Corton
http://www.cortonnyc.com/
The website says the restaurant reflects a light and intimate style. I was thinking more muted and stark. When we first walked in, I wanted to turn around and walk out. You can tell on your first step through the door that the restaurant has no viable atmosphere. The walls are bright white, with a small smattering of colored flowers on tips of whiter embossed vines. It’s tough enough that that area where this restaurant is located is fairly frightening. I felt like I was walking down a dark alley without any mace… except its 2 feet from the Holland Tunnel and in an “up and coming” neighborhood.
There is that man called Paul Liebrandt running the kitchen. I guess he’s a 30ish year old dynamo who just received two Michelin stars. I’m going to be 30 next year…this is the kind of stuff that makes me feel old, boring and unaccomplished (even though I’m young, vivacious and quite generally amazing).
So, all ambiance aside, lets get down to the dirty dirty.
I would call this place a “special occasion” restaurant. Most of the people were about 30 years my senior. The elders know whats up. I went on a Wednesday night (happy bday N), which doesn’t necessarily show the pizzazz a restaurant can have on a weekend night. But, it can show its ability to sustain in a recessionista environment, it was packed when we left.
We had the three course prix fixe menu. The restaurant offered a three course and an overwhelming 10 courses. You know me, I like to eat, but I just wasn’t feeling the whole shebang when I saw how many plates the people next to us actually had at the table. Overwhelming isn’t the right word… it was down right absurd. But, they were loving every second of it, and so did we.
I started with the dish “From the Garden”, its one of their most well known appetizers. It was one of the most beautiful displays of fresh vegetables I have ever seen…on a plate. There were baby carrots, two different color beets, corn puree, and some other vegetables, some of which I could not even identify, but wish I could because they were delicious. The vegetables were topped with numerous delicate, edible flowers. I felt like I was eating something that they had grown in the backyard (ok, so I hope not a backyard in the middle of Tribeca, more like a backyard in the middle of a farm upstate). We also had the Corn appetizer, the name for which does not do it justice. Three dishes came, one with a light corn puree in a bowl, which was topped with sweetbread (which I actually do not care for at all – why do they call something sweet bread, when it is neither sweet, nor bread?). The smaller dishes along side were consommé with a ravioli and corn with shrimp. For mains, we had the Rabbit/Scallop, with artichoke, sweet potato and black garlic, and the Maine Lobster, with heirloom beets, parmesan crumble and bergamot. Poor little baby rabbits, getting eaten again. I couldn’t deal with eating the small little rabbit ribs in Sonoma, and still can’t. Poor Peter and his family (anyone? Peter Cottontail? No? Bueller?). Scallops on the other hand, they are lonely creatures, no family bonds and they aren’t particularly cute either (nor do they have children’s tales written about them). While we are at it, lobsters are probably one of my favorite foods. High in cholesterol, high in taste. The lobster was tender and perfectly cooked, not overly buttery (darn). The parmesan crumble was more like a parmesan crisp and the Bergamot added just the right around of citrus infusion to the dish.
At the end of the meal (after the dessert I didn’t even want) they served the French style macaroons – which are 100% better than the Kosher of Passover ones… sorry mom – and a series of chocolates that I wanted to take home, but thought that would be too tacky… agree? Even the shortbread cookies that were given with the check were great. So to wrap up, Corton is short on atmosphere but it has excellent food from a young chef on the rise.
Showing posts with label Tribeca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tribeca. Show all posts
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Nobu
Today I googled Nobu. Not, the restaurant or the chef, but the actual word. It means prolonged or stretched in Japanese. I know you wanted to know that…
Friday night, went out on a raining night to the original downtown location (I try to generally avoid midtown when not at work or in the park). I wanted to go to Nobu for a long time. It was on the list. I felt that as a good New Yorker, I needed to experience the restaurant that everyone has been to; I’m just a jealous person.
Happily, I came across a promotion that Continental (my new airline of choice) was running called International Restaurant Week. I am going to Barcelona in a couple weeks, so I wanted to check it out in case they were running some special at a restaurant there. Unfortunately (and fortunately?), the restaurant week was actually for internationally themed restaurants in NYC. Does that not encompass every restaurant?
