Leaves are turning color and falling off the trees, the air is perfectly cool, crisp and refreshing, and cooking magazines are starting to feature turkeys on their covers. Fall is finally here!
I
I got through four and a half of the six things on my fall list this weekend... I managed to find a friend to eat some duck breast and drink some good red wine with, although with the offer of me coming over to cook a free dinner it wasn't hard to find a taker.
I ate some apples and they were good.
The cooking class was really amazing. More on that later
I sampled some of the fall menu at Momofuku. I didn't get to try a couple of things that looked good though. I'm dying to try the apple kimchee and for some of that meaty fragrant mushroom salad. I also made it to Tailor for some cocktails and noticed that they have a cocoa tasting menu. Intriguing...
I did not avoid Giants Stadium food. All in all I spent about 4 and a half hours commuting back and forth from Giants Stadium this past Sunday and I'm not happy about it.
I also missed out on the slice of pizza I wanted. There's only so much eating one person can do over the course of two days.
Pictures and more substantial writing to come. I'm tired from all my eating and traveling to and from Giants Stadium.
Showing posts with label tailor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tailor. Show all posts
Monday, October 15, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Tailor
Despite the fact that I eat a lot, it’s not very often that I get to visit an ‘anticipated’ restaurant during its opening weeks. The last time I did this, it was because I was talked into Gordon Ramsay at The London, and it was a huge, soulless, disappointment. I had much higher hopes for Sam Mason’s Tailor (525 Broome Street), a restaurant/cocktail lounge hybrid, whose opening I had been following for months. Here's a peak inside courtesy of Eater.
I have to say that I was very impressed. Although I’m not exactly sure where Tailor fits in terms of the traditional realms of ‘restaurant’ and ‘bar’ the intellectualized food and drinks are as much fun to eat as they are to read about. As expected, the restaurant is still working out some kinks: food was a little slow when the restaurant filled up, the staff wasn’t entirely knowledgeable about everything yet, and the black leather cutout on our table was slightly atrocious looking, but otherwise, it shows great potential.
Mason’s menu of small plates is comprised of 12 choices, six salty and six sweet. The size and pricing of the plates makes Tailor either a place that can challenge the palate’s conceptions of what makes a meal, or simply a cool spot to grab a delicious, aesthetically pleasing snack. Part of what makes this restaurant so interesting to me, is the fact that not only are the food and cocktails taken very seriously, but it also seems like the kind of place where the chef himself would hang out.
That being said, when my friends and I went on Friday night we hadn’t hung out in a while and were definitely in a mood to live a little. After sampling a couple of the cocktails, we took great joy in saying “Give us everything one the menu.” Almost all of the dishes were hits, and the pork belly with Miso butterscotch was a super hit. The only problem with ordering everything on the menu is that due to the variety of combinations and flavors, it’s really difficult to pair a drink with each course, and the cocktails definitely don’t work if you hope to taste your food. After a little it of a struggle we ordered a moderately priced bottle of Riesling and were happy.
A rundown of the menu in order of my preference with the section of the menu it’s from. But first, here's a link to a Flickr page with pictures of all the dishes (you should click there the food is really amazing looking)
1. Pork Belly, Miso Butterscotch, Artichoke (Salty)
Far and away the best dish and not even because the others were bad. I could probably eat a bowl full of Miso butterscotch by itself, and mixing it with the super savory pork belly not only tastes great but really captures the essence of what this restaurant is all about.
2. Snapper, Avocado-Pistachio, Watermelon, Black Olive (Salty)
There was a lot going on here, but that didn’t detract from the impeccable quality of the snapper. Between the sweetness and juice of the compressed watermelon, the saltiness of the olive, and the crunchy pistachio this was also a very well thought out balanced dish.
