MareaNew York, NY
Marea is the new Central Park restaurant of Chef Michael White. We visited Marea on their 4th night of service, so with that in mind, I won’t mention the foibles of service as it looks like they have it well in hand to smooth out any wrinkles. We enjoyed our dinner. Next time we want butter or oil for the bread. That said, we’d be back, and we would recommend it to a friend where price is no object. The wine list has some interesting choices; we ordered a Bressan.
Sardines (Fritti): Coating was a bit heavy/hard for the delicacy for the fish but it held together when cut and provided a nice crunch to the succulent sardine flesh.
Crudo assortment: Yum. Prawns with citrus were the best. The crab was good. The tuna good but the sauce was overpowering, albeit wonderful.
Lobster Burrata: The tomatoes in this dish simply should have been left out (tomatoes are not in season in NY in May...). Otherwise it was excellent, but we’ve had better burrata.
Zuppa: The trout roe made this dish. The soup itself was a bit lackluster despite it’s cheerful color and lovely plating. A bit over salted for my taste.
Mare Risotto: Nicely done. A nice mix of seafood and well made risotto, there was only one mussel in my dish and a slice of overdone scallop but I could overlook that for the whole lobster claw and delightful rock shrimp.
Branciata: Could convert me to a fish lover. The sauce was wonderfully piquant with the crispy skin of the fish.
Polenta with Rhubarb. The polenta flavored with vanilla bean with a fine crust was wonderful – and a great surprise. The rhubarb pairing was both nicely tart and appropriately seasonal. I wished for a bit more than the smear of cream on the plate.
Passionfruit Sorbet (normally a trio) We enjoyed the one flavor we chose.
Chocolates with the check were a lovely finish. Nicely made.
Corton
New York, NY
Corton, in Tribeca, has a fresh chef full of excitement and wonderment which I do appreciate when they result in gutsy pairings that work – and a lot of what we were served was in that category. However, there are simply too many plates on the table for a course and too many flavors in a single dish to make me happy.
Barring that, we really enjoyed our meal. There is a sense of fantasy and playfulness in the food and presentation, which I love, but, (will I say it?) it needs a bit of calm to make it right, a bit of reining in. Fewer plates per course/one less element per dish and Corton has the makings of something really great.
We loved the Pastry chef’s enthusiasm with her snail meringue and multi box petit fours, but the cheese selection was poor for NY where there is a wealth of truly great cheese. It would have been better for them to choose 1 cheese/ night and pair it simply, than offer “international” cheeses which are easily available at your local upscale grocery store.
We’d return, but we’re not running back. However it was a fun dinner and we felt pampered – and the dining room has a bit of an air of romance.
Amuse:
Gougeres with Mornay and pea cakes
Foie Gras Mousse topped with aspargus coulis and toasted crunchy bits – wheatberries?
Foie Gras
Hibiscus-Beet Gelée, Blood Orange
Good but too much of it to eat alone. Nothing standout but definitely good.
Hamachi - Meyer Lemon, Violet Mustard, Smoked Steelhead Caviar
Beautiful Presentation. Really lovely use of spring flowers and greens.
Flavors of Early Spring
Daurade, Yuzu Gelée
Peekytoe Crab, Green Mango
Octopus with Curry and ?? beans?
Ocean Trout, Yogurt, Caviar
($18 supplement)
Cod - Risotto of Razor Clams, Melon, Arugula Chantilly :
Melon wrapped on a parcel atop the other ingredients.
Maine Lobster - Parmesan Crumble, Burgundy Carrots, Balsamic Brown Butter - ($9 supplement)
Elysian Fields Farm Lamb
Pimento Crusted Loin, Eggplant Chutney, Ricotta
Palette Refresher: Hisbiscus sorbet with Yuzu(?) Foam and maybe turbinado sugar on the bottom?
"Old Fashioned" Palette
Dark Chocolate, Cherry, Whisky
Vacherin: Lychee, Earl Grey, Honeydew
Lovely presentation complete with caramel slime trail and meringue rounds for the shell.
Selection of Artisanal Cheeses :
We chose just one: Comté - they didn't know who it came from or how old it was. (Selles Sur Cher, Stilton, Pleasant Ridge Reserve, La Tur and Comté were offered).
Petits Fours are brought in boxes tableside for personal selection (a really fun idea - especially liked by our young diner). All we tried were very good.
Fruit pastes: Pineapple and Mango
Choice of Banana or Pink grapefruit
Macaroons, Cherry mint, Kaffir Lime, Chocolate, Salted Caramel chocolates or earl grey truffles.
Brown Sugar Shortbread to take home were presented with the check.
Petrie Court Cafe
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art - Afternoon Tea
New York, NY
However appetizing the photo may be don't be fooled or coerced or romanced. The Afternoon tea service (and I use the term loosely) at the Met is extremely poor and very expensive. I actually had concerns about eating the food. So save your cash and catch a cab or eat before you go.
We also had lunch at the roof garden. The very limited menu take-out food was okay - but if you go on a busy day expect to eat it on the ground as there are no tables on the roof.
