Mostly OT: Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Following Dale's recommendation here, Jenny and I had dinner at the Westchester Blue Hill on Sunday. The Stone Barns center itself would be of interest to many here - trying to get across the link between land and food, and in particular the virtues of locally-raised produce and livestock. They even have a vineyard planned.

Anyway, the meal itself was a fantastic rendition of the virtue of freshness and 'heritage' breeds - the pork belly braised in white wine was a thing of wonder. A comprehensive recommendation; our waiter was also superb.

ObOnTopic: the wine list is massive, although quite friendly - split by varietal, with brief notes on each, and not badly priced; not as many actual wines as the bulk would suggest, because of the space and notes, but a heavy lean toward pinot Noir. Our actual choice - a 2001 Dolcetto, Pecchenino San Luigi, was unfortunately uninspired.

Anyway, if you happen to be in the area, check it out. Not cheap, at ~$100/head all-in, but worth the price, we thought.

*** OT meal details:

Picking any combination of two, three or four choices, in any order, from the menu of 15 options (4 veg-based, 4 fish [which seemed a little out of place], 4 chicken/pasta, 3 meat) is a welcome and worthwhile freedom. I had a variety of asparagus, followed by lamb in a quinoa crust with bok choi and then 'pig' - the pork belly plus some loin slices, with cauliflower 'couscous'. Jenny had a Bibb salad with boiled-then-deep fried eggs in japanese breadcrumbs, chicken broth with sweetmeats and baby veg, finishing with cavatelli/shiitakes. Just uniformly bright, vivid, clean, full of colour and intensity.

The desserts were a slight disappointment following that masterful display: Jenny's chocolate croquettes tasted a little too much of having been fried, while my chocolate bread pudding was excellently paired with caramel sauce, pignoli and caramel icecream but was itself a tad stodgy and gelatinous. Still, we left just delighted.

Reply to
Ewan McNay
Loading thread data ...

Glad you enjoyed it!

Too bad about the Dolcetto, but I agree with your assessment of the list.

Did this include the asparagus stick? I don't think I mentioned that in my post- a spear of asparagus on a skewer sauteed in pancetta then rolled in sesame. Betsy is still talking about it.

best, Dale

Reply to
DALE WILLIAMS

Yes, it did. Plus a soup (in shot glass) topped with parmesan foam, and several blanched, halved spears with a lemon-balsamic dressing and perfect mini greens.

Reply to
Ewan McNay

I am just back from dinner at Stone Barns moments ago. The chef cooked for us and the sommelier paired glasses accordingly with the request for a half bottle of '02 Navarro Gewertzraminer somewhere in the mix. I didn't take any notes on the wine, but the Pinot Blanco from Alto Adige (sp?) was really nice as an aperitif that showed nice delicate floral notes with some minerality which was great for a warm summer evening, but was a little bit flattened by the acidity in the green gazpacho which is accompanied later on. The asparagus with sesame and pancetta was really great with Sancerre, and smoked brook trout with peas and pistachios was nice with the gewertrimner. Overall the place is pretty astonishing for its concept and commiment towards attaing the balance of cooking off what the land offers. We took the self guided audio tour of the grounds which heightened out appreciation for the aim of the restaurant and learning center. In a nutshell, I would recommend going there to enjoy the beauty of the entire grounds, the wine list is quite nice and the food is pretty good; though not great. I would certainly go back though.

Reply to
Jaybert41

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.