Location: New York, NYLast Visited: September, 2008
Mobil Rating: 5/5
Michelin Rating: 3/3
My Rating: 7/10
Website: http://www.jean-georges.com/
Two of my all time favorite cookbooks are by Jean Georges, the world-famous chef born in Alsace France. Typically, I enjoy getting ideas from cookbooks but rarely follow any of the recipes precisely. It was different with Jean Georges. I’ve made almost every dish in his cookbooks, immensely enjoying this exciting style of cuisine. Jean Georges is known for his culinary vision and execution that have defined professional standards for the industry and changed the way many Americans eat. While Jean Georges is from the Alsace region in France, much of his professional career was spent in Asia, and it is fair to say he practically invented French-Asian fusion cuisine. I couldn’t wait to try the tasting menu in his signature five-star restaurant Jean Georges in New York City. We chose the Autumn Tasting menu, which reflected his use of seasonal ingredients to perfection.
We started with a delightful trio of amuse buche featuring a warm corn verbena soup, smoked trout, and a fried green tomato dumpling. We loved variety of flavors on the same plate - the aromatic sweetness of the corn verbena soup, the spiciness of the trout, and the rich savory taste of the fried green tomato. This medley paired beautifully with the soulful wine we selected from Alsace, a Burgundy style 2001 Pinot Noir from Domaine Rolly-Gassmann.
Our first course was an egg toast with caviar and dill. The brioche was lightly buttered, stuffed with egg yolks and dill, and topped with a very generous portion of black caviar. It was scrumptious.
The second course featured Jean Georges’ recent explorations with Japanese cuisine. His newest restaurant Matzugen is in fact a Japanese style restaurant in New York. This course featured a sashimi of Kanpachi, a white fish similar to amberjack. The Kanpachi was very delicate and tasted wonderful with toasted pecan crumbs, a delightful combination only an Asian Fusion chef would concoct.
Japanese flavors continued in the third course, Nishiki Risotto, another fusion dish. This risotto was prepared using the special Nishiki (Japanese-style) brown rice, topped with shaved Matsutake mushrooms, and flavored with a Yuzu, giving the whole dish a wonderful citrus taste.
Our next course was grilled black bass served on top of braised fennel. The bass was excellent, tender and flavorful, and we loved the unique accompanying flavor of the fennel.
Maine Lobster followed, delightfully served with potato gnocchi, smoked butter and pickled chilies. The pickled chilies were the big surprise and made a huge difference for this dish, complementing the delicate lobster and gnocchi with a bold, spicy flavor.
Finally, the loin of lamb with spiced crumbs was served with fried white eggplant and fig jam. The lamb was cooked perfectly, and the white eggplant and fig jam stood out with balanced flavors that melded together in a delicious symphony of tastes.
We had a choice of dessert tastings, offered by a Jean Georges Patisserie Chef Johny Iuzzini, and decided to try the Autumn and the Cherry selections. Each selection consisted of four thematic deserts, each arranged in one corner of a generous square plate. The Autumn desserts included: Melon Soup with vanilla noodles, ginger and blackberries; Plum Sorbet with dehydrated champagne grapes; Verbena Poached Peaches, with bourbon, hazelnut, and mint ice cream; and Carmelized Sweet Corn with fig-pecan butter and corn nuts. Not to be outdone, the Cherry tasting included Crispy Chocolate Meringue with cherries and fresh tarragon; Sponge cake with sangria poached cherries; Pistachio and Sour Sorbet with candied pistachios and freeze dried cherries; and Carbonated Cherry Consommé. All desserts were terrific, and nicely complemented the meal’s thematic flair.
We had a wonderful time sampling the innovative cuisine of Jean Georges, perhaps the finest restaurant in New York City.
