Review: Celebrate Flatiron Chefs!

I got VERY lucky to have snagged a last minute ticket to Madison Square Park's annual summertime food and drink tasting event, Celebrate Flatiron Chefs! This grand foodie event features dishes from top restaurants in Flatiron. I braved the 95 degree heat and tried a little bit of almost everything. And here it goes...

The first table I approached was A Voce Madison where Chef Kevin Garcia offered up Etruscan farro salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh herbs in a red wine vinaigrette and smoked duck breast with cherries and pistachios. I actually got the run down from the chef himself, which was cool (and unusual at these types of events). The farro salad was good as a side dish and fresh tasting, but not overwhelmingly amazing that I needed to finish it. The smoked duck breast was tasty and I liked the combo of cherries and pistachios, but it was hard to eat without putting it down and cutting it up (and there were no knives provided at this table). I think at this kind of event, it's important to consider how the food is being consumed, like most people only have one hand free and it's often hard to find a table to post up at.

Next up was La Mar Cebicheria. Executive Chef Victoriano Lopez was offering Cebiche Classico and Quinoa Causa. The Cebiche Classico was made of sashimi grade Long Island fluke in a classic leche de tigre with red onion, habenero, Pervuvian corn and yams. The Quinoa Causa was made of peruvian Quinoa salad over yellow potato causa, avocado, cherry tomatoes, aji amarillo dressing, basil, and balsamic reduction. The fluke was very tasty, fresh, and marinated well, however the fish was served as large chunks which is kind of weird for this kind of dish. The quinoa was fine, but not too memorable.

The next table was The Hurricane Steak and Sushi that had a cool smoking jug of a cocktail called Dark & Stormy made with ginger beer, Gosling's, and kalamansi. This was probably my favorite drink of the night. The chef, Craig Koketsu, also offered a chili lobster roll which was quite enjoyable and plentiful. I don't think I've ever had a lobster roll I didn't like, and this was no exception. I have to admit I was surprised to have liked this table as much as I did considering my one time experience dining there about a year ago was just eh. I know they are known for their cocktails, so it was not surprising that showed this off.

SD26 was next with Matteo Bergamini, the Executive Chef, serving Pappa col Pomodoro and roasted rosemary scented porchetta served with country bread. The Pappa col Pomodoro is a super chunky tomato and basil soup with Tuscan bread chunks in it. This was very good with fresh tomatoes, and not served too hot which was important considering the heat. The porchetta was fine. Really nothing special, except it was served with a scrumptious piece of crispy skin that I only let myself take one bite of (serious self control, thank you very much).

Hello friend.

Hanjan was next, which I was excited for since this place has been on my list for a bit. Hooni Kim, the Chef, served soft tofu with perilla vinaigrette and salmon sashimi with spicy chojang salad. I really did not care for the tofu. It was way too soft and texturally it just was not working for me. However the sashimi was awesome and they provided a nice sized portion. Super fresh and paired well with the salad. I am still intrigued to try more at the restaurant, but definitely not of the tofu.

So, obviously I was excited to see what NoMad had to offer, considering the unbelievable meal I had there about a year ago, and they did not let me down. Their roasted corn salad with smoked tomato and basil topped with corn foam was unreal. I know what you're thinking, corn was the best thing you ate all night? Yes, yes it was. It was just so crispy and savory and the foam provided a nice textural balance. I probably could have had five of these, but I held off since I was only on the sixth station. However I did scrape the bottom of the cup for every last kernel. YUM.

The next station was from Maialino. Their team included Executive Chef Nicholas Anderer, Pastry Chef Rachel Binder, and Chef de Cuisine Jason Pfeifer. They served up housemade bresaola with parmasean, arugula, and mustard vinaigrette and then olive oil cupcakes with marscapone and fresh blackberries. I was underwhelmed by the bresaola, it was basically a rolled up piece of cured meat. Not saying I hate that, but compared to the other offerings, I think they could have stepped it up. However, the cupcakes were full sized, moist, not too sweet, and well balanced. I actually ended up splitting one with the random guy I met at the high tables that were placed around the area, and we both agreed they were very good.

Blue Smoke was up next. Executive Chef Kenny Callaghan presented pork belly "PB&J" which was braised heritage pork belly with jalapeno jelly and peanut sauce. I loved this. I thought it was a cute concept and the flavors came together really well. The jelly was slightly sweet, but with a kick from the jalapeno. The pork was tender and delicious. They also served mini chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, but I did not try them.

