A New Star at Lincoln Center
by bspielman on 05/15/2011 |
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My wife and I had an excellent dinner last night (Saturday, May 14, 2011) at Boulud Sud on West 64th just off Broadway before a New York City Ballet performance. It’s right around the corner from the almost equally new Épicerie Boulud, on Broadway.
It’s been open only since Tuesday, but we’d never have known it. Quite aside from the food, which I’ll get to, the service was nigh-on perfect, a beautifully choreographed “ballet” all its own.
Boulud Sud has a very high staff-to-diner ratio and it shows. Everyone, from the General Manager, John Paul O’Neil (a veteran of many of the city’s finest places—Eleven Madison Park, Blue Hill, The Harrison, and others), to the lowliest runner or water pourer, was extremely personable and knowledgeable. A well-oiled machine, delightful to watch as our dinner progressed.
As the place’s name implies, the menu offers specialties of southwestern France and the Mediterranean coast. We began with a shared small plate—rabbit porchetta with thinly-sliced asparagus and a splash of basil oil—that presaged the rest of our dinner—interesting, exciting food, beautifully presented.
Joy really enjoyed her fish soup with John Dory, so reminiscent of the bouillabaisse at Chez Tétou in Golfe-Juan right by the Mediterranean. After a sip, maybe I could be forgiven for imagining West 64th as a coastline!
My own appetizer was a pair of small squid, stuffed with chorizo in kind of a pesto, topped with a lovely tomato-based sauce. Once again, the presentation was beautiful, with the tiny tentacles carefully placed atop each squid. Absolutely first-rate.
A few words about the wines: The list is almost exclusively French, with a broad range of bottles priced from moderate to expensive. We had a tasty bottle of Burgundy, chosen with the help of a friendly young sommelier, for about $60.
Breads offered were a well-seasoned focaccia and an interesting flatbread. The bread server presented a plate with a small slice of garlic, a few pieces of Rosemary and some salt and pepper, then poured some good Spanish olive oil over the seasonings, allowing the oil to become scented right before us. A nice little touch.
Joy’s entrée was cedar-plank grilled Rouget stuffed with baby fennel, absolutely delicious, and served next to rolled up cedar “paper” in another very creative presentation. I had capretto with house-made orrechiette in yet another extraordinarily tasty sauce. Just terrific.
For dessert, we shared a fabulous concoction of julienned mango and caramelized rhubarb with yogurt sorbet, all sitting atop a thin slice of semolina cake. Excellent double espressos brought things to a close.
As a point of interest, they plan before too long, to open for brunch. I have no doubt they’ll do as great a job with that as they did for dinner.
Across the street at Picholine, Terrance Brennan might not be too happy about it, but we might have to begin calling that stretch of West 64th “rue Boulud”! |
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Located around the corner from Bar Boulud and Epicerie Boulud, Boulud Sud marks Lyonnaise chef Daniel Boulud’s stamp on the Upper West Side (in the same way he has already taken over the Upper East Side). Boulud Sud, though, is a slight departure: as the name suggests, the cuisine here focuses on the Mediterranean. But Boulud and Company mostly pull it off with aplomb. The menu is separated into distinct sections: De La Mer, Du Jardin and De La Ferme. Though the cuisines of the south of France and Mediterranean have long leaned toward the sea, the De La Ferme dishes at Sud were the most impressive. The cod, for example, baked with a southern Med spice mixture, zaatar, fell rather flat. Duck leg kataifi, however, is a Greek-inspired phyllo-wrapped gem, bolstered by sweet date chutney; from Puglia, Boulud (or, rather, his executive chef Aaron Chambers) gives the diner orecchiette with tangy goat ragoût and wild garlic; and then there’s the fork-tender harissa-grilled lamb loin. Too full for dessert? The options are on the lighter side and very good: sorbet and sesame mousse-filled grapefruit givré takes the taste buds for a spin around the Mediterranean. The wine list, not surprisingly, does as well, with bottles from Lebanon to the Loire Valley, and is decently priced (even a few at the $30 range).
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