gramercy, milady

I was fortunate enough to travel to New York last week for a Gears of War press event -- Microsoft's Games Unwrapped event. The first day was for "Nice" children, and focused on games like Lego Star Wars, and publications like Marie Claire; Gears was relegated to the back of the room. On the second "Naughty" day, the publications were Playboy and FHM, and Gears was front and center. We also cleared the room in the afternoon for an alcohol-enhanced multiplayer session, and I was very gratified to see the press so excited playing the game.

La Locanda Dei Vini

But of course the real reason I went to New York was ... to eat. Memorable moments include walking into an Italian restaurant on the street corner, only to discover it was a Wine Spectator award winner. Fantastic risotto, with very earthy wild mushrooms and sausage. And a devastating barolo which I promptly forgot the name of, still kicking myself for that.

Magnolia Bakery

On the second day we ordered cupcakes from the Magnolia bakery, made famous by its cookbooks and an appearance on Sex and the City. The chocolate cupcakes were a little dry, but the vanilla were perfect, and the buttercreme frosting was just right. Opening the box felt like opening a box of flowers, just beautiful. Tim tried to buy two dozen, but the store limited him to 18. Rather than their usual one dozen limit. Which I think says it all.

Apparently everything in New York was made famous by Sex and the City. I even went to the Manolo Blahnik shoe store, just to see what all the fuss was about, but they were closed as they transitioned to their fall line. Probably for the best ;)

Gramercy Tavern

The Gramercy Tavern dinner was, well, legendary. I foolishly assumed the summer tasting menu would be available on the website for me to copy from, and I'm out of luck. From memory made hazy by an unbelievable wine pairing:

* Amuse bouche was a simple garlic toast with a dollop of white bean puree and a dollop of salsa verde. The salsa was bursting with flavors of cilantro and basil, and that's when we knew we were in for a treat.

* Langostino in a frothy cream sauce, with what I recall were diced tomatillos? Everyone at the table was enchanted. This was the best lobster (or lobster-like) that I've ever had, and everyone else said the same.

* Other treats included a lamb main course, which Laura foolishly said she would not enjoy -- I almost stabbed her with my fork as I stole one of her chops.

* A whopping three desserts. First a palate cleanser, a bowl of coconut tapioca with a simple cookie, topped with bitingly sharp mango sorbet. The tapioca was topped with basil oil; I thought I'd heard incorrectly, but it worked brilliantly. The sorbet was like a laser to the brain pan, but it did the trick. For the main dessert, the option was a seven layer chocolate/caramel cake and ice cream; or a pistachio cake with honey lemon ice cream. I'm missing loads of detail here, but it was divine. As we pushed back from the table in relief, they returned with two plates of chocolate truffles; unfortunately, those were tasty as well, and so down it went.

But the real treat that night was the wine pairing, for two reasons. First, the list consisted of rare varietals. I'm accustomed to having new wines with a pairing, but rarely a new grape -- and five of the varietals were completely new to me. Second, my companions were all wine drinkers, but not really familiar with a good pairing. They'd taste the wine, and be quite skeptical about the sweetness of say the Moscato or the spiciness of the Kekfrankos. But when they waited to try them with the appropriate course, they were absolutely convinced, and that was great to see. Here's the list, varietal listed first. Apologies for transcription errors, the handwriting was rough.

1. Chardonnay/Welschriesling. Kracher, Austria, 2003.
2. Moscato Giallo. Lageder, Alto Adige, Italy, 2005.
3. Chasselas. Shoffit, Alsace, France, 2004.
4. Schippettino. Roncal, Fruili, Italy, 2004.
5. Kekfrankos. Takler, Szekszard, Hungary, 2003.
6. Mavrodaphny. Commanderia St. John, Cyprus, Greece.
7. Monastrell. Olivares, Jumilla, Spain, 2003.

The grassy, mineral character of the Chasselas was generally reviled by all, both before and after food. Otherwise, all the wines were enjoyed greatly. The Olivares dessert wine had a rich chocolate flavor that went beautifully with dinner. The deep red, light bodied Kekfrankos had an insanely spicy kick at the end, like a Zinfindel on adrenaline.

Overall an evening to remember. Not sure if it's my favorite restaurant dining experience, or second to Michael Mina in San Francisco.

Nobu

On Thursday we went to the original Nobu. I've been to Nobu a number of times in Las Vegas and have always enjoyed it, but somehow, I simply don't feel compelled to write about this meal. The company was superb!

Tao Restaurant

Yet another Sex and the City stop, known for its hip lounge and its massive Buddha statue as much as the food. We were celebrating Sarah's birthday, so I pulled out the stops and loaded the lazy susan with a sampling of each of their appetizers. The sushi and shu mai were competent; the black miso sea bass was quite tasty, and the peking duck egg rolls were very nice, though some complained of the saltiness.

For dinner, we had more sea bass, a fantastic peking duck that was the highlight of the evening, a simple spiced shrimp dish, and wasabi-crusted filet mignon -- which I refused to let my companions order cooked more than medium ;)

For dessert they brought Sarah a giant fortune cookie, partially coated with chocolate, and stuffed with a chocolate mousse on one side and vanilla ice cream on the other. I assumed this was a gimmick dessert, but the cookie was surprisingly tasty, and overall it was a clever presentation and one I'd recommend.

oh yeah

And I went to a few museums and did some shopping and stuff.