Well, it did have Nobu, and for every $100 you spend there, you get $50 in Continental money. So, we figured, we were eating for ½ off! Nice recession thinking….
Speaking of recessions, wow… Nobu was getting hit pretty hard on that front. We walked in for an 8:45 reservation and the place looked like it was 4:30pm. I think there were about 5 tables full of people. Granted, by the time were were ½ way done with our meal, it had filled up. Yet, there is no bar scene, there were no people waiting for tables. Is this because I’m the only one left in NYC that hasn’t been to Nobu? Is this because it was raining? (We all know that this sadly deters people in the city from going out and people outside from coming in.) Is it because Nobu is overplayed and overpriced? It could be any number of those reasons.
We originally thought about ordering the Omakase. But, when hearing what it was (just a parade of the signature dishes, nothing off the menu or special), we decided to take a little cheaper route and order the dishes we actually wanted. Granted, some of those were the signature dishes, although after eating them, I can’t really understand why…
We started out with the Bigeye and Bluefin Toro tartar. The dish was very small and the poor presentation made it look even smaller. The toro itself was good, but that’s what you pay a heafty price for it. Our next dish was the Yellowtail Sashimi with jalapeno (pictured). I was told I needed to try this by a co-worker. While it was good sashimi in a nice sauce, the jalapeno was extraordinarily hot. No one's fault here but my own. I just can’t handle the heat! Next, I think because of the continental special, we were given a free appetizer by the chef. It was a lobster salad and was the worst dish we had the entire meal. It was lobsert claw meat (which isn’t the tastiest part, or the meatiest) in no sauce and served on random pieces of butter lettuce. Thanks? We were then partly saved by the Black pepper crusted Ahi Tuna salad. The tuna was good, but the sauce/dressing overwhelmed the dish. The lettuce on top was dry and the lettuce in the bottom was sopping. Granted, the 
dressing wasn’t bad, I just didn’t like how it was used. To end our foray into the cold apps, we had the squid pasta. I thought this was going to be pasta with squid. I probably wasn’t listening to the explanation… ok, I know I wasn’t, because we got a bowl of squid. It wasn’t like sautéed calamari. It was different. These were huge pieces of squid tenticles. If it sounds gross. That is because it was.
Our first signature dish, the Rock Shrimp Tempura (pictured) with creamy spicy sauce was decent. It was not spicy at all (good for me and explained as such by our waiter when we ordered). But, everyone makes rock shrimp tempura nowadays. If you are going to eat this, go to Lure Fishbar. Its amazing. Also, try the calamari there while you are at it. That dish was followed by the Black Miso Cod (pictured). I didn’t like this at all. All restaurants serve a version of this now, and Nobu’s was probably the worst I have tasted. The miso sauce was excellent. Yet, the fish was dry and tasteless. Cod isn’t the most tasty fish out there, actually I think its pretty bland. But, restautants have been able to transform this boring poor mans fish to a culinary hit. Nobu just failed me. Yes… there is more… We had to try the sushi. We ordered the house special roll (all of the
other rolls sounded incredibly boring) and some extra pieces of Spanish mackerel, Red Snapper, Eel. The sushi was decent. But, I guess there is no point in expecting good sushi from a restaurant not known for its sushi. You are better off going to Yama, Blue Ribbon, Sushi Yasuda or Sasabune.
Since its also the week of the Tribeca Film Festival, there were interesting characters in the restaurant. Next to us was a table of complete randoms. Maybe a film crew? Maybe the mob? The table was filled with about 12 people that had very heavy accents and were abnormally tan (considering we have only seen 2 days of sun this spring). It was someone’s birthday. They got him really odd gifts and probably thought I was a freak by starring at them. Whatever, I love people watching.
Maybe I should have gone to Nobu when people actually cared about it. There are so many new and better restaurants. Nobu was acclaimed for its innovation years ago, but now that all restaurants with the same theme make the same dishes, but better. There is no reason to return. I feel bad for myself and my boyfriend that we dragged ourselves there with high expectations.
Friday night, went out on a raining night to the original downtown location (I try to generally avoid midtown when not at work or in the park). I wanted to go to Nobu for a long time. It was on the list. I felt that as a good New Yorker, I needed to experience the restaurant that everyone has been to; I’m just a jealous person.
