Bouley

Before we begin, let's respect, appreciate and then get over the David Bouley empire. I always try really hard not to go into these meals starry-eyed because then you really can't help but be disappointed. Unless maybe it's Jean Georges.

But I digress! We'll get to the food in a second, but I've gotta spend a few moments on the location and decor. The new Bouley is rather unassumingly situated on the corner of Duane and Hudson...even if you're looking for it, you won't necessarily find it. Thank goodness a doorman saw our perplexity and pointed us in the right direction. I rather like that it's not ostentatious, though. This locale is only mildly more noticeable than the old Jezebel in the Theatre District.

The foyer is shelved floor to ceiling and upon our visit, these shelves were filled with apples! Not real apples, but apples for decoration, which was an interesting twist. Even the door from the vestibule into the restaurant had some kitsch value as it is a kind of curved, french door.

Enter the restaurant. The hostess stand is almost immediately inside the door. To the right is a seating area, like a way more lush airport lounge. Our table was ready so we didn't need to sit, but suspect this is a more intimate version of a bar. Interesting! Would be curious to see the execution of that bar on another visit.

The furnishings inside are very french countryside. There are even private rooms downstairs which make me think this space, with the right menu, would be a wonderful place to hold an event.

Skipping ahead to the meal. They had a mildly robust gin selection, including Hendrick's and Plymouth. I went with Plymouth since it's the more obscure of the two, though both are fairly popular at this point. All of the appetizers looked mouth-watering. I wasn't at all interested in the shrimp and scallop one, but beyond that needed help from the server to decide. With her recommendation, I got the organic egg, which was wonderfully prepared. It's served in a coconut foam that isn't at all over-powering. The menu mentioned a steamed polenta that I didn't readily taste in mine. My friend got the porcini flan, which was more broth-like in nature, but she enjoyed it very much. For my entree, I got the skate. I'm on something of a skate kick now. I should have asked the server for her recommendation, but was so excited about the skate I didn't think about it. The English peas and asparagus served with the skate ended up better than the protein itself in the end, but I give Bouley points for the different preparation. Most people fry and he went out on a limb with this version. Didn't like it, but appreciated the effort. My dining-mate had the sea bass and cleaned her plate!

Dessert might have been the best part of the meal. I got the Pink & Plum, which was a duo of sorbets served with fruit inside a sugar cylinder. Very nicely done. My companion got the Chocolate Frivolous, which looked every bit as good as that sounds! And of course they sent us off with the requisite morning bread for breakfast the next day. Which was, indeed, good for breakfast the next day.

The surprise of the evening was the bread! They bring out bread in a sequence: First is an apple raisin roll, then a rosemary baguette, then a wheat and olive thing and the last we were served was a slice of raisin loaf. Amazingly, the rosemary baguette was standout. On future visits, I won't even bother with those other rolls and will probably ask for it specifically.

While I wasn't blown away, I do feel a future visit is in order. My bad call on the entree does not a lost restaurant make. Looking forward to the next visit.