Jaime Kohl

Sweet Spot at Philip Marie

You know you are home when you taste the love on the plate. When you walk into John Philip Greco’s second home, Philip Marie, you can feel that homey draw. You can taste the passion of the chef in each perfectly cooked muscle and shrimp that he will present to you. And if you have a palate that leans towards the sweeter side; you will find yourself a new regular spot.

From the opening bite you can taste the sweet tilt of the meal. There was a cornbread that seemed like a cross between a bread and dessert piece. The warm, crumbling cornbread was sweet and grilled with a sweet butter sauce, but the crispy rosemary I truly enjoyed. I just needed more balance, maybe just some white pepper; and maybe something else. But none the less I did not want that level of sweetness to start out a long meal. But the crust on this bread and crisp rosemary was delicious….the rest just not as much.

Chef Grecoo officially opened up the meal with a perfectly balanced salad. Bitter arugula with sweet raisins, cranberries and currents in a warm Israeli couscous and beet salad; all dressed with bright lemon vinaigrette. This was one of the highlights of the meal. Although there was sweetness in the dish everything was brought into balance. The bitter and sour notes sang just as loud as the sweet ones.

Next off was butternut squash soup with breadcrumbs. This bright orange soup was one noted and really in need of some additional flavors. Butternut squash is delicious and naturally very sweet and often needs acid and or bitterness or just something else to bring it together. The breadcrumbs did offer some salt and slight contrast in texture in the first moments that followed the food being presented; but quickly became soggy and quickly got lost.

Now these are a few of my favorite things; bacon, oysters, spinach and goat cheese. The Five Eastern Roasted Oysters with crispy bacon, creamed spinach and goat cheese presented on a bead of pink Himalayan rock salts provided some of the most deliciously flavorful bites. But, if I didn’t see the oysters with my own eyes I would not have known they were there. Now this is a delicious and savory dish; but the main ingredient was hiding at the school dance like a wall flower. I would order this again, but I wouldn’t need the oysters to be there.

I couldn’t resist questioning the Captain Crunch crusted Mediterranean Sea Bass. I was wondering how anyone could keep this dish from turning into an odd dessert, but Chef Greco knew just how to do so. He crusted the branzino fillet with a mixture of captain crunch and panko breadcrumbs. It was served over some fresh tagliatelle with a tahini sauce and grilled fennel. The fennel and tagliatelle are delicious. I happen to love the way that fennel can transform with different heat applications. The grilling left a great char and caramelized some of the sugars in the fennel its self leaving and interesting and beautiful contrast to the sweet and tender fish. Although the tagliatelle and tahini were delicious they did not obtain the same marriage of flavor that some of the other pieces on the dish had. There was just something about the tahini that was not in line with the rest of the plate.

The Tuesday night clam bake. Well this is just dam good. The broth that Chef Greco creates with the chardonnay base is the perfect base to permeate the delicious and fresh seafood. Despite the perfect cook on the shrimp and muscles, the delicious half lobster (with all the major cracking of the shell taken care of) and clams, the broth stole the show. The dish is the Tuesday special costing $18.95, and is served with a baked potato and corn on the cob; it’s a steal. There are nightly specials served and I look forward to trying the rest of them. Be sure to check out the other nightly specials. And this winter there will be a great deal of game meats served as the winter menu arrives.

Dessert was a vanilla pound cake with spiced poached pear, grand marine sauce and fresh dense whipped cream. The pears were delicious as was the sauce but the pound cake was just there as a contrast in texture; which was nice, but honestly not needed. I would have just loved a bowl of those pears and sauce.

Chef Greco sat down with me for a little and shared with me some of his story. Philip Marie is the first restaurant Chef Greco opened, he also is the proud owner of 123 Burger Shot Beer, Bamboo52 Sushi Bar and Lounge and Posh Bar and Lounge. But Philip Marie is he’s first and your first always will have a special piece of your heart; and he proudly wears that piece of his heart on his sleeve as he cooks here. He has a sweet tooth; if you do too, this is where you need to eat. The restaurant opened when John Philip and his wife Suzanne Marie Greco returned from their honeymoon and decided to go all in and sell everything they owned to opened up 16 years ago here in Manhattan; the restaurant turn over capital of the world. But with great effort the husband/wife team opened up their New American restaurant and they have been in the same place (where every other restaurant but one has come and gone) since 1998. This is a quality place that you can feel the warmth from the leadership to the table staff. It was a pleasure dining under Chef Greco’s guidance.

