new York city
Aureole
Last Dining: December 2010
Fatguys Rating: Four Fish
Christmas Time in the city and the FatGuys take it by storm! One of the largest snow storms to hit NYC in a few years, and the FatGuys were not to be denied our annual holiday pilgrimage. A tradition born years before to treat John and Jason’s mom to day in the city, this year would continue with Friends of the FatGuys, Roger & Karen and Bobby & Danielle.
The day started with the Girls, Bobby & Jason taking in a production of American Idiot while Roger and John struck out on a mission to locate the ‘Best Spaghetti alla Carbonara’ in NYC.
The day’s shenanigans culminated in cocktails over-looking the main concourse at Grand Central Terminal and then a short walk to Charlie Palmer’s flagship, Aureole.
Slightly tamer, albeit no less impressive than its Vegas sister, Aureole, New York is a contemporary expression of their former location (closed in May 2009).
Arriving after a more than adequate cocktail hour, we were immediately lead to our table in the Halo Dining Room. Service was impeccable without being over-bearing. As usual, John quickly made friends with the Sommelier and our wine experience was off and headed for the stars, (they also have an impressive by the glass selection.)
We started in Spain and a bottle of 1998 Dominio Pingus Ribera del Duero on the recommendation of the Sommelier. A complex expression of Tempranillo, the Pingus was a great opening to what would become an extraordinary night. Moving quickly to one of our favorite areas and producers, the Sommelier challenged the table to blind taste a pairing of ’96 Shiraz, later we would find out one was the iconic Penfold’s Grange(1996), against a more frugal, but no less impressive, Peter Lehman Stonewall Shiraz.
Oh, did I mention we ate something that evening too. Opening the meal was a collective presentation of wild mushroom risotto, adorned with a few shavings of the elusive Black-truffle. Main courses varied from the Crispy Duck Breast to Alaskan Black Cod with an Asian inspired preparation. The plating, artistic, gave pause to take in the overall experience before fork to plate brought the party to your mouth.
Overall, a very solid dining experience that I would recommend to anyone that finds themselves in Mid-town Manhattan looking for an extraordinary meal.