we're not kids anymore.
trying on a metaphor
AnasAbdin
noise dept.
No title available
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
i don't do bad sauce passes
#extradirty
h
roma★
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
ellievsbear
wallacepolsom
@theartofmadeline
★
styofa doing anything
Today's Document
No title available
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
Keni
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from Netherlands
seen from Czechia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from France
seen from Sweden
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from United States
seen from Jamaica
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
@foodmeupscotty
Bring a little Joy into your life
There are some restaurants you book the same week you want to go. You check availability, pick a time, confirm. Easy. Then there are restaurants where securing a table is the event itself; where you mark the first of the month on your calendar like a concert ticket drop, and refresh the booking page at exactly the right moment hoping something is still there. The wait, if you land one, is four…
This is why Agnes is one of our favourite places in Brisbane!
Was my 3rd visit to Restaurant Dan Arnold 'the charm'?
There are restaurants that you should love. The kind that arrive with such an impeccable set of credentials that loving them feels almost like an obligation; the right chef, the right training, the right philosophy, the right accolades. You want to love them. You keep giving them chances. And each time you sit down, you find yourself waiting for something that never quite…
One Hat Clarence was doing it tough on one of Brisbanes busiest roads; but a move to cooler and calmer South Brisbane has done wonders. We checked out the new location
Exhibition: The best restaurant in Queensland by far
Montrachet - King Street Bowen Hills 2 Hats
The king is dead, long live the king… Even though we were living in a different country, we always kept an eye on what was happening in the Brisbane food scene, just as a way to feel a little connected to home. Unsurprisingly, during our ten years away (and especially through Covid) there were a lot of closures. But none hit harder than hearing about the closure of Montrachet. While we didn’t…
Flashback: My first Aulis visit!
Korean Fine Dining Hits Brisbane!
I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone that South Korea is hot right now; I’ve been watching a lot of Korean TV lately, which is somehow hilarious, heartfelt and slickly produced all at once. I mean, who hasn’t loved Squid Game or Physical 100… Such wildly gripping drama. You may also have noticed that Korean food is absolutely exploding across the globe. New York in particular has gone all‑in,…
Is 3 Hatted Sixpenny "Anniversary Worth?"
There’s a quiet little ritual the Girl and I have held onto for nearly three decades now. Every year, when our anniversary rolls around, we do something a little special. It always revolves around food, of course it does, and usually involves tracking down the very best restaurant we can find. When we lived in Hong Kong, this often meant a sneaky weekend abroad, chasing down experiences we could…
Deer Duck Bistro: Worthy of 2 Hats?
Memory can be a funny thing when it comes to restaurants. Before we left Brisbane for Hong Kong, Deer Duck Bistro was one of those places we visited a few times and always left thinking, yeah, that was pretty good. It had this quirky charm, eclectic without being chaotic, and it sat quietly in that space between “special occasion” and “hidden gem.” Coming back more than ten years later, I wasn’t…
Michelin Stars vs Chef Hats: A Foodie Tale of Two Cities
To Blog or Not To Blog
At some point I lost my spark. It felt like my creativity, and more so, my desire to write just left me. Looking back, my last post was July 2021: Let’s put that into context. It was 4 years, 4 months and 22 days since I last posted. To be fair, a lot was going on in 2021. Hong Kong was in the thick of Covid restrictions, and at that specific point in my life, I had more pressing concerns than…
Flashback: World #32 Nerua Spain
Flashback: World #32 Nerua Spain
Life gets pretty hectic at times, and while I tried to keep this blog up to date regularly, I missed posting about some amazing restaurants. So I’ve created the Flashback Series; short sharp updates about some of the best restaurants I’ve been to and never wrote about… Hope you enjoy I’m starting with a restaurant that surprised the heck out of me, partially because it was an additional surprise…
View On WordPress
Jean May: The new Frenchie in Wanchai
Jean May: The new Frenchie in Wanchai
I’ve been a little obsessed with two things of late. Firstly, I’ve been trying like crazy to get back into Jean May for a second visit. The second obsession has been duck. Did you know that it’s almost impossible to get a decent duck breast through any of the home delivery services? Believe me, I’ve tried; and it’s been this inability to get a decent pan fried duck breast that’s increasingly…
View On WordPress
LPM Restaurant & Bar: Stay for the dessert!
LPM Restaurant & Bar: Stay for the dessert!