A Restaurant to Call His Own: Fred Mero and the New La Rosetta

by Jaime Kohl

Now you may not have heard of La Rosetta, but Fred Mero’s name has been synonymous with many great food establishments, such as the four seasons and the boathouse in the New York City scene over the past 20 years. Now he has gone off on his own with Vincenzo Roberto to open up La Rosetta.

One thing that was clear throughout the meal was the attention to detail. They cook with a “process well worth it.” I came in on a cold afternoon and asked the chef to take his pick and cook for me what he would want.

Hydro Arugula Salad: Muscat raisins, shaved Parmiggiano, Marcona almonds, Vin cotto

Mero’s process was clearly evident in the Arugula salad. What seems like a simple salad was taken to the next level with its details. The salad was a Hydro Arugula Salad with Muscat raisins, shaved aged Parmiggiano, Marcona almonds with a Vin cotto dressing. I was amazed at how much I enjoyed this salad, because I am not a huge fan of raisins. They just don’t tend to be my thing, but these were homemade raisins and where we can see that “process well worth it.” Chef Mero takes the Muscat grapes and roasts them over night in a very low temperature oven. This process pulls all of the flavor into the raisin and creates a texture that is far more pleasing in a salad than your typical raisin, plus they do not stick to your teeth. There is a creaminess the raisin that compliments that pure and beautiful Marcona Almonds and rich Vin cotto dressing with the bitter greens. This is a salad that I would not have ordered on my own; but I was more than happy enjoying every bite of the delicate salad.

Seafood Risotto: Shrimp, lobster, calamari and muscles with lemon and herbs in a parsley broth.

Next course; Seafood Risotto. Risotto is a fickle thing. Everyone has their perspective and way of doing it. Some want it soupier, some like it drier. I like a good texture and toasting on my rice. That was the one thing missing for the beautiful bowl. That warm toasted texture would have put this stick to the ribs dish over the top. The lobster was cooked to perfection. Fresh large chunks of that delicious white and red meat danced in the lemon parsley with grace. The calamari and muscles were absolutely perfectly cooked. All of the seafood was incredible fresh and clean, pure white and shinny (right where it should be). The jumbo shrimp were delicious and served with the heads on. So if you’re adventurous you can enjoy sucking the briny head and popping a little post Halloween eyeball into your mouth (no joke they happen to be delicious).

With fresh berries, mint and cookie — Banana Ice Cream with Lemon Sorbet, fresh berries, mint and cookie

To close out the meal, I requested something very light. Next thing I knew there was a beautiful bowl presented to me with banana ice cream, fresh berries, a light cookie, a beautiful classic lemon sorbet and a small sprig of mint. At first I wondered banana and lemon, really is that a flavor combo you really want; but it sure is. I loved it. The cookie added a nice texture, but the extra crumb did not actually add enough texture to be noted. Once again the freshness of the ingredients was clear with the berries. The lemon sorbet cleaned my palate and re-energized me to get started on my way.

All and all I truly enjoyed La Rosetta. I have no need to wonder why Ruth Reichl had called Fred Mero’s cooking perfect in the past. Here he is at La Rosetta without the support of a big name working to develop his very own passionate organic and sustainable version of foodie nirvana.

But if you don’t believe me, please check out any of these reviews… CBS, Zagat’s and Manhattan Sideways.

NYC Food and Wine Festival’s Meatpacking Uncorked 2013

by Jaime Kohl

New York City’s Food and Wine Festival took place this weekend. Every event has its highs and lows and as did the Meatpacking Uncorked presented by Cupcake Vineyards. This was one of the few events that was affordable for the average Jo who wants to swim with the big food fishies.

Twenty-two food vendors and thirty-two wine stops filled NYC from West 16th to Horatio street between 9th and 10th Avenue. Now if your thinking where exactly, then you and I are on the same page. I found myself constantly needing to find a seat to look at the map, my maps app and the food and wine key found in the materials you received from the welcome center. Thank god for wearing flats…ladies I hope you wore the same if not, I recommend ice and sipping on that vino you picked up somewhere along the way. Of the twenty two food vendors I was able to hit ten of them; Bagatelle, GOBurger Truck, Gorilla Cheese NYC, Korilla BBQ, Luke’s Lobster, Macelleria, Mac Truck NYC, Old Traditional Polish Cuisine, Rouge Tomate’s Cart in the Park and STK Meatpacking. Of the ten vendors I truly enjoyed 5, found two to be okay, and three I would not eat again. My top 5 included Bagatelle, Luke’s Lobster, Macelleria, Mac Truck NYC and STK Meatpacking.

