NYC Restaurant Week: At Aureole, farmed salmon fillet is no bargain

The highlight of my $25 three-course lunch at Aureole in Manhattan on Thursday was a starter of Yellowfin Tuna Tartare with Jicama, Bonito Cream, Cucumber and Purple Basil.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I've never met a farmed salmon fillet that packed the flavor and vibrant color of the wild-caught original.

So, you can imagine my disappointment at the pale-looking, artificially colored salmon I was served on Thursday, one of the three courses on the $25 Restaurant Week menu at Aureole in midtown Manhattan.

You'd expect more at a restaurant with the reputation of Aureole, which was fully booked for the bargain lunch on Thursday.

I was able to walk in and sit at a bar stool with a hard-leather seat, but there wasn't enough legroom to get as close as I wanted to the place setting and my food.

Unlucky 13

I counted the bar stools -- there were 13 -- and that didn't augur well. 

At least I enjoyed the Yellowfin Tuna Tartare starter, especially the pleasantly tart Bonito Cream and the contrast of the tender cubes of raw fish with crunchy jicama and cucumber.

With my main course, I liked the Herbed Couscous with Pomegranate seeds, but didn't touch a Citrus Hollandaise designed to give the bland salmon fillet some punch.

And the dessert, Vanilla Roasted Pineapple with Mango Lime Sorbet, was tasty, but I needed a knife to cut the fruit.

Aureole serves a small wooden bowl holding three kinds of bread, and on request, extra-virgin olive oil for dipping. 

All in all, a filling meal, and you can't beat the price.

Poached Salmon with Pomegranate Herbed Couscous (hold the Citrus Hollandaise, below). I wanted the farmed salmon medium rare, so the bartender said he'd ask the kitchen to grill the fillet. But it was served poached and medium.

Vanilla Roasted Pineapple with Coconut Macaroon and Mango Lime Sorbet.

Before lunch service started, the bartender cut lemons, above, and two servers methodically folded napkins, below.

Aureole is at 135 W. 42nd St., between Broadway and Sixth Avenue, Manhattan; 1-212-319-1660. Web site: 'Progressive American Cuisine'

Details

The Winter Restaurant Week promotion at more than 350 places in Manhattan runs through Feb. 5, with three-course lunches for $25 and three-course dinners for $38, plus tax and tip.

Lunches are a better value. If you pay for your meal with a registered American Express card, you will get a $5 statement credit (up to four times), and that covers a 20% tip at lunch.

Web site: $25 lunch in Manhattan

$10, $20 and $30 bottles of red wine are no healthier than cheap stuff

On Saturday, I bought a dozen bottles of red wine during a one-day sale at Whole Foods Market in Paramus. My selections cost $4.99 to $8.99 each before a 20% discount.

This "deep cherry red" wine from France and a bottle of California Pinot Noir, also $8.99, were the most expensive bottles in my cart.

Editor's note: I've updated this post by adding a link to a discussion of the health benefits and risks of drinking wine.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Whole Foods Market in Paramus is a reliable source of drinkable red wine for well under $10 a bottle.

On Saturday, I bought a dozen bottles from California, France, Argentina and Italy at 20% off during a one-day sale ($4.99 to $8.99 each before the discount).

Why spend more on wine? The health benefits are the same, whether you spend $4.99, $49 or $499 a bottle.

While I was there, I also picked up two 8-ounce packages of uncured, antibiotic-free Wellshire Maple Bacon (on sale for $4.50 each), frozen Chicken Bones for Soup ($1.79 a pound) and frozen Oxtails ($7.99 a pound). 

I paid for the wine, bacon and frozen Oxtails with an American Express card, earning a 3% cash rebate and a $10 statement credit on a purchase of more than $60. 

See: Health benefits, risks of drinking wine

Whole Foods Market, Bergen Town Center, Spring Valley and Maywood avenues, Paramus; 201-226-1244. Open 7 days.