Gone are the days where I could just pop into a fine dining restaurant for a casual meal for the fun of it. Firstly, the big corporate salary is a thing of the past; but mainly, while running and owning fitness centres, it’s important not to indulge too often and stock on the weight! The benefit of this has been that I no longer take fine dining for granted, and it’s become more of a special…
View On WordPress
Cornerstone: Big flavours extreme value
Cornerstone: Big flavours extreme value
Oh hey! Long time no see… Can you believe it’s been 953 days since I last put pen to paper to talk about food? There’s been so much that’s happened in the last two and a half years and I’ve been a little busy and distracted. Well, I suddenly find myself with a bit of spare time, so thought it would be nice to get back into the groove. I wanted to tell you a little bit about one of my favourite…
View On WordPress
This is a tale that has humble beginnings; it starts in the tiny little hamlet of Cefalù in Sicily and finishes in New York City.
A dining buddy who I trust implicitly was having one of the meals of his life in a restaurant called Liska in the aforementioned little village in Southern Italy. A conversation with the chef about his favourite meal of all time led to a booking at Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, strangely located in Manhattan.
Now, my buddy Stephen is not prone to hyperbole, but after his little visit to Chef’s Table, it was all he could talk about, rating it as by far, the best meal of his life.
So, of course, I had to go…
To be honest, to hear that acclaimed chef Cesar Ramirez’s restaurant was amazing was not earth-shattering to me; after all, Chef Ramirez has held three Michelin Stars for a long time. But in a city that is my favourite dining destination anywhere in the world, I needed to get into Chef’s Table, and I needed to do it badly!
I’m notoriously lazy when it comes to booking into those ‘hard to get into’ places, but I made a concerted effort on my latest trip to NYC and that effort was rewarded…
Kind of!
I’d scored a reservation for a 10pm slot on a Saturday evening. A time that is well outside of my prefered early eating schedule; but what the heck, you don’t get into three-star places at short notice without some type of compromise!
Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare used to be actually located in Brooklyn, but a move to larger digs saw Chef Ramirez’s French Japanese fine-diner move to Manhattan. What I loved though, was that the entrance to the restaurant was located at the back of a grocery store. It was not quite ‘speak easy’ territory, but I did wander the isles of the store looking for the entry.
Oh, I was dressed in my best suit too; you see, Chef’s Table is one of those old ‘fuddy-duddy’ restaurants where you won’t be granted entrance if you’re not wearing a jacket.
Anyway, it gave me an opportunity to put on a suit and look pretty smart. What’s really to complain about 🙂
When I arrived, I was shown to my seat, which was bar style and afforded me a fantastic view of the kitchen and chefs hard at work. I found it interesting that half of the seating was already filled, with dining underway with a multi-course tasting menu. As I slowly waited for the remainder of the guests to arrive for the 10pm sitting, I watched Chef Ramirez command the kitchen with precision.
It seemed as if he was everywhere, tasting one dish before moving onto the next; Ramirez was definitely a chef that was involved in every step of the meal.
Eventually, my half of the bar was filled and our meal had commenced. A rapid-fire set of dishes were sent from the team and my taste buds started to embark on an amazing culinary journey!
We kicked off with a delicate Hamachi Tartlet. Finely diced Japanese Hamachi was placed in a delicately crisp pastry cup with tastes of citrus and horseradish. There was a subtle sweetness to the tart, which was devoured in a single bite, followed by a hint of horseradish for bite.
Perhaps Chef Ramirez’s most famous dish is the Hokkaido Sea Urchin, a beautifully presented dish of glistening uni sitting on lightly toasted brioche and topped with a slice of black truffle. It was delicious, a strong umami hit came from the truffle which was expertly balanced against the saltiness of the uni. I could see why the dish was so well regarded, it was superb!
Next up was an unctious dish called Kaluga Queen Caviar, for obvious reasons 🙂 There was a lot going on with the dish, which had a smoky base of eggplant puree and included textures from cucumber and tomato. While there was a light smokiness that lingered on the palate after consuming, there was no doubt that the dish was all about the generous servin of Kaluga Caviar! The sweet and salty caviar was just wonderful.
There were delicate flavours on display with the Scottish Langoustine, smoked lightly on an open flame, then seared with the glowing ember of a large stick fresh out of the flame. It was so lightly cooked that it was almost translucent and it was delightful, especialy with the subtle heat of a sauce that accompanied it.
One of the prettiest plates of the evening was next; Japanese Sawara (Spanish Mackerel) was lightly seared and still pink through it’s cente, then covered with a light gel and assorted flowers for effect. The flesh was sweet and oily, with a firm texture that was wonderful on the palate. The dish was incredibly well balanced, and quickly devoured!
