Blue Hill, NYC
Chef: Dan Barber
Cuisine: American Nouveau
Price: Appetizers $15-20, Mains $30-40, tasting menu also available
Phone: 212-539-1776
Address: 75 Washington Place, NY, NY 10011
Hours: Mon-Sat 5pm – 11pm, Sun 5pm-10pm
I already wrote extensively about Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns, so I will not repeat myself here. The New York outpost of the restaurant also sources its ingredients from the farm in Stone Barns and the Hudson Valley in general. Because of the focus on seasonal products, you will notice many of the dishes incorporate the same basic ingredients. However, unlike that of Stone Barns, the New York’s Blue Hill offers an à la carte and a tasting menu rather than a chef’s choice farmer’s feast. This obviously makes sense because it takes more planning to get all the components of each dish into Manhattan and there is less room to improvise in this more formal setting.
The restaurant itself is pretty small, but not cramped. Soft white light permeates the room and the exposed brick walls are unadorned. Everything is simple, yet very comfortable. Even the bar chairs are cushioned. And although I didn’t see it, there’s a patio room which is probably very lovely for an al fresco summer dinner.
I went to Blue Hill for dinner in a group of six, so we decided against the tasting menu to optimize and order more different dishes. In the end, many of us wanted to try the same ones, but everyone got what he or she wanted! The food was delicious and the standouts for me were the Hudson Valley Duck, Ricotta Gnocchi, as well as the Jerusalem Artichokes (the lighting was poor so sorry for lack of a photo). We sipped everything down with a couple bottles of red which I mention below as well. Overall, the dinner in the city was fantastic, but I still recommend a day trip up north to check out the real deal farm!
WINES
Domaine Rivaton Côtes du Roussillon Villages Gribouille 2006
Hesperian Nappa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
AMUSE BOUCHES
Asparagus Mini-Burgers With Almonds
This little bite was sweet and delicious, and sorry for comparing, but it definitely wasn’t as much of a savory flavor punch as the mushroom and ramp mini-burgers at Stone Barns.
Coppa and Baloney
Our table was pretty much 6 carnivores, so we did a perfunctory coppa cheers before eating the amazing cured meat. The baloney was good, but as it is typically a more bland meat, it was not anything out of the ordinary.
BREAD
Butter, Lardo and Fennel Salt
Oh man the lardo was fantastic and I absolutely adore all the flavored salts. We loved this at Stone Barns too!
APPETIZERS
This Morning’s Farm Egg – asparagus, shitake and morel mushrooms
I love these woodsy mushroom but they are so freakin’ expensive at the market to cook on my own. So anytime I see morels in restaurant dishes I have to order them! The whole dish was a great starter and none of the flavors were too overpowering.
Hudson Valley Chicken Wings and Duck Heart – Stone Barns lolla rossa, pickled vegetables, and ramps
A salad for carnivores, this starter sounded more exciting than it actually was. The chicken wings were pretty good though.
Purple Potato and Ricotta Gnocchi – braised bacon, Stone Barns coppa and shitake mushrooms
As I mentioned above, the gnocchi was one of my favorite dishes. The ricotta was just so delicately wrapped in the purple potato and I loved the salty bacon and coppa additions.
MAINS
Grilled Cobia – asparagus, ramps, parsnips, arugula, and pine nuts
Cobia is also known as black salmon, black kingfish, or lemon fish.
Stone Barns Berkshire Pig – pistachios, rhubarb and shitake mushrooms
Good, but it’s no Stone Barns Pig Face
Hudson Valley Duck – chickpeas, fiddlehead ferns, and lardo
This duck was amazing — juicy and perfectly done. I loved the addition of fiddlehead ferns too; I see them rarely but always try to order the spring treat! I even tried to make my own once, check out my Sautéed Fiddlehead Ferns post.
food comas 