The next table was my Portland favorite, Stumptown Coffee Roasters! While I should have been downing the many boozy cocktail options, I decided to break for a fantastic iced coffee. Love this place.

Next is another table I couldn't wait to check out - Eleven Madison Park. You might remember that I recently had an extravagant meal here, and was excited to see that the Pastry Chef, Angela Pinkerton, was actually there serving up sassafras floats with roasted banana ice cream. I said hello (not knowing who she was) and mentioned that I just dined at EMP and she asked if I liked the ice cream when I was there. I said, in fact I LOVED the ice cream and described why. The way she was smiling and nodding tipped me off and I realized it was her. Pretty cool to be able to express to her directly that I was a fan. Anyways, the float was awesome, of course, and super refreshing on this extremely hot day. Two thumbs up and my favorite dessert of the night (unfortunately my photo does not do it justice).

I checked out the Junoon table next, which had their team of Executive Chef Vikas Khanna, Culinary Creative Director Aliya LeeKong, and Chef de Cuisine Adin Langille. They served up watermelon shooters made with kaffir lime, ginger, and green chili basil seeds as well as octopus chaat made with confit octopus, kachumber salad and tamarind chutney. I did not try the watermelon shooter, but the octopus was awesome. Perfectly cooked and great flavor from the confit. One of the top dishes I tried.

I stopped by a tequila table on my way to the other side of the park to try a special cocktail that was made with grapefruit and had a smokey flavor. Very nice.

I noticed this other side of the park was not nearly filled with the caliber of restaurants that I had just visited, however I clearly had to check it all out. It is important to note that I am pretty full at this point and had to be really selective with what I was going for.

First I saw Hill Country Chicken. Executive Chef Elizabeth Karmel and Executive Pitmaster Charles Grund Jr. were serving Hill Country chicken classic drumettes with pimento cheese grits and mini sour cream coffee cake. I had to pass on the drumettes since they were so fried and heavy. The coffee cakes were individually wrapped, so I grabbed one for a later time.

Right next door was Hill Country Barbecue (with the same team), offering post-oak smoked brisket and cool as a cucumber salad. Now I have had the Hill Country brisket before and thoroughly enjoyed it, however this brisket was dry and very flavorful. The cucumbers were also just plain and not exciting. I took one bite and moved on.

Manzanilla is a place I have been wanting to try, and they had Chef Dani Garcia serving up steamed up brioche buns with pulled oxtail, mushroom, and kale. They were topped with an oxtail mayo made from oxtail reduction. He also presented a creamy Spanish vanilla rice pudding. The brioche bun was super soft, kind of like a steamed pork bun, and the pulled oxtail was good. The oxtail mayo was very interesting, however the blob on top was too much and sort of took over the whole thing. The rice pudding was super creamy and really delicious. I am intrigued and still would like to try this spot at another time.

I have been to the Boqueria in Soho, so I figured they would have something good to try. Executive Chef Marc Vidal served grilled baby squid with romensco sauce, fava beans, mint, and frisee. Separately, there was watermelon gazpacho with mint. I liked the squid, as I normally love a good grilled squid, and the gazpacho was wonderful too. Refreshing and even had a slight kick.

Ilili Restaurant brought out a large team with Executive Chef Philippe Masoud, Pastry Chef Matthew O'Haver, Chef de Cuisine Brandon Hicks, and Chef de Cuisine John Shim. They turned out lamb belly with octopus and salsa verde on country bread. They also had a Lebanese cookie with mulberry fluff topped with pistachio fudge. The lamb belly was served on this huge piece of bread and was so difficult to eat. Since I was nearing bursting status, I gave up and tried the cookie instead. Loved this. Such an interesting blend of flavors with the tarty mulberry fluff and the sweet thick pistachio fudge. I could only manage two bites though since I still had a few more stations to hit up.

I have actually never heard of The Cannibal, but Executive Chef Francis Derby put put two nice plates together of lamb and aged goat cheese sausage with snap peas and a pate with special mustard. The pate was fine, but nothing to write home about. The lamb sausage, however, was super tasty. It was pretty greasy so I only took a bite, but the snap peas created a nice balance.

Towards the end of my loop was L&W Oyster Co. with Chef Jason Weiner and Chef de Cuisine David Belknap. I tried their Montauk pearl oysters with cucumber-sake granita. Very good and refreshing.

