Birdie - November 3, 2015
Novelty is an interesting phenomenon. It can lead to a hot burning infatuation that uses up all of its fuel too fast leading to a spectacular burnout, or it can form a first blush that can mature and blossom into something amazing. I think the novelty of tasting menus has become the latter for me.
My first real tasting menu experience, ignoring prix fixe, was July 11, 2013 at a Thomas Keller themed pop-up put on by Travail inside their sister restaurant Pig Ate My Pizza, which occupies Travail’s original location. I don’t know what prompted me to get out my phone and call the “Batphone” after seeing the post on Facebook, but I did. I’ve been woefully hooked on tasting menus ever since. I say woefully because if you get accustomed to so many flavors and technique experiences in one meal, you start looking for more of them. Not to say that dining at a traditional menu restaurant isn’t still greatly enjoyable, but it’s not quite the same as everyone in your group, or some cases the entire restaurant, having the same thing served to them. You can look around at anyone’s face to see their reaction and wonder if you’re face has the same look of wonder, joy, or befuddlement.
It took me too long to realize why restaurants that offer a tasting menu require an all or none policy when ordering it. If 2 people are doing apps, entrees, and desserts and the other 2 are doing a 10 course tasting, there would be awkward moments when 2 were eating one dish while the others were eating 3. The frequency that the servers would need to return to the table would be incredibly inefficient as well. It just makes sense for everybody at the table to either have the tasting menu, or no one. Travail only offers a tasting menu and only at a specific times. Corner Table has a tasting menu and a traditional menu. There’s probably a few others, but not many. And I’d done a bunch of them, maybe all.
Until Birdie.
When Haute Dish’s chef Landon was in the process of opening his new place Nighthawks, rumors began swirling immediately that he was going to do some form of coursed dining in a separate dining room. Was it going to be vegetarian or at least vegetable heavy like his Sunday & Monday meatless meals? But after Nighthawks opened the focus was on the food there, especially the burger. Time passed and then the rumors started again. Then Dara Grumdahl and Steph March one day started vague tweeting and Instagramming small hints and pictures that they were in fact eating at this previously mythical place. Soon after the name, Birdie, was unveiled. Tickets were going on sale, and a ticket was acquired for the first public meal. It was a blast and I wrote it up here. It was the first meal I wrote up in this new format, which seems to continue to evolve. It’s a lot easier than typing up everything on my phone in that little Instagram text window, let me tell you.
Seconds are always a dicey proposition. Sometimes the nostalgia for the first impression clouds our judgement and we realize it was actually infatuation and nothing more. Sometimes I think the whole concept of the sophomore slump says more about the consumer than the producer. Something new and different can be amazing, but sometimes it’s just that, it wasn’t really as spectacular as we thought, but we build it up, because we like having good experiences.
Upon my second experience, for me, Birdie isn’t infatuation. Birdie is blossoming.
(The crowd at these things is frequently similar, as mentioned in the 320 Northeast post. Some industry folks, a successful young woman and her parents, and me. This time the young woman was someone I’d met at the Hugh Acheson dinner at Spoon & Stable [before I was doing detailed write ups] and unbeknown to me we sat next to each other here, again.)
The Menu: Hand drawn, more a map really. It helps guide where and when you are in the meal. The encircled items are the various wine pairings. (I recommend getting them.)
Chips and Dip of sunchoke (brunoise, sous vide puree, chips), cream cheese, and caramelized onion: A great start. Light crisp chips, satisfying textures and flavors from the brunoise sunchoke and onion respectively. The fattiness of the cream cheese took a lot of fruit out off the palate for the wine, leaving a slight and not unpleasant herbaceous note.
Skinny Dip Oyster with ponzu, radish, ginger, togarashi, and aromatic lemon: These oysters from Maryland had a nice brininess that recalled the ocean’s coast touched with a sweetness from the ponzu. The textures of crisp radish and ginger contrasted nicely against the soft succulence of the bivalve. (For those allergic to shellfish, salmon was the alternative for this course.)
Seared Scallop with lettuce broth, Forellenschluss (German speckled lettuce), homemade oyster sauce, crispy garlic, and bonito: Very tasty. Landon indicated that he’d personally shelled these Cape Cod scallops earlier in the day so they were of the utmost freshness. I would have preferred a slightly more rare temp, but the flavors were great and the crust on the scallop was good. The lettuce had a nice bitterness that complemented the sweetness of the scallop.
