdo and the spicy clam spaghetti. Service was warm and attentive. When our check arrived, it came in a little notebook, filled with comments or sketches left by customers. It is a cute thoughtful idea, and we enjoyed flipping through it. The Clam
      On a side note, I found it odd that there is a window to the street where the bathroom is. While I do not know what it would look like from the outside, it certainly didn’t make me feel comfortable going about my business. We all know there are a lot of creeps in this world. (Feb, 2015)
      The Clam

    NYC restaurant week

    Batard

    click to view slideshow
    click to view slideshow
    I don’t often go to Tribeca. It is an inconvenience place for me. Subways are not close by, and I always get lost. But there are so many excellent dinning options in Tribeca. To name a few, Bouely, Atera, Junsik, Brushstoke, Nobu…… I was genuinely upset when Corton decided to close its door. In its place, is a beautiful fine dinning restaurant – Batard. Backed by the same group that is responsible for Nobu and Tribeca Grill, Batard opened last year, and immediately has won over the critics. Peter Wells gave it 3 stars, and also named it one of the best new restaurants in 2014.
    We went to Batard the day after the “faux” snow storm Juno, it was freezing cold outside. We opened the door to a very warm welcoming place. Wood floors, faint yellow walls, chandelier, it is very formal, elegant, refined. It was 7pm, dinning room was half full. Dinners seems to be more sophisticated, more of a country club crowd, whispering conversation. We sat down in the deep corner of the dinning room. From we sat, we could get a glimpse of the kitchen’s ceiling. If the kitchen and dinning room is actually separated by glass instead of a wall, so the action in the kitchen is in full display, it would make me so happy.
    batard
    The first thing that Batard did made us happy is warm bread. We were each offered a poppy seed roll and a olive french baguette. The olive baguettes smelled so good. Both crunchy on outside and soft spongy inside, serve with creamy whipped butter, most importantly, warm!
    batard
    My co-conspirator ordered a cocktail. The server sat the cocktail down on the table with a coaster, what is unique about it was that the coaster was printed with the cocktail’s name and it’s ingredient. Very smart and detail. The menu breaks down to 8 appetizers, 9 entrees, 4 desserts and a cheese cart to choose from. We both chose 3 course menu opting out of cheese.

    batard

      OCTOPUS “PASTRAMI”
      braised ham hock, pommery mustard, new potatoes

    batard

      RED SNAPPER
      mandaarinquat, grilled squid, fennel

    We were a little disappointed when we didn’t see sweetbread on the menu, since we heard so many good things about it. We had the Octopus Pastrami, and Red Snapper for appetizers. Octopus legs were pressed into a brick form, with chunks of ham hock, dressed with an excellent whole grain mustard. Octopus was not as good as the one at 15 East, but still very tender and good pair with the mustard. Red snapper was sweet. Mandarinquat not only added acid and brought out the sweetness of snapper, also added color to the dish. However, the olive oil was a little too much that almost covered. The celery was a little bitter, I would prefer it to be apple or maybe asian pear. But the little bits of squid was amazingly good.
    batard

      DUCK BREAST
      foreleg pear, mushroom crêpe, duck liver mousse

    Duck was beautifully cook. Perfectly medium rare, tender and juicy. There is a spring roll like mushroom crepe. Very moist and well season, although I wish the crepe would be a little crispier. I absolutely love the pear, so sweet and fresh; and the duck liver mousse was just as good as it could be. The only thing the didn’t fit in this plate was the matcha like green power underneath the duck liver mousse. I couldn’t make out what it was. It was powder like, green breadcrumbs but have absolutely no taste.
    batard

      VEAL TENDERLOIN
      “tramezzini,” trumpet mushrooms, sweetbreads, sauce diable
      It is a veal medallion wrapped in a pastry like golden crust. It had the crunch I expected. But I would like my veal a little more red. The trumpet mushrooms gave the dish a different texture.

    batard

      CARAMELIZED MILK BREAD
      blueberries, brown butter ice cream

    batard

      ARBORIO RICE PUDDING
      preserved raspberries, earl grey-milk ice cream

    Desserts were good, not too sweet, I have heard a lot of good things about this caramelized milk bread. It was very good, very fluffy, but the caramelized sugar coat might have been a little too much. For us, this milk bread is something can be easily acquired at a Japanese bakery, and there were places that we have had better, so we were a little confused why so many people were head over heels about it. Nevertheless, everything we had was great and elegantly presented. And for its reasonable price tag, we’ll be back. (Jan, 2015)
    batard