My stomach was pretty much at max capacity at this point so I decided this was a good time to call it quits. If you're thinking "holy crap this girl can eat," well that's not untrue, but know that I mostly tasted everything I described rather than devouring the entire dish. Anyways, overall, it was a great experience. So many fantastic restaurants were represented (many I have been to, but some I will now keep in mind for future visits) along with their Executive Chefs which was really cool. Major themes of the night - watermelon, gazpacho, cucumber, and quinoa! Thank god most stations were smart about providing only refreshing food and drink since the heat was a major issue. Also, they had some nice musical entertainment.

A pleasant evening all around and I'm so happy I was able to partake in this event!

Restaurant Review: Niu Noodle House

I must start this review by saying how frustrated I am at the unfortunate service situation at Niu Noodle House. However, the food was delicious. It's always the worst when you want to love a place and recommend it to all of your friends, but really my experience was just one thing wrong after another. 

It all started at the bar, where I was waiting for Jeremy to meet me. I was given a drink menu and asked for the bartender's opinion between the mojito and and jasmine-agave vodka gimlet. After he explained that the mojito is made with sake, I opted for the gimlet. Meanwhile, two people sat down to the left of me and one guy to the right of me. All three people were served in between other orders from the tables, and I'm still sitting waiting. I catch the bartender's attention 10 minutes later and he says my drink will be the next one after the next one. Um..ok. So 20 minutes later I get my drink:

Apparently they make the jasmine agave on site, and I could definitely taste it, along with a shit ton of vodka. Ok, so not the best drink I've ever had but fine. Jeremy finally arrives and we get seated. We get two drink menus and one dim sum menu. A few minutes later, a table of three is seated next to us and gets full menus, waters, and a waiter asking if they have any questions. We wait 10 minutes and finally grab the manager who happened to be walking by and ask for menus, water, and mention that no one ever came back to help us. He apologizes and brings over one full menu, so I have to ask for another one so we can both look-what a concept. So, we settle on what we are going to order and end up having to grab the manager again to place the order because still no one came over to check on us. We order a round of dim sum: steamed pork soup dumplings, steamed pork, shrimp, and chive dumplings, steamed chicken dumplings, and steamed pork buns. We also order Niu beef trifecta soup noodle. He specifically asked if we wanted everything to come out together and we said no, please bring the dim sum first.

Now we are chatting and waiting for our meal, and I see large drops of water fall from the ceiling onto Jeremy's plate...gross. It's from the AC or vent or something. So, we grab the manager AGAIN and he seemed to be prepared for this complaint and moved us to a nearby table right away. Meanwhile, I'd like to note that they sat another couple there immediately after we moved, and we watched them sit there for five minutes and then ask to switch tables. Then another couple sat down, and we watch the girl ask the guy to switch seats, but I guess he managed to brave the AC drip because they did not ask to move. I'm just sitting there wondering why they would sit ANYONE there knowing the issue? 

ANYWAY, we get our dim sum, but what do you know? It's the wrong order. Well, they got the pork buns right, but brought out some other type of dumpling that we did not order. They took it back and came out a few minutes later with the correct order. 

I will take a break in my complaining to talk about how good the food was. The dumplings came with three different dipping sauces, but I have no idea what they were to say much about them. The pork soup dumplings were my favorite - made with minced pork infused with pork broth. They sort of pop open when you bite into them and release the yummy broth. The pork, shrimp, and chive dumplings and the chicken dumplings are pretty self explanatory, and the pork buns were typical, which is always fine by me. Overall, the dumplings were all large, stuffed full with the various ingredients, and really just delicious.

Left: Pork, Shrimp, and Chive Dumplings
Right: Pork Soup Dumplings
Not Pictured: Chicken Dumplings

Steamed Pork Buns

So, while we digging into the dim sum, the waiter comes around with our beef trifecta. The table is full of dishes and we specifically asked to wait to bring that out until after. So, we remind him of what we requested and he went away with the dish and came back after they cleared the dim sum.

Now, let's talk about this beef trifecta soup noodle because it was awesome. It comes with a beef broth and we opted for ho fun noodles (wide, flat noodles) instead of ramen. The broth was rich and tasty, the noodles were kind of mushy but in a good way, and the beef (flank steak, short ribs, and beef shank) was so tender and seasoned by the broth. The soup also came with baby bok choy, a hardboiled tea egg, scallions, fried seaweed tempura, and a little sweet corn on the side. Great combination and great dish all around. I think I might have to look past our unfortunate service experience just to have this dish again - that's how much I liked it. 