Happily, I came across a promotion that Continental (my new airline of choice) was running called International Restaurant Week. I am going to Barcelona in a couple weeks, so I wanted to check it out in case they were running some special at a restaurant there. Unfortunately (and fortunately?), the restaurant week was actually for internationally themed restaurants in NYC. Does that not encompass every restaurant?
Well, it did have Nobu, and for every $100 you spend there, you get $50 in Continental money. So, we figured, we were eating for ½ off! Nice recession thinking….
Speaking of recessions, wow… Nobu was getting hit pretty hard on that front. We walked in for an 8:45 reservation and the place looked like it was 4:30pm. I think there were about 5 tables full of people. Granted, by the time were were ½ way done with our meal, it had filled up. Yet, there is no bar scene, there were no people waiting for tables. Is this because I’m the only one left in NYC that hasn’t been to Nobu? Is this because it was raining? (We all know that this sadly deters people in the city from going out and people outside from coming in.) Is it because Nobu is overplayed and overpriced? It could be any number of those reasons.
We originally thought about ordering the Omakase. But, when hearing what it was (just a parade of the signature dishes, nothing off the menu or special), we decided to take a little cheaper route and order the dishes we actually wanted. Granted, some of those were the signature dishes, although after eating them, I can’t really understand why…
We started out with the Bigeye and Bluefin Toro tartar. The dish was very small and the poor presentation made it look even smaller. The toro itself was good, but that’s what you pay a heafty price for it. Our next dish was the Yellowtail Sashimi with jalapeno (pictured). I was told I needed to try this by a co-worker. While it was good sashimi in a nice sauce, the jalapeno was extraordinarily hot. No one's fault here but my own. I just can’t handle the heat! Next, I think because of the continental special, we were given a free appetizer by the chef. It was a lobster salad and was the worst dish we had the entire meal. It was lobsert claw meat (which isn’t the tastiest part, or the meatiest) in no sauce and served on random pieces of butter lettuce. Thanks? We were then partly saved by the Black pepper crusted Ahi Tuna salad. The tuna was good, but the sauce/dressing overwhelmed the dish. The lettuce on top was dry and the lettuce in the bottom was sopping. Granted, the 
dressing wasn’t bad, I just didn’t like how it was used. To end our foray into the cold apps, we had the squid pasta. I thought this was going to be pasta with squid. I probably wasn’t listening to the explanation… ok, I know I wasn’t, because we got a bowl of squid. It wasn’t like sautéed calamari. It was different. These were huge pieces of squid tenticles. If it sounds gross. That is because it was.Our first signature dish, the Rock Shrimp Tempura (pictured) with creamy spicy sauce was decent. It was not spicy at all (good for me and explained as such by our waiter when we ordered). But, everyone makes rock shrimp tempura nowadays. If you are going to eat this, go to Lure Fishbar. Its amazing. Also, try the calamari there while you are at it. That dish was followed by the Black Miso Cod (pictured). I didn’t like this at all. All restaurants serve a version of this now, and Nobu’s was probably the worst I have tasted. The miso sauce was excellent. Yet, the fish was dry and tasteless. Cod isn’t the most tasty fish out there, actually I think its pretty bland. But, restautants have been able to transform this boring poor mans fish to a culinary hit. Nobu just failed me. Yes… there is more… We had to try the sushi. We ordered the house special roll (all of the
other rolls sounded incredibly boring) and some extra pieces of Spanish mackerel, Red Snapper, Eel. The sushi was decent. But, I guess there is no point in expecting good sushi from a restaurant not known for its sushi. You are better off going to Yama, Blue Ribbon, Sushi Yasuda or Sasabune.Since its also the week of the Tribeca Film Festival, there were interesting characters in the restaurant. Next to us was a table of complete randoms. Maybe a film crew? Maybe the mob? The table was filled with about 12 people that had very heavy accents and were abnormally tan (considering we have only seen 2 days of sun this spring). It was someone’s birthday. They got him really odd gifts and probably thought I was a freak by starring at them. Whatever, I love people watching.
