Docsconz- The Blog

The Connecticut River July 2010

Dining at noma

Before I begin, I would like to introduce myself. I am the eldest of DocSconz’s oft-mentioned sons, and have learned to harbor a great appreciation for good food as a result of my upbringing. At school in Hanover, New Hampshire, my options are often limited, particularly for a student with a small budget. The occasional meal at Carpenter & Main (briefly mentioned here: http://docsconz.typepad.com/docsconz_the_blog/2009/04/index.html) serves as a welcome respite from the repetitive dining halls and ill-equipped kitchens, but its prices prevent more than the occasional visit.

            My boring diet was one reason why I decided to apply for one of Dartmouth’s vaunted Foreign Study Programs, the Geography study abroad in Prague. Although the ability to experience traditional Czech cuisine was appealing, I was more excited by the opportunity it would present me to do some traveling and dining before classes began. I first met Chef René Redzepi at a cocktail reception during the 2008 Star Chefs Conference in New York, where my father introduced him to me as one of the best chefs in the world. At the time, I was just learning that a revolutionary culinary scene was emerging in Scandinavia, but I still had some difficulty accepting that such a thing could occur in the region that counts lutefisk among its most popular dishes. Still, my curiosity was piqued, so when I made my plans for my pre-study travel, I made sure to reserve a table at noma for my travel-buddy Austin and I. My dad, unable to travel to Copenhagen on such short notice, would live vicariously through me.

            As it turned out, my travel schedule permitted me only that one night in Copenhagen, so in effect Austin and I were traveling there exclusively to dine at noma. I’m glad we made the trip. Although some deception by Google Maps caused us to take a while to actually find the restaurant, we managed to allow ourselves enough time to arrive early. noma is beautifully situated at the far corner of the North Atlantic House, a site dedicated to the preservation of North Atlantic culture. Its other two sides are surrounded by harbor, making for a wonderful view of downtown as twilight sets in.

            When we entered, we found that we were among the only diners there, but others soon began to fill in the empty tables. One thing that I noticed over the course of the night was that noma would only fill a table once a night. I think that this approach makes sense, especially in the context of a restaurant that focuses on tasting menus. It would simply be a mistake to rush dishes from the kitchen and people out the door to make room for new customers – like any great restaurant, Chef Redzepi and the staff at noma recognize that good pacing is key to a good meal, and as it turns out, the pacing was flawless. Austin and I were brought a new morsel of food almost every twenty minutes, giving us ample time to savor our new course, but not enough time for us to grow restless while waiting for more.

At this point, I would like to offer my apologies for the lack of gastro-photography – we had a camera, but it was merely a point-and-shoot. Its photographs do not do justice to the beauty of each dish.

As we got comfortable at the table, the friendly and knowledgeable sommelier asked us if we would like anything to drink before we got started. Austin and I were baffled – should we go for the homemade fruit or vegetable juices, or maybe a flute of champagne? We ended up with neither. I hate to reinforce the stereotype of the beer-drinking student, but Austin and I couldn’t help but opt for the fresh, home-recipe Pilsner-style beer from noma’s own brewery outside of the city. The beer was served in a wine glass, and were it not for the foam head I could have mistaken it for a glass of white. Upon reflection, the flavors of the beer foreshadowed the style of the meal that we were about to enjoy – it was crisp, refreshing, and pleasantly aromatic.

            While I am on the topic of drinks, I suppose now would be a good time to briefly delve into our pairing dilemma. While I would have liked to opt for the full pairing to go with the twelve-course tasting menu, our budgets forced us to restrain ourselves a bit, so I asked the sommelier if he might be able to set up some pairings so that we could come as close to experiencing the best of the tasting menu as possible, while not breaking the bank. I have to commend the man because he did a marvelous job, almost on the fly. The seafood-heavy menu called for a majority of whites throughout, with the exception of a red to pair with two turf courses toward the end. Surprisingly, one of my favorite pairings was a glass of exceptionally flavorful carrot juice, which was served with two earthy dishes in the middle of the meal.

