Seasonal – Austrian/American (new) – Midtown West – NYC Restaurant Reviews | donuts4dinner.com
When my boyfriend suggested Seasonal Restaurant & Weinbar because it was awarded a Michelin star this year, I pictured a lively Austrian pub type place with comforting foods like bratwurst and sauerkraut and girls named Brunhilda serving them. What I got was a sleek formal dining room with an inventive menu that put me in the mind of wd-50 or Degustation.
This is one of those unfortunate cases where I had the dinner a couple of months ago and was so overwhelmed by the idea of writing about all of the awesomeness I experienced, so pardon my slim review and (hopefully) enjoy the photos.
The tasting menu:
octopus amuse bouche
I basically love anything with one of these green purees. They always taste so refreshing, and they make me think I’m eating something more exciting than leafy vegetables. I’d be so healthy if my life involved more green purees.
salmon with some sort of awesome powder stuff and the BEST, most flavorful microgreens
white asparagus soup, rock shrimp, morcilla, spring onion
I’ve had an interest in white asparagus since Leah said on season 5 of “Top Chef” that it’s her least-favourite ingredient (because, you know, she’s my least-favourite “Top Chef” contestant). Besides tasting fresh and springy, it also has the dubious honor of being the vegetable most resembling a penis. Win-win!
sweetbread, celery root, onion
The best-looking sweetbread you’ve ever seen, am I right?
soft poached egg, lobster, maitake, porcini
This might be the dish that really brings me around to mushrooms. I can handle mushroom flavor but hate the look of the things, so putting them in a foam is genius. And hiding the other kind of mushroom underneath that foam is über-genius. I think this may have been my favourite dish of the night because it was difficult and yet delicious.
trout, goat cheese, pumpkin seed, radish
wagyu, parsley root, black garlic, cipollini, lime
I still think about this dish once a day. There is no reason that lime flavor and steak go together, and the fact that they not only go together but bring out all of the best flavors in each other is mindboggling.
I have no idea what this was, but it really looks exciting, right?
extra dessert!
New York, NY 10019 (map)