Wow, I knew it was a while since I had last posted, but I can't believe it's been over a month! And what a glorious unbelievable month it has been. Since I last posted, I have turned 21 and am now able to enjoy all of the yummy benefits that come from being able to legally imbibe (only with food, of course!), I also had my thesis proposal approved by the Amherst French Department (and I am officially a scholar of food in Rabelais and Zola), and I have taken one step further in my quest to actually graduate here by starting (and continuing, as we speak) English comps, which are required to graduate with a major in English!
All great developments, of course, but the main one I want to talk about here today is my birthday weekend. I turned 21 on the Friday of Columbus Day Weekend and, as I was heading home for Fall Break, which turned out to be a food extravaganza, there was only one place that I could think of eating my birthday dinner - Restaurant North in Armonk, NY! It was so great to see everybody (and to see the looks on their faces - as if they had seen a ghost! - when I popped up out of the blue, but the best part was the incredible things that are happening on their menu right now. First of all, I will remind you that I am biased here - I love these people - however, I promise you, if there's one thing I will always be honest about, it's food. If something's not good, it's not good - It doesn't matter if my mom makes it or if it's from Per Se. The meal I had at North that night (and I'll be honest in saying that Chef was nice enough to let me taste a bit of a bunch of different dishes) was AWESOME. INCREDIBLE. Top seven for sure (along with Per Se, Taillevent, EMP, Gramercy, L'Arpège, Da Cesari). It all started off with a salad and the tuna tartare which, if you know me, you know I ADORE. Then, I got to taste bucatini with lobster (rich, buttery, delicious) and garganelli with short ribs, which was pretty much everything I love in life rolled into one dish - intense, flavorful, tender short ribs in a rich ragu with homemade garganelli - YUM! Then I tried the scallop, which was delicious although I admit I cannot remember the accompaniments, and the braised pork cheek and braised short ribs, both of which show off why Chef (Eric Gabrynowicz) is amazing at braising. Yes, I realized that rhymes. I was talking with Stephen Mancini, the owner, and he mentioned that he believes the fall and winter is where Eric really hits his stride, really showing off all of the incredible talents he has, and you can see that in these dishes. The last dish, a bread pudding with chocolate sauce and peanut butter whipped cream was created by Michael Boulos, the former sous chef, and was pretty much everything a college student dreams of while writing papers at 4AM.
This was pretty much the best way I could ask to have kicked off my birthday weekend, which also featured my real birthday dinner at Eleven Madison Park and then a Fried Chicken Lunch at Momofuku Noodle Bar. First, EMP.
There was an article in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago titled "Fixing What Ain't Broke" and it took a look at the general manager of EMP, Will Guidara, and the chef, Daniel Humm, who, after receiving their four stars from then NYT food critic Frank Bruni, decided to overhaul the restaurant, changing the menu, space, and format to create a totally new experience. At its best, the restaurant is a innovative riff at the way we dine out. In lieu of a menu, you find a square card inside of your napkin with 16 words on it, each one a protein (or vegetable substitute) that will be the heart of that course. You can either choose a 4 course meal, choosing one from each row, or opt for a fifth, choosing a second word from any row. This is ideally supposed to turn the ordering process, which is usually a presentation followed by individual choices, into a dialogue, forcing the chef to deal with the constraints and inclinations the diner presents. For instance, I chose "chocolate" for my last course and I added the caveat that I like simple desserts with no nuts, nothing crazy or fancy. When the server delivered the dish (a chocolate caramel torte), she added that the chef had decided to return to basics and keep it simple, going just with caramel and chocolate. What I then realized was that I should have said that I like my chocolate to be paired with a form of dairy to wash it down - either milk, ice cream, or whipped cream. This kind of moment made me realize that this experience really demands as much precision out of the diner as it does out of the server and chef. While we are encouraged to enumerate our allergies or aversions, the server could have taken it one step further and asked me what I do like with chocolate, as opposed to what I don't like - coffee, nuts - but she didn't and thus I ended up with something about which I was less than thrilled. Nevertheless, do not let these ruminations fool you - this is a meal to be had and soon! Every single course was unbelievable and EMP, in the manner of all Danny Meyer restaurants, takes it one step further, making sure that they make your experience unforgettable in any way they can. We were invited by one of the managers to step in to the kitchen before our dessert course, where a pastry chef assembled a kir royal deconstructed right in front of us, letting us chow down in plain view of Chef Humm and the other chefs at work. It is those little moments that truly take the experience to the next level - something that Mr. Meyer and his disciples are so very good at.
After these two incredible meals (and I do mean that in the true unbelievable sense of the word), I was scared that the fried chicken at Noodle Bar, which I had seen, smelled, and yearned after so many times, would not stand up to the challenge. However it is not like David Chang to back down from a fight and did his very best to end my birthday weekend extravaganza on a high note. The fried chicken is the one thing you can reserve at Noodle Bar and it includes a heaping plate of chicken fried two ways: Korean barbecue style and a classic Southern triple fried with Old Bay seasoning. The unanimous favorite at the table was the Korean, if only because the marinade was so finger-licking good! You also get a bowl of fresh vegetables, lettuce, and herbs, 4 different sauces (bean, jalapeno soy-ginger, hoisin, and ginger scallion) and and a set of steaming peking duck-style pancakes. The chicken is unreal - so moist and delicious; and the vegetables are all crunchy and super fresh. The pancakes are a bit gluey, but still good. The sheer quantity of food is astounding and this is definitely something where you want to round up all of your friends (preferably after a night out) and chow down.
All in all, these were three flat-out stellar meals and it made me sad to head back up to the wasteland that is Amherst College in terms of food. I'm already planning Thanksgiving break (Momofuku again, Po for the delicious duck ragu that appears in late November, and obviously another stop at North on the way home!) and am super excited. Now, back to work to make sure that I don't flunk out before then!
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