            It has now come time to get to the main event, the food. Our meal began with a series of seven “snacks”, which lived up to their name quite well. These were not included on the tasting menu, but it appeared as though other tables were getting a similar treatment. The concept behind noma’s snacks is that they are bite-size pieces that stand on their own, and that the diner is supposed to eat with his hands. Some of our favorite tastes were served as snacks, and Austin and I reached a consensus that the pickled and smoked quail egg was our favorite snack of the bunch. It was served without its shell and prepared so that the white functioned as the solid outer section and the yolk exploded into an incredibly rich and buttery sensation as I popped it in my mouth. To reference my childhood, it felt like a tiny Jell-O Easter Egg in my hand, and it blew up like a Gusher fruit-snack as I bit down on it.

            The other snacks were all phenomenal, but none of them stood out from the rest like the quail egg did. In addition to the egg, we were treated to snacks like a Speck-flavored cookie on top of an elderberry one, home-grown radishes served in a pot, with edible malt soil and yogurt, and a veritable garden placed on top of home-baked crisps. Along with the snacks, we were served some of the crustiest yet tender bread that I’ve ever eaten. It was made with special Danish wheat, and had a nice, hearty flavor. We were given rendered pork fat with bacon salt and some rich butter to spread. It’s not surprising that they take their bread seriously. Unfortunately, time has taken my memory of some of the other snacks and their ingredients, though if I think hard enough I can still taste them.

            Although the snacks were delicious, they were not substantial. With impeccable timing, the noma staff brought us the first course of the “real” menu just as Austin and I devoured the rest of the bread. Entitled “Razor Clam and Parsley, Dill and Mussel Juice”, the dish highlighted each of its ingredients in different ways. The clam was served raw, encased in a parsley gel with yogurt powder lined up next to it. In the bowl was a small pool of mussel juice, with dill oil forming little droplets in the juice. The eating got messy, but the clam was supremely tender – this course was a phenomenal start to the meal, and its clean flavors refreshed the palate nicely. It set the stage for the plates to come.

Next up was the “Beetroots and Sorrel, with Malt Flat Bread.” It served as an earthy contrast to the fresh, almost green-tasting plate that we were served before. The texture was also a nice contrast to the fresh clam.

            Upon tasting the following dish, I was able to tell almost immediately that it would be my favorite of the night, although I wouldn’t have known it by looking at the menu. Unlike my father, I’ve never been a huge fan of uni – despite trying it multiple times, there’s usually something about the texture that bugs me. So when the “Sea Urchin and Grilled Cucumber, Dill and Cream” was served, the brilliant green and yellow-orange hues were appealing, but the knowledge of what was on the plate was not. That all changed once I took my first bite; the sweetness and crunch of the grilled cucumber was married with the rich uni flavor, while reducing the intensity of its texture. The dill complemented this almost-perfect union quite nicely, and the cream served to enhance the smooth flavor of the entire course. I was absolutely wowed by this course, in a way that was not quite replicated again through the meal. The following courses were fantastic, but I think the dish’s refusal to play to my expectations enhanced my experience two-fold.

            Indeed, the cucumber and uni dish is a tough act to follow, which may be why the “Chestnuts and Bleak Roe, Walnuts and Cress Shoots” was one of my least favorite dishes. Keep in mind that this is all relative, but the water chestnuts seemed to dominate the course and it came off as rather bland in comparison to the previous dish. Perhaps contrast was the point, but it was not so memorable as some other plates I enjoyed.

Following the chestnut dish was one of the most fun dishes Austin and I enjoyed, the  “Langoustine and Söl, Parsley and Seawater”. In its preparation, the langoustine was placed clean on a scorching-hot rock, so when it was brought out only one side had been cooked. It was up to us to roll it over and dip it in the spots of parsley flavor that dotted the remaining landscape of the rock, thereby cooking and flavoring it further. This dish was quite unforgettable, and the memory of the experience has preserved the flavor in my head for later enjoyment.

