The restaurant offers a fixed price menu of 3 courses (appetizer, main course, dessert) and costs $28, a ridiculously good deal for the quality of food you are served. Of course I saw a few other things on the menu that I wanted to try so the price of my meal (sorry mom) increased pretty significantly.
I've never had foie gras, which I find a little odd considering how much I love food and how universally accepted the duck or goose liver is as a delicacy. It's not that I was ever turned off by the idea of eating foie gras, as much as that I've never really been to a restaurant that I felt could do the foie gras justice. So naturally when I see the "foie gras brulee" on the menu, I knew instantly what my first dish would be. Doesn't it look wonderful?!
The round piece of foie gras was topped with caramelized sugar and sprinkled with sea salt, the whole thing resting gently on an equally round piece of toast. The small dish that accompanied the plate was filled with some kind of fruit puree (it has been a while, and I forgot exactly what it tasted like).
If there is only one thing I could stress to you it is, go eat foie gras now! I know it may creep you out a little, but get over it, it's hands down the single best thing I've ever eaten in my life. The richness and creaminess of the duck liver combined with the sweet crunch of the brulee and the sea salt, and the crisp but chewy toast was unreal. The reason I forgot what was in the little dish was because I didn't even make it to that side of the plate. I was so mesmerized by how something could taste so good that I completely ignored the (probably delicious) fruit.
After trying something new, I wanted to try something familiar, and tuna is one of the most familiar menu items in my daily meals. The tuna tartare sounded interesting and I knew the quality of fish here would be second only to maybe Le Benardin.
When the appetizer came out it looked more like a sculpture that a plate of food, with contrasting colors and a vertical presentation that made me wonder how each radish stayed perfectly in place as the server carried them through the long dining room.
The fish was among the freshest I've had, as well as the avocado (which is hands down my favorite fruit), and was sitting in a pool of a perfectly balanced sauce that had flavors of yuzu, ginger, and chili. It created a wonderful mix of sweet, spicy, bitter, and salty, all working to accent the tuna. The sliced radishes added a needed crunch and were equally as fresh as the other ingredients.
Ok so now we'll begin the 3-course tasting menu. First we have the crab toast.
The first thing that popped into my head when I saw this is, "How the hell do I eat this?"
I wasn't sure if the crab salad-topped toast were meant to be wrapped in the large lettuce leaves, or whether the small 'salad' was only there to accompany the toast and be eaten separately. I opted for the second choice, although in hindsight I think I would've enjoyed it more had I wrapped it up.
The flavors were mediocre and somewhat unforgettable. Don't get me wrong, it was the best crab salad I can ever remember eating, but it's still crab salad on toast, pretty boring no matter how you spice it up.
For my entree I chose the BBQ pork belly with crispy sushi rice.
This was almost as good as the foie gras, but on a completely different level. If you're not familiar with pork belly, just think of a giant uncut chunk of bacon that is slow cooked until freakishly tender, then seared to create a thin crispy crust. The piece of meat is probably 65-70% fat, but that's why it's so amazing. The fat melts instantly when put in your mouth, and the attached pork meat is unbelievably tender and requires little to no chewing.
The sushi rice was a little on the dry side, but had a great flavor and the crispy crust on the outside of the rice was a welcome change from the melt-in-your-mouth quality of the pork belly.
For dessert I ordered the 'mango soup' with angel food cake, fresh diced fruit, and a sorbet of which I have since forgotten the flavor. While extremely refreshing and flavorful, the dessert ranked along the same lines as the crab toast for me, being a little too unexciting and regular for me.
Although the two dishes were rather boring, they were still executed perfectly and tasted great. However the foie gras, tuna, and pork belly all offered me something I have never tasted, which after all is why I'm eating all this food in the first place. Overall my trip to Jean Georges was memorable and I'm excited to try the more formal setting for dinner.
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