New York's Restaurant Week concluded yesterday, and I finally got around to taking advantage of it. During Restaurant Week, participating restaurants -- and there are some really good ones -- offer a prix fixe (no, not this) three-course lunch for $20.04, or dinner for $30.04...a bargain indeed for high-end dining in Manhattan. So Thursday afternoon, I called and got a long-shot reservation for lunch the following day at Tabla.

Tabla is owned by Danny Meyer, who also owns Union Square Cafe (as previously referenced in these pages here and here), Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, and a bunch of other well-regarded places. After two visits to Union Square Cafe and one to Tabla, he's three-for-three in my book, and I can't wait to try all of his restaurants.

Tabla occupies a large mezzanine space in the former Metropolitan Life Building on Madison Square Park, at the corner of Madison and 25th. After you pass through an Art Deco doorway, you find yourself in Tabla's informal sibling, the Bread Bar (I'm gonna try this place out sometime, too). The hostess escorted me up a long staircase (with a colorful mosaic at the landing, featuring pomegranates, mangos, and other fruits), and into the dining room, all dark wood, chromed '30s Art Deco details, and mottled verdigris paint. Made me feel all sophisticated-like, it did. My table was right by the railing, and by turning around I could look down into the Bread Bar to see the bustle downstairs.

"But enough about the decor; what about the food?", you wonder. Good point. I'm getting to that. Jeff, my waiter, appeared and guided me through the menu. There were so many interesting-sounding things there that I let him make the decisions for me...after all, he's the pro. I started off with a lentil soup that was laced with ginger yogurt and leeks. It tasted almost like a French soup -- the lentil flavor was strong and good, and the consistency was very smooth. But it had a healthy ginger-spice zing to it that woke up my mouth right away. (My mother would hate this soup...too spicy for her.) It managed to pull off the very difficult trick of being both light and spicy at once. In the middle of the bowl lay a sliced leek with some other minced vegetables, which made for an interesting variation on the texture. Jeff had described the soup as "amazing", and I'd concur. When the soup arrived, so too did a basket of whole-wheat naan (apparently they have a naan du jour, although the adjacent table got a white-flour naan.)

I'd ordered the optional three-course wine pairing as well, and this course was accompanied by a good 2000 DeLoach Russian River Valley Chardonnay. It had a strong acidic green-apple flavor with a hint of buttery mouthfeel (not nearly as much as some others I've encountered), and in a nice change of pace from most California Chardonnays, it was balanced and wasn't over-oaked. (I think a lot of wineries think that because oak is good, lots of oak = better, and TREMENDOUS amounts of oak = best of all. Wrong, IMHO.) The wine was good indeed, but in retrospect I keep wondering how the other selection (a Riesling) might have gone with the soup.

My entree then arrived: pan-roasted mahi mahi, atop a cassoulet-like assemblage of white beans, Swiss chard, Linguica sausage, and teeny onions. I was intrigued by this dish because I couldn't picture a fish like mahi mahi with such hearty ingredients supporting it. The fish itself had been rubbed with some sort of spices or herbs before it was cooked, and it was very tender with a nice flavor. (For some reason, most times I order mahi mahi it's overcooked. This was just right.) The cassoulet underneath was fantastic -- the sausage lent it lots of oomph, and it worked better with the fish than I had imagined it would. One quibble: The dish was on the salty side, and that impression only strengthened the more I worked my way through it. I should note that I'm somewhat sensitive to salt and rarely find myself adding it to food...but by the time I was through with this dish I was gulping down my water.

The wine with this course was a 2000 Chateau Parenchere Bordeaux. It had good flavor and was soft and moderately tannic. It seemed a bit flat at first, but after I swirled it around some good fruit flavors opened up. Not a bad wine, but the Chardonnay I had in the previous course would have worked better, I think -- the acid would have nicely cut the rich saltiness.

Earlier in the meal, Jeff, the waiter, had noticed me taking notes on a postcard. He quite graciously told me that I could keep the menu and take notes on it if I liked...and he evidently mentioned this in the back room, because the manager dropped by my table after I'd finished my entree. He introduced himself, and offered up his card in case I had any questions. I told him that by no means am I any kind of high-powered critic and would only be writing this up for my personal website, but he persisted in treating me like I was William Grimes or someone with real power. I think this speaks to the quality of the staff, both at Tabla and its sister restaurants. Everyone from the hostesses to the managers to the waitstaff pays fanatical attention to detail and understands the concept of hospitality. I've felt genuinely welcomed and special when I've dined at USC and now Tabla, and I'm guessing that a large part of that feeling comes from their staff recruitment and training. (They really should give seminars to other restaurants.)

For dessert, Jeff had unhesitatingly suggested the vanilla-yogurt cake, and I followed his lead. I hadn't been too sure about it, but was glad I acquiesced, because it was wonderful. It had been cut in half, and arrived with a light orange-cardamom mousse sandwiched between the halves. The cake and mousse were accompanied by candied kumquats and yogurt cream. I'd never heard of "yogurt cream" before, and it was a revelation -- fluffy and dense like good whipped cream, but with a very subtle yogurtty tang. The cake itself had a strong clean vanilla flavor, and the textures of the cake and mousse provided a good contrast. (The candied kumquats were exactly as I'd pictured, and while not detracting, didn't do too much for me.) The orange-cardamom mousse was fantastic, and would have been a fine dessert on its own...but it achieved greatness in the context of the cake and yogurt cream.

Shortly after my dessert arrived, Jeff showed up with another dessert. He set it down, murmuring that I might enjoy taking notes on this one as well. (!) This one was a pear crostata with slightly crunchy (and not terribly flavorful, alas) baked pear slices arranged in wonderful (as good as my mom's) pastry. It came with ginger ice cream (very refreshing) and some spiced sour cherries. The plate was streaked with creme anglaise. A respectable dessert, but I'm glad Jeff recommended the vanilla-yogurt cake. (I finished the cake, but only had a few bites of the crostata.)

The wine for this course was easily my favorite, a 2002 "Dindarello" Moscato Fior D'Arancio from the Veneto. Honey-colored with big honey and floral flavor to match, finished off by a lovely apricot aftertaste, this was the best dessert wine I've ever had. (At least until someone leaves a bottle of Yquem on my doorstep.)

After that came coffee and the (nicely miniscule) check. (Viva Restaurant Week!) But wow...what a meal. It felt like such a shame to schlep from Tabla out into the cold rain and head to work. But I'll definitely be back, hopefully bringing B. along with me next time.

Comments

[tizzie]

Hey, quit steppin' on my turf, you! [/feigned outrage]

Sounds incredible! I need a piece of that yogurt cake, stat!