            The “Salsify and Truffle from Gotland, Milk Skin and Rape Seed Oil” was an interesting addition to the lineup. The menu had previously been following a pattern of alternating seafood and earthy dishes, and this plate did not disrupt it. The salsify did a better job of contrasting the langoustine than the chestnuts did for the sea urchin, so I think that lead to my greater enjoyment of this dish – it felt very clean in the mouth, and the texture of the milk skin was quite unlike anything I’ve consumed before. It complemented the texture of salsify and the sauce, making for a very delicious and texturally interesting combination.

The next dish, “Vintage Potato and Whey, Lovage and Prästost” disrupted the aforementioned pattern, but it was delectable all the same. The tiny potatoes were bursting with pure, unpretentious potato flavor, and the greens and cream in the dish worked well to elicit a feeling of eating straight from the farm. I could taste the care that went into growing and preparing this dish, so that it made it my favorite earth-based dish till now.

            At this point, we began to enter into the heart of the menu, signaled by the arrival of “King Crab and Mussels, Leeks and Ashes”. This, too, married disparate elements and was served with minimalism in mind - it was served as two pairs of rolls, alternating on the plate, surrounded by mussel foam and flakes. One roll was leek rolled in ash, and the other a piece of king crab. It looked and tasted simple, but the flavors were clear. I consider crab to be my favorite crustacean, so the elementary presentation and flavor only enhanced experience. Although the implementation of ash was surprising, its perfect execution was not, and it made what would have otherwise been a good dish great.

After the crab came the “Pickled Vegetables and Bone Marrow, Herbs and Bouillon,” which I think was my favorite rustic dish. I’m not sure Austin knew what to expect with the bone marrow, but after scooping marrow straight from the bone at the Boston tapas bar, Toro (discussed here:  http://docsconz.typepad.com/docsconz_the_blog/2009/05/toro-tasty-tapas-in-boston.html), I knew that I was in for a treat. The acidity of the pickled vegetables foiled the creamy marrow quite nicely, and altogether made for an incredibly delicious package. It was simultaneously rich and acidic, and to be honest, just writing about it is making my mouth water.

            The peak of the tasting menu manifested itself in the form of “Ox Cheek and Endive, Pickled Pear and Verbena”. Its presentation was hardly so minimal as that of the crab and leek. The ox and endive was distributed around the plate in small pieces, each piece topped with a thin sheet of pickled pear and a verbena leaf. It was a fantastic end to the savory portion of the meal. The cheek was phenomenally tender, and the endive had a slight crispness to it. The pickled pear complemented the richness of the ox very well, and the endive served as a neutral balance between the two. Despite its powerful flavors, this dish managed to strike a wonderful balance.

            The dessert portions began with a full-on carrot dish, the “Carrots, Buttermilk and Anis”. Slices of differently prepared carrots, some pickled, some roasted, were arranged around a central globe of buttermilk, which in turn housed carrot ice cream. A bite of all three preparations together with the buttermilk set off an explosion on my taste buds, as the sublime sweetness of the ice cream set itself against the creamy-yet-sour buttermilk, while the pickled and roasted carrots each added hints of their respective preparations to the mix. Aside from carrot cake, I’ve never had a carrot dessert, nor do I expect to desire one again – I am perfectly content with remembering this dish as a substitute.

            Afterwards came “The Snowman from Jukkasjärvi, Cloudberries and Wild Thyme.” The snowman was composed of three separate flavors – his head was a small scoop of ice cream, his torso was cloudberry sorbet, and his bottom portion was a large piece of sour meringue. He was placed on a “snow-covered” plate, which was actually cloudberry jam with more of the yogurt powder from the mussel dish. Taken altogether, the dish was at once sweet, sour and savory – much like the dish before, except with a fruity tang. Indeed, both dishes carried with them obvious connotations of the North – the buttermilk orb looked like a snowball, and the Snowman was set in a winter wonderland. It was the fruity tang, then, that made all the difference.

