I am tempted by New York - I always will be.As with many New Yorkers and former inhabitants of the City, I am eternally drawn to the energy, the people, the pace of life and the strange sense of comfort only to be found in New York City. I have not been back in 8 months; I am dying to go home. I am also interested in seeing the City in the midst of its difficult time. I wonder about the restaurants I am familiar with. I want to know how businesses are doing - how "my guys" in the restaurant scene are holding up.
So I make arrangements - flight, hotel and restaurant reservations. Well, to be correct, plans with people who will arrange for restaurant reservations on my behalf.
I jump to my conclusion already in this fourth paragraph (although these are not real paragraphs.) I have a wonderful trip: the perfect homecoming. My former coworkers take me out for steak frites at Les Halles (www.leshalles.net) - perhaps not the best steak in town, but great for us to have a fun rowdy time. More cocktails at a pub a few steps up the street, where we run into another former colleague. Only in this small town of NYC do you run into people at the most perfect timing. I do lunch with a good friend at Park Avenue Winter (www.parkavenyc.com), where we lounge for three hours in the dining room that is decorated all white, but exudes warmth. I have cocktails at the lounge at W Hotel Times Square (www.starwoodhotels.com), sipping my drink with a name too complicated to remember, enjoying the view of European tourists and servers in short black skirts and boots. I have dinner at Dovetail (www.dovetailnyc.com), where I feel welcomed back to the U.S. by dishes like "Grouper Ceviche, cilantro, lime, pears" and "Lambs Tongue, muffalatta presse, olives, capers" that scream New American cuisine. My favorite combination of Champagne and popcorn downtown is the best nightcap I can ask for.
But it is the dinner at Bouley (www.bouley.net) I want to write about; it was a truly splendid time on my final evening there.
David Bouley has been stirring up his downtown locations in the past year or so. Explaining the changes he made in his real estate (and is still working on) is too complicated in writing, especially to those who don't obsessively follow the New York restaurant scene. In short, he turned Danube into Secession and the original Bouley into Bouley Market, expanded Upstairs downstairs where the old Market was, and moved the original Bouley to a new locations a few blocks away.
The dinner I had on December 30th, 2008, at the newly relocated Bouley is something to be remembered in my personal dining notes. And I want to be sure to write about it here.
My dining companion and I arrive for our 9:30 reservation. We have already had two glasses of champagne each (one at Gramercy Park Hotel Bar and another at The Bubble Lounge) and are ready for dinner. We choose the shorter five-course tasting menu and then the wines: a glass of Viognier followed by a bottle of nice Bourgogne with balanced tannin, acidity and body.
For the first course we have a choice of two dishes. My dining companion and I decide to alternate, so that we can taste both. I receive a scallop dish strongly flavored with yuzu. I like my first course to have acid, as it opens up the palate for the rest of the meal. His is a warm flan of Dungeness crab and black truffles in a small cocotte. The flan is delicious. The dish reminds me of Japanese chawan-mushi and makes me think that it can very well work in a kaiseki menu. Maine lobster with pomegranate and red wine sauces, shimeji mushroom and heart of palm follows. I sense too many flavors and textures at play here. I'm not sure of the purpose of the heart of palm, since I think the mushroom plays out the textural contrast already. But the sauces are delicious and the lobster is perfectly cooked. A plate of organic farm egg, Serrano ham, Parmigiano Reggiano and black truffles is perfection itself. It's hard to not love the combination; I can easily eat it every day. The veal saddle is simple and delicious, allowing our Pinot Noir to hold through beautifully. A palate cleanser of Beaujolais sorbet tastes like something from childhood memories. I enjoy it, but my dining companion who doesn't prefer Beaujolais to begin with feels indifferent. The dessert is a rich custard, a solid rectangular creme caramel that seems to transform its - how do I put it - "state of matter" in the mouth as the sharp edged bite melts into a creamy sweet dream. We are also offered their signature chocolate souffle with chocolate sorbet and vanilla ice cream. An array of frandise and gourmandise arrive on the table. Although I'm only able eat half a raspberry macaroon, I like the presentation of the goodies at French restaurants like this. (I always love watching the servers cut the home-made marshmallow at Jean Georges, although I'm always too full to actually eat it.) I've dined at the old locations several times, and have sometimes experienced over-salting of foods. No such thing this time. I find the flavors just right and well-balanced.
What makes this such a special place is not only the food, but the service and the room. Yes, the room is gorgeous. I'd always liked the room at the old location with the arched ceiling and the fragrant rows of apples at the entrance. But this new room is better. As Ms. Florence Fabricant reports, "The vaulted ceiling in the main dining room ... has been brushed with golden leaf; the romantic room also features an ancient hearth brought from France... A small library with intricate parquet flooring assembled from century-old panels and a winter gardens abloom with painted geraniums ... complete the dining areas on the ground floor" (The New York Times 10/14/2008). It may be the most romantic dining room in New York City. Two-tops are arranged so that a couple sits next to each other with the view of the room in front of them. The service is elegant and gracious without being stuffy - the perfect New York style, in my opinion.
I've dined at the former location several times and have always enjoyed it. But this dinner at the new Bouley is something I'll keep in my memory for a long time. I love New York. I'll always miss it.
Bouley
163 Duane Street (Hudson Street)
(212)964-2525