3. Soft Chocolate, Black Sesame Ice Cream, Mole (Sweet)
I like chocolate, but find that chocolate desserts in restaurants tend to be too heavy, sticky and overwhelming—I get tired of eating them by the end. I was really impressed by the velvety texture of the soft chocolate and thought that the mole paper helped add a very slight kick which kept the chocolate from being too cloying. The black sesame ice cream added coldness to the dish which made it really pleasurable to eat.
4. Foie Gras, Peanut Butter, Cocoa, Pear (Salty)
This was a really nice foie gras preparation. Mason combines two things that are rich and creamy, foie gras and peanut butter and pairs them to create something that is pleasingly familiar (I hope peanut butter is familiar to most) but also new.
5. Caramel Panna Cotta, crunchy coffee, corn sorbet (Sweet)
This dish also had pieces of perfectly crunchy popcorn which made the dish seem like a really abstract take on peanuts and Cracker Jack. Another dish with complementing flavors, caramel and coffee scream ‘delicious frappucino’ while the popcorn adds a texture that makes the dish fun. After reading what I just wrote I supposed this dish reminds me of a lot of things, all of them good.
6. Passion Fruit Poached Char, Lime Pickle, Coconut (Salty)
I really enjoyed the texture of the poached char. Cooking it in passion fruit curd (that’s what it seemed like they did although I can’t say for sure) gave it a slightly tart taste and melty texture to go with some of the richness of the char. The fact that the dish came with spaetzle and the coconut was crispy added some texture to an otherwise silky dish while the addition flavors of lime and coconut reminded me of a ceviche minus the excess acid.
Ok, if you’re still reading this you’re probably interested in going to Tailor. I’m a little tired and the inside of my mouth is cut up from all of the Bouley bakery baguette I went through today so I’m going to go to sleep. I’ll post some more notes tomorrow.
I have to say that I was very impressed. Although I’m not exactly sure where Tailor fits in terms of the traditional realms of ‘restaurant’ and ‘bar’ the intellectualized food and drinks are as much fun to eat as they are to read about. As expected, the restaurant is still working out some kinks: food was a little slow when the restaurant filled up, the staff wasn’t entirely knowledgeable about everything yet, and the black leather cutout on our table was slightly atrocious looking, but otherwise, it shows great potential.
Mason’s menu of small plates is comprised of 12 choices, six salty and six sweet. The size and pricing of the plates makes Tailor either a place that can challenge the palate’s conceptions of what makes a meal, or simply a cool spot to grab a delicious, aesthetically pleasing snack. Part of what makes this restaurant so interesting to me, is the fact that not only are the food and cocktails taken very seriously, but it also seems like the kind of place where the chef himself would hang out.
That being said, when my friends and I went on Friday night we hadn’t hung out in a while and were definitely in a mood to live a little. After sampling a couple of the cocktails, we took great joy in saying “Give us everything one the menu.” Almost all of the dishes were hits, and the pork belly with Miso butterscotch was a super hit. The only problem with ordering everything on the menu is that due to the variety of combinations and flavors, it’s really difficult to pair a drink with each course, and the cocktails definitely don’t work if you hope to taste your food. After a little it of a struggle we ordered a moderately priced bottle of Riesling and were happy.
A rundown of the menu in order of my preference with the section of the menu it’s from. But first, here's a link to a Flickr page with pictures of all the dishes (you should click there the food is really amazing looking)
1. Pork Belly, Miso Butterscotch, Artichoke (Salty)
Far and away the best dish and not even because the others were bad. I could probably eat a bowl full of Miso butterscotch by itself, and mixing it with the super savory pork belly not only tastes great but really captures the essence of what this restaurant is all about.
2. Snapper, Avocado-Pistachio, Watermelon, Black Olive (Salty)
There was a lot going on here, but that didn’t detract from the impeccable quality of the snapper. Between the sweetness and juice of the compressed watermelon, the saltiness of the olive, and the crunchy pistachio this was also a very well thought out balanced dish.
