4 Naan Blondes

TABLA

GREG:
Before the taste memory escapes my mind, let's drop a blog on Tabla, November's Supper Club offering. Not to skip right to the end, but I really enjoyed the place. Cool décor, friendly staff, flavorful courses...we didn't discover a hole-in-the-wall or anything, but it's definitely a restaurant I'd recommend.

Since Libby and I got there first, I get to critique first. And I'll start with a confession: I never, ever order the foofy cocktail concoctions, but while we waited for you and Liz at the bar, this time I did...a Kuchumber Kooler (Plymouth Gin, green chilies, cilantro and cucumber, $12.) Despite my general objection to Gin drinks, this was one of the tastiest alliterations
I've ever sipped. Not as manly as a scotch on the rocks, but hey, everyone thinks I'm gay at these meals anyway since I'm showing up with three women. Libby went the Gin route too with a Pomegranate Gimlet (Gin, Pom juice and Fresh Lime Juice, $11,) and I believe she was quite pleased.

SARA:
I have to tell you, normally I'm turned off by gin drinks. Maybe its the taste of juniper berries and grass. More honestly, its probably the plastic bottle of Aristocrat Gin I got sick off of in college. But after I cautiously tasted your "Mrs. Kuchumber", this dirty-martini guzzler opted for the mini straws and fancy glass topper too.

The drink was married to the decor. It had the same feel to it as the vivid earth tones and maintained ambiance. They both lingered on the verge of being just a bit gawdy (or foofy), but managed to not over-step any boundaries, making the lavishness more endearing then annoying. It was a place where both the diplomat or the drag queen could feel at home.
The drink also went well with the warm naan (one made with flour, one made with corn-meal), and the delicious chutneys. I liked the tomato kalonji the best, because it had more of a kick to it. However, I feel like the rest of the table liked the apple-pomegranate one better. No problem, more tomato for me!

GREG:
Before I get to the apps, I got to give a shout-out to Richard, our server. Friendly, knowledgeable, opinionated in a good way, and extremely huggable. That might freak him out, but he had a holly jolly quality to him that’s usually reserved for Macy’s Christmas Village, not fine dining establishments. Merry St. Rick!

Okay, the appetizers. I should mention that the menu offered either prix fix app and entrée or two tasting menus. We went prix fix because we’re saving our dough for next month’s Supper Club, and everyone ordered for themselves. Liz and I decided to split the Tabla Crab Cakes, which I’d heard were fantastic, and the Stuffed Jack-Be-Little Pumpkin, a veggie option. The crab cakes were indeed delicious, though not otherworldly, and the stuffed pumpkin, which I thought might be a bit too much of a novelty item, was actually a great light starter, though it could have had a bit more flavor (I thought every veggie in there tasted the same besides the pumpkin itself.)

SARA:
Hooray for Richard! After the last restaurant, I'm just so happy to know the waiter's name. He did have a Papa bear quality about him, and he really knew the menu. As you said during dinner, its obvious he's tried every course...probably many times. However, Richard was definitely not a sommelier. We asked for a light wine for our apps, and instead received a surprisingly spicy pinot. It didn't matter much, because we almost finished the bottle by the time the apps arrived. My main, and perhaps only complaint of the evening was the wait. We waited for the apps, we waited for our main course, we waited for dessert. The only thing that came promptly was the wine (the wait staff made sure to keep our glasses full). They were apologetic however, and their humble attitude almost made me want to ask them to sit down and have a glass.

After a tasty amuse-bouche, a curry soup with pine nuts, my Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Peppered Brioche Doughnuts and quince arrived. It was so good that I almost wanted to ask Richard to bring me out another plate of it instead of the main course. The seared foie was salty, but not over-powering, and the quince sweetened the liver to perfection. It melted on my tongue. Libby got the Hamachi Tartare which was my second favorite appetizer. It was light, but extremely flavorful, and paired nicely with a salad of apples, radishes, and heart of palm.

GREG:
I totally forgot the shot of curry soup! And as for the long pauses between courses, if you want fast food, go to McDonald’s! But yeah, they could have sped things up a bit. They did refill our naan to tide us over at least.

