I went for lunch with my Aunt, Laura, in the middle of an intense NYC heat wave. It was 105 degrees out, crazy even for a heat wave. You'd never know it in the dining room of Cafe Boulud. The staff were professional and attentive and I daresay, mildly perky. There were only two tipoffs: one of the older, wealthy Manhattanites entered with a lacey white parasol (which I'd bet my laptop was purchased in Paris) and one of the other older, wealthy Manhattanites surreptitiously held her icey water glass to her neck. Outside of those two indications, the oppressive heat did not make its way into Cafe Boulud.
We were presented with canapes: small, lightly fried balls made with zucchini and mozzarella. They were like mozzarella sticks if mozzarella sticks were lightly and delicately fried with the thinnest possible crust and were not the least bit greasy or oily and inside had the perfect balance of melted mozzarella cheese and light zucchini without getting soggy from the zucchini either. You know, those mozzarella sticks. The kind you've never had in your life because they don't exist. Yup, those. You know you're in for a good meal when you're sad that the canape is only the size of a canape.
As an appetizer, I ordered Pate de Campagne with brandy soaked cherries, whole grain mustard, radishes, cornichons and baby mache because I love pate so much that I couldn't imagine eating at Cafe Boulud and not having the pate. I also had the pate at db Bistro Moderne and thoroughly enjoyed it so I had a pretty good idea of what my appetizer would be before I ever arrived.
And I love pate so much that when it was served, I dove right in. So I have no pictures of the appetizers because I was so excited to eat pate. (I hang my head in shame.)
It was gooooood. Fatty and lovely and rich. It was goooood.
My Aunt had the Red Bell Pepper Gazpacho with poached maine shrimp, mango and basil, which I also have no picture for, due to my pate enthusiasm. It was a nice spin on gazpacho. The red pepper flavor was bold and rich but the mango and basil brightened it up and between that and it being a chilled soup, it was refreshing.
My Aunt ordered Fusilli Pasta with eggplant, cherry tomatoes, ricotta cheese and baked red onion for her entree. I don't think I would have chosen a pasta dish at Cafe Boulud but I also expected that anything we ordered would be tasty and worth eating and this dish was both of those things. The ricotta was very light and just slightly more solid than a sauce; just solid enough to hold its form. There was just enough flavor to cover the pasta; there was no real sauce. It was a light summer dish. There was a chicken option that neither of us chose and I wonder if we would have if it hadn't been 105 degrees out. Though it wasn't spectacular, this was a nice lunch for such a hot day.
For my entree, I ordered the Harissa Marinated Flounder with petit pois, pearl cous cous and yogurt dressing. I saw no petit pois on my plate, do you? Still, it was an excellent dish. I take that back. It was an excellent piece of fish with a delicious yogurt dressing. The flounder, which is one of my favorite fish to begin with, had a very nice sear on it and a deep harissa flavor that didn't overpower it at all (flounder can generally stand up to a bold flavor.) And I didn't miss the petit pois (small green peas), though I think they would have brought that little last bit to complete the plate both aesthetically by adding some nice, bright color and with their hint of sweetness. I think the little peas would have taken it from an excellent piece of fish to a fantastic dish. Maybe I did miss them, after all. But you won't hear me complain about it.
My dessert was the Caramel Gateaux with
Hazelnut Biscuit, Frangelico Glaze and Toasted Hazelnut Ice Cream. It was really really delicious. Caramel and hazelnuts are both big hits for me separately so together, they're doubly good. I'm accustomed to seeing hazelnuts paired with chocolate, a classic combo in Italian desserts. I've never personally eaten hazelnut with caramel before but like I said, doubly good. And it's hard to imagine how toasted hazelnut ice cream could be bad. It wasn't. It was anything but bad.
I enjoyed this meal a lot. It wasn't my absolute favorite. It didn't stand out in a special, creative way the way Aquavit or Del Posto or Le Bernardin did. But it was solidly and truly delicious. Every course (of my meal) was well conceived and expertly executed and the flavors were rich and sometimes delicate, like good French cooking ought to be.
Incidentally, while we were dining, there was a woman adjacent to us dining alone (or at least seated alone). She was enjoying a very leisurely, very elaborate meal of several courses with what looked like champagne. One of two waiters stood by her side at all times as she ate, chatting with her when she wanted to talk and waiting on her every whim. We wondered who she was; we didn't recognize her. Perhaps a food critic. Perhaps a relative of Daniel Boulud's. Perhaps she was someone famous. I have no idea. But she appeared, not surprisingly, to really be enjoying her meal. And at the next table, so were we. And I think that's the basic beauty of restaurant week and why it's one of my all-time favorite NYC traditions. I look forward to winter restaurant week already.
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