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Daniel

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ext212
ext212
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5 out of 5
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2
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Editor Pick

Daniel

  • October 19, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by artslover from Calgary, Alberta
Daniel

Daniel was rated one of the top restaurants in America by Gourmet magazine. Our experience suggests the high rating is well deserved. The Daniel experience starts with the elegant look of the restaurant. The dining room is very architectural with columns, arches and draperies surrounding the main dining area with additional tables on a slightly elevated area surrounding. There is a hum of noise but somehow, we never really heard others’ conversations intruding into our conversation. The colours create a warm golden look, classical music plays softly in the background, and the staff are calm, polite, and efficient. It all makes for a rather intimate feel when dining.

Dinner started with a three tiered tray of amuse bouches. We enjoyed them while reviewing the menu and the very extensive wine list. A tasting menu or a three course prix-fixe is offered. The prix fixe is $96 with supplements, $15, for example, if you pick dishes such as foie gras.

For starters, we had a classic seared fois gras with poached fruit, one of the best my dinner companion had ever had. I had a chicken consomme which was delicate and light but punctuated with the contrasting rich pieces of fois gras and the texture of bits of pasta. Mains were the duo of beef which consisted of some very tasty braised short ribs with a rib steak. It also came with an incredibly flavourful potato accompaniment. I had rack of lamb, one rib done with African spices, the other with a paprika crust. They were both very good as was the eggplant and peppers which accompanied it. We had what we thought was a very reasonably priced bottle of aged Bordeaux from a very good year with our meal. Although we were getting full, we had to order dessert. I found Daniel’s dessert menu was set up like my ideal, one side listed all chocolate desserts, the other side listed everything else. S had the hot chocolate souffle and I had the chocolate praline which looked so beautiful with a thin ribbon of chocolate curved over the top and a piece of gold foil, I almost did not eat it. But I am not that foolish. It was as delicious as it was beautiful. This was followed by a plate loaded with petit fours which I had no room left to sample.

Service was very attentive and friendly with a bit of theatre; when you receive your plate, the sauces are added at the table as the server explains your dish. The sommelier, a female, which has been rare in my experience, was very knowledgeable. Daniel seems to define the notion of gracious dining.

Our dinner made for a fabulous start to our vacation and the stresses of our delayed flight were soothed away by the end of our wonderful meal.

From journal Entertainment in New York City

Editor Pick

Best French Dining Experience: Daniel

  • January 28, 2004
  • Rated 5 of 5 by ext212 from New York, New York
Best French Dining Experience: Daniel

Daniel is one of Daniel Boulud's New York City restaurants and has been rated by Michelin and The New York Times with four stars more than once. It's that kind of restaurant with those kind of people, so my boyfriend and I needed a big event to celebrate for us to have an excuse to eat here. We're not getting married anytime soon so the best we can do is to celebrate finishing my boyfriend's first year of med school.

A few weeks before, I had spoken to chef Alex Lee when he was interviewed for an online magazine, generationrice. We talked about his becoming-a-chef story and his history with Daniel Boulud. We were also given a tour of the Daniel kitchen that counts as one of my most amazing experiences in New York City. He let us in before dinner time and we saw the production kitchen, the coffee kitchen, the French and the American kitchens, plus the dessert room where we tasted chocolates made in-house from layers and layers of trays in the fridge.

Of course, all that only added to the real dining experience. We returned a few weeks later for dinner and Alex Lee did not forget us. Our waiter kept serving us different dishes from the head chef himself even though we'd already ordered our appetizers and main dishes. Wine was brought out to match each course and in between meals, there were cheeses, chocolates and soups.

We were just delirious with the whole experience and when the bill came out THREE hours later, we could have detached our arms and legs to pay for it (or promised our future children to sell) but then read the note that said, "70% complimentary" on it.

You see? It's all about WHO you know!

From journal Eat in New York City but don't let New York City eat you!

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