Pre-Opera Dinner at Telepan in New York
by The Wandering Epicures
Last visited: December 21, 2009
On December 9, 2009, Allison, Linda and I went to Telepan before a terrific production of Il Trittico at the Metropolitan Opera. Zagat, which gives Telepan a very good 26 food rating, calls it “a deeply satisfying adult restaurant.” That is a good description of what we like about it and why we keep going back when we are at Lincoln Center for opera, theater or concerts. The tables are widely spaced. It easy to hear conversation. The service is competent and unobtrusive. The menu looks un-exotic, but Bill Telepan knows how to buy top quality ingredients and to bring out their flavors with well-executed classic combinations.
The menu has three small pages with six to eight selections on
each one. For $55 one gets a choice from each page, plus a choice from the dessert menu. We ordered glasses of 2008 Montfaucon Côtes-du-Rhône white wine and a bottle of 2007 “Gary’s” Capieux (Santa Lucia Highlands) Pinot Noir. It had all the Pinot Noir characteristics which we appreciate.
The amuse-gueule was a little pizza, a chickpea crostino and a small cup of mushroom soup.
Nice, but a bit boring.Allison started with the
FOIE GRAS TORCHON
duck prosciutto, seasonal grapes & hazelnuts
She wrote: “The foie gras was good but was a little overpowered by the grape jelly, which when combined with the hazelnuts created an almost PB&J taste, nice but not what I expected.”Linda had the
EGG IN A HOLE
slow-poached egg, spinach, hen-of-the-woods mushroom & toasted garlic
Linda wrote: “The crispness of the mushrooms and bread offset the very runny egg. Well done, but not Telepan’s greatest egg dish.”I started with the
HOUSE SMOKED BROOK TROUT
celery root blini & green apple sour cream
The smoking is gentle and the trout still seems fresh. The celery root blini is a lovely idea.Linda’s second course was
DUCK & FOIE GRAS RAVIOLI
parsley root puree & dried fruit sauce
She thought that the combination was superb.Allison and I had the
NANTUCKET BAY SCALLOPS
baby spinach, wild mushrooms, toast & roasted garlic
Nantucket Bay scallops are seasonal and superb when fresh. They had been lightly caramelized on the outside and not overdone inside. I wouldn’t normally pair them with mushrooms, but these were meaty and went well. Allison wrote that “the best part of the dish was the toast saturated in the broth at the end. Very rich with a satisfying little crunch.”Linda’s main course was the
WILD STRIPED BASS
wild mushrooms, spinach, crosnes & sunchokes
She wrote: “The striped bass was cooked just as they should be with the crisped crust showcasing the flavor of the fish. The root vegetables, spinach and cooking juices completed the well thought-out dish.”Allison and I had the
HERITAGE PORK
potato pierogi, sauerkraut, celery root & apple
The pork was prepared three ways: a grilled slice of loin, bacon and sausage. The combination of pork with potato, apple, and celery root was classic. The sauerkraut was underneath. I was surprised that it had not been adequately rinsed to reduce its acidity as Alsatians would for a choucroute so I only ate one bite and enjoyed the rest of the dish. Allison wrote: ”The sauerkraut was strong and very, well, sour, but for me in a good way. I know you weren’t a huge fan, but I loved it even though it basically overpowered all but the pork in the dish.”Allison’s dessert was the
CRUNCHY PEANUT BUTTER & MILK CHOCOLATE GIANDUJA
peanut brittle ice cream & huckleberry gelée
She wrote: “The dessert was not as heavy as I had feared. The peanut butter cookie or wafer on the bottom was very light and added a great crunch to the rich gianduja. I don’t actually remember the gelée as I was totally focused on the great chocolate and peanut butter combination.”Linda’s dessert was the
SPICED APPLESAUCE CAKE
apple confit & calvados ice cream
She wrote: “The three ways of providing apple flavor and crunchiness alongside the moist cake and good ice cream yielded a perfect, light pre-opera dessert.”Mine was
PUMPKIN BREAD PUDDING
brown sugar-whiskey sauce, pumpkin ice cream
This was a modern presentation of luscious old-fashioned flavors. They went well together and were not too sweet with the whisky dominating the brown sugar.We finished with double coffees to keep us awake though the four hours of Il Trittico. The meal had been very satisfying, well-served in a nice ambience; we will keep returning to Telepan.
