A few weeks ago, I experienced what I can only say is the best meal deal in New York City. Nougatine at Jean Georges is the “bar” section of the famed Jean Georges. Though they share the same kitchen, some of the menu items, and a smidgen of the stuffiness, I can only imagine that they do differ on your culinary value/return.
Here is what we got on our pre-theatre (served only 5:30 to 6:30) prix fixe:
- Jalapeno cheddar fritter skewered over a shooter of cream of tomato basil soup
- Tuna tartar on a bed of chopped avocado, topped with spicy radish and a ginger marinade
- Slow smoked salmon atop a small mountain of baby carrots and baby beets
- Crispy roasted chicken served with sautéed trumpet mushrooms
- Warm chocolate molten cake with vanilla bean ice cream
The amuse-bouche fritter was a complete surprise as it was not only not on the menu (a “gift” from the chef), but deceptively exploded in your mouth, oozing of warm, fluid spicy cheddar cheese. Then came the tuna tartar – a sweet tower of diced ahi crowning a salad of melt-in-your-mouth avocado. I could have easily eaten a half-dozen plates of this. What followed were what seemed to be full-blown entrée-sized plates of the salmon and chicken. I’m not a big salmon person but I was a member of the Clean Plate Club on that one. By the time the chicken came around, I was sufficiently stuffed and had to enlist Jim to help me finish. But wait, there’s more – dessert! The chocolate molten cake was everything I have always wanted my homemade molten cake to be but never achieved – fudgy but simultaneously delicate and crispy on the outside, fudgy hot chocolatey lava on the inside. A glass of tawny port (not included in the prix fixe) capped a perfect end to the bestest meal deal I’ve ever had. It makes me a bit teary eyed, in astonishment and amazement, at the quality and quantity of food this four-star restaurant churned out – all for $38.
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