Seasonal Restaurant and Weinbar

22. July 2009 Anglo-Euro, Midtown 0

132 West 58th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues
212/957.5550
$120 for two, with drinks, without tip
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I finished dinner at Seasonal with a smile on my face. Really. I had heard about their wine list and I wanted to check it out to see wine labels I’ve never heard of. I accomplished that at Seasonal and took notes of the Austrian bottles that I ended up liking, but I also decided to stay after I had a quick look of their menu.

True to their name, everything on the menu featured seasonal ingredients. It was beginning to feel like a New York City summer outside, but the produce in the markets are still catching up to spring because of the unusual weather we’ve been having. The amuse bouche of cauliflower soup was a good start to what we were about to eat. There was a small amount of foam to entice you to slurp a small cupful of broth. What could have been a boring vegetable soup was made exciting by the seasonings added to it. So as soon as we saw the pea soup, or the erbsensuppe, we jumped on it. It was so thin and light, yet the smoked bacon and pickled onions came through so strongly. I’ve never had a vegetable soup so clear as this one and still bold on flavors.

I couldn’t resist the Allgäuer Mountain cheese ravioli because they came with morels and fava beans. I don’t know if I can describe a more perfect combination of spring produce than this. We had a difficult time choosing an entree we could share without breaking the bank, but we ended up settling with the veal because it was poached in oxtail consommé. I love it when a restaurant gets consommé right. (And why shouldn’t they?) Seasonal’s version was that rich amber color with so much flavor but without a trace of fat in it. I think we kept commenting on how clear it was while we passed the bowl between us.

If I had an extra $30, I would have ordered the lamb with ramps, hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and parsnip root purée. I would have also liked to try the veal cheeks with spatzle and the wild salmon and halibut combination with poached quail egg and mustard sauce. Clearly, I already have reasons to make a return visit and take a second look at that wine list.