Main course: I had the farm raised Roasted Baby Pig. God, that sounds so anti-Charlotte’s Web...sorry Wilbur! The pork itself was salty, crispy, and oh so good. I wouldn’t have minded a leaner cut, but I didn’t waste a bite. It was served over pickled cabbage, fennel and mustard jus, a combination that reminded me of Korean Kimchi (I think). I guess it was a little too spicy for me, which Richard must have known because my water glass was always full. I had to keep the pork away from the rest of it or my taste buds would have been anesthetized. But big yum on the pig itself.

SARA:
They did bring us naan to make up for the wait, but I think I ate too much of it, because I was so full at the end of my meal I couldn't even finish those little chocolates they gave us.

Main course: We had another bottle of wine with dinner...I don't remember what it was because I was too interested in my food. Just like Greg, I ordered a baby animal...PETA members we are not. I had the Braised Veal Short Ribs, Roasted Loin and Crispy Sweetbreads. It came with a sauce on the side for the angel hair pasta (which I found a little weird for an Indian restaurant..but then again..do they eat baby cows in India?) The first bite of the loin was bland, so I added some sauce. That definitely made it worthwhile! The short ribs needed no extra sauce. They were so tender that they melted. Even the pasta was good! The swiss chard was unmemorable. I only added it in the review because I rechecked the menu online. The sweetbreads, which I usually love (if you haven't noticed, I tend to go for 'innards'), were a little overcooked. Overall, I would eat this dish again.

GREG:
Our second bottle was a Syrah, Domaine des Lises Crozes Hermitage Equinoxe 2006. How do I remember? Because I’m a nerd and took a picture of it with my camera phone. And thanks to my spicy pig broth, I don’t remember at all how it tasted.

Libby was in love with her Tapioca Crusted Halibut, which was prepared perfectly and might have been my favorite taste from someone else’s plate. And did Liz have the Lamb done Two Ways? I can’t remember, though I do remember her having trouble deciding what to order and going with Richard’s suggestion.

We need to write these closer to the actual meal, yo. My taste memories are fading!

SARA:
Didn't Liz get a fish dish too? I don't remember. I was too full, and a little drunk. *

Dessert: I had the Tahitian Vanilla Bean Kulfi, which was a very dense vanilla ice cream. They gave me a special little ridged spoon to eat it with, so that was fun! The kulfi was great, but the lychee sorbet it was served with was too tart. It overpowered the creaminess of the vanilla. I should have gotten that peanut butter and jelly thing.

Liz's Two "Caramel Apples" was awesome. The Gingerbread cake it came with could have been a dessert in itself. It was a perfect fall dish!
As I said before, they gave us some little chocolates after our dessert. I only liked the peanut butter one. The other ones were a little gross.
Overall, my meal was fantastic. The service was slow, but sweet, and the clientele was laid back and diverse. I want to go back and try the tasting menu!

GREG:
Hey, the slow service just lets us all spend more time together. I don't get to see enough of you! (funny how sarcasm doesn't translate so well over e-mail ;))

For dessert, I nibbled at the Fig and Goat Cheese Torchon. Torchon is another one of those foodie words I don’t know, and I honestly don’t remember loving it. At that point, I was only ordering dessert so I could write about it. See how well that worked out?

Libby had a selection of local cheeses which tasted like, well, cheese. You can never go wrong with cheese!

I absolutely enjoyed Tabla. Beautiful place, nice staff from the hostess to the busboys, tasty and interesting food. Oh, and did I mention they forgot to charge us for our first round of drinks? Word!
FINAL GRADES:

GREG:
Ambiance: A-
Service: A-
Appetizers: B++
Entrees: B+
Desserts: B-


SARA:
Ambiance: A-
Service: B+
Appetizers: A
Entrees: B+
Desserts: B-

LIBBY:
Ambiance: A
Service: A+
Appetizers: A
Entrees: A
Dessert: A-

LIZ:

Ambiance: B+
Service: C
Appetizers: A-/B+
Entrees: A
Dessert: A+

*After asking Liz, she informed me that she got the halibut and Libby got the skate. TOO MUCH WINE!

Everybody Limbo!

LE BILBOQUET

SARA

Upon arriving at Le Bilboquet, my first impression of the ambiance was the overly tanned, Eurotrashy girl standing outside, pouting at her boyfriend. However, as the waiter pushed past the botox wonder, my eyes targeted the filet in his hands, adorned with béarnaise sauce, and loaded with thin, perfectly cooked fries.