Beef Trifecta Soup Noodle

Also worth mentioning - great West Village location, very reasonably priced, and has fun, modern decor appealing to a young (ish) crowd. I'm sure the people next to us had a GREAT meal as it seemed they had excellent service and I'm sure they enjoyed their food as much as we did. Perhaps we'll meet again Niu Noodle House, but if only for your beef trifecta...

Restaurant Review: Amura

Jeremy and I were looking for something quick and somewhat healthy after an indulgent 4th of July weekend. We settled on sushi and decided to check out Amura, which is only a few blocks away. We selected the Sushi & Sashimi for Two platter, which included 18 pieces of sashimi, 10 pieces of sushi, a chef's special roll, and a California roll. The platter came with a choice of soup or salad for each of us. We each opted for the salad, which was your typical side salad from a sushi place - some lettuce, a slice of cuc, carrots, and ginger-carrot dressing. Nothing crazy. The platter though was huge and had a wide variety of fish including salmon, tuna, and yellowtail. The chef's special roll was great too - spicy tuna with tuna, salmon and avocado on the outside.

For $45, this was a great deal. It was all fresh and very tasty, and it was plenty of food. We did not leave hungry. Will definitely be returning!

Restaurant Review: Sotto 13

Boozy brunch time with the ladies. Myself and two other friends went to Sotto 13 today for brunch. They have a great deal that for $25, you get unlimited brunch drinks (bloody mary, mimosa, raspberry white peach bellini, fresh watermelon margarita, screwdriver, or sangria), and either two tapas + a side plate or a wood-fired pizza. So between the 3 of us, we ordered 4 tapas, 2 sides plates, and a pizza. We got: Fig Jam, Prosciutto, and Goat Cheese Crostini (they let me sub goat cheese for the original gorgonzola), Spinach and Artichoke Pizza made with riccotta and marscapone, French Toast Sticks with Vermont syrup and berry compote, Cacio e Pepe (soft scrambled eggs with Cacio cheese), Baked Crispelle with crepes stuffed with spinach and ricotta covered in tomato sauce and baked in cast iron dish with cheese on top, and 2 sides of bacon (extra crispy).

Bloody Mary

Fig Jam, Prosciutto, and Goat Cheese Crostini

Spinach and Artichoke Pizza

French Toast Sticks

Bacon (duh)

Everything was really very good. Highlights included the Baked Crispelle (sorry no pics of that one) and Spinach and Artichoke Pizza. As far as drinks, I ordered the Bloody Mary (or 4), and my friends had a variety of mimosas and bellinis. The restaurant itself is really nice inside, with a large skylight allowing for tons of natural light. It had a modern feel and just a cool vibe. I would highly recommend it for brunch with a large group as they are definitely able to accommodate it.

Restaurant Review: Eleven Madison Park

To honor the sweet sweet blessing of dating for 3 whole years, Jeremy and I decided to celebrate in style at Eleven Madison Park. I probably don't have to tell you the countless awards this place has received, or the "best of" lists it has topped, and I was excited to see if it lived up to the hype. I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the photos, I was trying to be discreet and not use my flash :)

I was a bit wary when Jer received a call that morning saying the AC was broken and it may not be fixed by that evening. Knowing what we were spending to enjoy this meal, I wanted to make sure I was not going to be sweating and uncomfortable (since it was close to 90 degrees that day). However, we waited 28 days for this reservation (since they only open their books 28 days in advance), so I did not want to lose it. So we went, and it was warm, but tolerable. We were focusing on the food anyways.

The service is top notch from the second you walk in. They were ready and expecting us and did not even have to check a list before they led us to our table. We were offered a cocktail list after a few minutes, but I had to request the wine list (which I thought was weird). I ordered a glass of Pinot Noir and Jeremy ordered the Manhattan Cart. This was pretty cool. They wheel over this cart of ingredients for a Manhattan cocktail and provide a menu that is based on the neighborhoods of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Each neighborhood had an iteration of the cocktail and the cart guy explained the differences (spicy, dry, etc). Jeremy settled on a spicy style Manhattan, which was the "Little Italy" iteration. All diners must participate in the chef's tasting menu, and we were asked if there were any ingredients we did not want included. I said cilantro obviously, and Jeremy said raw celery. We also were given the option for lamb or duck for our main course, and we decided on the lamb.

