Anyone been yet? I have to admit that despite some of the reviews (and Bruni’s Op-Ed piece), I’m kind of getting the itch. One can save money by getting the 5-course rather than the 11-course.
This kind of reminds me of Carrie: The Musical - it might close in a hurry, but we’ll all regret having missed it!
A chef friend of mine said he thought the food (“just what’s on the plate” was his quote) was genius. He really admires the chef.
I haven’t been but would love to go.
Just the man I was hoping to hear from on the subject! I was thinking about going tomorrow, but with the crazy weather forecast, I am probably just going to head back home after my afternoon meeting.
Couldn’t help myself. Will say more later, but here is a link to my photos (plus one from their site).
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2847965670956.140786.1013867676&type=1&l=aee7c57980
It was a very good meal. The one failure of a dish was probably an audacious failure.
Of the four flavored waters, one was undrinkable (fish), one was odd (black truffle), one was pretty good and went with the dish (leek, green onion, celery, green tea), and one was certifiably brilliant (smoked water with cloves).
They have just switched from 5 or 11 course options, to 6, 9, or 12, with complete overlap of the menus. I opted for the 9, losing out on two desserts and a caviar starter.
Shorthand notes:
The marmalades were wonderful.
The quail egg dish was one dimensional and subtle to the point of boring.
The veg soup was amazing - captured what he’s doing and completely worked.
The ‘sea’ was a miseable failure - taking this beautiful dish of beautiful raw fish & shellfish, and dumping this too sweet onion cream rice on top.
The salmon was fantastic, cooked sous vide in a marinade of beet, orange peel, bay leaf & ginger. Gorgeous dish.
The “cassoulet” was even better, with foie, truffles, and duck/truffle/porcini consomme.
The squab was the best dish of the night. (So it was really great to have the meal peak with the last three mains.)
Dessert was dessert. Good, if you are into dessert.
Perfect timing - Pete Wells reviews in today’s NYT:
Although I enjoyed a few of the dishes more, the broader tone of the review is 100% spot-on.
And indeed it closed quickly, after dinner service last night. I’m still glad I went - but what an audacious train wreck of a restaurant.