            Our second to last course was actually a savory one, and illustrates a case in which the defiance of expectations does not necessarily have a better outcome. Austin and I were expecting another complex and sweet dessert, and although what we got was complex, it was rather far from sweet. The “Jerusalem Artichoke and Marjoram, Apple and Malt” seemed to be pretty heavily dominated by the artichoke’s flavor, which was a bit of a disappointment to us. I do not mean to say that it was a poor choice to put it on the dessert portion; in fact, it made me think more about my expectations for what a tasting menu should be, and what I expect it to be. It was almost a clever trick, and I appreciate the ingenuity that both the chef and staff had in placing that savory dish where they did in the menu. Overall, it enhanced the experience, although I did not appreciate it as much at the time.

            The final course of ours is a traditional Danish breakfast, if my memory serves correctly. Called “‘Øllebrød’ and Frothed Milk, Skyr and Toasted Rye Kernels”, the variety of textures and flavors led to a sweet end to an experience that I will savor forever. The Øllebrød was a sweet, warm, oatmeal textured component to the meal, which was complemented by a slightly acidic ice cream. The rye kernels lent a nice crunch and toasty flavor to the dish, which added some more complexity to what turned out to be my favorite dessert. Eating this as the final course really reinforced the authenticity of the meal, and sealed the legitimacy of Scandinavian cuisine into my frame of mind.

            To sum up the meal, it is clear to me that chef Redzepi had a lot of fun playing with contrasting flavors, both within dishes and among them. It seems to me that he deliberately ordered the menu to emphasize the contrasts between rich and light, and it seems that he has a fondness for sweet-and-sour flavors. I can’t fault him for that, as I do, too. As it is any time one goes out for dinner, the service is an important part of the experience; good service can make a forgettable meal memorable, and lazy service can make excellent food taste rotten. The service at noma was impeccable. It seemed as though a different staff member served us every new dish, and each one of them was eager to tell me about what I was going to eat, and how to eat it. The staff’s knowledge, congeniality and genuine enthusiasm served to make my night at noma even better than I could have imagined. They even managed to fit us into the small kitchen for an informative tour, too.

            Although I dined at and thoroughly enjoyed my meal at el Bulli about four years ago, I savored it under my parents’ careful gaze. At noma, a (perhaps false) sense of independence pervaded my stay, which magnified my entire experience – I suppose you could regard this as a coming-of-age tale. Now, instead of learning how to identify and appreciate complex flavors, I was consulted on wine and courses, and chef Redzepi even left me a note apologizing for his absence.

As for Austin, he had never been to an avant garde restaurant before. Now he can say he’s been to the best restaurant in the world. Based on my experience there, I can say that it is truly deserving of the title. Simply put, my adventure at noma was an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life, and I strongly advise you to make the trek. You will not regret it.

Taste of the Week - February 14th-20th: Cereal

Yes, cereal. Not just any cereal, though. Frankly, I don't care for most cereals on the market. They are generally too high in carbs and simple sugars for my taste and either lack good texture or good taste. However, this cereal, Heritage Heirloom Whole Grains High Fiber from Nature's Path really stands out.

First of all, it is delicious with or without milk and with or without fruit. I like it best with non-homogenized whole milk from the nearby Battenville Creamery. It stays crisp in milk and has great flavor without being too sweet. While it has 24g of total carbohydrates per 30g serving, only 4g are sugars with 6g dietary fiber. The cereal also contains 4g per serving of protein. All in all, not bad for a breakfast cereal. While I believe the term "certified organic" has lost a lot of its meaning, all in all, I still prefer to eat "organic" than not. This is certified organic. The grains this is made from include wheat, spelt, oats, barley, millet and quinoa.

