NYCulinarian

If you are in the mood for a flawlessly executed meal, cooked using the freshest, seasonal produce, served to you by friendly but professional staff, do yourself a favor and make a reservation at Blue Hill. The Obamas did. Blue Hill, here in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, is the older sibling to Blue Hill at Stone Barns, which shares land with the farm that provides both restaurants with many of their ingredients. 

Yesterday night–just eight days after the first couple had “date night” there–Dave, his Columbia classmate David (confusing, I know), and I had dinner in the cozy, subterranean restaurant. The space was smaller than I expected, and the tables are fairly close together, but all this allows for a feeling of intimacy, both with your table as well as with your fellow diners.

Shortly after we were seated, and after the boys ordered their beers, these mini baguettes arrived. They were warm and crusty, just what I needed to take the edge off of my immense hunger (I had pretty much skipped lunch in anticipation of dinner). After we placed our order, a delightful selection of farm-fresh vegetables was brought to the table for us to munch on.

Our appetizers were as follows, in order, mine, Dave’s, David’s:
Stone Barns bordeaux spinach and ramp ravioli
Crushed potatoes (and salami) 

Eleven greenhouse greens and herbs
Roasted and confit mushrooms, lettuce and mustard vinaigrette

Maine crabmeat
Stone Barns focea lettuce, dandelion greens and pine nuts, yogurt sorbet

All three were delicious. My ravioli, which I ordered sans salami, was the perfect texture, and the filling was a nice balance of delicate spinach with some bite from the ramps. Dave’s salad, which I had criticized as a boring choice, was anything but. The mushrooms were woody and flavorful, and the dressing was sublime; served, creatively, on a slab of stone. I only had a small bite of David’s crab, but what I did taste was tender and well-seasoned.

For my main course, I went with wreckfish with vegetable pistou, asparagus and sugar snap peas. Once I got used to the somewhat gamey texture, I was able to really enjoy my dish. The delicate green pistou got better with every mouthful.

The boys both had grass fed lamb with asparagus, broccoli rabe and fiddlehead ferns. The lamb was “tender and juicy, and worked well with the vegetables because they weren’t overpowering and didn’t take attention away from the meat.” 

A special surprise: after we ordered dessert, our waiter arrived with three wine glasses and poured us all a complemental digestif: a slightly sparkling red wine called Brachetto d’Acqui. Brachetto is the name of the grape and Acqui a city in northern Italy. The wine was sweet, with hints of raspberries, and paired very well with the strawberry deserts that David and I ordered.

Without further ado, our desserts:

First of the season strawberries
Semolina pudding and fromage blanc sorbet

I wish I had a better photo of this, it was light and just the right size. The tart sorbet went well with the sweet berries and spongy cake.

Chocolate bread pudding
Chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream

The taste of this dessert was very satisfying, but calling it bread pudding is a bit of a misnomer. Molten brownie would be a better description of the perfectly cut square that arrived with ice cream on top. Chocolate bread pudding (which Dave fell in love with when we had dinner at Gramercy Tavern in March) should look a little more rustic, have a few more lumps. 

Hudson Valley vanilla cream
Strawberries, almonds and strawberry ice cream 

David’s dessert–a fancy parfait–was also quite good. Fruity and cold, with a nice crunch from the almonds.

I left Blue Hill full but not stuffed, and incredibly satisfied. I would say that it was the best meal that I’d had since our dinner up at Stone Barns last fall. Dave disagrees. He really liked Blue Hill, but still rates Gramercy Tavern a bit higher. I’m not surprised, as he’s more of a traditionalist while I’m more of what Dave calls an “urban locavore.” That said, we both agree that Blue Hill was well worth the expensive price tag, and that we’ll definitely go back.