César Restaurant New York

Visited in September 2024
Dinner
Rating: Unrated

Long awaited after it had been public that César Ramirez had signed a rental contract for a room at 333 Hudson Street his own restaurant finally opened in July 2024. Except for Yelp, Tripadvisor, and some online magazines, there were no professional reviews available until now. This can be changed. I booked immediately when the booking slot for my desired date was available. Since I did not want to start at 5 pm or 9 pm, which are the times for the kitchen counter, I booked a table at 7 pm.
After a 2.5-kilometer walk from my hotel in flat iron district, I arrived at the restaurant in time.

I was received by a very attractive young female receptionist and guided to my table in the area right of the rectangular room. Viewed from the street there are an open kitchen to the left with a kitchen counter, a lounge-like waiting area towards the street, and tables to the right. In the kitchen, César Ramirez works fully with 7 other tock-headed cooks. The room is relatively big and almost not damped. This leads to a vivid atmosphere if not a loud soundscape. Gentle music is played in the background. Except for the wine menu, no other menu is presented. A wine pairing is available and at the beginning, one is asked if one would like to have additional caviar for the fish course and/or wagyu A5 as a replacement for the main course.
Wine by the glass has typical New York price tags (high) and the selection of half bottles is limited. I decided for a 2022 Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Rudi Pichler, Wachau Austria which turned out to be a good choice and was also a very good pairing for most of the food servings. The wine was too warm after opened and a first sip for tasting was in the glass. The bottle was cooled and Ok then.
A smaller wine glass was placed on the table without a comment. Short time later the server came with an opaque carafe and poured a slightly yellow liquid into the glass. When guided to the mouth I smelled an intense Umami aroma. The liquid itself had an intense tomato and sweet taste. It turned out to be tomato water made fresh every day. No sugar was added, the sweetness came from the tomato sort. Wow, what a start with this delicious elixir.

After the tomato water was served, César Ramirez came to my table shaked hand and expressed his appreciation for having me here this evening. A very kind gesture. I did not observe that he did this with many other guests.
Next came a hollow roll baked of very thin filo dough. I had seen this already in photos on the internet. This time the roll was filled with salmon rilette. There was also a version with eel mousse in the past. The rilette was more intensely flavored than that served as amuse bouche in Le Bernadin in the lunch menu. The salmon taste was very pronounced and freshness from the chives and just the right acidity were present. Very good.

This little snack to be eaten at once turned out to be non less than sensational. It consisted of a crispy thin Nori cylinder filled with Koshihikari rice, a layer of shiso leafs, a little wasabi and tuna belly/back tatar from Japan. The snack was simply perfect from composition, proportions, temperature and textures. Like in a perfect Nigiri, the rice had the right temperature, grain size and bite.

The following bigger tarte pre-cut into two pieces was filled with meat of the Norway lobster, smoked trout roe, imperial caviar and shiso flowers. The subtle spiciness that I tasted was a little wasabi. Again, this exhibited a perfect balance of sweetness, acidity, smoke taste, salt and spiciness.

The next bite took the minimalism of César Ramirez’s cuisine to the extreme. A qualitatively perfect piece of kisho fish (this is what I understood) partly wrapped in a thin potato chip. Crispy, salty and tender would be the adjectives to describe this serving.

A classic of the chef was served now – the famous uni brioche that consists of 3 ingredients: a crispy roasted brioche, truffle and best uni (sea urchin) from Hokkaido. Simply fantastic.

In a deep bowl were prepared different layers: smoked trout mousse, pickled cabbage, tomato water jelly, tatar of the Spanish mackerel from Japan, a generous scoop of imperial caviar, basil oil and tiny crispy potato cubes for the texture. As you would expect, this was a fantastic combination and it was best eaten altogether with the spoon deep diving into the bowl.

A ceviche-like preparation had Madai, one of the most precious fishes in serious sushi bars, also named Japanese sea bream, as the main product. The fantastic fish quality came with a bright cream, chives, ginger, lime and a straw, which reminded me of Shio Kombu.

Warm sourdough bread was served with the hint that it is absolutely wanted to take up remaining sauce of the now-following bigger courses with the bread.