Bagatelle’s Tuna Tartar was delicious. It was perfectly spiced with the lime juice bringing the whole spoon together and the taro chips to add the right texture to the succulent bite. The only issue with the spoon (aside from there not being more) was that the beautiful tuna was cut in advance and had started to oxidize and give that grey color…good thing it was dark out. Regardless this was still my favorite bite of the night, again too bad it was just a bite.

Bluesgrass at the Meatpacking — Luke’s Lobster provided not only food but a little pop of entertainment. Making the line a lot more enjoyable

Luke’s Lobster served deliciously sweet shrimp roll on buttery toasted half hot dog rolls. Your traditional sweet shrimp roll was served quickly and eaten easily while listening to the blues grass quartet play on the city street. They did not let the experience part of the evening get away from them. It was one of the more enjoyable stops of the night.

Macelleria served a delicious Polenta Crostini with Bolognese Ragu and Pecorino Toscano. The Polenta was nicely salted and seasoned and served as a nice vesicle for the Bolognese Ragu, expect someone must have forgotten to order the forks for the event or really scere off the Polenta because it fell apart when you picked up the solidified cornmeal cup. The serving looked whimsically like a piece of bone with the marrow ready for your to suck it out. The Bolognese Ragu was also very nicely seasoned and had that fresh from grandma’s stove feel to it; warming me from the inside. But, I did not get to enjoy the Pecorino Toscano as advertised. Not I’m not sure if it was just too little to be noted or if my tray did not get that hit of cheese before leaving the busy kitchen.

Mac Truck NYC; what can I say about Braised Beef Short Ribs served over mac and cheese. Except for maybe, “More, Please!” The mac was al dente and creamy and would be missing a serious amount of salt; except for the incredibly tender and rich short rib that was on top. I was ready to turn in for the night, if someone was to give me a vat of that, I would high tailed it home to cuddle up on the with a deep zinfandel and just manja! It would have been very had to get anything to-go, since they ran out of food early.

Amazing! — Mac Truck NYC Braised Beef Short Rib Mac n’ Cheese

STK Meatpacking provided such a nicely seasoned and sceared hanger steak with a outstanding earthy mushroom puree. The only problem I had was with the size of the piece of steak. I wish it was cut down further so that I could really sop up all of that mushroom puree with the steak in a couple of bites. Instead I enjoyed that one big juice bite with as much of the puree I could get in there while still trying to save face and not completely embarrass myself. (Which I think I would have if I started licking that plate) Not for the not so great news; Old Traditional Polish Cuisine and Rouge Tomate’s Cart in the Park. Old Traditional Polish Cuisine; Well, i’m a Russian Polish woman, I have eaten my fair share of traditional perogi, and I left here a bit disappointed. I was lucky enough to not have to choose between the meat and cheese preparations; but I could have skipped the meat one all together. The question I have is, well, what type of meat did I just eat. That’s not what I want to wonder about. The meat was dry and had lots of other flavors or onions and spices, but I just could not get past how dry the filling was. The dough for both of the perogi’s was very good. A little greasy, but all and all the was a nice texture and feel to the wrappings. The cheese perogi was very good; rich and creamy, just greasier than I would have wanted.

Rouge Tomate’s Cart in the Park disappointed me. I love their restaurant, I love their summer time cart by central park, I love how the treat and respect the food. The problem here was not with the chefs if was with the way the Squash Soup was handled. Despite the speed in which people were able to get through the line at their food truck stop; the soup was too cold to taste the flavors that were really in there. I am almost positive that if they were able to keep the heat on the soup much closer to serving it the soup would have been delightful. Instead it was very one noted by the time the not at all steaming cup got to my mouth. This was the ONLY one stop along the way where water was provided. You had a choice of water and or iced coffee, which I greatly appreciated.

