Friday was overcast and humid as we walked to our lunch reservation at Gabriel Kreuther. Kreuther's Alsatian influenced restaurant, located across 42nd Street from Bryant Park, had been open since last summer.
The lavishly decorated space was divided into bar area and dining room. Massive reclaimed beams — similar to those used in the construction of old Alsatian homes — lined the dining room.
Kreuther has an impressive resume. After working in Michelin-starred kitchens throughout Germany, France and Switzerland, he honed his skills at La Caravelle, Jean-George and The Modern. We opted for Kreuther's two course prix fixe lunch menu; there's also a three course option. The extensive (and expensive) wine list is presented on an iPad. We paired glasses of white Burgundy with our starters and Margaux with our meat courses.
There were two bread services; there are three at dinner. The first was a kugelhopf, a cake-like bread with scallions, served with a chive fromage blanc. It was very good.
Kugelhopf with scallions and chive fromage blanc Next came the amuse bouche. The "summer at the beach" offering consisted of four tastes (marlin, shrimp croquette, hummus and a forgettable gelatin cube) in a sandy bowl, complete with parasol and seashells, and a fifth (coconut and rum) in a shot glass. Only our eyes were amused.
"Summer at the beach" amuse bouch We ordered the ocean trout and the sturgeon to start. The cubes of trout tartare were enveloped by a thick green pea puree at the bottom of the bowl (not visible in the photo), which overpowered the delicate fish. The sturgeon and sauerkraut tart was served with a domed glass cover, which billowed a cloud of smoke when removed. The sauerkraut and heavy mousseline sauce overwhelmed the sturgeon. The dish was pretty to look at and heavy to eat.
Cured Tasmanian Ocean Trout, sweet peas, parma prosciutto, dill
Sturgeon & Sauerkraut Tart, American caviar mousseline, applewood smoke Our second bread service was a whole wheat ficelle, served with cultured butter. The thin baguette and creamy butter were excellent.
Whole wheat ficelle with cultured butter For main courses, we ordered the duck and the quail. The duck breast, confit leg and sausage were immersed in a chamomile consommé. Aside from the bread service, it was our best dish, although I thought the duck was a bit gamey. The quail dish was not pleasing to the eye or to the palate. The roasted quail was dry, with the largest piece atop a brown goop of veggies and grain.
Long Island Crescent Duck Breast, confit leg, chamomile oil, spiced consommé
Roasted French Quail, baby artichoke, marinated spelt, ginger jus We passed on the dessert menu, but were given sweets to end our meal. They tasted as indelicate as they looked.
Gabriel Kreuther gets rave reviews and already has one Michelin star. Perhaps we were fooded-out after our week of gluttony. Perhaps we're just not fans of Alsatian cuisine. Or perhaps, at least on this day, Kreuther's creations were just not very good. Our dinner reservation was at Blue Ribbon Brasserie, on Sullivan Street at the convergence of the West Village and SoHo. Brothers Bruce and Eric Bromberg opened the eclectic restaurant in 1992, their first, and now have an empire of bars and brasseries, as well as fried chicken, sushi and bakery establishments, throughout the country.
The restaurant was bustling, with as many tables as possible packed into the relatively small space. The menu was not small, and it was indeed eclectic, featuring such diverse offerings as raw shellfish, beef marrow, matzoh ball soup, pigeon and fried chicken. We stared by sharing the smoked trout and the sautéed calamari. Both dishes were plentiful, high quality and very good.
Smoked Trout
Sautéed Calamari We knew our main courses before we arrived; we both ordered Blue Ribbon's famous fried chicken. Golden Fried Chicken Loaf will forever be the best ever for us; it's difficult to compete with a memory. But Blue Ribbon's chicken was excellent. The crust was crisp and nicely spiced, with a bit of red pepper, and the chicken was moist. Add creamy mashed potatoes, brown gravy and collard greens, and the dish was down-home good.
Fried Chicken, with Mashed Potatoes and Collard Greens
Blue Ribbon Brasserie was a perfect last dinner for our marathon eating week. While we won't revisit the neighborhood restaurant every time we're in Manhattan, it will certainly be on our "return" list. Copyright © 2016 TwoForTheTable.com |
