Tasting Tocqueville

[Pigging by Wilfrid: May 19, 2008]

We are finally easing into that season where restaurant openings are thin on the ground.  We dealt with the rush of new spots in November and December.  Then we dealt with the places intended to open last year which finally got it together in the first quarter of 2008.

<

And now some worthy re-visits are in order. Tocqueville, for example.

My relationship with Tocqueville has been cyclical. I dined several times at the original location (now 15 East, the Japanese restaurant from the same stable) - eventually concluding that prices were somewhat steep for that food in that setting.

When Tocqueville re-opened at the Fifth Avenue end of the block, early in 2006, I returned several times in quick succession, finding myself more at home with the cost in the new, small but more elegant surroundings. And then, as ever, one's attention wandered. Until last week, abandoning a more ambitious trek thanks to the horrendous weather, I snatched a last minute Tocqueville reservation.

This is a very comfortable dining room, and I immediately assumed I would sit through a tasting menu. On the other hand, the specials announced by the server sounded seasonal and tempting. Compromise was easy, as I was informed the chef generally pulls the tasting menu from the day's specials. I took the five course menu at $95 (there's a seven course version at $135). Amuses arrived in quick succession, and were familiar from my 2006 dinners: gougères, a cylinder of goat cheese in a sweet-crisp beet wrapper. Glasses of Dr Becker's light, aromatic Sylvaner to begin proceedings.

After a slice of seared tuna languishing over a little mound of tuna tartare, a dish which had some of the seasonal panache I'd be anticipating.

<

Morel and sweet pea risotto is one of the appetizers I've most enjoyed here.   On this occasion, the morels were paired instead with fava beans and served with light, savory ricotta dumplings.  The oily juices were delightful.

<

My first soft shell of the season, crunchy as I like it, and imaginatively offered in a melon-accented broth (slices of melon under the crab).  The chef has paired melon with octopus in the past.  Its use as a backdrop is subtle; the dish intriques without being over-sweet.

<

Count Frankula of the Times has recently anathematized chefs who offer several expressions of the same main ingredient (roast, braised, a bit of organ meat).  The guinea-hen came only two ways here, which perhaps remains permissible: roast with crispy skin, and as a herby terrine.  At least, it was described as terrine, and technically correctly, but the warmth suggested a slice of delicate meatloaf.  Braised cabbage was a good accompaniment.

<

Without wanting to pile on the calories, the cheese course was perhaps unduly minimalist. The crunchy honeycomb honey and dab of membrillo were appreciated, but what a lonely little bit of cheese. (Italian? Spanish? - my memory is at fault.)

<

I sampled a dessert plate which served chocolate more ways than Frankula could imagine - including a rather off-puttingly sour shot glass of cold, bitter cocoa. Too much for me. I preferred the apple tart with maple ice cream.

Too much Sylvaner in the opening rounds led me to the half-bottles page, and a diminutive Bahans Haut-Brion, the 2004.  Not a cheap wine, but in any case it would be hard to keep the check under $150 a head, once the $95 menu has been selected.  Tocqueville remains, therefore, toward the higher end of its price band.

I also note little change on the carte.  In addition to the morel and pea risotto, I have tried and enjoyed the sea urchin carbonara, the truffly eggs and grits, the duo of beef.  These dishes, some of which date from the original location, are still present.  An enticing list of specials is essential if the menu is to remain fairly static.

Indeed, perhaps it's because there's nothing shockingly new here that tables seem much easier to get than they once were.  Fickle Manhattan feeders often need a harder sell than solid, superior food in grown-up surroundings: but that's what Tocqueville continues to offer.

A good web-site, too, right here.