Now for the stops that did not fare so well; Korilla BBQ, GO Burger and Gorilla Cheese NYC. Now it might be surprising to see Korilla BBQ on this end of my list. But they are here for one reason and one reason alone. I am allergic to RAW red onions. So whenever I go somewhere where red onions are a main part of the cuisine (Mexican, Thai, etc) I always ask, “Does this contain any RED ONIONS?” I was told no. And thankfully waited to get onto the next line to eat this dish (where there was light), because the first thing I saw were diced red onion. I went as far to ask about their salsa and if that had any red onions. The answer was no, but what they really meant was yes. We have red onions layered throughout the dish. I handed my dish off to the ladies in line with me and they were happy to have the food. But as far as I am concerned, you put my health at risk. I do not appreciate that, and I believe it is a big problem in the food industry. Chefs, waiters and management need to work together to make sure that people with food allergies, intolerances and other pathologies do not have to fear eating; they should be able to enjoy food nearly just as much as anyone else.

GO Burger NYC was just way, way, way to dry to enjoy. They said the burger was going to be dry BLT Dry Aged Beef Sliders. They would have benefited from serving water. But I did not see anything resembling a BLT, as in no bacon, no lettuce and no tomato was provided. I enjoy dry aged meats but I do not enjoy dry meat. Too bad we got dry meat with nicely caramelized onions on a very bready slider role. All and all I got dry out of this bit and it was certainly not worth the time spent on the line.

Dry non-BLT, BLT burger... — Its as dry as it looks….GO Burger Truck’s BLT Dry Aged Beef Slider.

Gorilla Cheese NYC did not do much better. Their bread was soggy and the cheese was cold, despite being melted and just tasted like your typical processed American cheese on soggy buttery white bread. The only redeeming quality from this stop was the greasy tater tots. They were crisp and flavorful despite leaving my fingers, and tongue with a little layer of grease after consumption. All and all if you were going with your friends for a food and wine scavenger hunt in NYC, this was the place to be. But, if you went for the food; you may have been seriously disappointed with the large wait times and confusing materials provided by the food and wine festival creators.

Hiding out from Winter Storm Nemo with a Chinese play on Seafood Ravioli

by Jaime Kohl

I felt like I was in the middle of a chopped episode when I opened up my fridge while hiding out from winter storm Nemo. I had been traveling so the cupboards are a little bare, and I just did not want to go back outside.

I gathered up this episodes mystery ingredients; crab and lobster ravioli, a Vidalia onion, baby spinach, baby portabella mushroom, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, curly parley and hot pepper.

I then wondered why I did not have any olive oil in the apartment, but then looked and the dish as a way to change ravioli into dumplings. I heated the oil with the hot pepper and let the flavor soak in. I then fried the onions, but to be honest, they needed a little more time on the high heat, and would have be much better suited with a sharper onion, instead of one with such a high sugar content. I grated the ginger on the onions as they cooked. From here I broke down the mushrooms with salt and tossed them in with the onions and the spinach and parsley followed shortly after. All this was tossed with the Nuovo’s Crab & Lobster Ravioli after a quick four-minute boil.

All and all considering the fact that I was cooking from what felt like a mystery basket of ingredients I’d say that I would have gotten a solid B on the test. But, I should have cooked down the onions further and chopped them smaller, infused more chili spice into the oil and included more spinach for better balance. The dish should have used a sharper onion.

But I will say I successfully transformed a very traditional Italian meal base to a Chinese fusion type of dish. The sesame oil, chili, garlic and ginger melded well with the seafood moose that stuffed the red and yellow pasta. The dish was nutritious containing those dark vegetables high in nutrition. The dish was not fat free by any stretch of the imagination, but the sesame oil does have additional health benefits when compared to other oils. One surprise about the oil is the high levels of calcium and magnesium. It also is know to lower blood pressure. This combined with the anti-inflammatory properties of ginger makes for a meal that is filling, delicious with health benefits.

This in my mind is a fun way to spend the afternoon while avoiding going out in the snow.

Soothing Lunch after a rough Super Bowl Weekend~L’Ecole International Culinary Center Restaurant

by Jaime Kohl

After Super Bowl weekend, Monday is always a rough day to get started. But, with lunch at L’ecole International Culinary Center it was a lot easier to roll out of bed and to get ready to start the work week all over again.

After 5 days in New Orleans enjoying the food and festivities the first thing that I asked about were the teas to sooth my scratchy throat. There was a very nice assortment of teas available. Lavender was featured a few times, and that happens to be one my favorite tea flavors that you do not see too often. The Yellow and Blue Tea hit the spot.

