To celebrate our birthdays, Allie and I visited New York City last weekend for a short vacation. Naturally, we had to splurge on some of the great food the city has to offer. Of the places we tried, two of our stops stood out the most: Maison Kayser and Gotham Bar & Grill.
Maison Kayser
We arrived in NYC from Boston late on a Friday morning, checked in at the hotel, then immediately got some breakfast at the Maison Kayser location near Bryant Park. Before going in, you can window shop and see the stunning pastries and desserts that await you inside.
At the counter, you're faced with dozens of beautiful options. We went for the pain au chocolat aux amandes (chocolate almond croissants) and chai lattes. The croissants were enormous, buttery, and had a great ratio of chocolate and almond filling to pastry. They were wonderfully flaky with a powdered sugar topping. If there was anything I could change, I wish I would have asked for it to be warmed up (I'm not sure if that was an option). We would have liked to come back again, but in such a big city with so little time, we didn't get the chance. If you happen to be in the area, this little shop is worth a try.
Gotham Bar & Grill
Now for the real meat of this blog post: what we thought of Gotham Bar & Grill. Any birthday needs a big splurge of some sort—this was ours. By our standards, this is an extremely expensive restaurant, but certainly one that's worth going to . . . we already want to go back (but won't any time soon because we're broke from the first time). My sister and brother-in-law also came along, so we had the opportunity to sample a large portion of their spectacular menu.
If you've ever dined in New York City, then you've likely experienced a meal at a typical hole-in-the-wall type of restaurant, or a restaurant where you're almost sitting on top of the people at the next table. This restaurant is not like that. Here, you have some space to stretch out and the restaurant is open and airy. The design inside is elegant and beautiful, with high ceilings and flowing curtains throughout.
The menu is divided into "First", "Second", and "Third" courses. We figured, this was a celebration, so we got some of everything.
First course
For the first course (this is the most boring part, I promise), we ordered a platter of oysters and the yellowfin tuna tartare. The selection of oysters was tasty. We were served 3 east coast oysters and 3 west coast oysters; both varieties were delicious. I won't spend much time on these, though, since the specific varieties available will likely vary from week to week.
The yellowfin tuna tartare was also excellent. I always love tuna as a nice, light appetizer. The tuna was cut and plated beautifully on a bed of cucumbers and topped with crostini. The fish mixture was light, flavorful, and well-balanced. So far, so good.
Second Course
For the second course, Allie and I were both stuck between two dishes: the shellfish bisque and the wild mushroom risotto. So, we ordered both. We were going to eat half of one, then switch plates and eat the rest of the other. At least, that was the plan...
Allie has a thing for risotto. She also has a thing for Gruyere cheese, which happened to be in the risotto. When she took her first bite, that was the end of our plan. The risotto that we were going to share was now hers. I did get a few bites, and I agree with her. That was the best risotto I had ever had. The texture and flavor were perfect . . . and I was told that I had to figure out how to make it. I'll work on that.
It's not all bad though, that means I got the shellfish bisque all to myself. As with any fancy shellfish bisque, the bowl with the meat and garnishes was placed in front of me, and the liquid was poured around it. This bisque is served with lobster, crab, clam, shrimp, and mussels. There was no point while I was eating it that I felt there wasn't enough meat in there. The broth had an interesting flavor that made me just keep taking bite after bite until it was gone. Maybe it's a good thing Allie commandeered the risotto—I'm not sure the bisque would have made it to her.
Third Course
Now for the best part (in my opinion—Allie's still stuck on the risotto): the entree. I was stuck for a while when deciding on the entree and ended up going with the Niman Ranch Pork Chop. Allie went with the Miso Marinated Black Cod.
This was a little bit out of character for me. It's very, very rare for me to order pork chops at a restaurant. They tend to be dry and tough by the time they get to the table unless the chef knows what he's doing. This seemed like the place to take the risk.
I wasn't disappointed. My pork chop was a huge, bone-in slab of perfectly cooked pork. It was topped with a cider sage reduction, and had sauerkraut filled with thick chunks of bacon on the side, along with some apple quince chutney. These components really made the dish. Every bite was a delicious, smoky, bacon-y taste of perfection. Even after the first two courses, I had no trouble eating this entire plate of heaven.
Dessert
At this point, the three courses were catching up with us. So we slowed down with some cappuccinos . . . and then went immediately to dessert, because how could we not? This was a birthday splurge after all.
My dessert was a beautiful mascarpone mousse served with figs, gingerbread, and honey ice cream (I'll have to work on a recipe for the mousse and ice cream too). The mousse was the light, sweet dessert that I needed at the end of such a wonderful meal, and it was perfectly complemented by the garnishes. I ate it all (minus some bites for Allie) and didn't regret a single bite.