It seems fitting that with the Winter Olympics ongoing in Vancouver BC, my taste of the week would come from Canada. We purchased it, though, in New Hampshire at the Upper Valley Food Co-op while visiting our son for Dartmouth's Winter Carnival Weekend. While we can get other, less satisfying Nature's path cereals locally, for some reason this one isn't carried near us. As a result, we took advantage of the generally excellent Upper Valley Food Co-op and bought 5 bags of the cereal, unsure when we would return. Of course, the cereal was not the only item we purchased there. Their cheese department has a wonderful selection of Vermont and New Hampshire cheeses, many of which are hard to come by elsewhere and they carry a wide selection of my favorite beers - those from Unibroue, especially Fin du Monde. I was both surprised and taken aback at their seafood counter though. They have beautiful product and go so far as to employ a labeling system for their different seafood products as to whether they are considered sustainable, threatened or unsustainable, which I applaud. I was shocked, however, to discover that they actually sell fish that they have labeled as "unsustainable" such as Chilean Sea Bass and others.  I queried the saleswoman about it. her response was that as a member organization, all they could do is educate, thus the labeling system. If members want specific product, they have to sell it! I asked her if they would sell Panda meat if members requested it? She didn't answer. I don't understand why an organization generally devoted " to supporting social and environmental responsibility" as they say on their website doesn't act even more responsibly when it comes to selling fish at risk of extinction or fished by processes destroying ocean ecosystems? What concerns me the most is what kind of chance do these fish or ecosystems have if even the "good guys", the people who are supposed to be doing things responsibly, don't act responsible?

Elements - The TypePad Dinner Part 2: The Balance

...and with the preliminaries behind us, we moved on to the main body of the dinner. We learned that the chefs source organically, sustainably and locally "whenever possible", especially within a 50 mile radius, though they do not limit their search for the best product there, "going to the ends of the Earth" to find special ingredients.

 

The next dish was larger than the previous dishes, but still genteel in size, Fluke sashimi with daikon radish, cucumber and Thai Prik curry was a marvelous dish combining the subtlety of the fluke with a moderate level of heat from the daikon and Thai curry. The combination of the daikon and the spicy curry was reminiscent of a nicely aged kim chee, which led to a discussion of that Korean condiment and devolved into a fascinating discussion of dry aging fish including techniques  such as those used to make mojama - aged salted and dried tuna loin, dried scallops and bacalao and more! Alex wondered what he could do with the water used to reconstitute salt cod. Oh, the flights we took!

 

Our  conversation continued on the salt cod, arroz con pato and other wonderful dishes at Aldea until the next course arrived. This was Kindai Shimaji with Monterey Bay abalone, tomburi, ginger, scallion and white soy, which brought our focus back to the meal at hand.  The texture of the abalone really added to the dish.

 

This dish, a take on Sauce Grenobloise - turbot with parsley puree, crispy capers, smoked potato and caper emulsion, spinach, Meyer lemon and brown butter caramelized milk solids, totally knocked me out. It was delicious and one of the best deconstructed dishes I have had in some time. The individual elements shone on their own and together. The brown butter solids ("tuiles") atop the fish had been inspired by Alex's work on milk solids. They were the element that brought the whole dish together. I considered the preparation, a "platelicker."

 

Another blockbuster followed sandwiched in amongst reminiscences on how all of us first met each other. Arctic char with the house cured and smoked steelhead roe that I had seen being cured earlier that day and  potato faux risotto with roasted garlic and watercress emulsion provided great flavor, balance and texture. The caviar, inspired by Steve Stallard's Blis Caviar, the caviar was wonderful with a perfect pop-in-the-mouth sensation and just enough smoke and brine to provide flavor and depth without overwhelming. The fish itself was wonderfully cooked and flavorful as was the "risotto." I'm not sure the restaurant fully understood the specialness of this dish as we had to ask for spoons in order to greedily retrieve every last morsel and drop off the plate. Had they fully understood, the spoons would have been already set for the course! I suspect they now know!

