Knife + Fork

Occasion: Farewell dinner for Alexandra, with Yining and Kathy
Location: Knife + Fork Restaurant & Wine Bar on E 4th between 1st and 2nd Ave (knife-fork-nyc.com)
Edibles: six-course chef's tasting (described in detail below)

Musings: As it was the send-off for Alex before she moved to LA, I was racking my brain to find a restaurant that 1) was delicious, 2) was not too expensive, 3) took reservations and 4) was a true New York gastronomic experience. No pressure or anything...

I'd been to Knife + Fork twice, but more than a year ago. While it was a good sign that it was still open, I was a bit nervous when I made the reservation. (I had another panicky moment when I arrived at 7pm to find the restaurant completely empty.) I crossed my fingers and hoped it was still as good as I remembered.

It was! Whew!

First course: Sliced chicken on squash purée, with a salad of microgreens, bacon and watermelon. I pretty much love any dish with bacon in it, so this meal had me at "hello."

Second course: Foie gras with eel, lobster vinaigrette; sliced cucumber, matchstick radishes and cucumber sorbet. This course was my least favorite. I generally find foie gras to be too rich, and this particular preparation had a lot of other intense ingredients to boot. I was puzzled by the pairing with the cucumber; the foie, sauce, etc. were very wintery while the cucumber and sorbet were very summery. I thought the cucumber sorbet was brilliant - just not with this dish.

Third course: White grape gazpacho with tuna tartare and microgreens. Loved it! The serving size - just a few mouthfuls - was perfect and the tuna provided a great savory counterpoint to the sweetness of the soup. (Photos - once it occurred to us to take some - courtesy of Kathy and her BB.)

Fourth course: Sea bass in saffron broth with carrots, green beans and microgreens. The fish was well-cooked - crisp skin, juicy flesh. However, everyone at the table agreed that it needed more salt. Luckily, the bread came with a little mound of sea salt so we each took a pinch for our fish.

Fifth course: Lamb loin with escargot and a goat cheese cream sauce; sundried tomato quenelle; rosemary potato gratin. The lamb and potatoes were DIVINE. I really enjoyed everything about this dish except the sundried tomato which, like the cucumber from the second course, was a discordant note.

Sixth course: Rosemary and orange crème brûlée; goat cheese and mint panna cotta. I was pleasantly surprised by the subtlety of the panna cotta given its flavorings. Tip-top technique on the crème brûlée as well.

As you can see, it was decidedly a feast! Aside from a few ideas that went astray - and some overenthusiastic use of microgreens - the chef showed us a real good time. Especially considering that we each spent $70 dollars total (that's six courses, a glass of wine each, tax and 20% tip).