Butter is a wonderful thing. It’s the puff in puff pastry, the glossy finish to a port reduction, and the herb-infused baste that elevates the signature hickory-grilled new york strip at Gallagher’s Steak House. (If you didn’t know that restaurants do that, now you know the unfortunate truth. At Michael Mina’s, they even poach their steaks in butter after giving them a quick sear in a cast iron pan.)
It’s also the name of Chef Alexandra Guarnaschelli’s critically acclaimed New York City restaurant. Fellow foodie Eric Huang and I had dinner at Butter to celebrate the end of my final exams and his AP exams.
In case you’ve forgotten your introductory marketing, satisfaction = perceived performance - expectations. What did I expect from an executive chef who’s worked under Guy Savoy and Daniel Boulud? Lots. Or how about the judge on my favorite Food Network show, Chopped, with the scariest death stare ever? Plenty.
Was I satisfied? Most definitely.
(I strongly recommend that you grab something to snack on before reading the rest of this post. Thanks to Eric for taking all of these pictures!)
Here are photos of the event:
The first floor of the restaurant.
The lower level dining room. This is where we were seated.
Bread Course:
Freshly baked bread and biscuits with tarragon and chervil compound butter
Amuse Bouche:
Chicken liver pate with fried bread and chives.
Appetizers:
Cavatappi pasta with spicy lamb sausage and a yellow tomato sauce.
Maine lobster salad with spicy cabbage, ramps, and a toasted pine nut dressing.
Entrees:
Seared Hudson Valley duck breast with parsnips, bacon, oven-dried grapes, and sherry vinegar.
Seared Colorado Rack of lamb with grilled eggplant, oven-dried tomatoes, and an anchovy and paprika dressing.
Sides:
Garlic-roasted potato wedges
Dessert:
Blackberry tart with candied mint leaves.
There really is nothing better than enjoying great company over delicious, perfectly portioned food.
You should all check out Eric’s tumblr as well. Together, we’ve dined at Morimoto, Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill, David Pasternack’s Esca, Butter, Kyotofu (via seamlessweb at 2AM) and many other notable NYC restaurants. He’s witty, an incredibly good friend, and, I’m proud to say, turning into a bit of a chef himself!
That’s all for now. I’ll be returning to Butter soon, and I will definitely write about my second experience there.
Next up: Amanda Freitag’s The Harrison
