I have the lucky history of being born at the end of December, smack dab in between Christmas & New Years. (For those who are slow, we have cued the sarcasm font!). Because of this, I am usually gone from New York on my birthday. This year I came prepared with a reservation and the ask that my family simply ignore my annoyingly placed true birthday and celebrate instead in early December at a NYC restaurant of my choosing. My choice was Daniel: the classic French, 26 year old Upper East Side haunt, courtesy of proprietor Daniel Boulud.
Daniel is the type of restaurant that inspires a slight sigh of awe upon entry. Its grand dining room with crisp white tablecloths, uniformed waiters and somms, and extravagant seasonal decorations is the kind of place you want to spend a few hours. Pair those hours with some world renowned cuisine and you have yourself a great evening.
The cocktail list was our first foray into the meal and it did not disappoint. Each cocktail – our table ordered 5 – was tasty, blended, boozy and artistic. Their steep price tag of over $25 per drink however no doubt reflected this. The signature white cosmo earned most of its points on presentation alone as it featured a vibrantly bright purple orchid suspended in a spherical glass ice cube.
The S’More envy was a seasonal cocktail, prepared tableside, with the whole kit and kaboodle consisting of a duck and a homemade marshmallow and a blowtorch. Don’t ask me to elaborate on these props or set-up because I simply can’t but the point is, it was extra. And delicious.
I personally find tasting menus to be a slightly overwhelming amount of food and so we opted for a more conservative (from the food perspective, not price), but still quite filling 4 course meal. The menu was filled with jargon and ingredients that I maybe only recognized 10% of, perhaps a right of passage to old, french establishments with accompanying fancy foodie accolades.
A starter of king crab with sliced apple was an average start to my meal. I found the crab to be lacking in any substantial flavor and the apple and sauce pairings just okay. I presumed the escargot casserole would be incredible given the restaurants french bones, but it fell sadly flat on the palate. Perhaps I was expecting a wickedly hot, mushy and electric bite of snail, cheese and crunch. What I was left with was a bland, mediocre (furiously googles what type of “animal” a snail is, ah yes here we go:) gastropod.
The bread course was the winner here but its fatal flaw was that they are only offered once. Four deliciously warm, fluffy, delicate breads were offered by a waiter who carefully plopped them onto your plate. Screw manners and for f*** sake ask for 2 or three kinds at least!
The black sea bass in course number two was lukewarm in temperature in a way that didn’t feel right. Fish can be cold and fish can be hot but to be lukewarm seems an injustice to the flavors and the fish. The russet potato confit accompaniment was a delicious bite, but all fried potato is a friend of mine so really what’s the accomplishment here? At the end, our plates sat empty on the table for what felt like hours (reality check Nicole, probably 15 mins max).
The main courses were lacking in non-meat options as one of two fishes offered came stuffed with jamon iberico and the other came with a hefty price-tag supplement. The beef was a tasty meat, well seasoned and cooked perfectly to the temperature of your asking. The roasted lamb chop took on a delightful middle eastern flavor with a generous crust of black sesame. While there was nothing inherently wrong with any of it, each dish seemed uninspired and lacking in that special something that you’d expect from a place like Daniel.
There was a lot that went into my restaurant experience tonight. But it boils down to this: add together a brand name with a hefty price tag, and then multiply that with average food, arranged a bit too particularly on a plate, plus semi-pompous waiters, and you have what feels like a rough draft of an experience. While I was glad to try my hand here, I left feeling slightly discouraged that Manhattan dining has Daniel leading the charge as an old school staple.
Coleslaw Etc. 