I wasn’t a fan of the Ramp Custard, which I assume was to be used as a palate cleanser between courses. The custard was incredibly hot (temperature) and reminded me of some of the gooey soups you can get in Hong Kong – the soups that I try to avoid! Ramp is a species of wild onion and probably something I will continue to try to avoid, and not really that pleasurable as a custard!
We were on much safer and tastier territory with the next course of Chiba Akamutsu, a red sea perch from the seas near Japan. The expertly cooked fish was sweet and warming, texture came from crispy fish bones that were crushed then toasted, then sprinkled atop the fish. I loved the sauce that accompanied the fish, which had a light astringency that worked well against the sweet flesh of the Akamutsu.
The world’s favourite fish was next. Great British Cod! The delicious white and flaky fish was presented with morelles, bright green snap peas and white asparagus. This was Chef Ramirez showing off, the balance of flavours were incredible and the flavours insane. The rich and earthy sauce was ‘to die for’ good and the addition of Morelles just made me happy… The whole dish made me happy; and that’s the best compliment I can give a chef!
Haven eaten at many many Joel Robuchon restaurants, I am no stranger to quail. So I was pleasantly surprised that Chef Ramirez’s version of quail was every bit as good as Mr Robuchon’s (albeit in a very different way). The plump quail from South West France was presented with the leg sitting atop the breast. I was able to use my fingers to suck the flesh off the bone of the leg with ease. I noticed a bite of mustard with the sweet sticky jus that was covering the beautifuly cooked breast, which had a rich gamey flavour.
I’ve been fortunate enough to eat many delicious plates of food around the world, including the very best Wagyu beef in Japan; but holy cow the A5 Wagyu from Chef’s Table was on another planet! Two thinly sliced pieces of fatty Miyazaki wagyu were separated by a layer of caramelised onion and then bathed in a sweet sticky jus. Let me tell you; every single bit of this dish was like eating a slice of heaven. The rich fatty meat was exquisitely cooked, and the addition of the sweet onion just elevated the dish to mythical levels.
Given my meal had started at 10pm, I was starting to get both full and tired at the same time! The menu, flavours and timing had been epic and it was well after midnight when the desserts started to arrive!
First up was a simple dish of Malaga Strawberries, which consisted of wild Spanish strawberries accompanied by strawberry sorbet and a creamy iced yoghurt. It was a super take on strawberries and cream and was perfect as a palate cleanser, a slightly tart bite from the strawberries mixing well with the creamy yoghurt!
Almond Ice Cream was next, and it was both interesting and boring at the same time! It felt a little bit like a distraction to be honest, the light almond ice cream was pleasant enough. A salted caramel sauce helped the dish along, as did some toasted pistachio crumbs, but the whole dessert felt a little out of balance.
Perhaps the almond ice cream was a distraction, a form of misdirection for the final dessert of the night; a spectacular frozen vanilla soufflé! In what was an amazing piece of cheffy trickery, a fully formed, yet frozen soufflé was presented in a bowl with a light vanilla custard smeared across the bottom. It was wonderfully light on the palate, even though it was frozen and the vanilla hints were not overpowering.
Yeah, it was a very special way to finish the meal!
My meal was over, it was time to leave and I was feeling both sleepy and satisfied at the same time.
My walk back to my hotel gave me time to reflect on the meal. I was both happy and disappointed at the same time. I was happy largely because the meal was almost perfect, with the only fail for me being the Ramp Custard.
I was disappointed because, as good as the food was, there was nothing on the menu that was new or surprising to me; I’d had many similar dishes at other restaurants, sometimes inferior but often superior. And when you’re paying USD$390 for a meal, you definitely want to be trying something that you’ve never tried before!
Spectacular cooking and a well constructed menu left me with an understanding of why Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare was so highly regarded by my buddy Stephen. But in what is an increasingly frustrating issue for me is that there was nothing at Chef’s Table that was new to me, and that left me a little sad.
I think I need to take a break from Fine Dining and look to enjoy some of the simpler things in life; It’s a total first world problem when you hit up a three Michelin Star restaurant and leave wanting more.
https://www.brooklynfare.com/pages/chefs-table
@FoodMeUpScotty
NYC: World #82 & 3* Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare This is a tale that has humble beginnings; it starts in the tiny little hamlet of Cefalù in Sicily and finishes in New York City.