If everyone loves Spanish food, and everyone loves small plates, and diners are trending towards more casual, relaxed meals, why then is it so easy to get a reservation at Degustation?
I called three or four days ahead of time and was able to get any time I wanted on a Friday night. Then I got the flu and rescheduled for the next Saturday. Again, I could get almost any time I wanted. That Saturday didn’t work so I rescheduled yet again for a Wednesday night that was convenient for everyone—except for the extremely kind people answering the restaurant’s phones.
Easy reservations don’t trouble me if the restaurant in question is really large, or if the food is said to be average, or uneven, but Degustation, Grace and Jack Lamb’s (owners of Jewel Bako which is next door and actually connected to Degustation by a narrow hallway) 16 seat quasi Tapas/French restaurant is too small and too good to be this easy to eat at.
Chef Wesley Genovart who is 28 but looks like he could be 19 runs a small but well paced and relaxed open kitchen that is surrounded by the 16 seat wooden bar. This narrow space, dimly lit and accented by dark stone walls makes up the entire restaurant. What could arguably be a very large bathroom or closet space in a city with more space, is actually a restaurant that incites joy in those lucky enough to cram themselves in.
Watching a chef in an open kitchen is a fun experience but can also affect the way you eat your food—its not as much fun to eat a dish cooked by a stressed out and sweaty guy cursing under his breath 6 feet away from you. What impressed me most about Degustation was the way that the food and the service all seemed so refined yet effortless.
Degustation does simple dishes very well--slightly smoky and deliciously fresh shrimp prawns and langoustines grilled on the plancha and dusted with sea salt were a pleasure to eat. They also seem to make complex dishes very simply. A crudo of Tasmanian sea trouth was adorned with basil seeds, resempling caviar, little green orbs of encapsulated basil and a sherry reduction, leaving the diner with the striking mix of the bright pink fish surrounded by greens on the plate. The fish was delicious too it sweetness accentuated by the sherry and then held back by the herbal notes in the basil. Chef Genovart is clearly man who understands his fish and knows how to get the most out of them.
The one bite Spanish tortilla topped with Piquillo pepper and stuffed with shallot confit and quail egg was a nice little burst of flavor to start the meal. However, the slowly poached egg sitting in a bath of cheese foam with Serrano ham and rice cracker crusted asparagus fell a little short. The foam was too salty and the asparagus too stringy. I blame myself for this one, ordering asparagus in February was a really poor idea.
The disappointment experienced by the egg is quickly forgotten however, as you move on with the menu. Pork cheeks were extremely tender and came with a light sweet potato gnocchi, denser Brussels sprouts and salty blood sausage, a medley of tastes and textures that go really well together if you can fit them into the same bite. Our dessert of sweet caramelized bread pudding with frozen grapefruit and grapefruit foam was solid (with the foam actually working well here) but the highlight of the meal was the rabbit. Confited until tender and very juicy and served in little circles, accompanied by crispy fried artichoke and white beer sauce, it was simple yet packed with flavor with ingredients that were seemingly made for each other. A perfect example of how a well run humble little restaurant can cook up some very big food.
(Photo credit to NYMAG)
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