Maybe I should have gone to Nobu when people actually cared about it. There are so many new and better restaurants. Nobu was acclaimed for its innovation years ago, but now that all restaurants with the same theme make the same dishes, but better. There is no reason to return. I feel bad for myself and my boyfriend that we dragged ourselves there with high expectations.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Harbour
Too bad this isn't Harbour Island...
When I received the email from Thrillist (one of the many list serves that I read to find out NYC happenings), I though that Harbour was a place I would like. It had everything I needed: In Tribeca (I’m trying to spread my wings away from the west village), seafood (everyone knows my love of scallops, et al) and brand spankin new. Ok, so I don’t have the best record when it comes to picking restaurants. Most of the good places I have gone to have been because my boyfriend is obsessed with food, and therefore obsessed with reading reviews and picking the best places. I, on the other hand, love going to new places, even though the first week a restaurant opens isn’t necessarily the best time to go. Restaurants need time to come into their own. But, this place was different. There are 10 wines under $20. That is unheard of in NYC, let alone anywhere. I needed to give it a chance.
That was the only chance I will ever give Harbour. An almost eerie copy of one of my all time favorite NYC restaurants, Lure Fishbar, Harbour is decorated like the inside of a ship. No, not a spaceship, which would have been super dope, but, more like a super fancy sailboat. The decorations reminded me of something my parents would have picked out for their home in 1989. Not ugly, just not right. But again, there was the wine under $20. I just kept repeating to myself…
Let’s get something straight before we start: Just because you serve an amuse bouche and a light dessert/palate cleanser at the end of the meal, doesn’t make you a four star restaurant. For appetizers (we were with another couple) we ordered the Sea Bream sashimi, scallop ceviche, clam chowder and the topneck clams. Let’s start there… the sea bream sashimi, although I did not taste it, looked proper enough. The scallop ceviche wasn’t THAT bad. Remember my complaint about L’artusi’s scallop ceviche? Sea urchin… I’m not 100% sure why restaurants think it’s a good idea to mix soft, supple raw scallops with tough unappetizing sea urchin. I guess it’s an acquired taste that I have yet to acquire. The scallops and the sauce were good, although I’m not sure which kind of scallops they were, as they were not whole, they were more like slices. The clam chowder, again I did not taste, looked really odd. That’s the best way I can start describing it. I’ll finish by saying that clam chowder should not be brown. Or, if you are going to be serving brown clam chowder, at least note it on the menu that it will be as such. The topneck clams, all three of them, were mediocre as well.
Then comes dinner (after our first bottle of, actually great, $19 liter bottle of Gruner)… I ordered the Red Hake. The menu was very small, so the options few. I had never heard of Red Hake, but for the sake of trying new things, and because I didn’t want to eat chicken at a seafood restaurant, I gave it a go. Red Hake is a tough white fish with no apparent taste. It was a bad choice, although the other choice, mussels, didn’t seem that good of an idea either. Mussels are a boring substitute for a meal. But again, no choices here. The red hake had no taste, was tough, and was covered with spicy yellow curry foam. The only saving grace of the dish was the two small shrimp shu mai, if you could find them.
No reason to go to Harbour, unless in the next couple of months you feel like it will improve in some way… note: the only other restaurant that is worse in the city is AGO. I went there the first week it opened and the only good part of the meal was the fresh parmesan cheese on top of the salad. I hear that it is still bad there.
I almost forgot to mention that on a Saturday night at 9pm in NYC, there was not a soul at the bar. Ok, so that street in Tribeca isn’t the first place one would normally choose to hang out, but still not a good sign.
But, $20 wine…
Late Addition: I was told to say that two of the diners at this dinner had the best part of their meal before we entered the restaurant. I should have taken it as foreshadowing when the boys insisted on ordering two CrifDogs before dinner.... we would have been better off staying and going to PDT. But, please dont tell anyone that...
When I received the email from Thrillist (one of the many list serves that I read to find out NYC happenings), I though that Harbour was a place I would like. It had everything I needed: In Tribeca (I’m trying to spread my wings away from the west village), seafood (everyone knows my love of scallops, et al) and brand spankin new. Ok, so I don’t have the best record when it comes to picking restaurants. Most of the good places I have gone to have been because my boyfriend is obsessed with food, and therefore obsessed with reading reviews and picking the best places. I, on the other hand, love going to new places, even though the first week a restaurant opens isn’t necessarily the best time to go. Restaurants need time to come into their own. But, this place was different. There are 10 wines under $20. That is unheard of in NYC, let alone anywhere. I needed to give it a chance.
