Daniel Restaurant - Perfection at a classic table

"New year, new life!": the recurring statement of hopeless belief that all problems vanish and the perfect life begins from one second to the other (literally). The acknowledgement that each person is the root of most of his/her problems is a waste of time. But the answer seems to be believing that the ticking of that particular second has more implications in our life than anything else. A new opportunity to do the same old thing, hopefully, in a different way.

I was done with that long ago. Living through the 31st of December into the 1st of January is so much worth of a celebration as living through any other day into the next. To celebrate that second implies to celebrate every second of our existence. We can certainly do that. We should do that, in fact. But there is no need for empty bank accounts and exploding livers. So, I do not make "new year resolutions". They usually last as long as the time needed to empty a bottle of champagne. I make daily resolutions (whenever I have the courage to do so) knowing that I might fail. That is how we all move forward: knowingly or not.

All of this to say that this post is not part of my "2014 resolution" of resurrecting this page. After all it is February, already. I truly hope, though, to bring the page back to the active state it had in the past. 

Enough of this. Let me tell you about some amazing food.

Since 2009 that my year starts with celebration. A real celebration of friendship, long-lasting  commitment, respect… a celebration of love. A major part of that celebration is usually made while indulging ourselves in the pleasures a great chef can provide. This year the place chosen was the restaurant Daniel in New York. 

Daniel is one of several restaurants run by chef Daniel Boulud. It is one of the most well-known three-Michelin star restaurants in Manhattan that offers a seasonal, contemporary French menu and a cellar that would make Bacchus experience peer pressure. 

The space is beautiful: a medium-size dining room decorated in colors of brown, beige and white with a perfect balance of classic and contemporary.  There is a sense of privacy that is not easy to find in a restaurant, even in restaurants of the same type. Jean George, for example, fails to provide that privacy by placing the tables a bit too close together (other than that, a marvelous place to eat!). An impressive attention to detail is expressed in simple, perfectly sized, fresh flowers arrangements at the tables, monogramed dinnerware, and silver cutlery, everything topped with first class, swiss-clock type of service. 

The restaurant politely asks the dinners to refrain from taking pictures of the dishes. Although debatable, I understand the reason for the request (dinners' privacy, image copyrights, etc) and I did not take photos of the dishes (exception made to one). Most dishes' images, however, can be found online.

We decided to go for the prix fix, three course meal this time. We asked for the possibility of having a cheese course before the dessert. The request was easily and willingly accommodated.

The meal started with two amuse bouche: a trio of sweet potato (sweet potato salad with ham, sweet potato velouté, and gremolata with cured salmon) and an avocado purée topped with apple slivers. Both very good. 

Before the meal started, we were offered a selection of bread, still warm, and artisenal butter (salted and unsalted). The bread selection was made of: sourdough, multi-grain, parmesan roll, French baguette, olive-rosemary, and focaccia. I surrendered to the olive-rosemary at the first bite. The best bread I have ever tasted.

The appetizers:

I had CHILLED PLYMOUTH ROCK OYSTERS IN SEA WATER GELÉE (Leek Royale, Northern Lights Caviar, Finger Lime Sea Lettuce, Tapioca-Seaweed Cracker). If you had never tasted the sea, have a bite of these oysters. The only difference is that having a sip of ocean water while swimming does not feel as good as this dish. There was a gradient of saltiness from the cracker, to oysters, to the caviar, to the sea lettuce, and finally to the sea water gelée. Combining all elements in one bite was to taste a party of ocean textures. Brilliant. 

My husband had MOSAÏC OF CAPON, FOIE GRAS, BLACK TRUFFLE AND CELERY (Artichoke Barigoule, Mâche Salad). A much warmer dish when compared to mine but equally delicious. The capon was perfectly cooked and super tender. Its almost gamy flavor combined perfectly with the richness of the foie gras (well, foie gras is upscale bacon, really: makes everything taste better). The salad provided the texture and freshness needed with such rich flavors.

The Main Courses:

For me DUO OF FOUR STORY HILL FARM SQUAB (Roasted Breast and Celery Hazelnut Stuffed Legs with Chanterelles, Caramelized Shallots). Squab is one of my favorite birds to eat and this dish was a glorification of the bird. Breast perfectly cooked topped with roasting jus; the legs… oh the legs…! Partially deboned, stuffed with the most amazing chanterelles mushroom mixture, breaded and fried. The sweetness of the caramelized onions paired very well with the meat.   

