Thursday, July 24, 2008

Not So Recent Meal at 10 Arts

A while ago I promised you devoted readers a review of 10 Arts. I had this great, long review, that any English teacher would approve of, however due to some major snafu's, it got deleted. Since it's all on the computer, and I can't use the "my dog ate it" excuse, I decided to tell you guys the truth. I however have decided to post a few pics from the meal, with some commentary.
That's the humongous, awesome wine cellar.




What my waiter ingeniously called a "fruitatini."

Mmmm, pate en croute. Mini pork pies.

That's braised pork belly with bean ragout and an herb vinaigrette. Mom wouldn't share :(

That's my appetizer, "Grilled (guess it's not much of a ceviche now is it) octopus ceviche." Flavor was definitely there, but octopus was slightly tough for my liking. Octopus at Lacroix for brunch is better (I'm not being blackmailed).

Rabbit Paillard with arugula/sweet pea salad and mustard sauce. Basically rabbit scalloppini. It was two flat slices of rabbit with mustard and some greens, and yep, that's it. I was expecting a little more out of an entree. The rabbit was good (too lazy to check the thesaurus), and the mustard sauce brightened it up. No new, bold, interesting flavors here. Not worth the money.

Trout, bok choy, hazelnut brown butter. Didn't taste this one. She's a looker though ain't she?

Cheesecake! and strawberry sorbet.

Delicious apricot sorbet, with a few cookies.

Beignets (I hope I spelled that right).

Wild strawberry sorbet. Tried this, delicious.

10 Arts was definitely good and worth going. The slightly expensive prices paired with mediocre food however, may delay your return. Though there are some other "playful" items I would like to try from the lounge menu (soft pretzels with cheddar sauce and jalapeno jam, mini fish burgers, etc.) 10 Arts ultimately falls into the category of a big name (Eric Ripert), no game restaurant- a foodie's worst enemy. Haha just kidding. I wouldn't go that far. Besides, I only went once, and that was opening night! Overall though, it just doesn't seem like Ripert has got his heart and soul put into this one like he does at Le Bernardin. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself.

2 comments:

marthadotcom said...

Hey, I offered you a bite of the fish and you didn't take me up on it! Too bad, it was magical.
And, we've been back to the bar try the pretzels with jalapeno jam. The jam was pretty darn good.
I've been thinking about that meal... it wasn't transcendent, but it really did showcase local ingredients. He could have gone the easy route and shipped in the finest ingredients from around the globe to wow your palate, but he decided to pay homage to the locale. I think that is certainly commendable. Not to say it doesn't need work.

Nick N said...

Hi Martha, I know. Wasn't trying to make you seem like the bad guy. Yea the local influence is definitely there. Perhaps I was judging my meal based on Le Bernardin standards. Sorry that took so long to get up.