Saturday, November 26, 2011

SNAPSHOTS: Corton's Autumn Tasting Menu

A glass of acidic white wine from the Loire Valley in France set the mood for a delightful reunion with old friends. On a chilly November evening, we dined at Paul Liebrandt's Corton in Tribeca. 

Daniel and I've eaten here a few times. On each occasion, we leave the dining room feeling satisfied by the food (on our last visit, my friend declared that the monk fish was the best he's ever tasted!) and we've always been delighted by the Chef's creative use of ingredients – seaweed butter, curry powder,  gelatin, and pectin. Posted below are snapshots (courtesy of Daniel) of our last meal at Corton.

 Amuse 1 of 4: Gruyere stuffed crispy "corn nut" topped with smokey paprika.
At Corton, the Chef treats you with a series of amuse bouches.

Amuse (continued... #s 2-4):
FRONT: Soft-boiled quail egg BACK: round potato croquettes and curry flavored buttery cheese crackers

A close up: delicate quail egg

Foie course.
FRONT: Foie torchon
BACK: Chilled foie mousse with poblano pepper gelée; pistachio cracker; lentil soup (not pictured)


Close up: Reduced balsamic drizzled on burrata ice cream swimming in lentil soup with pickled red onions. 
In Italian, "burrata" means butter, referring to the cheese's buttery texture; it's created from leftover mozzarella curds.


Squid a la plancha with delicious squid jus 
(We couldn't help ourselves: We all wound up slurping the briny liquid from the bottom of the bowl!)


Pork belly with cranberry beans


Foie gras and truffle croquette, curry powder, fennel fronds.

Tandoori seasoned monk fish (cooked in the salamander!) with cauliflower, romesco florets, and dehydrated broccoli chips.
Our table mate exclaimed, "This is the best fish I ever eaten!"


 Partridge dish served with pork belly, partridge sausage, chips, edible flowers and a mini croquette. Plate is drizzled with coffee-infused chicken jus.


Wagyu beef with trumpet mushroom, cippolini onion

Did you know? Wagyu beef is the American version of Kobe beef. Like Champagne, Kobe beef can only come from a particular region of the world. Wagyu refers to the cow's breed. At most auctions, the best (and most expensive) Wagyu comes from Japan, then American, and finally, Australia.

Close up: potato prepared three ways
(sous vide, puréed, and crisped aka fried)


 Grape pana cotta on top of a chocolate disc sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, sliced concord grapes, and grape sorbet


Puff pastry with dehydrated pineapples

1 comment:

  1. that wagyu's got me salivating...

    btw, you and daniel were in my dream last night.

    ReplyDelete