I steered clear of this overpriced Beaujolais Noveau.

This naturally raised, preservative-free bacon was reduced to $4.50 from $5.99.

At Whole Foods, frozen Chicken Bones for Soup (not shown) were only $1.79 a pound. 

I told an employee in the Whole Foods produce department the sign says "Grown in Spain," but all three brands of Clementines were from Morocco. He said he would "get to it."

NYC Restaurant Week: A seafood favorite doesn't disappoint

Amalfi-style Fish Soup with Tomato and Chili Bruschetta at Esca in Manhattan.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

It's the little extras that make lunch such a pleasure at Esca, a southern Italian trattoria in Manhattan that celebrates fresh seafood.

That's especially true during NYC Restaurant Week, when the restaurant offers deeply discounted three-course lunches and dinners ($25 and $38, respectively).

On Friday, my lunch began with a gift from the chef -- a white-bean crostini bursting with the flavor of preserved mackerel.

Other nice touches were complimentary olives with a thin, hot pepper and a small bowl for the pits; the crusty heel of a large Italian bread with fruity extra-virgin olive oil, and both lemon and lime for the whole fish I ordered.

For my first course from the bilingual menu, I chose the Amalfi-style Fish Soup with Tomato and Chili Bruschetta.

The filling, mildly spicy broth held several pieces of perfectly poached fish.

My entree was Spigola Nera, whole roasted local black sea bass with salty caperberries and olives.

Except for the scorched head, the fish was perfectly cooked and delicious right down to the crispy tail.

One quibble was the scorched head of the Whole Roasted Local Sea Bass, denying me the tender, juicy "cheek" under the eye. But the other side of the head wasn't overcooked and yielded the juicy morsels. A smaller plate for the bones was provided.

This crositini -- a gift from the chef -- was packed with the flavor of preserved mackerel.

Changing menu

My Friday lunch at Esca came during the second week of the semi-annual Restaurant Week promotion, which ends on Aug. 15.

About 300 restaurants in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens are taking part this summer.

At Esca, skate wing and whole porgy with salsa verde were offered, but neither was available on Friday.

My waiter explained the Restaurant Week menu changes slightly on an almost daily basis.

Still, the black sea bass was perfect for me, a lover of whole fish who delights in extracting every sweet morsel of flesh. 

Complimentary olives.

If you order the whole fish, you don't have to ask for lemon.

Part of the well-done heel of a large Italian bread -- soaking in extra-virgin olive oil -- an indulgence on my no-bread, no pizza diet.

New this summer, outdoor seating at Esca (Italian for "bait") means you'll have better chance of getting a table without a reservation.

Esca's Restaurant Week lunch menu on Friday.

Dessert to go

The waiter wasn't sure if I could substitute sorbet for the one dessert offered on Friday, Pistachio and Olive Oil Cake, so I asked for it to go and brought it home for my wife to enjoy.

I may try a forkful with its accents of watermelon, lime curd and aged balsamic vinegar.

I paid for my meal with an American Express credit card I registered, and will be getting a $5 statement credit.

That will bring the cost of this wonderful lunch to $27.22, with tax ($2.22) and a 20% tip ($5). That's a great deal at this white-tablecloth emporium of pristine seafood.

Take-out Pistachio and Olive Oil Cake.

Esca comes through

I've been enjoying Restaurant Week lunches summer and winter at Esca for years, and prize it even more now that I eat only seafood.

I've had only one disappointing meal there -- in 2011 -- when I was served a whole John Dory by a waiter who didn't warn me the fish was all bones, leaving me hungry and cursing under my breath as I searched in vain for flesh to eat.

See: An ugly fish shows up at lunch

Esca, 402 W. 43rd St. (Ninth Avenue), New York, N.Y.; 1-212-564-7272. The restaurant is two blocks from the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Web site: A heavy Italian accent on fresh seafood

NYC Restaurant Week Web site