Our first four courses were smaller plates. The first thing arrived in a white pastry box tied with a string. Inside was what looked like little black and white cookies, but were actually savory and made with cheddar cheese. We think the black and white part was actually made of butter and the second you picked it up it started melting because of the warmer than average temp in the room. Aside from that, they were buttery and cheesy and fine. More cute than anything.

The second item was sea urchin "snow" (basically dehydrated) with smoked canteloupe and conch. This was definitely an innovative and interesting bite. It had a fishy taste from the urchin (which I actually have never tried and always wanted to), but the snow was a weird texture. I actually choked a little on it ha, it kinda got stuck in the back of my throat. Anyways, not our favorite, but definitely showed off a cool technique and an interesting blend of flavors.

Next up was the tomato gelee with summer beans (snow peas) and saffron oil. This dish was half some type of foam and half the tomato gelee. Pretty cool that the gelee held the tomato flavor but was clear in color. The peas were super fresh, sweet, and flavorful. I think gel is always a weird texture, but this was enjoyable.

The last of the smallest plates was a turbot in a sabayon with chive oil, which is a frothy sauce. It was served inside an eggshell. How did they cut that egg open so perfectly!? This was one of our favorites. The turbot was salty and savory and the combination of ingredients worked very well together. That was some tasty froth.

Then out came smoked sturgeon, literally on a mini smoker with woodchips. This dish was a cute play on bagels and lox. The sturgeon was accompanied by cream cheese topped with caviar in a tin, everything bagel crumble, pickles, lettuce, pickled onion, half of a quail egg (over hard), and a thin piece of toast. You had the ability to mix and match and make your own combination. I basically just spread the cream cheese and caviar on the toast, topped it with the sturgeon and added the egg, pickles, etc. This was not only a delicious dish, but it was fun and creative. Each ingredient was of high quality and contributed in its own way.

To take a break from the "courses," they served us rolls, aka buttery croissants, in a sack, with a cream butter and a lamb infused butter. Yes, that is correct. Lamb infused butter. I think this was a teaser for our main course, or maybe I'm just over thinking it. Anyways it was super interesting and I didn't hate it. We were basically putting butter on a buttery roll, but who cares? It was delicious.

I wish we had known what was next, because we would have saved our bread. It was a foie gras terrine with black truffle and asparagus. I have never had creamier, richer foie gras in my life. And there was so much of it! Mixed with the black truffle, it was one of the richest dishes I have ever had (come to think of it, it reminded me a lot of the richness and flavors you get from the chicken at NoMad). We actually asked for more bread to spread the foie gras on, because it just did not feel  or taste like something that should be eaten alone. We received more of the buttery croissant rolls, so I was really praying for my arteries after this one. The asparagus actually was great for cutting through some of this richness. Of course, we HAD to eat it all, but I would have been fine with half of the amount provided. Needless to say, it was really divine.

After this was cleared, someone came over with a grinder and clamped it down on the side of the table. Hmm...

Then, some fresh carrots with the tops still on and individual trays were delivered with 9 mini dishes of ingredients. A waiter came over and ran the carrots through the grinder to make carrot tartare. He explained the origin of the carrot and how it was grown in the finest soil in a place where a lake once existed. We then took the tartare and were instructed to mix in the ingredients to  create the final dish. We added wasabi cream, sunflower seeds, quail egg (over easy), smoked whitefish, dried chives, mustard seeds, horseradish, peas, and salt to taste. They provided carrot puree and mustard oil in squeeze bottles and rye bread toast to spread the tartare on. This was the coolest presentation of the night. Again, it invited us to mix and match and select the combination we desired. I basically added everything in varying degrees. The consistency is exactly what other tartare feels like, but it was only carrots rather than a protein. I thought this was very good, fun, creative, and was a good transition from the rich foie gras.

Our next dish was poached lobster with snap peas, morels, and crispy sweetbeads. The lobster was a nice size portion and my first bite I thought was cooked perfectly. Then, I had real issues cutting the rest of it. First of all, I was using a butter knife (which is what they specifically provided for this dish), that was the dullest knife ever. Like, you couldn't even injure someone if you were sawing back and forth. So, in my desperate attempt to cut the lobster into human size bites, I basically destroyed it and it was getting all stringy. I couldn't even bite through it, it was a one shot deal. I don't know enough about cooking lobster to tell you what this means about how well it was cooked, but I do know that I was struggling and it was disappointing because the lobster really looked beautiful before I got my hands on it. However, the crispy sweetbreads were salty and savory and delicious. Just the right size for a perfect bite. They also had these awesome morel mushrooms that were soaked in a creamy sauce and even Jeremy enjoyed them (he hates mushrooms normally). So good!