Sweet potato foam at the bottom, cooked Hudson Valley foie gras, parsley oil and a poultry broth formed the next serving. The potato “foam” had more the consistency of a flan or chawan mushi. Sweet potato and the goose liver paired very well.

A nice piece of Dover sole was accompanied by Spanish sepia, chantarelle mushrooms, tarragon and preserved turnips. Also here, product qualities and craftsmanship regarding the sauces were at top level. I liked this fish course very much.

A Japanese breed of quail from a farm in Sacramento was used as the main ingredient for the meat course. It came with zucchini, maitake mushrooms and crème, elderberries, leek and a classical jus. The skin of the pieces of the bird was crispy the meat pan-fried to the point.

The sweet part of the dinner began. In a bowl, the team prepared elderflower jelly and berries, crème Chantilly and a yoghurt ice cream. Very good, not more, not less.

As a further classic of the chef if I understood it right a horchata-based ice cream and soufflé was served as main dessert. Horchata is a classical rice-based drink from Mexico, the native country of the chef. Ice cream and Soufflé were sitting on gingerbread crumble and topped by hazelnut crumble. The sensation of this dessert is the cold soufflé, which was produced by a freeze-drying technique. When pieces of it arrive on the tongue, it immediately collapses – a unique experience.

Opera Cake, peanut cherry praliné, espresso ganache. All three were perfectly finished and very clear in their taste.

Summary
Since I like reduced cooking I was in culinary heaven here. Some servings were unreal good. Perfect product qualities meet combinations that fit very well and perfectly balanced aromas. These are plates and bowls for absolute taste and not so much for Instagram. The way, most of them are composed and served does not yield very spectacular photos. The light situation in the spot I was in did not contribute to good photos either. I am glad that I was allowed to take photos at all. I read that there were different rules in the past…
Also the cooks brought some servings to the table and explained them. They have a really “cool” sommelier here and also the other people in service were very attentive. I went to the chef afterward to say thank you. From the contact I had with him, I found him to be a nice person. From his statements, he is still in the ramp-up phase of the restaurant and there is a lot to do. This hinders him from other activities. For that, the level is already astonishingly high.

Website of the restaurant: César (cesar.restaurant)

Borgo San Jacopo Firenze

Dinner

Visited July 2021

Awards: One Michelin Macaron

The Restaurant Borgo San Jacopo is located in the Lungarno Collection hotel in Firenze owned by the Ferragamo family. It is not far away from Ponte Vecchio on the Palazzo Pitti side of river Arno.

The hotel and restaurant are beautifully decorated with historical black and white photographs and real paintings among them a Picasso and several Gauguins.

There is a choice of two menus and an à la carte selection. We decided to eat à la carte.

The wine list is quite impressive. I took it easy, gave the sommelier a budget and some preferences. He proposed the following wine: Podere Le Cinciole Petresco 2010 100% Sangiovese organic wine from Panzano in Chianti. We took the second last botte of this vintage. It was very good.

I can write only about the à la carte choices I had. I did not taste the others.

Greeting from the kitchen: Cuttlefish gnocchi with Pesto cream

Alternative: Cooked and marinated watermelon on salad with cheese from Mugello

Bread and olive oil from Bagno di Ripoli

The olive oil was quite strong and bitter.

Cotto e crudo di verdure con sorbetto di pomodoro e melassa di fichi
Cooked and raw vegetables with tomato sorbet and fig molasses

On a half ring made from cold potato purée the following cooked and raw vegetables were arranged: green asparagus, carrots, radish, tomatoes, green beans, mini broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, fennel, salad, yellow peppers, and various herbs. A green herb sauce and a tomato sorbet completed the course. At the table with a pipette, some drops of brown fig molasses were added to it.

I expected more. The cold purée was quite tasteless and added nothing to the course except a holding function for the vegetables. The tomato sorbet was good. The fig molasses was not very present.
This was not comparable to the excellent vegetable potpourri “20 Gemüse” I had in Mövenpick 20/20 some years ago.