Celery Root Dumpling with fennel, star anise, and lovage: The amount of preparation and creativity that goes into these is so impressive. Sous vide, grilled, and then roasted for the filling. Celery and parsley juice go into the wrapper dough. Unlike the carrot version that was in the meal before, this one has an almost meat like texture to the filling, it was impressive. One of the other diners, a food stylist, said this was her favorite dish of the night and wondered how it compared to the carrot one. I honestly can decide. They are both so good. This wasn’t as earthy as the carrot dumpling, but just as great and it paired well with the sweetness of the wine.
Cauliflower Patch with pumpernickel crumble, dill, funky cheese (Lone Grazer’s Grazer’s Edge), served on a Brussels sprouts leaf: This dish was constructed by Chef Jessi of the Peeps Hot Box food truck, apparently it’s a dish idea she’s had for a long time. It’s supposed to represent the variety of cauliflower available at the farmer’s market. I think it represents it admirably. The cheese really makes this dish. The crunch from the pumpernickel and the yielding firmness of the cauliflower are great against the creaminess of the cheese. All of the flavors were great. The wine paired really well against the salt and funk.
Duck Egg Omelette with wild mushroom puree, parmesan, rock salt, and fresh herbs: The mushroom varieties were shimeji, hen of the woods, and black trumpet. This was an umami bomb in the best way possible. I love mushrooms. The puree had a nice sour note from the incorporation of BLiS #9 Maple Sherry Wine Vinegar, it was really, really good.
Black Garlic Focaccia with olive oil and Maldon sea salt: I’m usually not a big fan of focaccia, but this? This was amazing. The black garlic oil used in its prep, the salt, the textures, all great.
Pumpkin Soup with foie gras, candied pecans, apple, and gruyere: Landon is famous for his pumpkin soups. One of my favorite food memories is from a beer dinner hosted at Haute Dish where huge pumpkins filled with a curry seafood pumpkin soup/chowder were wheeled out on carts it was probably the best soup I’ve ever had. This one was good too. eating the foie with a spoon was an interesting endeavor. This paired well with the Chardonnay.
Fresh Juice with pear, celery, lemongrass, and lime: light, refreshing, a good palate cleanser.
Dry Aged Duck with parsnip puree, sunflower seed “risotto,” sunflower sprouts, dried cherry and vanilla: The sunflower “risotto” is crazy. Al dente, cheesy, crazy, good. The duck was sourced from Pequot Lakes, aged for a good period of time, then pan roasted. Its skin was crispy, the meat was moist and flavorful. The parsnips were slightly earthy and slightly sweet. So good.
Deer Creek “Vat 17″ Cheddar with puff pastry, five spice, rose apple, Haralson apple, wood sorrel, pickled walnuts, and balsamic caramel: good, the salty cheese pairs well with the sweetness of the apples and caramel. The pickled walnuts gave it a slight astringency that wasn’t unpleasant. I think I’d recommend shaving the cheese on at the table, a la an Italian restaurant with parmesan, if only because you don’t get to see what the components are, but that’s just my opinion.
Pear Sorbet with caramel apple, ginger, and powdered yuzu: this was good, I accidentally took a bite before I took the picture.
Pistachio Semifreddo with hop gel, hop truffle, candied hops, chocolate cake, and charred grapefruit: Seriously? Look at this. It’s beautiful. I enjoyed this so much I forgot to write down my thoughts. But hops and grapefruit are awesome together, citrus and chocolate go well together. So, so good.
When your evening is done and you’ve settled your drink tab, Landon and his talented crew give you a parting gift.
Organic Chocolate Spent Grain Shortbread with white chocolate filling: I enjoyed these at work the next morning. Soft, chocolatey with a few bits of spent grain, the tastes and textures were great. (The spent grain was from Bang Brewing.)
It’s fitting that during the meal I saw Meghan from Travail through the window while dining at Birdie. She’s a part of my oldest, and most frequent tasting menu experiences and was there for my latest.
I’m definitely going back to Birdie, again. But first I might need to eat at Travail again.