A little food and wine

The whole point of the New York trip was to celebrate Mom’s birthday. She generously paid for all four of us to fly up there, stay in a very nice hotel, and go to a Broadway show practically on stage. In return, Sis and I wanted to treat her to a “fancy” meal. I LOVE fine dining and try to do it for any or no reason at all. Luckily, I live in a city where this is possible.

Sis asked for some suggestions and I called up my trusty NY buddy Pip for a list. We decide on Jean-Georges. OH MY GOD! I was so freaking excited for this meal I cannot even begin to tell you. 

J-G is a Michelin 3 star restaurant! Basically, the Michelin Red Book has been seen as the gourmet Bible in Europe for over 100 years. (Minus several years of hiatus during the World Wars)  It is such a big deal that two chefs have been rumored to have committed suicide under the stress of the simple possibility of dropping a star.  They rank restaurants on a scale of 3 stars with the highest ones being considered “excellent and worthy of a special journey” for food, atmosphere, and service. There are only 60 establishments in the ENTIRE WORLD that are currently 3 star rated, only 6 in the United States, and I ATE AT ONE OF THEM!! This is an activity that is on some people’s bucket lists. Well, I did it. And I do not mind bragging about it.

It was not easy convincing Sis to go to Jean-Georges. She did not recognize 95% of the menu and even when I translated things like “skate” to “light fish”, "squab" to "poultry" (I did not tell her it was pigeon), and "foie gras" to ... well ... foie gras (there is no way to translate "liver" to sound good to my Sis) she was still hesitant. I tried to pulled a Sex In The City episode and told her that even if it was terrible, we could grab a slice of pizza on the way home. There was no way in hell this was going to be bad! In a pinch, I called Bro and left a covert 20-second message begging him to call Sis in a nonchalant way and convince her to go. She would listen to him since he is in the restaurant industry…very far from a Michelin star, but she will listen to him before me when it comes to food. It is incredibly frustrating, but I am the youngest and have gotten used to this fact. 

It was everything I had hoped! I will spare you the details and just tell you that I had fish, fish, and more fish. Calamari, crab, salmon, a bit of skate, and it was all incredible. It is so Food Network/Top Chef to say this, but the texture and flavor with the dishes were things that I would have never put together but WOW! 

Through it all, Bea was a champ. She tried everything and was such a little lady that the kitchen made her a special dessert. I normally do not eat the final course, but this one was too good to pass up. If you know you are going to be in New York, make reservations and treat yourself. It is so worth every penny. And there were a lot of pennies. Fair warning.Check out the silver candle by the largest chocolate dot.  No idea how it stuck to the plate!