Beacon Restaurant

Last week my chef friend Jeong and I were sitting around at the CIA talking about how we wanted to go eat somewhere in NYC where we could broaden our culinary horizons and see what some current restaurants were up to. We went over the usual laundry list of "hot spots" that we wanted to potentially eat at; Nobu, Kraft, The Modern, Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, WD-50...and we just couldn't decide on a restaurant. The next day, through a recommendation of Chef David Kamen, I decided to make a reservation at Chef Waldy Malouf's restaurant, Beacon

Beacon is the sort of place I would love to run and own. It seats about 225 guests and has a classy elegant decor that isn't stuffy or pretentious, but instead is sophisticated and sleek.

Once we arrived we were greeted by a two lovely hostesses who treated us like we were two VIP chefs from the Culinary. We were seated at a very good table, which overlooked the semi-open kitchen and wood burning oven. Our server was very energetic, and did a good job overseeing our whole meal.

The kitchen sent us out our first course compliments of the chef, 6 wood-fired oysters on a bed of rock salt. Now I believe as a chef that every successful restaurant has a few dishes that are unique or almost "perfect", and these were the best oysters I have ever had! They had the perfect balance of shallots, butter, lemon, herbs, acidity and fresh oyster flavor. I think Jeong and I had an epiphany over the oysters cause we are still talking about them a week later.

Our second course consisted of some Roasted Bone Marrow for Jeong and Smoked Pork Belly with Shiseido Peppers for myself. The marrow was very good, and I think it was Jeong favorite dish (if not the oysters), but I while I didn't dislike the Pork Belly (how can bacon be bad??) it just seemed like it needed another component to the dish. It would have benefited from something fresh or with a little acid.

In the middle of our courses we ordered two cocktails to see how good they were. I ordered a cucumber vodka caipiroska, which was fabulous. Jeong ordered the house pineapple margarita, which he said was quite good as well.

Our third course consisted of sweetbreads and their take on shrimp cocktail. The shrimp cocktail was very good, with lots of bright lemon and dill flavors.

For our main course I chose a bottle of Chateau Magnol Cru Bordeaux in Haute-Medoc. It was a fantastic bottle, with lots of black cherry and oak. It was a great pairing for our main courses, a Guiness Braised Short Ribs, and Lamb from Nose to Tail.

The lamb dish was very complex. It had a bacon wrapped lamb kidney, a ground lamb meatball with lots of cumin spice, a grilled lamb chop, and a piece of braised lamb with some creamy polenta. It was a rich dish, but very well thought out and was probably my second favorite dish there. The kitchen sent us out a side of their creamed spinach, which was simple and delicious.

After our main courses and a little breather, our server told us that he would send us out an extra dessert as long as it wasn't a souffle. Of course being chefs, Jeong and I had to have two souffles made to order for us. He decided on the mixed berry souffle, and I ordered the chocolate chip. 15 minutes later our server came out with two towering souffles and cut them open and drizzled them with their accompanying sauces. The souffle was like a slice of heaven, there was so much air incorporated into it that the second it hit your tongue it melted away.

The cheesecake was super rich and had a great mango pineapple salsa that came with it. The best part of the cheesecake was that the usual cookie crumb crust was mostly shredded coconut, which was a nice contrast.

After the meal, the Exec Sous Chef, Sergio Lopez came over to our table and gave us a kitchen tour. I was surprised to see one of my previous residents, Richard, doing his externship there. 

We took a picture with the staff and thanked them for all their hard work, and for treating us like kings.

It was an amazing meal, and one that I will remember for a long time. And if you are looking for a great place to eat at a good price and excellent service, then look to Beacon Restaurant to keep shining as one of NYC's best restaurants.

The Halibut Escapades

Every few weeks my friends and I try to have a nice dinner. The reasons for this are two, so I can feel like I am not just a "college" student living in a residence hall; and two, to keep up my culinary skills.

Today we went to Adam's Market in Arlington, which specializes in local produce. 1.5lbs of beautiful Halibut later, my friend Jeong Woo and I set out to create a 3 course meal with delicious wine pairings.

