Daniel

60 East 65th Street

New York, NY 10065

+1 212 288-0033

Food:

Chilled Oysters “En Gelée”; fennel mousseline, sea urchin, finger lime

Scottish Langoustines “À La Plancha”; cucumber-mango-daikon mosaic, pickled Fresno pepper, lesser celandine salad, espelette pepper, myoga

Warm Provence White Asparagus; sherry wine mousseline, Ibérico ham

Pan Seared John Dory; grilled porcini, pokeweed, crispy soy milk skin, sauce “chasseur”

Spit Roasted Sasso Chicken Breast; foie gras stuffed leg, confit potato, walnuts, Oregon morels, sauce “vin jaune”

Roasted Niman Ranch Lamb Chop; green asparagus, creamy quinoa, avocado, jus “Provençal” with green olives

Artisanal Cheeses From Around The World; selected by Pascal Vittu

“Sainte Honoré”; linzer sable, vanilla-mascarpone cream, caramel-butter salted cremeux, caramelized choux

Rhubarbe; fennel poached rhubarb, acacia honey cream, “feuilletine sablé”, almond milk ice cream

Griotte; morello cherry-manjari cube, cocoa nib sablé, chocolate-rosemary ice cream

Wine:

NV (2010) Georges Laval Rosé	92
2002 François Raveneau Chablis Valmur - Grand Cru	96
1990 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St.-Jacques - 1er Cru	92

What a treat this recent dinner at Daniel turned out to be. We picked a few wines and let the kitchen do the rest. The tasting menu, wines and service were superb from start to finish.

Executive Chef Jean-François Bruel and Chef de Cuisine Eddy Leroux prepared a delicious dinner to pair with the wines. Perhaps it was the warm, balmy weather and the onset of early summer, but the food was a bit lighter than it has been in the past here, and that is just fine, in my view. It’s not too often I can say that every dish was superb, but that was very much the case here. In particular, I very much enjoyed the Scottish langoustines, white asparagus and lamb chops.

 

Scottish Langoustines “À La Plancha”; cucumber-mango-daikon mosaic, pickled Fresno pepper, lesser celandine salad, espelette pepper, myoga

Although I don’t personally have a huge sweet tooth, I believe dessert is the single most important course in an elaborate dinner. All of the preceding dishes can be fabulous, but if dessert falls short, the entire memory of an evening can be adversely affected, as I recently experienced at another of New York City’s top dining spots. The three desserts that were presented family style on this night were to die for.

 

Roasted Niman Ranch Lamb Chop; green asparagus, creamy quinoa, avocado, jus “Provençal” with green olives

The wines were pretty special, too. We started with Raveneau’s 2002 Chablis Valmur, a wine I absolutely adore. Voluptuous, but still young, the 2002 is in a gorgeous place right now where time in bottle has softened some the contours and added layers of aromatic nuance. The 2002 retains considerable freshness and should continue to offer exceptional drinking for another decade-plus. Typical apricot pit, chamomile and lightly honeyed notes blossomed in a succulent Chablis of the highest level.

 

Three striking, highly personal wines

While we waited for the Raveneau to open up, we went back and picked up Vincent Laval’s NV (2010) Rosé Cumières, a wine I rarely miss on those rare occasions when I see it. One of the most unique and compelling wines in Champagne today, Laval’s Rosé is Pinot Noir done with 100% whole clusters, with skin contact, which results in a rich, vinous wine that gains body with time in bottle. I was surprised by how much weight the 2010 had put on. Our sommelier suggested decanting the Rosé, which I am generally not a big fan of because sometimes wines can lose focus, but here it worked beautifully.

 

Rhubarbe; fennel poached rhubarb, acacia honey cream, “feuilletine sablé”, almond milk ice cream

Rousseau’s 1990 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St.-Jacques was gorgeous. Crushed flowers, leaves, dried cherries and a multitude of exotic spices all lifted from the glass. Lilting and soft on the palate, the 1990 is now close to fully mature, although it will likely keep for a number of years. Stylistically, the 1990 is quite delicate within the context of Clos St.-Jacques.

In recent years, I have spent more time at Bar Boulud and Boulud Sud, Chef Daniel Boulud’s outposts on the Upper West Side. This return dinner at the flagship Daniel was a real triumph of all the small things that when taken together distinguish the real greats from the rest. The cooking was brilliant, while the service of both food and wine was as good as it gets.

-- Antonio Galloni