I recently had the opportunity to hit five top restaurants in New York City with a Chef Friend who was in town from Paris. We did in order Atera, Aska, Brooklyn Fare, Contra and Blanca.
It was an interesting experience in my home city. I usually dine like this on vacation but have never quite done this in New York City.
The one major observation since the food at all of the restaurants was of very high quality was how the non-food elements of the dining influenced my overall experience. For example one restaurant played music I hated and it really diminished my experience and another blasted music I like and it enhanced my experience (Blanca). And of course wine service has a major impact on the overall service.
Some brief notes:
Atera - My first time there since the current Chef started. Overall the meal was disappointing and especially the wine service. The simple dishes worked better including an amazing truffle sandwich.
Aska – I loved the first iteration of Aska. This was my second time eating in the dining room since they opened and I loved the meal. I think they are still finding their way in terms of pacing and salt but they were only open two weeks at this point. The environment is so welcoming that we easily passed 4-5 hours (note that they can speed up the pacing if you wish). I have eaten in the dining room twice and the casual menu three times now and I love the place and what Chef Berselius is doing. Aska will be in the regular rotation this fall.
Brooklyn Fare – I have been a HUGE fan of Brooklyn Fare since the beginning and this was another great dinner. Brooklyn Fare is simply about the best ingredients you can get. And I can’t tell you how much respect I have that Chef Ramirez has been there for every one of my meals. The wine list also has some amazing and well-priced German wines.
Contra – I love Contra and eat there regularly. However sandwiching them in between these great meals actually highlighted how great the food is and how wonderful the casual atmosphere is – the squid dish was one of the highlights of the week. We stayed very late and drank with the crew as dinner turned into a party. LOVE this place!
Blanca – If I could take what I liked best from each of the four aforementioned restaurants and distill it down into one place it would be Blanca! Great ingredients, perfect execution, just the right amount of food, excellent music, friendly staff and a unique special experience. Interestingly Blanca is my friends favorite restaurant in the world and he has worked in some of the best restaurants in Japan, Paris, Copehagen and Spain. We went again the next week for a pre-scheduled Birthday dinner and ate the same menu and it was equally as thrilling!