Jean Georges (Nougatine Room), July 6, 2007

Jean Georges

I know that Top Chef tapes several weeks (maybe more) prior to when we see it and that what I'm about to say probably has no real relavence, but Lia is back in the kitchen at Jean Georges. So take that for what it's worth.

Another great meal to cap off a wonky work week - being that the 4th was smack in the middle of it.

Since I had watermelon (in addition to my daily banana) for breakfast today, I figured I'd follow up with the chilled watermelon gazpacho with tomato, cucumber and lemon thyme. This, like most soups at JG, was good. But there is often something slightly funny too. The peach soup last week had a weird color, this week the watermelon soup, if you will, was a bit too oily. Now don't get me wrong, it was great, but the soup looked a little bit too much like the bottom of the bowl after you've finished the tuna tartare at Jean Georges. Beautiful colors of pink, red, orange and yellow but slightly slick-like. Here's a before and after (tableside pour).

The same pork dish I had last week was on the prix fixe menu again this week. Perhaps it sold well...or then again, perhaps it didn't? In any case, I wasn't going to order it again and instead got the slow-cooked sea bream with market radish and scallion salad and crushed plum jus. The salad wasn't a salad exactly but the dish as a whole was very tasty. I certainly ordered from the same side of the color wheel again. So far I've had a very light meal but full of flavor, textures and color.

To finish up, I ordered the Pistachio cake with white chocolate panna cotta, strawberry compote and cherry sorbet. This was good, nothing great - with the highlight being the compote.

Service was quick today. I was in and out within 40 minutes. Fantastic.