 

Previously firmly in the sea, the next course began a progression towards the land combining a surf and turf of Kindai tuna cheek atop sea beans, black garlic, watercress and spinach along with sunchokes, seared foie gras and a pomelo beurre blanc sauce. The dish was harmonious while allowing for extended solos amongst the various ingredients. Shola likened the dish to Carmina Burana. Of course the meaty tuna cheek and the rich foie gras stood out, but so did the other elements like the toothy sunchokes and the black garlic. One element that did not stand out separately, but was perhaps all the more valuable was  the understated but still vibrant pomelo sauce, which married everything.

 

Joe Sparatta explained to us that the tuna cheeks are an often overlooked part of the fish, often just thrown away with the rest of the head.At Elements they put it to extremely good use.

 

Red-leg partridge with broccolini, local squash puree and ricotta and goat cheese stuffed raviolo, a dish liked by all, was proclaimed by Shola to be his "favorite dish so far." The partridge reminded me of well-prepared pheasant. This was perhaps the most classically European dish of the evening. Following up on an unrecognized element on the menu we learned that Zone 7 refers to a company run by Mikey Azzara that delivers produce from local area farms similar to what Farm to Chef Express has done with farms from my region delivering to NYC restaurants.

 

The next dish really raised my eyes in anticipation when it came to the table. Suckling pig three ways: neck braised in dashi with persimmon chutney, foreleg with aji amarillo and shishito pepper and rack with stuffing and porcini puree. There was actually a fourth way as cracklins were brought to the table too. While certainly not a bad dish (can suckling pig ever be bad?), this was  the only relatively disappointing dish of the night. It was disappointing because it was suckling pig and it wasn't great. The cracklins were nicely done, crispy and delicious. The neck meat worked well with the dashi and persimmon. The rack was succulent, but needed some maillard and additional seasoning to put it over the top and the stuffing, really a sausage, was probably the most delicious part of the dish. These elements all worked reasonably well, but the foreleg with the aji amarillo and shishito pepper lacked cohesiveness within itself or the rest of the dish. My shishito happened to be a spicy one, which didn't enhance the dish for me. I suspect that the intent was to let the suckling pig speak for itself, a noble thought. i just wish the overall volume would have been raised slightly.

 

Any disappointment that may have lingered from the suckling pig disappeared with the arrival and first bite of the next course. Kagoshima (true Kobe beef) chuck rib with preserved garlic, kim-chee, broccoli, maitake and eggplant featured the juicy, explosive mouth feel and flavor of Kobe, cooked to the perfect temperature with a nice sear along the edges. !The house-made kim-chee provided a controlled kick that was added to with black garlic and Korean chili-paste sauce. This course completed the savory part of the meal.

 

"Bacon & Eggs," a house signature bridged the gap from savory to dessert. The egg was layered with the bottom consisting of a brioche French toast bread pudding, the middle layer a creme brulee like bacon custard and the top an aerated house-smoked maple infused milk with linen-smoked sea salt. To the side of the egg was french toast, bacon strip and Blis bourbon-barrel maple syrup. The French toast, bacon and Blis was very good, but the "egg" stole the show. It was a sensational combination of sweet and savory that rocked our table. The plate itself was notable as it contained the upright egg perfectly.

Just prior to dessert we were treated to house-made limoncello, zesty and not too sweet, making a lovely, aromatic digestif. For dessert we received a tray containing a wide array of the restaurant's dessert offerings. Adhering to the same philosophy of using diverse and unusual ingredients as the savory portion of the meal, each of the desserts was very good, especially considering that they are made without the benefit of a dedicated pastry chef. Joe Sparatta, the sous chef, is also responsible for the desserts. Amongst the items on the tray was his version of a "kit-kat" with gianduja, similar to one served at Michel Richard's Central, but not as sweet and therefore preferable to me. There were also various cchocolate ice creams, a delightful meyer lemon tart with an almond-lemon-grass chibouste, toasted almond ice cream, medjool date bread pudding with Albert T. Lee single barrel bourbon, medjool date ice cream with bourbon creme anglaise, chocolate malt "Snickers bar", malted milk balls, bay leaf creme brulee,and satsuma tangerine ice cream. The desserts were truly delightful. Sparatta is clearly multi-talented. I could only imagine what he could do with dessert if he was a full-time pastry chef.

