Review: Bar Boulud

Bar Boulud wins, hands-down, for having the most attractive table accent I have EVER seen. See below to agree on the elegance of the centerpiece's lines, blooming colors, and delightfully robust odor.
I'd come back here just to visit the ham centerpiece again, the smart choice for a restaurant labeled a "terrine machine" by Frank Bruni. So happy was I to see Signor San Daniele that I nearly hugged it - then realized I'd probably be charged Daniel Boulud-pricepoint retail costs for soiling its porky magnificence. I contented myself with a beautifully arranged, but rather ungenerous serving (Lupa doles out at least 1/3 more of its fantastic prosciutto).

It was obviously delicious, but couldn't compare to this breathtaking concoction of brilliance: moist, uber fatty, lyonnaise sausage studded with bits of pistachio and black truffle... BAKED INTO A BUTTERY, FLAKY, BRIOCHE MUFFIN. WHY DON'T I SEE THIS EVERYWHERE? Tactically, it's a sure bet for unreal deliciousness-making. It's like... MSG.

Just in case you missed it, the charcuterie here, the work of Sylvain Gasdon (a protege of Parisian genius Gilles Verot), is UNREAL. It's absolutely as diverse and interesting as critics have said, and all of it as fatty and sublime as even a pork glutton like me could hope for (pork pork pork). My snacking companion and I didn't bother to order any entrees -- had to save room for dinner in an hour -- and instead, delicately and tastefully, stuffed our faces with this inspired selection of pork product, excellent, crispy frites, and a superb rose suggested by our waiter. The waitstaff was so gracious, we even managed to ignore the typically Lincoln Center atmosphere of the restaurant (stuffy, calcified, etc).

Bar Boulud
1900 Broadway (between 63rd/64th St)
New York, NY
212.595.0303

One more picture of the centerpiece, cause it's great eye candy.

Stove's Closed till September! V1

Last week, I committed myself to having a few friends over for dinner, my aversion to serious summer kitchen usage temporarily muffled by the screams of the heinously expensive, small-batch ponzu/soy sauce bottle I'd picked up somewhere near Kyoto. "Use me! Waste me!" - such were the cries.

"Stove's closed till September" is a genius maxim concocted by a friend of mine, who, incidentally, both came over for dinner and also refused to let us use his fancy kitchen for very same said reason. The idea is that here in NYC, where many of us rent indecently priced and indecently serviced apartments, it's way too warm to use appliances which get hot and might further smother us in our poorly-ventilated homes.

I planned my menu accordingly, excluding anything which would require the stove/oven be on for more than 15 minutes; here I must give acknowledge planning assistance from friend JW, a professional chef with a fancy restaurant pedigree. Note that I only had to break the no-stove rule to boil, pan sear, and blister stuff, none of which sent heat beyond the kitchen. Success! Keeping with a tradition of excellence!

Snacks to distract people while I was busy:
Blistered shisito peppers and edamame with Chardonnay oak-smoked sea salt, generous amounts of black pepper

For eating eating:
- Yellowtail hamachi sashimi, served in ponzu/dashi/soy sauce/freshly squeezed lime juice marinade
- Brown beech mushrooms, pan seared then lightly pickled in sake and mirin
- Cucumber pickle salad with jalepeno shavings

For stomach filling:
- somen noodles tossed with sesame oil and garlic chives, served with homemade tsuyu dipping sauce

Herbage:
- Maldon-salted Haas avocado and mache salad, yuzu/sesame oil dressing

Dessert:
- strawberry/watermelon skewers macerated in lime/mint, dusted with smoked paprika

Recipe: Homemade Tsuyu sauce
1 part soy sauce
1 part mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
4 parts dashi
1 teaspoon white sugar

Heat the mirin in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Add soy sauce, dashi and sugar; bring to a boil, stir, and let cool. Leftover sauce can be frozen in ice cube trays for convenient use later.