Thus was the spirit of the evening. One disaster (a trash-tastic clientele), was redeemed by a positive factor (the allure of seared cow). As the night rolled by, I found Le Bilboquet had more ups and downs then The Cyclone and my previous relationship combined. To tell you the truth, I found myself in a sort of dining purgatory. I don't mean to make the restaurant sound bad...because it wasn't. However, one hit or miss seemed like it could direct the evening into heaven or hell, thus leaving me in limbo the entire night. For example, the glorious looking filet called to me, enticing me with its
hymn. I couldn't wait to tear into it. It turned out I had to wait. In fact, I had to wait about 40 minutes even though we had reservations.

GREG

Libby and I got to the restaurant a few minutes before you, and I could tell within seconds that our "reservation" was no more relevant to the maitre d than the color of my underwear (blue with white polka dots.) I also noticed that we weren't in Kansas anymore; after months of dining at downtown restaurants, this Upper East Side establishment had an air of pomposity and
privilege that our usual downtown spots tended to avoid. But the place came highly recommended, so I didn't mind dining outside of our usual comfort zone. We were also short Liz, our recently engaged 4th Supper Club member, who was trapped in Cairo thanks to (ironically) an Air France strike. Hey, at least it wasn't raining.

SARA

Ha! I didn't even realize the irony at the time! Guess the French aren't in a rush to get anyone anywhere.... Especially the Maitre d', who was hardly apologetic towards the fact that I had to stand outside, in high heels, staring at Miss Trashy
McGee's grimace. Sure, the restaurant was TINY, however, I've been at other small dining establishments, which were just as popular (if not more), and I was seated right away (Little Owl). Or if not, I was given a complimentary glass of wine or champagne (Applewood). In this case I would have even accepted genuine remorse.

GREG

Remorse from a Frenchman? Non! We'd already heard rumors of preferential treatment for "friends", so again, comes with the territory.

SARA

Once seated, all sins were forgiven by a perfectly poured Belvedere martini, and some of the best appetizers I have ever tasted. The tuna tartare is highly recommended, and though French in nature, reminded me of a very well prepared Hawaiian poke. The beef carpachio topped with arugula, frisee, and vinaigrette was alive with freshness and flavor. The fois gras, served in a traditional terrine, was of high quality, and very tasty. Though some prefer this spreadable version, I was hoping my gavaged goose liver were simply seared.

GREG

I don't know what "gavaged" means. But yes, big fan of all three aps. Fresh, flavorful, fun to eat. I could have downed a mound of the foie, and the tuna tartare, which Libby had already heard was fantastic, was fantastic. The carpachio was kinda hard to find under all that frisee, but I loved it too.

SARA

To gavage is to force feed. Which, when they tried to rush us through our meal, grabbing plates off the table, made me feel like the goose. Now, the wine....
To tell you the truth, I don't remember what kind of red you ordered. To my credit, I was famished from waiting so long to eat that the martini went straight to my head. The wine was delicious, however, I was partly offended that our waiter was not around to fill my glass up throughout my meal. In fact, he was merely there to bring us our food, and then our check. He was a nice guy though...whatever his name was....

GREG

It was a 2003 St. Emilion Bordeaux, $52 (the wine, not the waiter.) I can't get any more specific than that, because my martini had also caused a slight loss of focus. Obviously, a French red was the way to go at a French
restaurant, especially with steak on the way.

SARA
Oh yes...the steak. Perhaps they thought the strong martini and the bottle of wine would make me forget the entree. The
fries were awesome, but the steak (though HUGE for a filet), was totally over cooked...straight from the flames of Hades. I was so looking forward to it being amazing. I was crushed and would have sent it back, if I knew how to summon the waiter. Instead I covered it in that angelic béarnaise sauce it came with. The sauce was its saving
grace. However, béarnaise sauce is my Achilles heel. If you put it on cardboard I'd probably eat it. To give the place some credit, your steak was perfectly cooked, and you were kind enough to share it with me.

GREG

I can't understand how we both ordered the exact same dish, yet they came out prepared so drastically different. My steak was juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and quite yummy altogether. I thought the sauce was a bit thick, but it tasted just as good on the fries as it did on the filet.