One thing that surprised me about Elements was the level of luxury within the restaurant. make no mistake, this is an unabashed fine dining restaurant, even if the dress code is relatively casual. From the setting to the chairs to the plates to the silverware to the glasses, everything about the setting is top notch.Though we didn't have wine, the food and beverage program matches and even exceeds the sophistication of the environment. The main dining room is beautiful as is the private dining room, but if one enjoys the action of a kitchen, the kitchen tables at Elements are the place to be. The table and chairs are exceedingly comfortable, set back far enough from the kitchen so as to be unobtrusive, but close enough to get a sense of the action.

While the restaurant has all the creature comforts and is quite sophisticated, the reason to go there remains its culinary cornucopia. From the bar program to the food, the restaurant is a clear original, doing what it does with personality, taste and skill. We did not have wine, so I can not personally speak to the wine program, but I have no reason to think that it would be any less stellar than the rest of the restaurant. In building this restaurant, Principle owner, Stephen Distler, seemingly spared no expense and put together a real winner of a restaurant. The one question I have is, Why couldn't he have chosen Hanover, New Hampshire?

Elements - The TypePad Dinner Part 1: Small Plates

As a graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., it is exceedingly difficult for me to admit that there may be anything of extreme excellence in Princeton, N.J. Well, I must say that there is at least one institution of excellence in that burgh and that would be Elements, the relatively new creative contemporary restaurant with Ryland Inn alumnus Scott Anderson commanding the kitchen. Elements is a restaurant that I have been wanting to dine at ever since I heard the first glowing reports from my good friends Alex and Aki. I was sorry that I had not been able to make it to either of the dinners that Alex collaborated on with Chef Anderson and determined that i would make it there as soon as i could.

That opportunity came came when I was going to be heading south to attend the Bocuse D'Or USA competition at the CIA in Hyde Park. Why not go a little early and check out Elements? Why not indeed, especially when I would be joined by Alex and two other good friends who I met through food, Shola Olunloyo of Studio Kitchen and and Linda from Playing with Fire and Water!

I drove down to Princeton on Tuesday arriving at the restaurant at 3PM, in time to get the lay of the land and say hello before driving over to Alex and Aki's. I drove back with Alex to find Shola already there. Linda, coming from Connecticut would be a little late due to train issues. Not to worry, as the three of us had a chance to observe the kitchen and chat. Once Linda arrived, we sat down and let the games begin.

Of course, we would have a tasting menu with Chef Scott Anderson and his extremely capable sous chef, Joe Sparatta, selecting our dishes. I had already observed Chef Sparatta prepare some fresh smoked steelhead roe caviar earlier that afternoon as well as break down a beautiful halibut and we saw some other delights as we waited by the kitchen. Elements, befitting its name, handles their tasting menus somewhat differently than other restaurants. Most tasting menus list the individual dishes with the components that comprise them. Not Elements. Instead of describing specific preparations, they simply list the various individual ingredients that will be found throughout the meal, a listing of the "elements" of the meal, if you will. Ours was certainly intriguing, containing abalone, hamachi, shiro dashi, porcini puree, Nantucket bay scallop, sunchokes, zone 7, tangerines, arctic char, series, chile amarillo, foie gras, chocolate, Kindai tuna, bacon & eggs, head cheese, truffle, beets, turbot, apple, house-cured steelhead roe, malt, venison, avocado, 64.5 degree egg, Kagoshima, persimmon, white soy, mackeral, sweet Maine shrimp, sucking pig and smoked maple. In the end, we did not detect all of those ingredients, but there were probably a few that had not been listed either. In either case, those that may have been omitted weren't missed as the food that was brought out made us focus on what was at hand and that was plenty and plenty good.