The next dish was back to veggies with creamed nettles, fingerling potatoes, drops of goat cheese, and some kind of foam (I never know what the foam stuff is). I feel like nettles are the latest trendy vegetable, taking over for kale and ramps. They had kind of a bitter taste, but the creamed preparation cut that and the potatoes provided for a nice balance. The potatoes were actually made three ways: mashed, roasted, and possibly pickled (I am not totally sure). I liked everything in this dish, especially when I mixed in the goat cheese with the nettles.

Next was what they called a "salad," but it was really one piece of lettuce with radish, some crispy ramps, and a crispy ball of goodness (not sure what was in that, but yum..tasted like the sweetbreads from before). I don't have much else to comment about. It was fine and I ate it in two bites.

Finally, the main event. Three different pieces of lamb (from varying parts) made with crisped leek, Bibb lettuce and Meyer lemon. It was served with freekeh (an ancient grain), mint, and leek. One piece was tenderloin, one was leg, and one was belly. All of it was tender, juicy, perfectly cooked and delicious. The belly was really interesting, like lamb bacon. It had that fatty yet crispy texture and was salty in the best way. The freekeh was amazing. I have never had this before, so I don't know if I found my new favorite grain or if they made it with some magic (probably the latter). The yogurt and lamb jus was great to mix with each bite. The flowers were pretty too.

Now we move on to the final rounds, starting with the cheese course. This was the cutest presentation ever. They placed a picnic basket down and sort of said here you go, we'll be right back. So we sat for a few minutes not sure if someone was coming over to explain...and then finally just opened it up ourselves and unpacked it.

It contained 2 white plates with ridges to make it look like those paper plates, a wooden box, a bottle of beer, a soft pretzel stick, and two jars. Just as we laid it all out, someone came over to explain each item. The beer was specially brewed for Eleven Madison Park and made with flavors specifically to pair with the other ingredients. The wooden box contained Greensward cheese from NYC's famous Murray's Cheese (but we were told EMP washed it with the beer, so it would not be the same if we were to go buy it there). The soft pretzel was made in house by the pastry team, and the jars contained pickled strawberries and homemade honey mustard. So we had a little "picnic" and shared the beer while tasting the Greensward cheese. It was definitely a pungent cheese, and creamy on the inside with a tougher rind around the outside. The pretzel was crispy outside and soft inside. We liked the homemade honey mustard and ate most of the pretzel with that, since the cheese was a bit overwhelming. I liked the pickled strawberries, which is not surprising since I like most pickled things. All in all I thought this was such a cute idea and I really appreciated all of the details and thought that went into this course.

The next course started to bring us into dessert mode. A waiter wheeled over a cart to make us Egg Creams tableside. We got a little history lesson about the origins of the Egg Cream and why it might be called that since there is not actually egg or cream involved. It seems that in Yiddish, "echt" means real or true. So, echt cream (or genuine cream) possibly became mis-translated overtime to be known today as Egg Cream. Originally, it was made with milk, chocolate syrup and seltzer, but EMP's version was with malt, vanilla, seltzer, and few drops of olive oil on top. The seltzer is added last and creates a foamy head on top, and we were instructed to consume immediately to enjoy that. These Egg Creams were fine. Interesting to taste, but would not come back for it.

Next was sorbet. This sorbet was mint flavored, and had the most natural mint flavor I have ever tasted in a dessert. It was like they just blended mint leaves and froze it. And I say that in a wonderful way. It was very refreshing, and accompanied by Fernet Branca, chocolate ganache, and little mint meringues. We both really enjoyed this dessert and thought the flavors were spot on.

The next dessert course was sheep's milk cheesecake foam with mango (frozen or sorbet of some kind) and crushed peanuts. This definitely had the salty sweet thing going. I didn't get much from the cheesecake foam, but I liked the mango and peanuts, and the combo was surprisingly good. The waitress that brought this over all of a sudden broke out a deck of cards. She told us we were going to determine what type of chocolate we would get and had Jeremy split the deck. He then took the top part and spread them on the table. The cards each had a different ingredient on them. None of the cards on the table were ingredients we would get, she informed us, and then had Jer pick the top two cards from her stack. He flipped them over and gave me a raspberry one and he got espresso. We were both like, ok yea I can do that, but then she said the chocolates were already on the table! We lifted up our plates and underneath were *SURPRISE* the type of chocolate we just picked from the cards! Oh my, it's magic! Cute trick, and creamy, rich chocolate. Fun all around!