That was the only chance I will ever give Harbour. An almost eerie copy of one of my all time favorite NYC restaurants, Lure Fishbar, Harbour is decorated like the inside of a ship. No, not a spaceship, which would have been super dope, but, more like a super fancy sailboat. The decorations reminded me of something my parents would have picked out for their home in 1989. Not ugly, just not right. But again, there was the wine under $20. I just kept repeating to myself…
Let’s get something straight before we start: Just because you serve an amuse bouche and a light dessert/palate cleanser at the end of the meal, doesn’t make you a four star restaurant. For appetizers (we were with another couple) we ordered the Sea Bream sashimi, scallop ceviche, clam chowder and the topneck clams. Let’s start there… the sea bream sashimi, although I did not taste it, looked proper enough. The scallop ceviche wasn’t THAT bad. Remember my complaint about L’artusi’s scallop ceviche? Sea urchin… I’m not 100% sure why restaurants think it’s a good idea to mix soft, supple raw scallops with tough unappetizing sea urchin. I guess it’s an acquired taste that I have yet to acquire. The scallops and the sauce were good, although I’m not sure which kind of scallops they were, as they were not whole, they were more like slices. The clam chowder, again I did not taste, looked really odd. That’s the best way I can start describing it. I’ll finish by saying that clam chowder should not be brown. Or, if you are going to be serving brown clam chowder, at least note it on the menu that it will be as such. The topneck clams, all three of them, were mediocre as well.
Then comes dinner (after our first bottle of, actually great, $19 liter bottle of Gruner)… I ordered the Red Hake. The menu was very small, so the options few. I had never heard of Red Hake, but for the sake of trying new things, and because I didn’t want to eat chicken at a seafood restaurant, I gave it a go. Red Hake is a tough white fish with no apparent taste. It was a bad choice, although the other choice, mussels, didn’t seem that good of an idea either. Mussels are a boring substitute for a meal. But again, no choices here. The red hake had no taste, was tough, and was covered with spicy yellow curry foam. The only saving grace of the dish was the two small shrimp shu mai, if you could find them.
No reason to go to Harbour, unless in the next couple of months you feel like it will improve in some way… note: the only other restaurant that is worse in the city is AGO. I went there the first week it opened and the only good part of the meal was the fresh parmesan cheese on top of the salad. I hear that it is still bad there.
I almost forgot to mention that on a Saturday night at 9pm in NYC, there was not a soul at the bar. Ok, so that street in Tribeca isn’t the first place one would normally choose to hang out, but still not a good sign.
But, $20 wine…
Late Addition: I was told to say that two of the diners at this dinner had the best part of their meal before we entered the restaurant. I should have taken it as foreshadowing when the boys insisted on ordering two CrifDogs before dinner.... we would have been better off staying and going to PDT. But, please dont tell anyone that...
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Macao Trading Company
Set on a quiet Tribeca street, the only thing that notifies a passer-by of Macao Trading Company is the red light above the door. Oh yeah, and the bouncer ready to pounce. Other than the bouncer thing, Macao Trading Company is a seemingly compete departure from the owner’s first place, Employees Only. (The bouncer there is either your best friend or your worst enemy. He once suggested that I call the cops on him, as I was first in line to get in with three of my girl friends, I guess us quietly talking to each other and patiently waiting made him think I was upset about something? Little does he know…)
This place deserves the buzz it’s getting. Behind the velvet curtain (and the bouncer… who cares if you are there for dinner or drinks at 7:30?) is a dimly lit restaurant with a lot of style. Don’t forget to check out the owner’s rendition of a phallus wall on your way downstairs. The restaurant takes reservation for the upstairs, which I would guess seats 50. The downstairs and the bar are first come first serve. We got there at 7:30 and the place was pretty much empty. We were given the option of sitting upstairs in the main dining room, but could only have the table for an hour (er… no thanks) or we could sit downstairs in the lounge which serves the full menu. We chose the downstairs, which can also be rented out for a private party. If you are looking for a place, this would be great. There is a separate bar, separate music and a separate entrance/exit. Perfect for a b-day party, although I have no idea how much it costs. I didn’t see too many large tables for groups, but the lounge area is great for apps and meeting up with friends.