The first dish was scallop ceviche with pappadews and champagne vinegar. The main element of this dish was clearly the scallop. As with any good ceviche, it was bracing with a nice citrus finish. The Nantucket bay scallop was pristine and sweet. We were off to a great start! It was at this time that i also started enjoying my first cocktail.

Smoked mackeral, avocado and boquerone was a tour de force of balance and texture with a crispy outer shell. Perfect in one bite!

 

Salt roasted beets with a pear puree and huckleberry made for a nice bite, though ultimately it was not one of the most memorable moments of the meal, though at this point we evolved into a discussion of the state of bread service in restaurants and their role during a tasting menu. The various breads served at Elements were all delicious, but we refrained from doing more than tasting them. The consensus was that when done well as it was here and as it was done at Gilt under Paul Liebrandt and at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, bread service can very much add to a meal. Of note, Shola's meals at Studio Kitchen were notoriously absent of bread despite his love and appreciation of the product.

 

The tempura battered sweet Maine shrimp brought us back to our senses. This was simply eaten whole. Delicious!

 

The Red Rye with Rittenhouse rye, Carpano Antico vermouth, Chinese five spice, fresh pomegranate and flaming hibiscus candied ginger was another winner of a cocktail from Mattias Hagglund, though not quite as wonderful as the Maple Loch. It had a strong, but appealing finishing taste of coconut, which was most definitely not one of the ingredients. I got to taste the Carpano Antico later on. It was complex, deep and slightly bitter, a Vermouth full of character and personality.

 

Eaten over a discussion of different butters and butter making, the next dish was a table favorite and one of the most sensational of the evening. Resting on an eel-skin tuile, eel, rice, crispy shallot and cilantro, wasn't the most visually stimulating dish, but it did stimulate the palate with great flavor and texture. The eel-skin tuile was particularly exciting from both a conceptual and gustatory perspective. It was as satisfying and delicious an eel dish as I've ever had. Linda, "wow!... I'll take ten more of those please... I don't ever want that taste to go away!" The bite was an umami sledgehammer.

 

Though coming after a very difficult act to follow, herbed hamachi with apple and sesame did a creditable job leading Shola to expound on his love of hamachi collar.

 

Salt cod croquettes with flavors of chowder including a chowder aoili, bacon and potato combined tradition and imagination in a wonderfully comforting way. A good croquette is hard to beat and this was a good croquette. While it was billed as having bacon flavors, I tasted smoke more than bacon. The dish led to a discussion on the national origins of croquettes or croquetas. Since my mother made croquettes, I grew up thinking that they like a potato and egg omelet were Italian. Of course, Naples used to be part of Spain, which is where that tradition came from for me. But then, what about the French? Using the wonders of modern technology, Alex googled it and for the moment determined that the croquette was indeed a French invention.

 

Chicken and foie gras terrine with pomme puree had great flavor, though mine was a tad salty for me. The preparation reminded me of Alex & Shola's "Chicken Marsala" While the preparations were entirely different, both involved using chicken in a forcemeat role. At this point, we entered into a discussion of small plate dining. Our consensus was that there is a time and place for it (such as this time and place) and that small plate dining and large plate dining are not mutually exclusive.

 

64.5º egg with cauliflower puree appeared pedestrian on first look, but was considered "sensational!" with great flavor, texture concept - a great homage to Arpege.  It was at this point that we were presented with our "menus" with the explanation of its meaning and the statement, "Now that we are actually beginning the meal..."

Homecoming 2009

 

Dartmouth Night Bonfire

Homecoming Weekend

October 23rd, 2009