With the final days of restaurant week approaching I could not hold back from ordering a fatty pork belly appetizer. and the scallops with squid ink risotto.

The meal opened with a nice amuse bouche of yellow squash soup, finished with a smoked oil and chives. Exactly, what you want when walking in off of the frigid NYC streets and into the nicely lit and comfortable scenery of L’ecole has to offer. The soup was light and creamy. I would have greatly enjoyed a whole bowl of that.

Braised Pork Belly with Prune Glaze, Bulgur and Tomato vinaigrette — L’Ecole Braised Pork Belly Appetizer

The pork belly was fatty and succulent. My favorite little kick in the dis was certainly the small and flavorful bits of chorizo was was in the bright tomato vinaigrette. It was a nice surprise and helped to balance the dish. The pork belly was very tasty but could have been much tastier with some more of the fat rendered, and a crisp finish to contrast the other textures. This was easily with the crunch of the baguette that was already on the table. The acid from the vinaigrette and freshness from the herbs were not overpowered by the pork.

Seared Sea Scallops andLemon Jam, Squid Ink Risotto and Royal Trumpet Mushrooms — L”Ecole Sea Scallops Main Course

The main dish was the most disappointing point of the meal. The scallops were delicious and delicate. The lemon jam or lemon creme on tope of the scallops was just lacking some real punch or just some more of it. The lemon was delicious, just lacking. The trumpet mushrooms did not add anything to the dish. If anything they took away from it. They were hard to cut through. The grapes were bright and strong, and needed to be broken down further, but they really combined incredibly with the lemon on the scallop. They just needed to be broken down further to keep from taking away from the rest of the dish. I would have enjoyed the dish much more if that is were the description ended, but the squid ink risotto was just not good. The rice grains itself were undercooked and were not pleasant in my mouth. This risotto stiffened up very quickly and became a bit of a chewy paste.

The dessert was a cranberry linzer tart with a hazelnut ice cream. The ice cream was so creamy and decadent that I would have loved more, but thankfully the chef students provided portion control for me. The crusting on the tart was what I really enjoyed most, it was hearty while complementary to the tart berry compote filling. But my favoriate part of the dessert was not even a piece of what I ordered. It was the lemon bar that was served complementary.

L’Ecole is the restaurant extension to the International Culinary Center. The International Culinary Center is the educational home to many celebrity chefs tonight. And remembering that all of the food that left the kitchen was prepared from start to finish by students, it was quite enjoyable. The culinary pastry and bread departments all combined for a great lunch. Although if this was a competition between the three departments. I would declare the bread department the winner. With the classic baguette being crisp and chewy all at the same time, it also added to one of the savory dishes.

Not so bueno at Yerba Buena

by Jaime Kohl

What can I say, I just was not impressed. Its really seamed like dad wasn’t home so all the kids were at play. With Chef Julian Medina’s name and reputation I expected the food to be much better than it was, at least when I ate at Yerba Buena.

The service was warm and always with a smile, despite the number of requests my table, unfortunately had to make. Only two menus for three people, only 2 knives, having the request dinner sized plates for dinner. Things like that. But, no matter the request or question every person there was warm eyed and kind. Even when I walked out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to my shoe, my server noticed and discretely asked me if he could remove it. (how embarrassing…but thank you!)

I did a full tasting of the NYC Restaurant week menu, with the help of two friends and across the board none of us were impressed by what came out of the kitchen. There was a close competition for the worst dish between the Lechon (suckling pig carnitas) and the Causa de Tuna, but the tuna won.

The menu explains the dish as tuna tartar, potato salad, , crispy wanton. The tuna, oh I feel bad for the tuna. It just treated so poorly, it was grey, tough and not properly chopped. The knife skills show here were only adequate for a child. The pieces were uneven, not always cut the whole way through the membranes and the pieces were just way too large to begin with. The “potato salad” was more of a mashed potato. Which is just not what I would ever want with my tuna tartar. I don’t know why it was even on the plate. All it did was take away from the really nice aji Amarillo sauce that was drizzled across the plate. This bright and vibrant South American yellow chili sauce with the watercress was the best part of the dish.

The best dish also a fish dish, Parihuela. Which was explained as “Seafood stew, shrimp, fluke, clams, mussels, ginger, Peruvian corn, roccotto.” Here the shrimp was cooked to perfection, but the muscles and clams were overcooked and chewy and the fluke provided a nice contrast in texture against the other fish and the corn. I found myself searching through the soup for more bits of the unique oversized Peruvian corn pieces. I had a lot of fun eating the dish. The broth was aromatic and strongly flavored with corn, ginger and rocket (popular Peruvian salsa base).

