Thursday, June 07, 2007

Bar Americain

Last Saturday night, while in New York the Food Gal and I met up with excellent friends to dine at Bar Americain. The company was spectacular. The restaurant, though not overtly failing at any particular thing was simply unimpressive across the board.

First, we ordered drinks (a French 75 for the lady) and our waiter came back a short time later to tell us that the bar was out of superfine sugar and, therefore, could not make the French 75 for the lady. While I will (and did) give the bartender credit for not trying to fake a drink and making something that just wouldn't have worked...how hard is it to stock superfine sugar in a bar? (We won't even get into the fact that you can make it by putting regular granulated sugar into a food processor for about 2 minutes...busy restaurant during service...blah blah.) So, we had to go to option two, or three or whatever. The drinks they did serve, were, on the whole quite good. I had an excellent Manhattan and was happy. (Later, I tried to order their "signature" old fashioned, made with their own cherry infused bourbon. They were out of their own cherry infused bourbon. I think, perhaps, a new bar manager might be in order.)

Happily, everyone at the table (5 of us) were happy to order up and share. So we tried an awful lot of the menu. Shrimp and grits were good, oysters were excellent, half a chilled lobster was half a chilled lobster. The standout of the first food that hit the table was the Crab-Coconut shellfish cocktail. Balanced, nuanced, great combination of flavors...that was a fine dish.

Next up was a whole handful of things...an asparagus chopped salad was uninteresting (and the asparagus wasn't chopped...odd); the fries americain were decent fries, the "hot potato chips" were good potato chips but no one could figure out the hot part...they weren't spicy and they weren't warm to the touch (and, honestly, they weren't worth $9...); the creamed corn was spectacular. This was the one dish that really seemed to me to capture what the whole Bobby Flay thing is supposed to be...bold, bright flavors in interesting combinations. It had some green chilis in it, was perfectly cooked, was the right temperature...really an outstanding dish. The only thing I'd be happy to go back for.

The entrees we got included a Skate (the fish was well cooked, but overpowered by a heavy sauce in far too great a volume); Smoked Chicken which was tasty, but utlimately still a chicken dish that didn't blow anyone's skirt up; duck, of which the breast was perfect and the wing totally over seasoned somehow...I expect it was brined and the salt level in the smaller part was just off the charts; and a rack of pork which while the most tender, juicy pork I think I may ever have eaten, was entirely lacking in flavor (a problem with many dishes, which I wasn't expecting given the executive chef).

For dessert, we again shared a lot. Two of us got the blackberry souffle...a perfect souffle which was too large and didn't hold interest. If it had been 2/3 the size it would have been better. There was also a deep dish chocolate pie...which while chocolate, wasn't deep and was just ok. The caramel whiskey eclairs...yum. Those were interesting...they had a solid caramel on the bottom and a glass of the whiskey sauce would have been just fine with me. I skipped an espresso because the double was $7...honestly. Come on.

Along the way, the Food Gal, on her way back from the restroom, slipped on a water spill in the hallway and tweaked her back, ending the meal in a not so fun way. The manager was gracious, but it had an effect.

As I said, the company was spectacular. None of the food was bad, but with the exception of the corn and the whiskey eclairs, nothing was truly special in a way that sticks with me. It wasn't unreasonably expensive (about $130 per person including tip) for all of the food and the drinks we got. If the flavors had been better, we'd have been very pleased with all of it. As is, we had a blast with our friends but I think we'd stick to the bar if we went back.

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