Visited in September 2024
Dinner
Rating: not rated yet
After I had visited the culinary lighthouses in New York, Eleven Madison Park (before plant- based phase), Per Se, Le Bernadin in the past, never had plans for Masa, it was always my wish to visit Chef’s table at Brooklyn Fare. Some obstacles hindered me from doing so. During the period when César Ramirez was the chef here, the minimum party that could reserve was two. The price tag was always high and had to be paid upfront via Tock. And, the restaurant was often booked-out immediately after the reservation window opened. However, some things have been changed since it reopened after the unexpected big bang mid-last year. My travel plans changed three weeks before I planned to arrive in New York, which allowed for an additional dinner during my New York stay. I could easily reserve a place at the kitchen counter for the second seating on a Saturday evening. Half of the menu price, which recently was reduced by 20%, had to be paid as a deposit upfront. Located in a corner of a supermarket of the small chain Brooklyn Fare between coffee and marmalade shelves one finds the receiving counter of the restaurant. When I walked through the supermarket a known face came towards me: Rebekah, the wife of Max Natmessnig, one of the co-chefs of the restaurant. Max, I knew already from my visit in Munich last year when he cooked in Restaurant Alois.
The guest room consists of an open kitchen with a kitchen counter and tables in the back. Seats at the counter are comfortably placed with enough space to the neighbors.
The menu with 15 servings is given, the wine menu was a little challenging for me. The 11 glass wine pairing was out of question due to an early morning flight on the next day. The choice of half bottles is limited with only one Riesling as white wine. The wines by the glass also did not attract me, so I had to choose a whole bottle. My choice fell on a 2022 sauvignon blanc RouteStock from Napa Valley California which tasted and paired well with most of the courses.
The dinner started with this tuna taco made of a potato base, Japanese blue fin tuna of the right size and bite, pickled corn, and summer flowers. The taste was very fresh with a touch of acidity and the quality of the tuna was beyond any doubt.
The following buckwheat tarte had meat of king crab as the main ingredient. It was prepared together with saffron, apple and sea buckthorn, an ingredient also known from northeast Germany. The sweetness of the crabmeat went well together with the acidity of the other compounds.
The then-served snack elevated the quality to the next level. This combination of red beet, foie gras and smoked, flamed and glazed eel was simply fantastic.
Another sensational bite was this crispy Nori tartelette filled with truffle crème, wagyu A5 tatar, covered with caviar and shiso flowers. The temperature was perfect, the aromas balanced and the textures exciting.
There it is, the new version of the CTBF classic uni toast now to be eaten in three bites. On a non-sweet Belgian waffle butternut squash purée, uni (sea urchin), and truffle were applied.
Devine.
One believes it or not but this dish is an example of the further improvement of sourcing ingredients that have unearthly quality. It was often written that when an ingredient has a top quality, in this restaurant they find a supply that delivers an even higher quality. Max explained to me in German that scouts analyze the Kinmedai in Chiba, Japan, and get it with more than 17% fat proportion, which stands for the utmost quality.
On this plate, it comes after having been dry-aged, grilled above Binchotan charcoal, and flamed, on crème fraiche, Myoga ginger Julienne with a fingerlime ginger escabeche, verbena oil, and Ikura (trout roe). Pickled jalapeños were also somewhere. This was another fantastic serving.
From the kitchen counter, one could well observe the preparation of this serving. The big meaty scallops from Maine were first fried and then transferred to the Binchotan grille where they remained quite long. Served with vin jaune sauce, fig leaf oil, and a generous portion of caviar they were perfect with a glassy inside. This was one of the best coquille St. Jacques, I had so far.
In a preheated bowl, slices of abalone on rice preserved white asparagus from Israel, and shaved Matsutake mushrooms were surrounded by a sauce cooked from abalone liver and seaweed. This abalone preparation I liked more than the one Max cooked for me in Munich last year. In Munich, I was more astonished that such a rare ingredient was served at all.
The Norway lobster was prepared in an East Asian fashion. The crustacean of highest quality was briefly fried with oil and served with an essence cooked from its heads, pandan cocos foam, kaffir lime, peanut, nam prik, underneath a brunoise with mango, and on top purple curry powder and a mini zucchini with flower. The perfect quality and preparation of the Norway lobster and the play between acidity and spiciness made it another highlight of the menu.
Turbot from the Netherlands, sepia, Australian winter truffle, consommé. How it smells… No knife was necessary to eat this. Simply delicious.
Seared foie gras, a chanterelle mushroom, a raviolo made of ragout of duck leg and three different mushrooms wrapped in leaves of nasturtium (Kapuzinerkresse) and duck jus, accompanied a slice of dry-aged Hudson Valley duck breast. The breast had a crispy skin and was of rose color inside. A perfect first meat course.
This serving was quite reduced with wasabi underneath, fresh and cured palm heart cubes, a tranche of A4 wagyu beef of fantastic quality and finish, a pistou crème, and beef jus.
The dessert was served in a deep bowl with layers of almond cremeux, Beach rose/Shiso sorbet, yoghurt espuma and huckleberry. A good but for me not overwhelming dessert.
Miso glazed Japanese brioche, coconut sorbet. The excellent bread was changing between sweetness and saltiness. I knew it already from Munich where it was already praised by me.
Matcha Canelé, crispy Yuzu paraliné
The praline I liked very much. The canelé, which was green inside, had an odd taste for me. For taking at home, each guest got a box with two excellent pistachio madeleines.
Summary
Many of the servings are unreal if not to say out of this world good. If someone who loves good food is not in culinary heaven here then I do not understand that. Some servings are simply very good, most outstanding. The complexity of the servings is most often higher than that of the “old” CTBF. However, this does not at all take a bit away from their sensation. The dessert, I found a little disappointing in comparison to what else was served but that may be due to my personal taste regarding desserts.
The service was very attentive and knowledgeable and provided just the right amount of information. The chefs also served plates, Max of course explained them in German as Rebekah also did for the most part. This also contributed to the feeling of well-being. I had a nice chat with the sommelière afterward and was the last person to leave the restaurant. The dinner had a duration of little more than three and a half hours. The restaurant was not booked out to the last place. I predict that this will change once Michelin has issued the next ratings for New York.
Website of the restaurant: Chef’s Table | Brooklyn Fare
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