Jean Georges, Nougatine Room, June 28, 2007

Jean Georges (Nougatine Room)

Trump International Hotel

This will sound a little silly but this was the first time I had trouble ordering from either side of the lunch menu at Jean Georges. Most of the stuff on the a la carte (right) side of the menu I've either had or was simply unwilling to spend for today (e.g., lobster for $42).

The prix fixe offerings (left side of the menu), which changes every Wednesday, didn't quite jump out at me either.

Flummoxed, I decided to go for the prix fixe and ordered the soup, pork and fruit dessert. Obviously that's not a fair representation, so we'll go step by step. But first - service from the kitchen to the table (or in my case, bar) has been a bit sluggish lately. I waited a long time for my entree. What up crew? Also, noticeably absent was the girl who's competing on Top Chef and JG himself.

Appetizer

The peach soup, which was more orange in color than I think even they'd hoped for, was cooled to the right temp, blended perfectly and, despite the slightly strange color, very good - though bordering on too sweet. I think I have to blame the peaches, which have been delicious this year. The soup was poured over some finely diced peaches, flowers of some kind and a lemon yogurt. Topping it off was a dash of cinnamon. Interesting dish. I'd probably never order it again, and wouldn't if I hadn't been left with the options described above. But still good.

Entree

It was either this or salmon. Having cooked up some great wild salmon at home earlier in the week, I decided to try JG's take on pork. The pork was cooked well and was no doubt delicious, but I think this was a rather basic dish that could be replicated by anyone with access to the same products. The pork sat on a slightly over-salted bed of rainbow chard next to a brush stroke of plum sauce. Good, not great and, to be perfectly frank, not exciting at all - but still a good value from a cost perspective.

Dessert

I stuck with the early summer fruit theme and ordered an apricot/peach dish that consisted of peaches (good), apricots (eh) a plum sorbet (awesome) on top of a shortbread cookie of sorts (good). Overall, nothing outstanding save for the plum sorbet. But still good.

Drink

It's hard to say no to one of the few places serving Gerwutztraminer juice, so I had a glass. Probably a mistake though this time because of the naturally sweet dishes I chose. Oh well.

Bread and Butter

It should also be noted that they are now serving two pieces of bread, per person it seems. The bread is very good, but I think supplying two pieces per person is assuming too much and also wasteful. Speaking of bread, my friend Rob Seixas has an article about bread on Zagat.com. You can read it here: (link will be added soon).