Dinner at Bouley

O

Oswaldo Costa

Oswaldo Costa
We're staying in Tribeca and, being tropical wimps, don't wander too far afield because of the cold. So, for Marcia's birthday, we went to Bouley on Friday, and the tasting menu was, sorry to gush, totally sensational. Inventive and delicious. I mean, $125 for the tasting menu is a bundle to pay, but they made it look like a bargain. Service at the entrance was glacially stuffy, but became warm and humorous once we were in the hands of our jolly goofy waiter. Surrounded by lots of waspy types, but what else is knew. The wine list, you ask? Not disorderly enough, I say. Just two reds, a Barral Faugeres and a l'Anglore Comeyre. But there was a one-two punch of reasonably priced and beautifully matched half bottles that won the day:

2005 Jean-Marc Pillot Chassagne Montrachet Les Fairendes
Muted floral, lime and toffee aromas. Excellent acid/sweet balance, rich texture, light bitter finish. A touch too much wood at first, but this soon became one with the gestalt. Fine and aristocratic.

2005 Jean-Marc Morey Chassagne Montrachet Champs Gains
Cherry, dishrag, flint, iodine, thyme, cloves, much going on here. Excellent balance, appealing texture, pleasing acidity, long finish. Retains acidic bite all the way to the end of the meal. Very fine.

I was relieved these weren't closed, and contributed so handsomely to the no false notes (except for the large, ugly paintings) success of the evening.
 
If you're looking for really good coffee while you're in the neighborhood I recommend Kaffe 1668 on the east side of Greenwich. Just a few blocks south of Chambers.

I keep hearing very mixed things about the current incarnation of Bouley. The most common is that it is very uneven, great one night and mediocre the next. So I'm very glad you hit one of the good ones.
 
where is the latest incarnation located? I've lost track completely.

can you give me directions from chambers street wines? :-)
 
originally posted by .sasha:
where is the latest incarnation located? I've lost track completely.

can you give me directions from chambers street wines? :-)
Click to expand...

Is there any other relevant landmark in Tribeca?

From CSW walk east on Chambers about a quarter block and then make a sharp left on Hudson. Walk 2 blocks to Duane Street. Bouley will be on the far right (NE) corner with inadequate signage. Take a moment to shake your fist in anger at his closing of Bouley Bakery and Market.
 
Cherry, dishrag, flint, iodine ??

I don't think I have ever seen "dishrag" as a descriptor...is this a "good thing"?
 
We were at Bouley during the holidays. My impressions are the same as yours: service is top notch and we all loved the food.
Wine list is insanely priced though. But there is some good stuff. We had an outstanding F Cotat 08 MD, a nice 07 Milan Grand Blanc and a rocking 01 Trevallon.
 
originally posted by Arno Tronche:
and a rocking 01 Trevallon.
Click to expand...

Yep. The '01 Trevallon has been drinking beautifully the past couple of years. That reminds me, I should pick up a few more bottles.
 
originally posted by drssouth:
Cherry, dishrag, flint, iodine ??

I don't think I have ever seen "dishrag" as a descriptor...is this a "good thing"?
Click to expand...

I get this every now and then, and may be more intelligible as musty cloth. It's not exactly positive, perhaps ambiguously negative, like Nehru drinking his own pee, but in certain constellations, it can be part of a complex interplay of opposing forces that retains equilibrium in a cooling mass of disorderly quarks frenetically jumping up and down in an anechoic chamber*.

PS: with the demolition of El Teddy's with its statue of liberty facade and barring any Leonard St lairs, the mostest remaining landmark in Tribeca is indubitably Odeon, where I found a lovely bottle of Chamonard Morgon last time I went (november).

* I am quoting a conversation between Stephen Hawking and Toulouse-Lautrec in the backseat of Eden's 2+2.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by kirk wallace:
More like a reef upon which to crash one's dining ship?
Click to expand...
I've been once or twice and it was Steady Eddie. Nice room and service. And souffle.
Click to expand...
I remember liking it in the mid-80's (4 or 5 times) and then hating it in the '90s (2x)and never returning....
 
originally posted by kirk wallace:
I remember liking it in the mid-80's (4 or 5 times) and then hating it in the '90s (2x)and never returning....
Click to expand...
I had a similar sort of experience with Chanterelle. First couple of times were great, then it got really repetitive, and then they undertook to do things that were outside their ken.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
originally posted by drssouth:
Cherry, dishrag, flint, iodine ??

I don't think I have ever seen "dishrag" as a descriptor...is this a "good thing"?
Click to expand...

I get this every now and then, and may be more intelligible as musty cloth. It's not exactly positive, perhaps ambiguously negative, like Nehru drinking his own pee, but in certain constellations, it can be part of a complex interplay of opposing forces that retains equilibrium in a cooling mass of disorderly quarks frenetically jumping up and down in an anechoic chamber*.

PS: with the demolition of El Teddy's with its statue of liberty facade and barring any Leonard St lairs, the mostest remaining landmark in Tribeca is indubitably Odeon, where I found a lovely bottle of Chamonard Morgon last time I went (november).

* I am quoting a conversation between Stephen Hawking and Toulouse-Lautrec in the backseat of Eden's 2+2.
Click to expand...

OH that....silly me
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
If you're looking for really good coffee while you're in the neighborhood I recommend Kaffe 1668 on the east side of Greenwich. Just a few blocks south of Chambers.
Click to expand...

Tried their Ethiopia this morning, and while it was better than the coffee from Zucker's and the other neighborhood place I've tried, it was a bit dilute. My ex told me later that what they do incredibly well is expresso, capuccino, etc., but not so much regular coffee.
 
Capuccino and expresso are always wonderful. Coffees have been a bit more variable for me but if they have the Kenya it's amazing. I haven't tried the Ethiopia.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by kirk wallace:
I remember liking it in the mid-80's (4 or 5 times) and then hating it in the '90s (2x)and never returning....
Click to expand...
I had a similar sort of experience with Chanterelle. First couple of times were great, then it got really repetitive, and then they undertook to do things that were outside their ken.
Click to expand...
Oh, I would trade 1,000 trendy restaurants to have Chanterelle back.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top