To start, there is a good wine list and a very imaginative cocktail menu. As you can see, the menu is split into Portuguese and Chinese styles. We chose the Chinese style shrimp, Portuguese style meatballs and mushrooms for our small plates, as well as the Portuguese style pork ribs and Chinese style sea bass. Most of Chinese small dishes are fried (not hearing any complaints from me). I got the mushroom and shrimp dishes on a recommendation and I would recommend these along. The shrimp was served with a spicy sweet chili sauce accompaniment while the mushrooms croquettes were wonderfully done with the inside made of mushrooms and cream with truffles (awesome). The meatballs were tender and excellent. Not being a full on meat eater, its not often I enjoy a meat dish without any complaints. The meatballs came in a red sauce and were filled with cheese (maybe that was the kicker). The large or house dishes were not as enjoyable as the smaller ones. My suggestion is to stick to the apps. The pork ribs were more like pork tips, very fatty and covered in sauce. I couldn’t even eat a full one. The bass was decent, over a light soy sauce. There were parts of both dishes that we couldn’t eat because of the fat (ribs) and the tough middle part of the fish.
Overall, I liked this place a lot. The prices are reasonable, especially in comparison to other similarly sceney restaurants in the city. I think our cocktails were more expensive than our appetizers. Some of the small dishes are hard to share with more than two people, as they mostly came in orders of two to three pieces. It seemed like a very cool and hip scene. I will definitely go back, if not only to meet people at the bar. Anyone want to hit up Sway after?
This place deserves the buzz it’s getting. Behind the velvet curtain (and the bouncer… who cares if you are there for dinner or drinks at 7:30?) is a dimly lit restaurant with a lot of style. Don’t forget to check out the owner’s rendition of a phallus wall on your way downstairs. The restaurant takes reservation for the upstairs, which I would guess seats 50. The downstairs and the bar are first come first serve. We got there at 7:30 and the place was pretty much empty. We were given the option of sitting upstairs in the main dining room, but could only have the table for an hour (er… no thanks) or we could sit downstairs in the lounge which serves the full menu. We chose the downstairs, which can also be rented out for a private party. If you are looking for a place, this would be great. There is a separate bar, separate music and a separate entrance/exit. Perfect for a b-day party, although I have no idea how much it costs. I didn’t see too many large tables for groups, but the lounge area is great for apps and meeting up with friends.
To start, there is a good wine list and a very imaginative cocktail menu. As you can see, the menu is split into Portuguese and Chinese styles. We chose the Chinese style shrimp, Portuguese style meatballs and mushrooms for our small plates, as well as the Portuguese style pork ribs and Chinese style sea bass. Most of Chinese small dishes are fried (not hearing any complaints from me). I got the mushroom and shrimp dishes on a recommendation and I would recommend these along. The shrimp was served with a spicy sweet chili sauce accompaniment while the mushrooms croquettes were wonderfully done with the inside made of mushrooms and cream with truffles (awesome). The meatballs were tender and excellent. Not being a full on meat eater, its not often I enjoy a meat dish without any complaints. The meatballs came in a red sauce and were filled with cheese (maybe that was the kicker). The large or house dishes were not as enjoyable as the smaller ones. My suggestion is to stick to the apps. The pork ribs were more like pork tips, very fatty and covered in sauce. I couldn’t even eat a full one. The bass was decent, over a light soy sauce. There were parts of both dishes that we couldn’t eat because of the fat (ribs) and the tough middle part of the fish.
Overall, I liked this place a lot. The prices are reasonable, especially in comparison to other similarly sceney restaurants in the city. I think our cocktails were more expensive than our appetizers. Some of the small dishes are hard to share with more than two people, as they mostly came in orders of two to three pieces. It seemed like a very cool and hip scene. I will definitely go back, if not only to meet people at the bar. Anyone want to hit up Sway after?
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