After seeking out all the ingredients we needed, Jeong and I returned to the CIA and picked some of our Rhubarb and strawberries that were growing behind Rosenthal hall. In the kitchen, Jeong started cooking potatoes in buerre nosiette, while I peeled, small diced and simmered a reduction of 10yr tawney port, sugar, and the rhubarb. As it was cooking down, I pureed watercress and Jeong sauteed the halibut. Jeong also created a cool soba dish with hot bean paste and mixed greens.

Eventually with food in hand, we sat down to eat and opened a delicious bottle of Sophia Blanc de Blanc (100% chardonnay, mmm). It was very crips, with smack you in the face notes of peaches and apricots. With this wine we had our soba salad, which was delicious, probably the best cold noodle salad I have ever had.

After the soba, Jeong plated the fish, and I mixed the salad and vinaigrette up for the garnish. I then opened a much anticipated Grand Cru white burgundy...which ended up being corked! What a dissapointment...but the halibut was so good it didn't matter.

After we had the rhubarb compote topped with vanilla ice cream, strawberry puree and fresh strawberries from the CIA garden. It was super sweet, and the port really made the rhubarb amazing.

It was a good meal, and the start of a great weekend. We have it so tough here at the culinary ;)

Random NYC Pictures

Just some random weekend shots.

Chanterelle

The next morning after eating at Le Bernardin, we headed over to a much anticipated lunch at Chanterelle in Tribeca. Once inside, Canterelle had an eclectic style of artwork made by local artists, that later we found out were all the past menu covers used in the restaurant. The menu itself was a hand written menu, in a flamboyant flowing script, then mass copied for the tables. Its was a pretty cool concept.

Chanterelle is known for its local, seasonal menu and I was excited to see what the chef was going to offer. My dad, Pam, and I decided on their 3 course pre-fix menu, and they both chose a spring greens stuffed ravioli with peas and baby asparagus in a butter sauce. I went for a more classical saddle of rabbit, which was cooked perfectly. If only the vegetables had been a bit more cooked it would have been a perfect plate. The spring raviolis were very nice, and a perfect light summer dish. For dessert, a lemon pannacotta in a rhubarb consomme was balanced perfectly between sweet, acidic, and astringent. The candied rhubarb was a nice touch as well. 

As good as the food was at chanterelle, the whole meal had a strange vibe to it. Chanterelle dining room, although elegantly set, was just too quiet and sterile. They needed some extra ambience, or some music, so you didn't feel uncomfortable talking to your own table.

Le Bernardin

So last weekend I had the unique opportunity to eat at quite a few great NYC restaurants. My dad and his girlfriend, Pamela, had decided to come to NYC to visit; and we had some amazing things lined up to do in the city.

On friday night we had a reservation at Le Bernardin, Eric Ripert's fine dining seafood restaurant. Inside the restaurant, we were given a corner table that overlooked most of the dining room floor. The table was set with some pretty charger plates, a simple knife & fork combo, and great Reidel Glasses. Being a front of the house instructor, I appreciated the attention to detail in the initial setting, and an overall level of organization that was present in the dining room itself.

We all decided to have the Le Bernardin tasting menu, which consisted of about 7 small courses with the suggested wine pairings for each course.

Some of the highlights of the meal (since the whole thing was so good) were the Kampachi Tartare, the Bread Crusted Red Snapper (which i wish I had a picture of cause it was probably the best dish) with its amazingly flavored zucchini-mint coriander compote in a citrus tomato broth, the White Tuna Poached in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and the Sauteed Codfish with Octopus sauce and basquaise emulsion. Amazing dishes, seasoned well, and beautifully plated. My only complaint would be the lack of a starch component to the dishes.

The Chateau Carbonnieux, Pessac Leognan Bordeaux 2006 was a perfect pairing with the Snapper, and the Nuits Saint-Georges, Vieilles Vignes, Daniel Rion 2003 was also amazing. Surprisingly we had a greek wine, Assyrtiko, Thalassistis, Gaia Estate, Santorini, Greece 2008, that was very good as well. Who knew!? The wines were outstanding, supporting each dish in ways that delighted the palate.

