NY Eats: Cafe Boulud, 3 courses, 1 Michelin star, $19
I found out that NY Restaurant Week was extended through Labor Day, so I made sure to take the chance to try a restaurant I otherwise would not have gone to. I got a reservation for Cafe Boulud, a one Michelin star restaurant in Daniel Boulud's empire. Restaurant Week lunch menus are $24.07, and for the duration of Restaurant Week, all participating restaurants are also part of the Foursqure-American Express deal partnership. For every purchase over $24, you get a $5 statement credit when you check in on Foursquare and load the offer to your synced card. So my 3 course meal turned out to be only $19! ($26 including tax and tip)
The dining room is elegant with muted colors, tablecloths, and paintings hanging on the walls. The amuse bouche was a fried fennel risotto ball. Light and creamy.
The choices of appetizer were:
Warm Fennel Velouté
smoked salmon, pastis cream
or
Frisée & Arugula Salad
bacon lardons, garlic crisps, radishes
egg dressing
or
Beet Cured Fluke
fennel, orange segments, dill
toasted pistachios
I had the beet cured fluke, which was firm and and a beautiful pink, translucent color like a jewel. I love presentations like this, where the ingredients are strewn about in a naturalistic but controlled way. And I also love the presentation on a cool slate slab.
There was a dedicated server just for the bread. The choices were whole wheat loaf, sourdough loaf, butter roll, and grain roll. He also handed out slate slabs with cylinders of butter on top. I started with the butter roll, which was a bit too crunchy for me - it was hard to pull apart pieces. It was also a bit greasy without a strong butter flavor. I then had a slice of the whole wheat loaf which I liked better.
The choices for main were:
Goat Cheese Raviolini
spinach, crushed tomatoes, parsley
or
Pan Seared Hake
pearl cous cous, arugula pesto, olives tomato nage
or
Roasted Veal Breast
polenta fries, tomato confit
wild mushrooms, natural jus
I had the veal, which says roasted on the menu, but I overheard the waiter say that it is cooked sous-vide. I didn't realize it could be both at once. Anyway, the veal was tender, but I left behind the fat layer and didn't eat the skin at all. There were a couple large pieces of garlic,. I think I liked the polenta fries the best - subtle flavor and a nice crunch from the corn.
Choices for dessert were:
Caraibe Chocolate Mousse
raspberry gelée, chocolate sauce
vanilla ice cream
or
Caramel Gâteaux
caramelized banana, caramel sauce
toasted hazelnut ice cream
I had the Caramel Gâteaux, which itself was a light custard sitting on a crust of crushed nuts that barely held together. The parts I enjoyed the most were the caramelized bananas which must have surely been caramelized with rum with a deep, intense flavor, and the hazelnut ice cream, which sat on top of caramelized hazelnuts that were crunchy and so good with the ice cream.
A delightful end to the meal was a surprise basket of madeleines. The basket was made of a napkin, and it contained SIX warm madeleines dusted with powdered sugar. I saw every other table got the same basket - a benefit of dining solo is that I didn't have to share my madeleines with anyone else!
Besides the food, what I loved about this experience was the service, which was friendly and professional at the same time. I never had to ask for anything, except the check. I also appreciated how the Restaurant Week menu was robust and included the special touches like amuse bouche and madeleines (which I saw sold for $7 on the Bar Pleiades menu next door). It wasn't a menu that felt cheap by any means.
