«leftbraned

My Restaurant Week, continued.

When we last saw our hero, he had just eaten a fantastic meal at Peter Luger. We pick up his story on Saturday morning, in a cozy booth at a small West Village restaurant:

Brunch

We met Conny & Joe in their rented hovel. We liked what they’d done with the place; the glow of the stove burners cast a particularly romantic light.

Walked down the street to Tartine, where the four of us barely fit–especially after a round of croque monsieur and croissants aux amandes (the best almond croissant I’ve had outside of France, I might add. Apparently, others agree).

Snack

Our next stop was Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Haven. We saw Mr. Chocolate himself, working what I think were the hot chocolate mix machines (which are viewable behind glass wall). Even more exciting, we saw his custom VW Beetle parked outside the shop.

After a quick hot chocolate and a not-so-quick deliberation on which of the overpriced chocolate items to buy, we headed out.

Dinner

Fast forward a few hours, to the day’s (and Restaurant Week’s) main event: dinner at Café Boulud. For 50 minutes, the four of us carefully deliberated over the menu until we finally decided what to order. We shared:

Appetizer »

• Squash risotto, with fried risotto cakes (amuse bouche)
• Wild mushroom soup with chanterelles, croutons and garlic-parsley oil
• Sautéed foie gras (mais oui)
• Pithivier for three: Pheasant stuffed with foie gras, wrapped in a puff pastry

Main Course »

• Sautéed sea scallops with porcini-pomme purée, Brussels sprouts, parsnip and walnut vinaigrette
• Beef Duo: braised short ribs and roasted hanger steak with watercress, salsify and Yukon Gold potatoes
• Duck mostardo
• Grilled daurade with chanterelles, rosemary polenta and olive jus

Dessert »

• Roasted apple with lemon gratin apple cider gelée and Granny Smith apple sorbet
• Black Forest tart with vanilla sorbet
• Pumpkin tart
• Cranberry confit
• Warm madeleines (petits four)

Wines »

• 1999 Leoville Barton (Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 2002 Puligny Montrachet (White Burgundy)
• A Barbera from the Piedmonte portion of Italy
• 2004 Sancerre
• 2003 Geyser Peak Chardonnay (California)
• A sweet (dessert) Riesling from Muller Catoir

Yes, it was filling. Yes, it was expensive. But it was so much fun. And what a fitting end to My Restaurant Week.

Epilogue

Arrived home to find that a very special delivery had arrived: my 10 bars of Poulain 1848 chocolate, shipped 3 weeks ago (by boat!) from France. (As of this writing, 9 remain.)