The John Dory
I went last night. Waited 45 minutes past my reservation to be seated, 45 minutes for appetizers, 45 minutes for entrees. Ken Friedman was active in the front of the house and very apologetic and comped a few rounds of drinks both at the bar and at the table and sent out dessert. The managers, likewise, very apologetic in an endearing way. I will chalk that up to opening week kinks. Having said that, it was one of the best meals I have had in a long time. I worked in seafood restaurants here in the city for years (including Aquagrill) and like to think I know my seafood... the John Dory is doing it right with really great flavors. Good atmosphere, more upscale and sophisticated than the Pig.
The amuse bouche was an arctic char spread with fried parsnip chips. The chips were too salty on their own but perfect with the char. They have 250 ML mini caraffes of wine at very reasonable prices. We had the razor clam crudo and the scallop and pomegranite crudo, both excellent, but the octopus salad was a stand out. I could eat that every night. Oh, the menu is slightly different than the one on the site - the steak is for one person now at $55 and they added a squid stuffed with chorizo, and sea bream "a la plancha" with bacon and fennel, I believe for $25 and $28 respectively. For entrees we got the squid, the sea bream, and the john dory. The squid was very good but I was glad it wasn't my entree, not really what I was looking for. The john dory and the sea bream were great. The john dory, the lighter of the two, had the perfect amount of acid from the salsa verde, almost like a light vinaigrette. The sea bream had perfect crispy skin and a creamy sauce (I forget what it was but it was like butter dahlings) with fennel (raw so no anise flavor) and bacon. The bacon was in big thick strips, it was the only thing I didn't finish. For dessert, we had an ice cream sundae that had a choc-peanut butter ice cream and I guess vanilla, with fudge, kahlua, and
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7 Comments:
Sounds wonderful. Too bad Atlanta is so damn far from NYC.
juliebugsmama at 10:42AM on 12/03/08
(truncated, continued)
kahlua, and honeycomb. It was great. The other dessert though, was godly. Sorry to say I forget exactly what is was called on the menu and what is in it but it was the only one "for two", it was a 3 inch high perfect spongecake with a piping hot sauce poured over it. Imagine a fluffy spongecake pancake soaked in an orange syrup - creme anglais. Whatever it was, we ate it until our stomachs hurt and could take no more. Well almost no more, the plate of petit fours were good too!
All in all, a great meal in spite of the wait. Get on the phone, once the kitchen works out the kinks this is going to be a perfect experience. The octopus salad, the sundae and the spongecake for 2 are MUSTS, and I am thinking you probably can't miss with any of the seafood entrees, as the john dory and sea bream were top notch.
Enjoy!
Big B at 10:44AM on 12/03/08
Oh shit, forgot part of the story. Lovely food goddess Ruth Reichl sat next to us and we shared desserts between tables. Her almond tart wasn't as good as our steaming spongecake though!
Big B at 10:50AM on 12/03/08
I wouldnt have waited so long for a table or starters but would have only stayed because of Ruth!!!
joanpieroni2 at 11:13AM on 12/03/08
Thanks for the report, Big B!
Alaina Browne at 11:17AM on 12/03/08
BigB,
Also had a lovely meal at the bar there Saturday night. Our wait wasn't nearly as bad, but service was definitely working the kinks out.
The grilled octopus salad and all of the sides were incredibly rich and decadent. Combined with the outrageous decor, it was one of the more memorable meals out in a long time.
Sweet Freak at 11:49PM on 12/03/08
Oh yeah the sides! Caponata was very good, the sweet -potatoes cooked with bone marrow were best.
Big B at 10:34AM on 12/04/08