Veritas

Occasion: Pre-movie (Alice in Wonderland) dinner with James
Location: Veritas on 20th between B'way and Park Ave S (veritas-nyc.com)
Edibles: so many yummy things - described in detail below

Musings: Been on my To Do list for ages, and it did not disappoint. Dinner here is an Event.

The wine list, the restaurant's proudest achievement, is a daunting volume filled with hundreds of choices. It was mostly wasted on me. I was very happy to abdicate the choice of wine to James, and found our bottle of medium-bodied red tasty enough.

The food... now that, I did appreciate.

Amuse bouche: An artistically-presented trio of crab wrapped in cucumber with mango sauce, cucumber cream with shrimp and mango, and cucumber sorbet. Dainty and delicious, though obviously designed for warmer weather than we had that dreary day. I guess the chef is longing for spring just like the rest of us!

Appetizer: On the waiter's recommendation, I made a last minute switch from the scallop salad to the lobster nage. (Thanks to him for the great advice!) The lobster sauce was so incredibly rich and savory - like the essence of a thousand lobsters distilled into a few spoonfuls of liquid bliss. Fantastic! James was kind enough to share one of his crispy frog legs with me. I was as happy to eat it as I usually am to eat things that are deep-fried, but I thought the flavor of the meat got lost in the crunch and the oiliness.

Main: The veal chop, medium rare. It's a Flintstonian-looking chop, but thankfully carved down to a few perfectly pink slices for each of us. The meat was so unbelievably tender that it actually creased where one slice lay against another. Best veal I've ever had, full stop. On the side was a whimiscal truffled pastina.

Pre-dessert: a tiny rhubarb tart and a diminutive strawberry shortcake

Dessert: A slightly weaker course. I had the honey tangerine panna cotta. The flavor was good but the panna cotta was tough from too much gelatin, and the tuile cookie tasted stale. Maybe the cheese plate would have been a better choice.

All in all, I was very impressed. The chef demonstrated real mastery of his craft.