____________
9 August 2009
On August 9, 2009, we went back to Telepan after an early Sunday evening Mostly Mozart concert in the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall at nearby Lincoln Center. We enjoy this restaurant for its quiet ambience and good modern American food.
Linda ordered a glass of Pannier “Brut Selection” NV Champagne; I had one of 2008 Forstreiter “Grande Reserve” Grüner Veltliner. We ordered a bottle of 2006 Emeritus (Russian River) Pinot Noir which had a good strong flavor of the fruit once it had warmed up from the surprisingly cold cellar temperature. A three-part amuse-gueule arrived: gougère, a bean paste crostino and a lemony cold cucumber soup.
The menu offers three courses for $39, four for $59 (our choice) and five (with cheese) for $69. As you will see, Telepan has an overly imaginative menu description writer.
Linda’s starter was a special:
a handcut slice of fried Greenmarket white eggplant, Borgata? cheese, heirloom cherry tomatoes, red wine vinaigrette
The eggplant combined well with the mozarella-like cheese. She would have liked a second slice of eggplant, but this was just the appetizer.My appetizer was
WILD ARCTIC CHAR
tomato gazpacho salad
The char tartar was good, but wasn’t a perfect match with the “gazpacho” salad, which included diced avocado, celery, cucumber, scallion, red onion and halves of cherry tomatoes.Linda’s mid-course was
LOBSTER BOLOGNESE
spaghetti, light herbs & shallot-garlic-tomato broth
You can see in the photo of this dish on our last visit, not in the summer tomato season, that the broth was much lighter making this dish more interesting. This time the tomatoes were reduced to a heavy sauce which overpowered the small amount of lobster.Mine was
SMOKED CORN
organic grits soufflé & corn agnolotti
There is more corn under the pasta sheet than is evident in the photo. It had been smoked, but still seemed quite fresh and had a lovely flavor. There were various types of beans making sort of a succotash. (What looks like lima beans are fava beans.) The souflée was also light and good, tasting of ground corn. Calling this an agnolotti because there is a pasta sheet on top is absurd, but I liked the dish for its summer seasonality.Linda’s main course was
ROASTED TROUT
zucchini, arugula, lemon & warm potato salad
The trout was excellent with crispy skin. The yellow and green zucchini slices were thin, very fresh, in a good light summery sauce. There were three little chunks of potato.My main course was
ROASTED CHICKEN
egg pasta, shell beans, black kale & summer pesto
I liked this for its fresh, summery effect, but it is not clear what “summer” pesto is; or, rather, what “winter” pesto would be. The kale, which is under the chicken breast, is not to everyone’s taste, but its bitterness contrasted nicely with the slight sweetness of everything else.Linda’s dessert was a special:
Tres Leches cake and ice cream with peaches and strawberries
This Mexican sponge cake is soaked in a mixture of condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream. The ice cream was made from the same mixture. A good light summer dessert.My dessert was
STRAWBERRY GRANITA PARFAIT
almonds, toasted anise cream & prosecco
The prosecco was poured on slowly at the table and so added a fizz as I ate the parfait. Nice.The meal was enjoyable with fresh seasonal ingredients. There were no real disappointments, except maybe the lobster. Telepan was only half full that evening, despite the promotion of their hamburger, which is only offered on Sundays in the summer. Since we go to Lincoln Center a lot, we will be back.
For our blogpost on Telepan from February, 2009, click here.
For our blogpost on Telepan from August, 2008, click here.
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