Risotto al pecorino di Pienza, cicoria, zafferano e polpette di chianina
Risotto with pecorino di Pienza, chicory, saffron and Chianina meatballs

Battuta di fassona con senape, ravanelli e tartufo nero estivo
Fassona tartare with mustard, radishes and summer black truffle

Lombo di agnello in crosta di nocciole, cipollotti in agrodolce e salsa ai frutti rossi
Loin of lamb in hazelnut crust, sweet and sour spring onions and red fruit sauce

Rostinciana di manzo, spinaci, cipolla al Moscato rosa e limone
Beef Rostinciana, spinach, pink Muscat and lemon onions

Rombo chiodato con lattuga romana, mandorle e prosciutto di Parma
Turbot with romaine lettuce, almonds and Parma ham

A well prepared piece of turbot came with grilled romaine lettuce hearts on almond cream. Parma ham sauce was added at the table. This course showed good products, a good combination of tastes and textures in harmony. I liked it very much.

Pré-dessert: Lollipop of joghurt icecream and white chocolate with blueberry

DOLCEZZA AL CIOCCOLATO E CAFFÈ
Mousse di cioccolato al caffè, mou alla liquirizia, biscotto al cacao e gelato alle nocciole
Coffee chocolate mousse, licorice toffee, cocoa biscuit and hazelnut ice cream

AMORELLINO
Cannolo e bolle di Morellino, mousse di ricotta, biscotto alle more, gelato fior di latte
Cannolo and Morellino bubbles, ricotta mousse, blackberry biscuit, fior di latte ice cream

PERFETTO AL VIN SANTO
Semifreddo al Vin Santo, biscotto alle mandorle e zuppetta agli agrumi
Semifreddo with Vin Santo, almond biscuit and citrus fruit soup

The half-frozen of Vin Santo, that typical sweet wine from Tuscany, located on the crumble on the left side and hidden below the almond biscuit was very good. The filets and cests of orange, pomelo and citrus were very refreshing but for me the left nutty and the right sour side did not fit very well together.

Petit Patisserie: saffron peach jelly, strawberry cheesecake, mascarpone pistaccio muffin

Summary

We passed a very nice evening with good company. The food was well presented on the plates, the products had good quality and they were prepared the right way. From the reading on the menu and the first glance of the plates the expectations were higher than the reality fulfilled then – at least for the courses I had. Service was without a flaw. I enjoyed the wine very much.

Website of the restaurant: https://www.lungarnocollection.com/borgo-san-jacopo/

Auberge de l’Ill Illhäusern – Herbst

Mittagessen

Besucht am 03.10.2020

Bewertung: Zwei Michelin Macarons

Nach unserem sehr guten Mittagessen im Sommer beschloss ich, mit der Familie zu einem Mittagessen hierhin zurückzukehren.

Ich war sehr froh, als ich etwa eine Woche vor unserem Besuch sah, dass sich die Karte geändert hatte. Dies gab mir die Möglichkeit, neue Gerichte zu probieren.

Service war wie immer sehr gut.

Wir entschieden uns zu zweit für das Menü Tradition mit zwei Änderungen: Eine Vorspeise wurde durch das Dinkel-Risotto aus dem vegetarischen Menü ersetzt und ein Hauptgericht durch das Entrecôte aus dem à la Carte Menü. Ich wollte wiederum den Pêche Haeberlin zum Dessert.

Wir nahmen zum Aperitif einen trockenen Muskat von Josmeyer aus dem Elsass 2018. Gut.

Ferner orderte ich ein Glas Pinot Gris 2013 von Trimbach aus dem Elsass und zum Hauptgang ein Glas Rotwein Chateau Clauzet St. Estephe von 2013.

Nun wurden zwei Amuses bouches gereicht.

Amuse Bouche: Presskopf vom Aal mit Sesam, Kräutern und Wasabi; Zwiebeltartelett

Dies war heute sehr gut. Der Presskopf hatte genug Salz und damit einen viel besseren Geschmack, die Zwiebel-Tartelette schmeckte intensiv nach Zwiebel und hatte überhaupt keine Bitterkeit, was bei Zwiebel ja manchmal der Fall sein kann.

Es kam ein weiterer Gruss aus der Küche.

Frittierter Karpfen und Ballotine vom Karpfen, Zitronenmayonnaise, Sauerampfer-Velouté

Das frittierte Stück Karpfen hatte ich zum Zeitpunkt des Fotos schon gegessen. Dieser Gruss aus der Küche gefiel uns sehr gut.

Es ist anzumerken, dass schon im Sommer identische Kleinigkeiten serviert wurden.