Almost done...next comes the chocolate covered pretzel with sea salt. We each took a bite and decided it more like a cookie shaped like a pretzel than an actual pretzel. It was very good, but we were both nearing the deep end of a food coma. We just couldn't do much more. And that is when a cute little white pastry box came out, wrapped in string. We were told there are two black and white cookies inside, but this time they are actually cookies (rather than the savory cheese "cookies" we started with). Very creative to start and finish with the same thing, but not actually. We each tasted it for shits, but really couldn't bear to take another bite, so we took the rest of the pretzel cookies and the black and whites home in the box. They also brought out a bottle of apple brandy and poured some for each of us, but left the bottle on the table and said to enjoy as much as we want. I took one small sip and that was ALL I needed. Thanks but no thanks, I'm not much of a brandy girl.

After bringing our check, the waitress came back over with a little doggy bag containing a mason jar filled with EMP's homemade granola, or "breakfast!" as she called it. She also provided nice printed copies of the menu that we had just enjoyed, which I thought was awesome so I could actually remember what everything was, and come home and blog about it. Bet you were wondering how on Earth I remembered all of these details!?

Our overall consensus is that of course this was an amazing experience from start to finish. Service was spectacular, and everything presented to us looked perfect and was made from the finest ingredients. I particularly liked how they sourced almost all of the meal locally, and played many tributes to NYC. However, we did not LOVE every single thing we ate, as you have read. It's disappointing to not LOVE everything single thing when you are spending a lot of money and waiting so long to have the luxury to do so. One should have extremely high expectations going into something like this, and I am not saying I was let down or disappointed, but I am saying that it brings you to really evaluate everything. Chef's tasting menus are hard, because you do not have the ability to opt out of something that is not a must-have, however it does provide many opportunities to try things you may have never considered. I highly doubt we will ever go back, unless it is being funded by someone else of course, but only because it is special when it is a one time experience. We have so many other places to try, we have to spread the love!

Restaurant Review: Forcella Part II

So I returned to Forcella Park Ave quicker than I thought (opportunity arose), and booked it on Savored.com. I went with one other person and tried a few new things. We ordered Arancini Ai 4 Formaggi, Amalfi salad, and Fuorigrotta Signature Pizza.

The Arancini appy is fried rice balls made with four cheeses and served with truffle aioli. It came with 4 decent sized balls, but I don't think they were anything special. It was crispy on the outside and creamy from the cheeses on the inside, and served on top of a small salad with a dollop of the truffle aioli in the middle. I ate them of course, but I did not like the aioli (it just tasted like straight up mayo), and I just typically do not gravitate toward deep fried foods (this was my friend's pick).

The Amalfi salad caused a bit of a mixup between the waiter and the runner. The salad is made with arugula, gorgonzola, radicchio, walnuts, pear, and honey, however we asked to sub the gorgonzola for goat cheese (obvs). Now I know I mentioned last time that we had great service, and they were still friendly and nice this time, but they messed up this salad 2 times. First the runner brought out the wrong salad entirely. I saw the ingredients looked like a different salad I saw on the menu, so I said I am pretty sure this is not what we ordered. The waiter came back and said yes you are right, and took it away. Then the runner came back with the Amalfi salad, however it definitely was with the gorgonzola cheese rather than goat, and we noticed right away. The waiter came back and said yes you should have had goat cheese, sorry, and brought out a new one. When we finally dug in, we really liked it. It was a nice blend of greens, salty cheese and walnuts, and sweet honey and pears.

Lastly came the Fuorigrotta pizza which was made with burrata, lemon, arugula, and pecorino.
I really liked this one. The lemon was sliced extremely thin and layered on top of the fresh arugula, the creamy burrata, and the sprinkled pecorino. The crust, as I mentioned last time, was delicious. Crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside - can't beat that combo.

We did not order dessert and sadly they did not randomly bring out complimentary Angioletti Alla Nutella again. Oh well! Still had a great, easy meal at a reasonable price (especially after the Savored 20% discount). Still recommended!