Restaurant Aquavit

I finally made it to Marcus Samuelsson's Restaurant Aquavit!

Since Aquavit first opened in 1987 under the leadership of Håkan Swahn, it has been firmly established as one of the best dining destinations in Midtown Manhattan. What I appreciate about Aquavit, it the fact that it has always striven to be an international restaurant with Scandinavian flair and not simply an ethnic restaurant.

Before I get to the cuisine, I want to address my one complaint: the restaurant's interior. The modernist IKEA-esque decor creates a harsh and even claustrophobic atmosphere, especially inside the restaurant's tiny but upscale dining room. That being said, as soon as the flawless meal begins, you'll immediately forget about the decor as you find yourself entranced with the cuisine.

Three different plates made up our first course: first, we had tuna tartar which was topped with toasted pine nuts, and served on top of avocado slices and mixed greens. With tuna as fresh as Aquavit's, there was no possible way that this dish could go wrong. Our second dish was an heirloom tomato salad, which was served with sliced red onions and blue cheese, and topped with a onion-tarragon dressing. Simple, but delicious. I think I enjoyed it so much, because it reminded me of the salads that my mom used to make when I was growing up.

Our final plate for the first course was my favorite by far: a herring plate, which came with four slices of herring, and each was paired with a piece of cheese, a potato or a homemade jam. Before arriving at Aquavit, I jokingly said that the menu would be filled with herring made by the Swedish Chef from The Muppet Show, so when I finally saw that herring was on the menu, I chuckled, but at the same time was a little nauseated by the idea that I would eat raw chunks of herring. I was certainly wrong however! Each piece of fish was perfectly paired, and I must say, all of the combination's were quite delicious.

On to the second course. Two dishes this time. The first was a smoked venison loin paired with huckleberry, dumplings and morels. Enjoyable, but in general, it was your typical venison: quite tough, and gamey in flavor. The second dish was delicious, despite sounding quite generic: Swedish Meatballs, which were served on top of mashed potatoes, and topped with a cream sauce and lingonberries. What I really appreciated about this meal was the fact that Marcus Samuelsson clearly took a typical Swedish meal, but used spices from his native Ethiopia in order to bring a new and exciting flavor to both the meatballs and the cream sauce.

We ended up splitting two desserts. The first was called the Arctic Circle, which paired a goat cheese parfait with blueberry sorbet and passion fruit curd. Between the sweetness of the sorbet, and the tangy flavor of both the parfait and the curd, the Arctic Circle created a lovely balance of flavors. The second dessert was somewhat average, but quite delicious nonetheless: a chocolate mousse coated with a peanut powder and topped with a grape sorbet. (By the way, the grape sorbet was phenomenal.)

And don't forget to try some of the restaurant's signature aquavit -- a flavored Scandinavian spirit that typically contains 40% alcohol by volume. I would personally recommend the cucumber, but would certainly not recommend the lingonberry.


RESTAURANT AQUAVIT
65 E. 55th Street
(between Madison and Park)
(212) 307-7311 Read More!

Restaurant Week -- Summer 2009

For Restaurant Week this summer, I decided to join two friends from home for dinner at Zoë, the contemporary American eatery in SoHo.

Yes, I was certainly looking forward to my meal, but my initial impression of the restaurant made me question our restaurant week selection. I have always heard good things about Zoë, but as soon as I entered the restaurant, I felt like I was in an upscale California Pizza Kitchen. There was a type of faux-elegance about the whole space. At the same time, as soon as I sat down, the wait staff was overly friendly in an obnoxious and uncomfortable way. For example, after I finished my first glass of wine, the waiter asked if I wanted another every 2 or 3 minutes.

But I didn't want to judge the restaurant too quickly, so I waited for our $35.00 three-course meal...

I was quite pleased with the first course: a watermelon gazpacho, with jicama and crab meat. It was incredibly refreshing, as any gazpacho is, but at the same time it had a very interesting flavor. On one end it tasted like your average spicy gazpacho filled with crab meat, but on the other end, the taste of watermelon was clearly present, adding a truly summery feel. We all gave the gazpacho two enthusiastic thumbs up!

Next, for my entree, I ordered the marinated grilled hanger steak, which was placed on top of a warm salad of string beans, roasted new potatoes, which was then topped with a blue cheese and balsamic reduction sauce. While the steak was a little tough, it was in general, quite good, and with the blue cheese and balsamic, it was even better.

I was quite jealous of my one dining companion, who ordered the grilled mahi mahi, which was served with a coconut-saffron risotto and pineapple mango salsa: excellent and refreshing.

Now on to dessert: we decided to share two desserts. First was a white chocolate pudding, served with bing cherries and caramelized pistachios. I was a little concerned that the bing cherries would overpower the remaining flavors; however, they were cut in such tiny pieces that they added to the flavor without destroying the creaminess of the pudding and the saltiness of the pistachios. Our second dessert was very good but too generic in my opinion: an Illy espresso layer cake served with a heavy dark chocolate sorbet.

Overall, it was a very nice experience. The food was good, but not exceptional. And the service was okay. Everyone was kind, but they certainly enjoyed taking their time. Between our appetizer and our entree, we waited for more than half an hour. If it hadn't have been for the company, I think that my time at Zoë would have not been nearly as enjoyable.


ZOË
90 Prince Street
(between Broadway and Mercer)
(212) 966-0644 Read More!

The Perfect Brunch

Eric Kuhn, a new media consultant and a good friend of mine recently published "45 Minutes (and 400 Miles) Till French Toast," an article discussing the importance of brunching in New York City. Since my last two posts were about brunch, I felt the need to publish a link to his article on my blog. Read More!