Marinierter Hummer mit Yuzu, roter Beete und Haselnuss

Genauere Beschreibung des Gerichtes: warmer Hummer mit Haselnusscrème und Yuzu, Hummertatar bedeckt mit einer Geleescheibe von roter Beete, Schaum von der roten Beete, Mousseline von der weissen Beete mit Haselnussstücken. Sozusagen war dies eine Durchdeklination der drei Komponenten Hummer, Beete, Haselnuss, die auch sehr gut zusammenpassten. Das Gericht war gut, die Hummerqualität nicht überragend.

Risotto aus Dinkel von der Herzog-Mühle mit Wildpilzen der Saison

Lachs-Soufflé „Auberge de l’Ill“, Blätterteig-Fleuron, Tomaten Concassée, Riesling-Sauce

Ich habe dieses Gericht nicht erneut fotografiert. Dies ist dasselbe Foto, dass ich im Sommer aufgenommen habe.

Diesmal gab es allerdings ein Problem mit dem Lachs. Dieser war bis auf eine dünne Schicht komplett roh. Dass dies besser geht, wissen wir vom Sommer. Meine Frau wollte dies aber nicht zurückgehen zu lassen.

In der Pfanne gebratener Saibling, Sauerkraut-Raviolo und Räucheraalklösschen, mit Sauerkrautsaft parfümierte Sauce, Brotcroutons, Schnittlauch und Petersilie

Der Fisch war perfekt gegart, die Sauerkrautkomponenten so mild, dass das Geschmacksbild nicht von ihnen erdrückt wurde – kurz: ein sehr wohlschmeckendes Gericht.

Cordon Bleu vom Kalbsbries mit Schinken, Comte-Käse und Brotkruste (in Milch eingeweicht), brauner Jus, Kartoffel-Gnocchi

Man sieht es dem Bild vielleicht schon an: Der Bries-Anteil war trocken. Und es ist bei der traditionellen Zubereitung von Kalbsbries ja das Sensationelle, dass sich unter einer knusprigen Kruste das weiche, saftige Innere des Kalbsbrieses verbirgt. Insgesamt war das Gericht in seiner Zusammenstellung auch enttäuschend.

Entrecôte vom Salers-Rind, Waldpilze, Sauce Bordelaise mit Estragon

Auch hier kann man es vom Foto her schon erahnen. Das Fleisch enthält nicht essbare Faszien. Leider fehlte an den Pilzen Salz und sie waren von der Textur und von der Geschmacksintensivität nicht so, wie erwartet. Der Säureanteil in der Sosse war mir zu hoch, sodass ich nicht das Bedürfnis hatte, die am Tisch verbliebene Saucière “auszuschlecken”.

Auch die à part gereichten Dauphiné-Kartoffeln rissen es nicht raus.

Pêche Haeberlin – Pochierter Pfirsich, Champagner Sabayon, Pistazien Eiscrème

Gut wie immer.

Grand Cru Schokoladen-Tartelette “San Martin” Bio aus Peru, gefüllt mit Noisette Eiscréme aus dem Piemont und Schokoladen Ganache

Eher unspektakulär, Frau und Tochter fanden es aber sehr gut.

Mignardises von linke nach rechts: Truffle mit Grand Marnier, Zitronenmacaron, Sesam-Cracker, Weichkaramell-Schokoladenganache in weisser Schokolade mit Pistazie, Pinie und Goji-Beere, Pflaumen- Tartelett

Alle ganz gut mit dem Macaron und Truffle als Highlight.

Zum Abschluss: Canele mit grüner Chartreuse (ohne Foto)

Fazit

Ich kann nun verstehen, was der Michelin hier in der letzten Zeit gemacht hat. Es fehlt die Konstanz in Produktqualität und Zubereitung und die Abwechslung.

Lachssoufflé innen komplett roh, Pilze ohne Geschmack und Salz, Faszien im Fleisch, Sauce zu viel Säure, Kalbsbries trocken.

Es war vieles ohne Zweifel sehr gut.

Der Service ist sehr gut, man ist flexibel, man kalkuliert fair.

Meine Frau sagte aber: Es war OK. Ok ist leider nicht genug für ein Zwei-Sterne-Michelin Restaurant und dem entsprechenden Menüpreis.