All and all I would try another restaurant of Chef Medina but I will most likely be calling a head to see if he is in the kitchen. I am really hoping that he was not in the kitchen the night I ate at Yerba Buena, but any way you slice it the food was below my expectations and I was disappointed.

One area that I was very happy the Yerba Buena with was the fact that the portions were not huge, and the food was not heavy. I was completely satisfied when it came to all of those aspects of the meal. It was not overly fatty or seamed to be heavy in any sort of butter. There was very little as far as creams and caloric rich foods, yes some of the sauces were not light on calories, but the portions used were great so that I felt as if I could enjoy the whole portion with out the guilt. Who does not love a really great sauce? We can and should all have some wiggle room in our diets for enjoying the scrumptious drizzling, but we should not be be dousing our whole plates in the sauces, thats an easy way to kill a diet.

All and all the restaurant was so close to being great, there were hints of it. For instance, the bar was great. The bartender there really knows how to mix a great concoction. And I call some the drinks that with some love, because you didn’t have to know what you wanted to order, you could just tell him what you like, the flavors and liquor, and presto, a delicious unnamed drink will appear courtesy of the bartender. There were so many hints of great, but they were all muted out by the disappointing aspects of the same bit of the evening.

No, I don’t want to make any changes…The Exchange at the Setai Wall Street

by Jaime Kohl

There is nothing like a nice long lunch to break up the workday. With this years’ restaurant week off to a strong start on such a cold part of this winter, I always look towards some delicious rib sticking warm foods to kick off my first attempt at leisure during the day. The Exchange at the Setail Wall Street stole my heart with a perfectly balanced succulent sunchoke soup. I would go back and eat this soup every day, if they would let me. The soup was finished with a beautiful, herbaceous oil and thyme crème fraíche There were surprising pepper notes throughout bringing the whole bowl into balance. The earth flavors of the sunchoke melded perfectly with the freshness of the other components.

Second course was another root vegetable inspired dish, with beets, celery and horseradish. Oh, but did I forget, there was also a perfectly cut and seared piece of salmon. Only down fall was that I did not have a knife with an edge to pierce the decadent crusting, so that I could leave more of the fish intact when trying to devour it. The table presentation of this dish fit perfectly with the ambiance of the financial district sleek and sophisticated venue. With a simple pour, a vibrant deep red beet broth was poured over the celery and parsnips under the salmon fillet. The open kitchen and wine lined walls make me want to return for a dinner date. But, the lighting was perfect for a business lunch too. There was comfort and room for a closing lunch. (I will be back for one of those.) The lighting was perfect for so that reading could still be done without a strain of the eyes, but for me I would find it too hard to concentrate on the work on not the artfully prepared food.

The final course was a light and fresh citrus layer cake with candied lime zest and blood orange segments. Although there was not a ton of flavor in the cake its self, the texture and finish is what made it artful.

Chef Josh Capone and Pastry Chef Alise Ciucci earned a place in my stomach when I headed back up to my office with my head filled with flavors and stomach as happy and full as could be. The fresh ingredients really had the opportunity to sing on the plates that left the kitchen. Despite the use of ingredients like crème fraíche and butter throughout the meal I was light on my toes, and ready to head down to yoga after work. Which after a big lunch, I am just looking for an excuse to leave my gym bag at the office and head out of the office off to the next meal, no stop at the gym, but here I was energized and ready to go. Although, I did have to ask for a to-go box for the pastries that followed the meal (yes, there was more!), because I could not just abandon a key lime macaron and chocolate meringue star. I made sure these two final sweets found there way home to my stomach, and they were the perfect bite size pick me ups later that afternoon. Who needs coffee any ways?

This was balance at its finest. Clearly the kitchen cooks with the freshest ingredients they can get. Despite my original disappointment when I was handed the menu and the items that I chose for my meal were not there as show on the NYC restaurant week website. I could not have been happier with the food or experience. Between the healthy and not so much ingredients, the creamy and acidic flavor, the whole nine yards. It was just dam good and I cannot wait to eat there again. As the ingredients and cooking techniques evolve with the seasons I am excited to see where the chefs here take it.

Jaime Kohl

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