My husband had one of the most iconic dishes by Chef Boulud - the DUO OF BEEF (Braised Black Angus Short Ribs Chestnut Purée, Pioppini Mushroom, Caramelized Endive, Seared Wagyu Tenderloin, Glazed Parsley Root, Bordelaise Sauce). I did not know that beef could taste so amazingly delicious. A bite of the Wagyu tenderloin literally brought tears to my eyes. It had an extremely delicate, buttery flavor and the most "melt-in-one's-mouth" texture imaginable. The short ribs were also deliciously cooked. The choice of the chestnut purée to accompany this dish is really genius because it makes the perfect connection between the meat, the earthiness of the mushrooms and the freshness of both the endive and the parsley root. 

Cheese course:

Daniel restaurant is recognized by many things, one of them being the mouthwatering selection of cheeses. The cheese course is, in fact, one of the most requested items on the menu. That is to say something, I believe. 

We made a selection of 6 cheeses with the precious help of our knowledgeable server. Our course was made of Bayley Hazen, Sainte-Maure (goat), Moses Sleeper, Morbier, Comté, and Langres. If I had to choose a favorite (hard task, really) I think I would choose Morbier. 

We accompanied this course with a glass of Chateaux Clarisse, 2011 - a full body, red Bordeaux with light touches of cherries and generous tannins proper of its youth.

Dessert:

I chose CITROUILLE AU GRAND MARNIER (Spiced Butternut Squash Cream, Burnt Orange Meringue Pumpkin Seed Praline, Cassis Yvette Sorbet). This dessert was a delicious play of textures and a game to the senses. The butternut squash cream, which was over a pumpkin seed cookie shell, was covered with an unperceivably thin cape of sugar, only noticed at the first try of scooping the first bite of cream. The interior of the butternut squash ball was filled with the Cassis Yvette sorbet: an unexpected pairing of deliciousness. 

My husband could not resist the WARM GUANAJA CHOCOLATE COULANT (Liquid Caramel, Fleur de Sel, Tangerine Sorbet). The original dessert has milk sorbet but everyone was more than willing to observe some alimentary restrictions we have and substitute it by tangerine sorbet. That change turned this dessert into a more flavor-contrasting and light dish. But, although the change in the sorbet brought some freshness to the dish, the pleasures of a melted core chocolate cake are very hard to equal. 

The meal was reaching the end but the surprises were to continue. At the beginning of our meal our server, with whom we felt tremendous empathy, kindly asked if we were there celebrating some occasion. We told him that we were celebrating our fifth anniversary to what he replied with warm congratulations. We though that was it. But no. Before the expected mingardises we got this:

Meringue in a passion-fruit sauce. A lovely touch that differentiates the best among the best.

As mingardises, we were offered a collection of homemade chocolates and the iconic and unforgettable madeleines. These madeleines are another defining element of any experience at Daniel restaurant: literally, the warmer, most comforting and delicious way of ending a perfect meal (or starting a day, or ending a day, or… you got the idea. They are perfect).

Before going to Daniel, I read mixed reviews about the restaurant, particularly about the biased service provided. One of those reviews is the well-known review by Peter Wells from The New York Times. That review is out of the scope of this "already very long" text. But it is probably worth another post to address the pretentiousness with which the review was written. 

I also read some critic reviews about the food but those were the ones I dismissed at once. Any person of unbiased taste cannot deny the technical perfection in execution and the original combinations Daniel's menu has to offer. 

About the service: the reviews I read made me fear a bit for the snob type of service that makes me not enjoying a single bite of a meal. But, from the first greetings until the end, the service was flawless. We were asked about food allergies and restrictions - we only have a tiny restriction with lactose but we do not have problems with butter or cheese. By the time the first amuse bouche reached the table, all the people in charge of our service were aware of the detailed restriction and were careful enough to make sure we could eat the parmesan roll in the bread selection, for example. The accommodation of the cheese course did not raise any type of question, and the advice given for the choice of the six cheeses was knowledgeable. 

Overall, the service was extremely professional and warm enough to make us feel very welcome. Maybe that was because we did not enter the restaurant with pretensions of being what we are not.  

Daniel Restaurant

60 East 65th Street, New York

http://danielnyc.com