Le Bernadin New York

Dinner
Visited on January 21, 2020
Rating: Three Michelin Macarons

This report is in English because of the many German reports of past visits here, here, here and here. This time I introduced a friend to the gourmet universum.

I missed the reservation deadline and could only book an early 5:30 pm dinner. No problem because the airplane touched down already around noon and everything else went perfectly (e.g. 10 minutes for immigration).

The problem with early reservations could be that they rush you through the meal. You will read about it later…

The menu choice I left with my friend because I do not decide about other people’s taste and/or wallet. My friend decided for the eight course chefs tasting menu.

We did not go for the wine pairing and decided instead for a bottle of Sancerre Crochet Croix 2018, which was so nice that it almost did not last until the main course.

As a start two étagères with tasty amuses bouches were brought to the table.

Excellent Asian tuna tartar in filo dough. For me with a different herb decoration instead of cilantro

Marinated yellow beet, cucumber, crème fraîche

Lobster on a piece of marinated (Daikon?)-radish

Tuna-Caviar: Layers of Thinly Pounded Yellowfin Tuna; Osetra Caviar, Black Pepper Crisp, Lemon Crème Fraîche

The first course of the menu: An absolute luxurious course, which in the prix fixe menu has a supplement. Fantastic quality of the tuna, great combination with the crispiness of the lemon crème fraîche filled black pepper roll underneath. The tuna had very good olive oil and lemon juice on it.

Langoustine: Warm Langoustine; Seaweed-Mushroom Salad; Dashi Broth

And the luxury continued. The superb quality of the langoustine was far away from the slimy consistency that you get at some other places. A very well prepared dashi broth and the salad with the Enoki mushrooms added umami taste to it.

Crab: Peekytoe “Crab Cake;” Black Rice, Mango-Papaya Salad, Vadouvan Sweet Curry Sauce

Crunchy crab cake, tender crabmeat and again a very well balanced sauce made this a very tasty dish.

Baguette and my favorite from the bread basket: rosemary foccacia

Dover Sole: Sautéed Dover Sole; Almonds, Chanterelles, potato purée, Soy-Lime Emulsion

This time the Dover sole was perfect not overdone as I experienced it with my first visit in Le Bernadin 2018. It goes very well together with the roasted almonds.

And there it is again, the Salmon: Barely Cooked Faroe Islands Salmon; Black Truffle Pot-au-Feu

My all time favorite in this restaurant because of taste, consistency and combination with all the other components. This time it came with broth and sauce. The sauce was a truffle sauce. The jar with more sauce remained at the table and no drop made it back to the kitchen.

Lobster: Glazed Maine Lobster; “Leek Cannelloni”, Red Wine-Rosemary Sauce
Wine pairing: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Habemus Papam, Domaine Santa Duc, Rhone, France 2015

My star on this plate? It was the red wine rosemary sauce. Same procedure as for the salmon: barely any sauce made it back to the kitchen. The lobster was of course of superb quality and perfectly cooked.

Until now the timing of serving the courses was absolutely OK.

And now started was left me leaving the restaurant a little bit displeased. Since we ordered the red wine from the wine pairing for this course our glasses were still half-full after finishing the course.

Now they served the pre-dessert very quickly and it did not fit at all with the remaining Châteauneuf- du-Pape. We could not wait with the dessert because part of it was a sorbet, which would melt away.

I explained my displeasure about this but the waiter had only excuses non-valid for us.

Pre-dessert Fennel: Pear-Fennel Preserve, Anise Tuile, Yogurt Sorbet

OK, but not overwhelming giving the fact that the restaurant offers such great desserts like the apple or the golden hazelnut sphere.

Autumn Fruit: Spice Roasted Fruit “Vacherin,” Berry Mulled Wine Sauce, Pear Sorbet

Since I am not so fan of Meringue I did not like this dessert so much.

Then the next disappointment: My question for the famous egg was answered with the statement that the policy has changed and we had to pay for it extra. No thank you. Last time in October, I got this for lunch and for dinner. Given the faux pas they did with the pre-dessert offering the egg for free would have been a professional treatment of the situation.

