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.