http://www.writingwithmymouthfull.com/

462 Broadway corner of Grand Street
212/219.3300
about $120 for two, with four drinks, with tip
♥

L’Ecole’s five-course dinner is probably the city’s lowest-priced prix fixe at $40, but at that unbelievable price, how does the food taste? Well, like $8 apiece. The restaurant prides itself in using sustainable seafood but I missed any information about their meat and vegetable sources. I assume they buy everything from the farmers’ market, but I wonder how they afford to charge less than $10 a plate if that was the case.

An appetizer of asparagus with crumbled chorizo sounded great but came out tasteless. I understood that the pan tomate with Manchego cheese was included to round up a Spanish-inspired dish, but they were disconnected here and the triangle of a sandwich needed to spend a little more time on the grill press.

The scallops were presented well in a row of shells topped with roe. They would have made great amuse bouches as they were actually lighter than the ones we received made of pancake batter.

I looked forward to my trout served in a curried mussel broth on a bed of baby bok choy, but the fish was under-seasoned and no amount of curry rescued it from blandness. The fluke was immemorable with braised cabbage and mushrooms. My Cornish hen needed some sauce to make the white meat taste like something. I thought the rhubarb that came with the duck would have been a perfect accompaniment because I’ve always cooked and eaten Cornish hens with tarty flavors like pomegranate. The duck triumphed as the best dish of the night. The duck breast was perfectly seared while the leg was braised with rhubarb presented, oddly, like Lincoln Logs. However, the bottom half of a side of rice was dipped in the leftover duck sauce and was an unnecessary addition.

We were pretty much satiated with mediocrity by the time we had to order our desserts, so we opted to share the cake with blueberry compote because it came with olive oil ice cream. We just didn’t want to waste any more food.

At L’Ecole, the ingredients used were not a problem. I’m sure there are talented students at the International Culinary Center, but they need to tighten their execution and add some finesse in their cooking to translate what they want to convey on their diners’ plates. I half-expected a professor in the kitchen tasting everything before going out, but it seemed like the students were pretty much on their own. Our waiter was really accommodating, but his every move was ruined by the too-lazy busboy who haphazardly stacked up all our utensils on our plates before briskly taking them way after each course–he just couldn’t wait to get out of there. We couldn’t either.

Related post/s:
SoHo needs better restaurants. Spend your $40 at Bar Bossa instead. At least, they’re consistent.
Savoy for local ingredients

7 Spring Street between Elizabeth and Bowery
212/777.0877
about $120 for two, with wine pairings, with tip
♥

The $15,000 Enomatic Enoline 8 machine was in place behind the bar when I visited with a friend, but it wasn’t functioning. Tonight’s not the night if you were in the mood for a $90 glass of wine, our friendly bartender told us. The expensive toy is an argon gas preservation system which keeps wine fresh after it’s uncorked for up to two months–I’ve only used it to decide which bottles to buy from Union Square Wines.

Noble Food and Wine has been quiet even though it opened in mid-September. It first made news with the machine and it made a buzz again when chef Daniel Dorado, previously of Marema, reportedly walked out several weeks later. This hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the space looked like it was waiting for a party that refused to start. Maybe because it was six days before Christmas, but we felt a little weird for being the only two people there for dinner time.

We sat and drank at the bar instead of the lower-level dining room with Philippe Starck furnitures–our bartender seemed like he needed some company. He was attentive without being too obtrusive. To make up for the Eno, he generously let us share our wine pairings. We started with a half dozen oysters with sparkling wine. The busboy wasn’t exactly sure which were the Kumamotos from the Blue Points, but our bartender came back to the rescue and clarified. The perfectly-cooked serving of seared scallops came with a nice glass of white from Oregon and the Berkshire pork chops with honey-glazed apples and sautéed spinach were served with a full-body red. We weren’t sure what wines we were drinking anymore, but we both thought that it was just a sign that we were actually having an okay time.

When it was time for dessert, we also split the goat cheesecake. Our bartender proved that he was really paying attention to his only two customers of the night because he served it with a lit candle after he overheard that my birthday was coming up. Thankfully, two more couples walked in before we paid our bill. We didn’t feel as bad when we left to join the revelry outside.

We appreciated our bartender, but I’m afraid Eater.com’s Deathwatch is looming over Noble Food and Wine.

Related post/s:
Tequila and Mexican at Cafe El Portal just around the corner

79 MacDougal Street off Houston
212/260.0100
about $45 each for two, with tip
♥

I’ve been wanting to go to Smith’s since it opened, but every time I would remember to walk by, they always give me an estimated hour-long wait. One Monday night, I was able to get a table for two on short notice. The place was full, but when I asked our waitress if we can chill with our drinks first before ordering anything, she told us we can stay as long as we want because it wasn’t going to be a busy night. I was so glad to hear that, too, because I was losing faith with restaurant servers due to most recent experiences. Our waitress continued to be attentive and pleasant the entire night.

When we finally started to feel hungry, we ordered several small plates to share. I loved the squid, charred with lemon, olives and pancetta bits, and I thought it was a good match with the heavier, more substantial artichoke pasta with black truffles. A steamed egg with Gorgonzola and polenta was a sophisticated dish even though I feel like foams have come and gone. The Portuguese sardines were butterflied and were quite tasty with tomato confit, but oh, is that more foam? I loved how crunchy the fish was but the small bones were cumbersome in my mouth. One even pricked my gums and I had to excuse myself and go to the bathroom to pull it out.

Either we were getting more drunk as we sampled dish after dish, or that our choice of sparkling wine really matched everything we ordered. Even the roasted beets became more interesting–I love beets, don’t get me wrong–but with creamy horseradish and a nutty flavor, it was a nice complement to the corzetti pasta and earthy mushrooms.

I loved Smith’s for its location and coziness more than the food itself, but that strip off Houston is so unexciting otherwise I’d definitely come back to make sure it gets a share of my business.

Related post/s:
Foam and Alinea in Chicago
Another small space, but on the other side of the city