SARA

Libby had the sea bass which was unfortunately dry and still contained some tiny bones. The sauce it came with was very flavorful though. Her side was some sort of aubergine puree. To me, it looked like an eggplant had thrown up on her plate. It didn't taste much better either.

GREG

She did like the tomato salad, though finding it on that overcrowded plate was somewhat tricky. I wonder if the fact that we were eating so late meant the chefs were too tired to serve us their best. Drying out sea bass is a sin.

SARA

We ended our meal with an overly sweet apple tartine, which (to keep in concept of the evening's ups and downs) came with delicious ice cream. There was also some chocolate mousse I think...but I was too intent on finishing the fantastic
glass of port to care about it.

GREG

To keep in concept of the evening, the mousse was too dry. We never should have ordered two deserts to begin with, but my guilt at ordering the same entrée as you made me feel obligated to have a few more items to discuss here. As for the port, I wish I'd thought to ask WHICH port. The waiter recommended "port" and port we had.

SARA

This is true, but they really didn't care much about what we wanted, so I was somewhat happy that they gave us anything at all! I'm VERY surprised they didn't have any after dinner wines. The port was lovely though. I felt high in the clouds. When
the check arrived moments later (over $100 a person), I crashed to the ground, crushed by the Luciferian fee.

At the end of the evening I was glad the majority of Euros had left, and as the crowd thinned out,
there were some "respectful"-looking upper-eastsiders in our midst (lack of hair gel and spray on tan). I was happy to see that people other then the maitre-d's friends were diners.

GREG

Remind me never to eat at 10:00 on a Monday again.

SARA

Overall, Le Bilboquet left much to be desired. In its defense, I'm still thinking about the appetizers, wine, and béarnaise sauce. However, a $35 steak should be cooked to the diner's specification, and the waiter should at least be around to see if everything is ok with the meal. I left the restaurant feeling nauseous. Not because of the cooking...but because of
the emotional roller coaster it took me on throughout the night. If they were to change a few things about the place (the service being the #1 factor), I believe Saint Peter might open those pearly white gates. However currently, this place remains in a midway abyss.



FINAL GRADES - Greg
Ambiance B
Service B-
Appetizers A-
Entrees B
Deserts C+

FINAL GRADES- Sara
Ambiance C (I didn't care for the Barry White blaring in the background, or the tacky bathrooms)
Service C-
Appetizers A
Entrees B-
Deserts C+


Three Course Meal: Average $40-$70 per person.
With Drinks: $70-black card AMEX (depending on what you order...or if you're a wino)
Bottle of wine: $40-$500

WELCOME!

WELCOME to "He Fed, She Fed"! We hope you enjoy our monthly reviews, but first....the back story:


During a chilly evening in January, after enjoying a weekly ritual of wine guzzling and cooking-show watching, four friends came up with the idea of starting their very own supper club.

Perhaps it was Tom Colichio's talents, or the seared scallops melting on the TV, or merely the over-indulgence of Cabernet that led them to open up their bank accounts and withdraw their weekly savings into New York City's culinary expertise.

Nine months, and many bottles of wine later, the quartet had surrendered their palates to top name chefs and some of the finest restaurants the big apple has to offer. Unfortunately their pockets were also emptied by a few overrated, and over priced menus, leading the group to wish they could tell someone of their plight.

In an awe-inspiring moment, the only male member of the supper club (HE), and his former co-worker (SHE) took the advice of their fellow gastros to display onto the web-conscience world a completely unbiased review of their monthly meals.

Knowing fully well that there are hordes of food critics, with culinary backgrounds to match Eric Ripert or Marcus Samuelsson, they wondered if their "average joe/jane" reviews would be able to stand up to the greats. Then they realised they didn't care.

HE (Greg), and SHE (Sara) are two average, middle-classed New Yorkers with two very different views on what makes up a great restaurant. Of course they'll be discussing the food, booze, and service, but they won't forget to talk about the clientele, decor and even the conditions and comforts of the restrooms. Most importantly, they'll discuss the restaurants in a way that even the food "noob" will understand. Check back here each month for a new review!

Coming Up: October's choice- Le Bilboquet