the three of us, these places are getting harder and harder to find) and we try to sample as much of the restaurant’s food as we can. Because this is an infrequent and celebratory venture, cost isn’t nearly as important as it would normally be and we are able to really let loose (in a civilized adult sort of way)and have a good time.Our most recent destination restaurant was Blue Hill, Dan Barber’s haute farm-to-table restaurant that has been a trend setter in the greenmarket movement that is currently overtaking the New York Culinary scene and a recent recipient of three stars from the New York Times. Along with restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern, Telepan, Craft, Cookshop and Tasting Room, Blue Hill is one of the spots to go if you prize fresh ingredients prepared in an expert way. The restaurant is actually able to source a large share of its ingredients from The Rockefeller Farms in upstate New York. Despite the fact that Blue Hill has been around since 2000, it is a restaurant that the three of us hadn’t been to and one we were all eagerly anticipating.
The restaurant asserts itself as a champion of seasonal ingredients with it’s amuse bouche, a skewer piercing two perfect little pieces of…you guessed it—cauliflower. I was a little put off by a piece of cauliflower as an amuse but I suppose if the kitchen really wanted to drive home the simple ingredient aspect, caulilflower with a little lemon was certainly the way to do it. Despite having second thoughts about choice at this point we drank some wine and forged ahead.
Appetizers started with sweet shreds of Maine crabmeat atop thin slices of green apple, fennel, and earthy panther soybeans soaking in a sweet and tangy apple mustard broth, a light and refreshing start to a meal. We then split an enormously satisfying sweet potato tortelloni which was hearty, meaty and resonant of the winter season.
While good, none of the previous two appetizers lived up to what I thought was the best dish of the night, and what appears to be a constant on the Blue Hill menu—a 45 minute slow poached egg with pan roasted oyster mushrooms swimming in an herb broth. Upon piercing with the fork, the egg melted into the broth creating a rich, creamy and delightfully green tasting coating to the earthy oyster mushrooms. I liked the egg infused broth so much I even broke my self imposed ban on bread (so as not to fill up) to soak up every last bit.
Our entrées proved to be satisfying as well and just as much of a testament to local producers and seasonal ingredients as the appetizers. We sampled some Hudson Valley Venison, Stone Barns pork loin and belly and Veal grown by none other than the man they call Rabbi Bob. When we asked if he was an actual rabbi, our waitress who was incredibly knowledgeable and immensely helpful in every way, told us that he was rabbiesque in appearance and was great with veal.
I found the venison, cooked sous vide and accompanied by a stew of carrots to be incredibly competent and tender, but not quite as good as the venison (prepared much the same way) at Gramercy Tavern. My veal, expertly raised by Rabbi Bob was incredibly tender and well complemented and contrasted by the creamy texture and toothy texture of the cracked wheat resting underneath. The rack of pork was flavorful but not nearly as satisfying as the belly that accompanied it. Our best single bite of the night included a forkful of the meltingly fatty belly with red cabbage simmered in red and port wine- a perfect combination of savory, sweet, tart, soft, and crunchy.
The two desserts we tried were slightly uneven, brought down by the cheesecake in a jar (not on the regular menu but on the tasting menu) lacking texture. While the chocolate bread pudding with vanilla ice cream was simple and delicious, it was a perfect ending to a meal that was centered around carefully chosen ingredients, and simple yet elegant preparation.
For all the hype about the nuances of the food I would expect the dining room to be rather hushed and peaceful but I found that on a cold Friday night the exact opposite was true. The bar which is situated in the front third of the restaurant was packed and the energy in the room was palpable making the dining experience a lot more like a night out than I would have originally imagined.
Overall, the service food and general feel of the restaurant were all outstanding, and for the value, five appetizers three entrees, two desserts, one cheese plate, two cockatils, two bottles of wine and three glasses if dessert wine for less than a tasting menu meal at numerous other high end restaurants) I even found the value to be really strong. I can’t wait to go back in the spring or summer to see what Dan Barber can cook up with a bounty of new ingredients.
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