We try to always have a special meal whilst in New York. My sister asked if we wanted to go back to Eleven Madison Park since they have changed their format to an extravagant 18-course meal but I wanted to try something a bit different. Along the same line with the same chef, Daniel Humm is the much talked about NoMad restaurant located in the NoMad hotel.
The restaurant is dark, and even my very fast lens had difficulty without stabilising it on a glass in the dark. Comfy red velour cushions dot the benches, and dark wood panelling finish off the decorations.
After doing some preparatory reading, we knew what to have for our main and desserts, but unsure about the start. We make our choices and then order. Very good bread (i.e. focaccia) arrives soon after.
We start with some roasted cauliflower and mushrooms served with a poached egg. Both at extremely high prices considering the base cost of the ingredients, but I guess it’s consistent with the rest of the other dishes. Next time I would skip it and go straight for the main course as these cold dishes didn’t do anything particularly spectacular.
We order the “famous” roast chicken for two that comes with heft price tag. It is rather decadent with a foie-gras, brioche and truffle spread under the skin of a whole chicken for two. Slow cooked and basted with butter, the chicken is then presented at the table-side before being returned to the kitchen to be finished prepared in two ways. If you want to know about how they prepare this, read this article as I cannot do it any more justice.
The chicken being presented.
The brown meat.
And the beautiful chicken itself. Although the meat amount looks small compared to the rest of the dish, it is one of the most delicious chicken preparations I have ever had. The skin is crispy and full of flavour. The white meat super juicy and best eaten in combination. The dark meat, rich with full of umami and just so, so delicious.
The meal didn’t stop there as we headed into dessert. Fingers crossed they still offered the dish I had read about before joining. Yes!
The lemon tart is so well executed, beautifully presented and unlike and like those you have had before. From this post:
On first glance, the tart appears to be surrounded by a thin, shiny layer of caramel or mousse. In fact, the covering is made of shortbread. Welker explains that they start with a classic French-style tarte citron that’s baked in a half sheet pan before the lemony discs are punched out and frozen. Then a traditional almond flour-based shortbread is pureed in a blender until the heat melts the butter, creating a molten mixture. The discs are then dropped in liquid nitrogen and then dipped into the shortbread batter. The shortbread coating solidifies as soon as it comes into contact with the cold lemon discs.
Divine!
Name: NoMad
Found at: 1170 Broadway, New York, USA
Website: http://www.thenomadhotel.com/#/dining