The desserts consisted of: 

The grapefruit:

Vanilla Cream, Grapefruit Sorbet, Tarragon Coulis, Crisp Meringue

which was served with a Tokaji, Late Harvest, Oremus, Hungary 2005

and

The Hazelnut:

Hazelnut Gianduja Parfait, Caramelized Banana, Brown Butter Ice Cream

which was served with Traminer Trockenbeerenauslese No. 3, Kracher, Austria 2005

which is a mouthful just to pronounce but well worth it. (you should hear my dad correctly pronounce every letter of it perfectly)

Our service was pretty good, with synchronized service for the laying in of everything and clearing of the plates. Near the end of our meal, our dessert arrived before the wine pairing for that course, and you could see the immediate disapproval of our sommelier. Overall though, few things could have been better with the overall meal. 

On a side note however, Eric Ripert apparently doesn't believe in salt on the tables of his restaurant. That drives me crazy....plus his calamari course could have used a little extra salt.

Sauteed Codfish; Stuffed Sweet Peppers; Octopus Sauce and Basquaise Emulsion

Pinot Noir, By Farr, Geelong/Australia 2005

Sauteed Calamari filled with Sweet Prawns and Shiitake Mushroom; Calamari Consomme

Chablis, Louis Michel 2007

Kampachi Tartare; Marinated Japanese Cucumber; Aged Citrus Vinegar

Assyrtiko, Thalassistis, Gaia Estate, Santorini, Greece 2008

The standard place setting for the table which was very elegant.

Black OPS Beer

Every class coming through the St. Andrew's Cafe has a designated day for a Beer lecture and tasting as part of their curriculum. Now while that is pretty cool in its own right, every once in a while an exceptional class with exceptional connoisseurship in beer happen. The current class had just the person to make this happen, a Justin Burchill; who with a good bit of knowledge about the better beers in life helped create a special tasting. While there were too many beers to mention all of them, two of them really stood out for me. 

The first of the two was Brooklyn Breweries Black OPS. Black OPs is a unique Russian Imperial Stout which is aged for four months in old bourbon barrels, bottled flat, then re-carbonated with champagne yeast. 

As you can see from the picture of it below in the glass, its as dark as the devils soul, and just as sinful. What an amazing beer! When you first sip it, you are instantly transported to drinking a shot of good quality bourbon, but then it transforms into creamy coffee-like chocolate stout of a beer. Damn good stuff. Expensive too, at about $30 a bottle. Oh, and they only made 1,000 cases of the stuff, so if you have a chance to try it then I strongly suggest you do.

The second beer that really amazed me was Innis & Gunn, another oak aged beer. Unlike the Black OPS, the Innis & Gunn was surprisingly mellow, with flavors of vanilla, spice, orange, and lemon zest. A really well rounded beer, probably one of the best I had ever tasted. What was nice was that the beer had so many flavor profiles of what reminded me of a Belgian beer, but without the strong hops flavors. I think I might just have to go buy a few of these just to do some more "research". 

Waaaasabi!

Today I thought that I would post a picture I took a while ago while at an Asian Specialty store on St. Marks St in the Village, NYC. While browsing through the vast aisles of asian products that I could only half figure out what they were, this little sucker caught my eye. Fresh wasabi eh? I had never seen the stuff before, and all I could associate wasabi to in my chef-like brain was the little green ball that is placed on your plate every time you order sushi. Surely this root couldn't be the same as that powdered green goo you squeeze from a tube, or make from powder in a can with some water? 

I decided to do a little searching and came upon this information:

Wasabi is Japanese horseradish. It is most famous in form of a green paste used as condiment for sashimi (raw seafood) and sushi. However, wasabi is also used for many other Japanese dishes.

Wasabi is a root vegetable that is grated into a green paste. In supermarkets, wasabi is widely available as a paste or in powder form. Wasabi powder has to be mixed with water to become a paste. Wasabi has a strong, hot flavour which dissipates within a few seconds and leaves no burning aftertaste in one's mouth.

Many "wasabi" powder and paste products that are available in supermarkets (and even some restaurants) contain only very little or no real wasabi at all and are made of coloured horseradish instead. This is due to the fact that cultivation of real wasabi is relatively difficult and expensive.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2311.html

Very interesting. I can't wait till I decide to make some serious sushi/sashimi and get my hands on the real stuff. I wonder how different the taste really is?