I am a big fan of Chef Daniel Boulud. Few years ago, Jodi and I had a little celebratory dinner at Daniel, his eponym fancy restaurant in New York City and we still talk about it (what was great is that they offered a vegetarian tasting on top of the regular tasting, but also, for each course, proposed two choices of dishes).
So, one Sunday, we decided to go to Bar Boulud for brunch. I love brunch: it is so good and comforting. As I have a good appetite, I decided to go for the three course prix fixe ($32). Jodi did not.
I liked the restaurant: the decor is simple and very "organic" with its light wood, but still modern with its tunnel shape.
If you go downstairs, you cannot miss the impressive wine cellar that I bet has some incredible bottles!
So here we are for brunch! I was so excited to try that place! Let's start with what Jodi ate as she only ordered one dish!
She picked the Omelette avec pommes rissolees (omelet with sauteed potatoes).
The omelet was made with ham, swiss cheese and mushrooms. It was a nice omelet: perfectly cooked, meaning not overcooked and no brown color on it (Wolfgang Puck would be proud). The potatoes were delicious: cooked all the way through, soft in the inside and crispy on the outside.
On my side, it started with a choice of one viennoiserie (croissant, chocolate croissant aka pain au chocolat,...).
I chose the chocolate croissant. It was fantastic! Buttery, flaky and airy with a nice amount of chocolate. Too bad it was a miniature one because I could have eaten more of it!
Then the first course was the pate grand mere:
The pate was made with chicken liver, pork and cognac. With the pate, came some delicious, fresh and crispy bread.
I enjoyed the pate: dense and tasty, it was very traditional. I just wish the portion was bigger...
The second course was the croque monsieur.
When I ordered it, I was convinced that if I were to have a great croque monsieur, it would be in a French restaurant. I was wrong. Although there was a good amount of cheese, it was very, very dry. The portion, here again, was small, although this time, I did not mind it...
The third course was the dessert. I ordered the Ile Flottante or Floating Island.
Ile Flottante is a French dessert made of a vanilla steamed meringue and a vanilla sauce (creme anglaise). It was very light, not too sweet. The meringue was perfectly made, meaning dense and light. I just wish there was more here again and there should put more vanilla sauce. I did not really care about the praline though...
So, the brunch was so so and the quantities pretty small. Not that I was hungry after that, but still! I was a bit disappointed as I expected more from Daniel Boulud.
Enjoy (I almost did)!
And remember: I just want to Eat!
