Overall taste: 7/10 | 2016 | 1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023
Jean Georges is a 3-michelin starred restaurant in New York as well as the most disappointing restaurant we’ve been to. We spent over $300 here (with no alcohol), and we expect the taste rating to be at least a 8/10 for this kind of price.
+++ = highly recommend | – – – = do not recommend
– – – Amuse bouche
+++ Toasted egg yolk, caviar and herbs ($69) [We felt that this was the only amazing dish. It literally tasted perfect; the salty caviar went really well with the lightly-seasoned soft yolk and buttered toast…. but look at the price for a two-bite appetizer.]Sea trout & oyster tartar, chive, lemon, horseradish ($29) [Lynn liked it but Jeff found the oyster to be too fishy]Yellowfin tuna ribbons, avocado and spicy radish, ginger marinade ($29) [Average. The sauce was on the sour side.]– – – Foie Gras terrine, strawberry granola, aged balsamic ($37) [We are huge foie gras fans and this is the worst foie gras dish we’ve had. Every part of it is infused with sweet strawberry. If you like your foie gras as a dessert, this might be for you.]+++ Diver scallops, caramelized cauliflower, caper-raisin emulsion ($37) [This was great, and is what we expect from a 3-michelin starred restaurant. The scallops had a crispy golden crust. The caramelized cauliflower was delicious and didn’t have much of a burnt taste.]– – – Tenderloin of beef, heirloom carrots and fingerling potatoes, hibiscus mustard ($54) [We’re trying not to exaggerate here, but we believe most people that cook at home can make better steak than this. It’s ironic how chewy this tenderloin was and the flavour was simply not there. The steak also wasn’t meaty enough and tasted like those cheap $10 steak diners serve.]Salt and pepper sweetbreads, sweet chili emulsion, pea shoots, golden garlic ($29) [This was well fried, but we prefer our sweetbreads pan-fried so that we can actually taste it.]Chocolate – dark chocolate mousse, milk chocolate ganache, passion fruit gelee, mini chocolate cake, hibiscus sorbet, crystallized rose, peanut caramel, olive oil powder, fraises des bois and macadamia nut milk ($12) [Average]– – – Strawberry – vanilla tapioca pudding, strawberry sorbet, enchanced strawberries, gelee and crisps ($12) [This is undoubtedly one of the prettiest desserts we’ve had, but also one of the worst in terms of taste. The so-called “enhanced strawberries” were soaked in sauces that simply do not go well with strawberries, unless black pepper strawberry is your thing.]Complimentary chocolate [Average]Complimentary desserts [Average]
Overall taste: 9/10 | 2016 | 31 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011
This remains to be one of my favourite restaurants. Although it is only rated 1 michelin star, it is better than some of the 3 michelin starred restaurants in my opinion.
+++ = highly recommend | – – – = do not recommend
Pictured above: +++ Hokkaido urchin toast – cauliflower puree, mustard seed & shiso {$16) [This is so good! plus I get to try Hokkaido sea urchin (uni) without travelling to Japan!]
Chef’s tasting menu ($135 pp)
Petiscos
+++ Smoked sweet potato “blini” – ikura caviar, creme fraiche, flowers and herbs– – – White and green asparagus – preserved kumquats, spring garlic & hazelnut crumble+++ Shrimp alhinho – garlic, pimenton, red bell pepper juice & pressed shrimp jus
Charcoal-grilled bacalhao – pickled pearl onion, white bean puree & cilantro [I found the fish to be slightly overcooked]Roasted Duck Breast – red and gold beets, pumpkin seed, duck confit & brown butter jus [it’s good but i’m quite disappointed on how little duck there was]
– – – Queijo zimbros – roasted strawberry jam, walnut raisin toast and pickled green strawberryMatcha cake – pistachio brittle, sweet pickled cherries, sherry gastrique and bay leaf icecream