Mignardises from top clockwise: blood orange gummy jelly, mint-praliné, cookies and cream-macaron, cherry-pistachio financier, peanut cream-praliné

The mignardises were all very good.

This dinner had a duration of three hours.

Conclusion:

The quality of the food in Le Bernadin in my opinion absolutely justifies the rating in the Michelin guide. Taste, presentation and combination of the courses is impeccable. For me this time I did not like the desserts too much. Could also be that my mood at this phase of the dinner negatively influenced my perception.

There is no doubt that it is worth returning to Le Bernadin.

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon New York

Dinner

Visited on 24.01.2020

Rating: two Michelin Macarons

Because there are already two reports about this restaurant 2018 and 2019 in German, I decided to write this report in English.

Following two very positive experiences with past visits, l’atelier was again on my list for 2020.

Meanwhile a lot has changed in the Joël Robuchon lineup in the US. They opened a new atelier in Miami, converted Le grill into Le club and most important, Chef Cook Christophe Bellanca became culinary director for the lineup. This raised in me the fear that he is probably no longer in the kitchen of the New York atelier due to his many other duties. Therefore, I was very glad to see him in the kitchen when I arrived at the counter. Since I arrived early, I had been waiting in the club where I was offered a glass of water and had a chat with Mr. McKenna the chef sommelier whom I knew from the last two visits.

This dinner I composed again from the à la Carte menu. With it, I had a glass of white wine 2017 Sauvignon Blanc, Ch. Roquefort, Bordeaux. I ordered “Le cuisses de grenouille” and “Le quail” from the tasting portions menu.

As always first came two amuses bouches.

Foie Gras crème with port wine reduction (the dark line between the crème and the foam) and parmesan foam (all warm)

Parsnip espuma, blood orange, yuzu shavings, ginger, Asian pear and fleur de sel.

One of the specialties of l’atelier is the home baked bread, which is among the best you can get in New York.

From left to right: salty puff pastry swirl, baguette, cheese brioche served with very tasty butter

Alaska king crab and caviar, citron jelly sphere, crustacean jelly, celery vanilla cream

This was fantastic: The mild lemon taste of the sphere combined very well with the sweet king crab, the caviar added sea and salty taste and the celery vanilla cream rounded all up. And not to forget about the crustacean jelly at the bottom…

Crispy frog leg croquette, macha velouté, black garlic aioli, blood orange, celery purée

This was a surprise from outer appearance when it arrived. One may have different images about frog legs in mind but without saying anything, you may order it for someone who never eats such when knowing about the ingredients. In this case, the frog meat was separated from the bones and incorporated into a croquette. It was very crispy and tasty.

Second surprise: Langoustine ravioli, black truffle, cabbage and foie gras sauce

This is one of the signature dishes from late Joël Robuchon, which he lists in the book “my Best”. It combines luxury ingredients like foie gras, truffle and langoustine and reveals umami taste par excellence – really a great course.

Black truffle ice cream and coffee scents

This was served as a palate neutralizer and tasted again very good.

Foie gras filled caramelized free-range quail breast, quail leg, salad, vinaigrette, potato purée

Very well prepared juicy meat with a caramelized skin came with the famous potato purée in a bowl served à part.

Mushroom consisting of: head coffee Chantilly, on it dried yoghurt pieces, stem from white chocolate filled with caramel mousse and cashew nuts, ground cocoa crumbles

For the time being the black forest dessert is no more but now you can order another “mushroom”: “Le cloche au café”. Coffee, white chocolate, caramel and dark chocolate fit very well and make of it a really great dessert with extravagant appearance. It was the right decision going for it.

Friandises: raspberry cheese cake and chocolate bowl

While I was eating the dessert, I had a look into the book “my Best” of Joël Robuchon. I had seen that M. Bellanca presented it to a couple seating further right the counter before. Giving it back when I wanted to leave the counter my host told me that I should keep it – what a nice touch!

Afterwards I had a chat in the kitchen with M. Bellanca himself. He is a really nice, approachable guy. On my question what they will do if in 2 years foie gras is banned from New York’s restaurant tables he answered very relaxed that they will find something until then to replace it.

Again, this was a great evening with tasty dishes, beautiful presentation of the food and very nice people at the front desk, at the counter and in the kitchen. From my four restaurant visits in New York this time it was clearly the highlight.