September 30, 2012

Chef's Tasting Menu at PUBLIC

We know it's been a while since we started posting our New York food adventures and we're finally coming to an end...it's kind of a bittersweet feeling.  After we finish these sets of posts, we could share our more recent eatings (aka. Taiwan!)  But on the other hand, we won't have a link to New York any longer.  Honestly, we become very nostalgic writing these posts...but for now, let's go back!


Public


Public interior


PUBLIC has dim lighting, candles at each table and the whole works.  Perfect for a romantic date  (with us two girls harharhar).  The restaurant has a lively feel and there was no designated smoking area so people were smoking at the tables next to us.  Not in a bad way, but more in a hip way we guess.  With the loud chatter and the casualness, it kind of felt like we were dining outdoors!

We've also noticed higher end restaurants have their tables placed very close to each other.  The waiters have to help move the tables for you slide in.  PUBLIC pushed it up a notch and had a long continuous table (like a family dining table) for different parties.  They were elbow to elbow,  but we guess it's a great way to meet new friends!


Dining Table
Chef's Tasting Menu


Mushroom ceviche
Mushroom ceviche with miso aubergines and ginger ponzu sauce


The mushroom ceviche had a distinct Asian fusion tang to it, which was the perfect way to open up your palate before the meal.  The mushrooms had a slightly tender crunch while the ceviche was thin and crispy.  The contrasting texture made it an interesting and fun dish to eat!


Seafood trio
Seafood trio


We weren't sure what to expect of the Seafood Trio, since neither of us are big fans of seafood.  But it was on Public's Tasting Menu, so we had high hopes!  The oyster was the best piece of seafood we ever had.  We were like, "WHAT, this is SEAFOOD?"  Definitely made us think twice about all the yummy seafood we've been missing out on.  The wasabi-yuzu sauce was UH-MAY-ZING!  Added all the spice and kick that little oyster needed.

Seafood Trio
Grilled scallop with sweet chili sauce, crème fraîche, and a green plantain crisp
Fried Hama Hama oysters with shiso, sansho pepper, and wasabi-yuzu dipping sauce
Marinated white anchovy on quinoa croquette with spicy saffron aioli


Funny story.  Take a quick look at the oyster photo above (middle).  It's sitting on a nice lush white something.  Cathy, oh-smart-Cathy, thought it was completely edible...turned out it was a bed of sea salt (HAHA)!  Story ends with a lot gagging from Cathy and giggles from Jocelyn.


Cured wild boar
Cured wild boar with garrotxa cheese, marinated olives, caper berries, and crostini


New Zealand vension loin
New Zealand vension loin with Cabrales dumplings, oyster mushrooms, and salsa verde


The cured wild boar dish was like a intensified cheese and cracker dish.  The boar was very flavorful, but tad bit salty. 

The loin was perfectly cooked.  Super tender and the knife sliced right through the meat!  The dumpling had a slightly sweet taste with a starchy potato texture.  The presentation of this dish was wonderful!  It just keeps stacking toward the sky like a New York high-rise building. 


New Zealand vension loin


Sticky toffee pudding
Sticky toffee pudding with Armagnac ice cream and hot caramel sauce


To be honest, we were kind of sad about the dessert.  It wasn't as special as the dishes we just ate.  It was a warm cake topped with a scoop of ice cream and caramel sauce.  Although, the candied lemon slice was pretty spiffy!

Eaten by Jocelyn and Cathy.


PUBLIC Restaurant
210 Elizabeth Street
New York, NY 10012
http://public-nyc.com/

Public on Urbanspoon

September 8, 2012

Bouchon Bakery Chapter II

Passion Fruit & Pistachio French Macarons - Bouchon Bakery


Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center - New York


This Bouchon Bakery was splat in the heart of the Rocketfeller Center, right across from the outdoor ice rink. 

It was super busy, you could see the building was literally packed!  


Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center - New York 2


Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center - New York 3


Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center - New York 4


Pastries - Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center - New York


Jocelyn had a dream about wiping the table with a yellow macaron a few months back.  She was craving french macarons for so many months, she started having psycho macaron dreams

So when she saw these....


Passion Fruit French Macarons  - Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center - New York
Passionfruit French Macaron


Her eyes blew up...with joy of course!  And these macarons are larger than usual, like the size of your palm.  MMmmm!


Cakes - Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center - New York


Passion Fruit & Pistachio French Macarons - Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center - New York
Passionfruit and Pistachio French Macarons


Passion Fruit French Macaron innards - Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center - New York
Passion Fruit aka. The Yellow Macaron in Jocelyn's Dream innards


The flavor: excellent!  Passion fruit tasted like...passion fruit!The texture though was inconsistent.  Parts were soft with the perfect crispy outer shell but some other parts were hard.

We also picked up a few of Bouchon's chocolates on the way out.  They looked like obese Yorks haha


Fuggedaboutit - Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center - New York
Fuggedaboutit


The Fuggedaboutit had layers of peanut butter, caramel, rice krispies, covered in milk chocolate and sprinkled with a dash of sea salt.  It was pretty good but it wasn't anything special (except for the name, which, we must admit, was pretty nifty).  It was like a candy bar you could get at your local supermarket.


Fuggedaboutit innards - Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center - New York
Fuggedaboutit innards


Peppermint Paddy - Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center- New York
Peppermint Patty


Peppermint Paddy innards - Bouchon Bakery - Rocketfeller Center- New York
Peppermint Patty innards


The peppermint patty was like a York, but on a sugar rush!  Cathy couldn't finish hers.
  
"It's too sweet!" she said.
And then Goldilocks Jocelyn came through the door and said, "I'll finish it for you!"

The End.


Eaten by Jocelyn and Cathy.


Bouchon Bakery
1 Rockefeller Plaza
Manhattan, NY
http://www.bouchonbakery.com/

Bouchon Bakery on Urbanspoon