Teddy & I had the pleasure of taking the second Thursday Club field trip as Adam was away on Thursday. We jumped into the deep end & selected Alain Ducasse (155 West 58th street) as the destination of choice. After getting Suited & Booted, we met at Whiskey Park (100 Central Park South) for a martini as we had some time to kill before our 7pm reservation.I'll admit that I had goose bumps as we entered the Essex House as I was looking forward to an excellent night. We sat in the lounge for a bit to compose ourselves for the culinary onslaught that was to come. I had a Knob Creek on the rocks, Teddy had a G&T.
Cyril, the Maitre D' sat us soon afterwards. I was taken aback by the decor, beautiful old world. I went for the 7 course Aquatic Tasting Menu with the International wine pairing:
- Sea urchin “à la royale”
- Chilled Scottish langoustines, fresh almond milk, crunchy vegetables
- Carpaccio of Hawaiian escolar, kaffir lime, avocado and Granny SmithBlack Sea 000 Beluga
- Razor/Manila clams, cuttlefish, periwinkles, warm salad pasta impression, shellfish jus
- Maine lobster, steamed haricots verts, sugar snap/English peas, fava beans
- Cheese, perfectly matured
(unfortunately, no pictures)
- Strawberry composition: granité/jam/sliced, Tonka bean sorbet
I enjoyed every dish, but I was somewhat disappointed with the lobster, it was very chewy. The Sea urchin was my favorite dish - there is no way to describe how good it was. Paired with a Riesling - sheer perfection!
Our sommelier; Thomas (I think) made excellent selections & was funny as hell. All in all, the meal was delicious, the presentation out of this world & the service mpeccableable. While I won't be going there regularly, I'm glad that I did go, that's 1 great restaurant to cross off my list.
As usual, Teddy & I hit up Satsko's (after agreeing not to do any Sake Bombs, Teddy rolls straight up to the bar & promptly orders 2!) & 7b. An excellent night out (well, at least for now - ask me again when I get my credit card bill)!
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