Gabriel Kreuther — Savorsome

Walking off of Bryant Park, Gabriel Kreuther's entrance is so large you assume it’s apart of the school that seems to surround it, but once you've cleared up the confusion of the entrance you enter into a tastefully designed, circular shaped, restaurant. The surrounding temple like wood beams, that enclose the tables around the gorgeous kitchen, is the first of many grandiose choices this new New York City restaurant has taken to assure you they are serious.

I met to have dinner with my mom and her fabulous former boss Stu, and what a meal we had. The tasting menu "prix-fixe" is the way to go, including 4 courses, 3 savory dishes, and 1 dessert. We started with a cocktail inspired amuse bouche which wasn’t incredible, but was certainly creative.

My first course was the white asparagus chilled soup. This was atop some delicious herbs and grains that gave texture to this rich and flavorful soup. I wouldn't say this to be the most memorable of dishes, but the simplicity and delicacy of the spring vegetable was a beautiful way to start off a meal. The foie gras layered with truffles that Stu had, was definitely the better choice. Sent over to the table, as a gift was the incredible caviar course, which was a play on breakfast, and had a light and airy hollandaise sauce in a thin tart crust and topped with incredibly fresh salty caviar. Both of course went impeccably with the white Chateauneuf de Pape we had with our first 3 courses.

The following course was a soft shell crab dish, which was good, surrounded in a sweet summer sauce that was defiantly the winning taste of the plate, but when I ordered it, I hadn’t expected it to be fried, and was a bit overwhelming, especially being one of six courses. Stu was the best at ordering at this dinner, his lobster dish for this course, was much lighter and impeccably done, definitely some ordering envy here.

But this was all forgotten by the final savory course of wagyu beef. Seared to the ideal medium rare, and topped with a flawless flavorful sauce, this was the highlight of the night for me. The only disappointment was that I didn’t save more room for it. This was accompanied with the bottle of Opus One we had, which was perfection. The dessert was either a cheese or sweet option, and we all opted for cheese, but they sent out a bite of dessert, which was tasty, along with a plate of cheese bites for us all to share. The final trick of the night was their homemade chocolates and pretzel sticks, which were adorable and charming of course.

This was one of my favorite meals I’ve had in a while, not only because the food was delicious, but because Gabriel Kreuther is an expert at making sure not to miss a beat. They have the finest silverware in America, with the highest silver content imported in the US, which rests on an exquisite piece of hand cut leather, both of which we were told they secretly monitor at each table and have had to chase people out of the restaurant for. Even at dessert, when they presented us with chocolates, they were placed in a dried and carved out cocoa bean, just to drive the underlying feeling you have your entire meal, that they have truly created something exquisite in only a year. Can’t wait to be back for next season’s tasting menu.