NYC Tastes

There is one place I must visit every restaurant week and that's Cafe Boulud.  The setting is absolutely gorgeous, I feel like I'm tucked away inside an elegant French townhouse when I'm there, the service is flawless and the food is of course amazing.  We began this visit with a Fried Truffle Risotto amuse bouche. Then moved onto our appetizers the first a Duck Terrine with whole grain mustard, pickled vegetables and toasted sourdough. The second a Wild  Mushroom & Barley Soup with extra virgin olive oil and italian parsley. Of course the duck was fabulous.  Boulud is a genius when it comes to working with slabs of animal fat.  It was the soup actually surprised me... much lighter than I expected with a wonderful earthy flavor, reminiscent of a soup my grandmother used to make every Christmas.    For entrees Christine enjoyed the hearty Pot-au-Feu while I devoured a wonderful Pan Seared Trout with winter bean fricas...

Did you ever have a salad that completely blew your mind!  Ummmm....yeah...your probably saying no and already moving on to check out some other food blog but before you do I beg you to listen.  This is seriously one of the most rocking salads I've had in a long time. Le Philosophe starts with a base of shredded kale, tosses the greens with toasted pumpkin seeds, roasted squash and slices of pickled chili before slapping on a few slabs of thick, crunchy bacon and a perfectly fried egg on top. This had everything going for it...fantastic textures, an array of flavors...spicy, smokey, sweet.  I've honestly never had a salad that was so satisfying and crazy delicious.  I walked out of Philosophe feeling like I won the lottery.  When is the last time you can say a salad did that? Le Philosophe

Tucked away inside the Iroquois Hotel sits Triomphe, a cozy french restaurant right in the middle of the theater district.   When I first entered the dining room I felt like I had been let it on a secret.  It was small and intimate with white linen draping the tables and jazzy french music playing overhead.  There was an air of casual elegance perfect for a special get together with friends/family or a romantic night out.  Unfortunately the lighting was so low my pictures came out terrible, so I had to borrow some courtesy of the Triomphe website which you'll see below.  Onto the food!   To begin the"Harlequin" Soup, black truffle, cauliflower, hubbard squash. This dish was really a work of art...smooth creamy cauliflower soup swirled into a thick puree of squash all topped off with a shaving of black truffle.  It was warm and comforting but also light enough that I didn't feel weighed down as I do with many cream based soup. ...