L’ABSINTHE BRASSERIE: The Last Supper (of 2010)
Dear Food Diary:
I ended last year on a French note and loved every minute of it. From my pre-birthday celebration at the French Wine Bar Jadis to one of my best birthdays ever, thanksgiving in Paris (those posts will come soon) and this last supper of 2010 at L’absinthe Brasserie.
One of the surprises of completing this unplanned French themed 2010 was randomly winning this $100 gift certificate. While doing some food research for the trip, I stumbled upon Celebrate the French Way and randomly entered the drawing. And voila, there was my winning! 12/31/10 was the last day to use it and so we did.
Grabbed my usual suspects, got dressed up and off we went to end the year right.
One of the surprises of completing this unplanned French themed 2010 was randomly winning this $100 gift certificate. While doing some food research for the trip, I stumbled upon Celebrate the French Way and randomly entered the drawing. And voila, there was my winning! 12/31/10 was the last day to use it and so we did.
Grabbed my usual suspects, got dressed up and off we went to end the year right.
We started off with a nice bottle of Gewurztraminer from Alsace andassorted oysters. Wine is light and sweet, playing along with the fresh and meaty oysters. A good way to start any meal in my book.
I wanted to end the year semi healthy and trusted they would do fish right, so I got the Broiled Halibut with Potato Gnocchi, Watercress, Sherry Wine & Hazelnut Oil Vinaigrette. Totally disappointed. Starting with the vinaigrette, there were no signs of hazelnut, in fact, I totally forgot about that while eating. The gnocchi was the exact opposite of al dente, a mess on a plate. The fish was dry and under seasoned. I know we had $100 to spend, but this alone was $33, are you serious?
J’s Roast Loin of Veal with Orange Scented Matignon of Winter Vegetables, Braised Endive was a mouthful to pronounce and it sure sounded promising, but that was about it. Dry and uneventful, specially around the edges. The center was somewhat moist, but this definitely fell under the category of having the looks, but not the flavors to back it up. Another failure for $38. So far 2 out of 2 were bad and our tastebuds were giving up…
Thank goodness for C’s Venison and Foie Gras Pie, Celery Root, Sweet Potatoe & Red Wine Reduction and her willingness to share. I was afraid the venison would be too gamey, but the sauce and the foie took center stage instead. The venison meat pie was more like a meatloaf tucked inside buttery puff pastry, with a generous slab of foie built right in. A mouthful of moist, tender, melt in your mouth, buttery, flaky goodness. We all agreed, this was by far, the best dish of the night. At $35, it was the best option, but not something we would make reservations again for.
Ended our meal by sharing a Grand Marnier Souffle, Medley of Warm Red Berries & Clementine Sauce. .
Breaking in was the best part! I enjoyed the strong reminder of citrus in each spoonful. Great souffle, but not as fluffy nor satisfying as DBGB’s. Regardless of how this measured to my favorite souffles in the city, this was a sweet way to end our last supper of the year.
Service was good, food was overpriced and unexceptional, but at least I had great company. The clientele was more of an older crowd of wealthy looking uptown folks, far off from the photos on their website. And trust me, I blinked and blinked, but one bite and I knew for sure I wasn’t in Paris nor anywhere close (from the claim of their website).
One thing for sure, I’m glad this wasn’t my “last supper”, I wouldn’t wanna leave with a meal like this.
P.S. Chubby’s RATING:
www.labsinthe.com
227 East 67 St.
212.797.4950
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To make the most of our last night of the year, dinner was followed by some impromptu karaoke at Top Tunes, meeting more awesome chubby friends at The Barrel and early morning Bon Chon korean fried chicken at Boka. With that, we welcomed 2011, full of hope for the new start.
HAPPY 2011 EVERYONE! Bonne année et bonne santé ! God Bless ya’ll!!!
Superb blog post, I have book marked this internet site so ideally I’ll see much more on this subject in the foreseeable future!
Love reading your food and travel adventures. Your latest French dinner looks so delicious (I was looking at that soufflé and I am stunned). I have no doubt that the savories were as great
mmm, that souffle looks stunning. nyum nyum nyum, give me a piece of that!