http://www.writingwithmymouthfull.com/

50 Clinton Street between Stanton and Rivington Streets
212/477.2900
about $300 for two, with a bottle of wine, with tip
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Wylie Dufresne, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

1. Pickled beef tongue with fried mayonnaise and onion streusel. I loved the beef tongue carpaccio style; you can barely remember it was pickled. And fried and cubed mayonnaise? It was worth ordering just to find out how the hell they would do it.

2. Octopus with celery pesto, pineapple and tiny bits of mojama, or dry tuna, and marcona almonds. Celery pesto is something I’ve never had before.

3. Corned duck, rye crisp, purple mustard and horseradish. Our waiter told us this is the mainstay on the wd-50 menu and that it was an absolute must-try. He was right. The mini parsleys were a nice touch.

4. Root vegetable “lasagna” with sweet and sour mushroom broth. I tasted carrots, parsnip and burdock in there. Perhaps beets were not in season. Lasagna is in quotes because the familiar layering technique was used. The mushrooms were a delight to eat, but I wish this came in a smaller portion.

5. Rack of lamb, sauerkraut spaetzle, swiss cheese consommé. We finished a bottle of wine from Piedmont and all I remember about the lamb was that it melted in my mouth. We ordered medium, but it was definitely rare. Divine.

6. Kumquat confit, carob ice cream, or St. John’s Bread, a pea pod that looks like cocoa but without the caffeine, with soy caramel. The kumquat was chewy, but I wondered if it would be any softer if cooked longer.

7. Caramelized banana, smoked chocolate ice cream and stout. I have no clue how one would smoke ice cream, but we paused after every spoonful and asked, Is that bacon I taste?

8. Thin crisps in a wooden box. I had to ask our waiter to take them away because I couldn’t stop picking from it.

A very expensive meal for two, but worth every penny.

72 East 1st Street on First Avenue
212/358.7831
about $150 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

When people ask me for my top five restaurants in New York City, I rank Sushiden on five, Tom Colicchio’s Gramercy Tavern on four, Snack on three and Mario Batali’s Babbo in second place. I usually get a reaction when I tell them that The Tasting Room ranks first because they have never heard of it or because the proprietors are more famous at the farmers’ market than they are on FoodTV.

The Tasting Room is where I was introduced to ramps a couple of years ago. Ramps belong in the leek family and have the taste and smell of garlic and onions combined. Ours were served with very tender Moulard duck breast. I have been ramp farming every spring in Vermont since then. I don’t know any other restaurant in New York City where I can eat carpaccio, squab and to-die-for pork belly all in one seating.

I visited for a second time a couple of weeks ago to see the difference in their autumn menu. Again, my expectations were superseded. A friend and I started with the uni velouté and then the fluke tartare with roasted eggplant. The soup was perfect for the almost-winter weather outside; it could have been butternut squash because of the color but the distinct taste of the ocean was obviously there. We also ordered the rabbit terrine and the pheasant in three ways: rillettes, roasted breast meat and chopped liver. My dining partner definitely knew she wanted fish to match with her choice of white wine, so she picked the striped bass with smoked eel, pappas amarillos and roasted garlic. Maitake mushrooms are still in season so I chose them with scallops, turnips and celery root purée–simply delicious. The turnips and the celery made the maitake subtle, which sometimes could be overwhelming in taste and in smell, but the saltiness of the scallops brought all of them together. We opted for the cheesecake with red wine-braised pear to finish, which carried the namesake of the co-owner’s mother.

The space is tiny with about ten tables but the dishes speak volumes. You have a choice of tasting portions for all of their dishes or a share at double the amount. The service is attentive whether it’s to answer your questions (What the hell is salsify? What is burdock?) or to recommend one of their numerous bottles of domestic wine.

Updated, 2007: The Tasting Room is now a café and the restaurant has moved to a bigger space on Elizabeth Street off Houston.