Restaurant Week: The Good

Now onto more exciting food! As I mentioned in my older post here about NY Restaurant Week 2012, I've had the chance to try out several restaurants and try their special 2 course menu.

This post will talk about the ones I liked the most, and coincidentally, they are all Michelin Rated!

Ai Fiori (1 Michelin)

Located at the mezzanine level of the Setai Hotel on 5th Avenue, this restaurant has all the elements of a Michelin Rated Restaurant, nice sleek design, an army of friendly waitstaff, a good bar and good food!
I began my meal at the bar and got their signature cocktail. I hadn't noticed but the drink I ordered seemed to have a ritual onto how it's made. The bartender was too far into the process of making the cocktail that I didn't get a chance to notice or take photos. All I remember is that the cocktail was mixed in a chilled fishbowl before it was transferred to a rock glass for me to drink from. And the drink was perfect. You can really taste the alcohol (whiskey I think) with hints of whatever they used to flavor the drink (some bitters). I am one who will pay for good cocktails and this one is definitely one of the best I've had in NY.

I chose the Halibut for my entree and it came with black rice, white bean puree, mushrooms and some sauteed veggies. This was good! The fish perfectly cooked and went really well with the bean puree and mushroom.

Halibut

 

Chocolate Tar

As for desssert, I chose the chocolate tart. It was a very thick chocolate mousse/ganache layer with chocolate cake, and a chocolate crust served with some vanilla ice cream and gold leaves. I tend to order non-chocolate dessert items when dining out but i was glad I made this choice. It was the perfect dessert to cap off a perfect meal.


Dovetail (1 Michelin)

Seared Foie Gras with Fennel

Salmon with Almonds, Brussel Sprouts and Grapefruit

Dovetail is a fairly new restaurant the opened on the Upper West Side and has been attracting a lot of attention. And with good reason! The food that comes out of that kitchen is amazing. I ordered the seared foie gras in addition to the set lunch menu only because I havn't had foie for such a long time and I had a sudden craving for it. And foie gras, albeit very simple to cook, is hard to do properly. If the pan is too cold the foie will melt before getting a nice seared crust, too hot and the foie will burn before the inside turns a rosy pink. I was glad I got this dish and Dovetail did an amazing job. It was served with a sweet compote (Cherry if i remember correctly) that paired perfectly with the salty and creamy foie.

Then for my main course, I got the salmon. The flavors were great but I was surprised that they didn't ask for my cooking preference and the fish came out medium well, a bit overcooked for my preference but that's just me being a brat. I'm very particular as to how my food is cooked which is why I wait to go to the finer establishments to order my favorites.

Passion Fruit Mousse, Coconut and Green Apple Sorbet

As for the dessert, it was heaven in my mouth, again! The passion fruit mousse was extremely light and airy. It makes me wonder how they make it. I think it has some gelatin in it to hold it's form then it is pumped out using those whip its canisters and shaped and plated with a coconut meringe-cake like base. The green apple sorbet was a hit too and everything went well together. Fruity, light and not so sweet. One of the best composed desserts I've had by far!

And I also got a half bottle of white wine to pair with my meal.

Dovetail surely deserves all the attention they've been getting and the Michelin star!