yaokui: Jean-Georges

Address: 1 Central Park West, New York

http://www.jean-georges.com/

Phone: 212-299-3900

To celebrate my 30^th Birthday, Gan brought me to Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s NYC flagship restaurant, Jean-Georges in Trump International Hotel and Tower for dinner. Since Jean-Georges is one of the three restaurants in NYC awarded with a 3 Michelin star (Michelin guide is one of my food bibles in case you haven’t noticed), I was really excited about eating there.

My first impression of the restaurant was not too good. I thought the hostesses were not the most helpful and friendly people. But lucky for us, our waiter, Sandy, was very pleasant.

After analyzing the menu for a bit, Gan and I decided to go with the Chef Tasting Menu. I chose the Classic Jean-Georges Tasting Menu while Gan went with the Spring Tasting Menu. We later conclude that I had chosen the more “masculine” tasting menu (where the dishes were heavier) while Gan chose the lighter, more “girly” tasting menu. Very Funny!

Overall we thought the tasting menu was not bad, with some hits and misses. We thought the non-meat dishes were done amazingly- the ingredients were very fresh and the sauces and seasoning were absolutely remarkable. We especially LOVE the Turbot with Chateau Chalon Sauce, Green Asparagus with Morels and Asparagus Juice, and Sashimi of Madai with Muscat Grapes and Herbal Emulsion. We didn’t like the meat dishes that much- the lamb lacked seasoning and the squab was too chewy. Desserts too were not particularly exciting; I did not even care to finish the desserts.

If I go back to the restaurant again, I would probably order seafood and skip the meat and desserts. It was a very nice dinner but I think I like Le Bernardin better.

We originally wanted the Zind-Humbrecht Muscat Alsace but it was not available. The sommelier recommended Domaine Weinbach's Muscat Reserve which was fruity and delicious.