3. Soft Chocolate, Black Sesame Ice Cream, Mole (Sweet)
I like chocolate, but find that chocolate desserts in restaurants tend to be too heavy, sticky and overwhelming—I get tired of eating them by the end. I was really impressed by the velvety texture of the soft chocolate and thought that the mole paper helped add a very slight kick which kept the chocolate from being too cloying. The black sesame ice cream added coldness to the dish which made it really pleasurable to eat.
4. Foie Gras, Peanut Butter, Cocoa, Pear (Salty)
This was a really nice foie gras preparation. Mason combines two things that are rich and creamy, foie gras and peanut butter and pairs them to create something that is pleasingly familiar (I hope peanut butter is familiar to most) but also new.
5. Caramel Panna Cotta, crunchy coffee, corn sorbet (Sweet)
This dish also had pieces of perfectly crunchy popcorn which made the dish seem like a really abstract take on peanuts and Cracker Jack. Another dish with complementing flavors, caramel and coffee scream ‘delicious frappucino’ while the popcorn adds a texture that makes the dish fun. After reading what I just wrote I supposed this dish reminds me of a lot of things, all of them good.
6. Passion Fruit Poached Char, Lime Pickle, Coconut (Salty)
I really enjoyed the texture of the poached char. Cooking it in passion fruit curd (that’s what it seemed like they did although I can’t say for sure) gave it a slightly tart taste and melty texture to go with some of the richness of the char. The fact that the dish came with spaetzle and the coconut was crispy added some texture to an otherwise silky dish while the addition flavors of lime and coconut reminded me of a ceviche minus the excess acid.
Ok, if you’re still reading this you’re probably interested in going to Tailor. I’m a little tired and the inside of my mouth is cut up from all of the Bouley bakery baguette I went through today so I’m going to go to sleep. I’ll post some more notes tomorrow.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Tailor
Tonight I get to go to Sam Mason’s new restaurant/cocktail lounge Tailor. Sam Mason is the former pastry chef at WD-50 and Tailor is his first independent venture. Unfortunately, Sam had already left WD-50 when I visited for the first time so I’ve never eaten any of his food, but the fact that he is an alumnus of WD-50, a restaurant I love and respect, has me excited for Tailor.
Mason’s menu is comprised of a salty and a sweet section with such interesting combinations as foie gras and peanut butter, pork-belly and miso butterscotch, tomato peach and black sesame ice cream. Tailor also has the bonus of having an incredibly ambitious cocktail program with drinks such as the Bazooka, consisting of vodka, bubble gum cordial and house sour mix and the Charantais made of walnut infused cognac, dandelion cointreau and lemon. They also have their own house infused liquors such as Tobacco Bourbon and Pumpernickel Raisin scotch.
I’m not really sure what to expect of dinner but I’m hoping to be challenged and impressed. I always appreciate chefs trying new things and Tailor seems like a worthy effort. I hope the food is good.
Here’s a link to a site with some pictures of the food at Tailor
Here are some pictures from WD-50’s site. The food here is both aesthetically good looking and intellectually interesting. If you have some time, it’s really a lot of fun to browse through some of the images and read about the combinations.
Mason’s menu is comprised of a salty and a sweet section with such interesting combinations as foie gras and peanut butter, pork-belly and miso butterscotch, tomato peach and black sesame ice cream. Tailor also has the bonus of having an incredibly ambitious cocktail program with drinks such as the Bazooka, consisting of vodka, bubble gum cordial and house sour mix and the Charantais made of walnut infused cognac, dandelion cointreau and lemon. They also have their own house infused liquors such as Tobacco Bourbon and Pumpernickel Raisin scotch.
I’m not really sure what to expect of dinner but I’m hoping to be challenged and impressed. I always appreciate chefs trying new things and Tailor seems like a worthy effort. I hope the food is good.
Here’s a link to a site with some pictures of the food at Tailor
Here are some pictures from WD-50’s site. The food here is both aesthetically good looking and intellectually interesting. If you have some time, it’s really a lot of fun to browse through some of the images and read about the combinations.
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