Aquavit Restaurant

New York City’s Restaurant Week is a 14-day period in the dead of summer when a wide array of the city’s most esteemed and least affordable restaurants create a $35 prix fixe dinner menu. It truly is a great deal and a wonderful time to be had by all –all those who pay close attention to the small print.

Imagine my shock when I sat down to dinner at Aquavit on July 9^th and was given a menu that had only two dining options: a $78 per person prix fixe and a $105 per person chef’s tasting menu. The server then alerted me that everyone at the table would have to make the same menu choice – the least of my problems.

So, remember the date July 12^th. Repeat it five times every night before you go to sleep. Write it on post-its and stick it on your mirror. Unfortunately, I’ll always remember July 9^th because it was on the 9^th that I realized Restaurant Week begins on the 12^th.

The goods news, other than the fact that I now have a quite comical reason for declaring bankruptcy, is that I got the true Aquavit experience. I reluctantly ordered three courses, which reminded me of how much money I was spending, and enough wine to help me forget.

Smoked salmon accompanied by a watermelon salad sprinkled with edible flowers, compliments of the chef, arrived at our table first.

The smoked salmon tasted, oddly enough, like smoked salmon, the watermelon salad was fine – you can only do so much to watermelon – and the flowers were unnecessary, adding a tough bite and bitter taste that was unflattering with the rest of the course.

The appetizers arrived next. Hidden beneath a forest of garnish was one piece of chilled Maine lobster in its basic form and lobster that was mashed up and mixed with what tasted like green onion, all wrapped in a bland dumpling-pasta-like structure.

The meager serving of lobster failed to measure up to the ornate presentation. The pickled tomatoes stole the show on this plate, which wasn’t a difficult feat, but they truly were different and delicious. The pickling process gave these tomatoes an explosion of tangy juice. I should have just ordered a plate of those.

My appetizer was the venison tartare, joined by its typical entourage: capers, vinaigrette, mustard.

I don’t know how those same flowers made their way back onto my plate, but they still weren’t welcome. The huckleberries that surrounded the meat were what made this dish. The deep sweet juice of the dark fruit perfectly complemented the savory tang of the mustard and capers.

The chef then served another inter-course dish: a lobster bisque  with a cheese biscuit.

The soup came warm, not hot, which worked well with what it was. The frothy top was fun. There was a lot of foam, but it wasn’t too much. And the biscuit was, of course, fantastic – all butter.

One of the main courses was the seared char, which was served with a rich, creamy, white sauce that resembled hollandaise, minus the color.

The fish was very salty and tasted like smoked salmon. The entire dish was very rich without being too rich to devour the plate

The halibut confit was unfortunately subpar. It was served with braised octopus and angamat terrine.

At the risk of sounding too harsh, the fish was pathetic. It had absolutely no seasoning, not even salt and pepper, and left me questioning this alleged “confit.” Confit is when a piece of meat, usually a leg of duck, is seasoned, salted, slowly cooked, and left to sit in its own fat. Seeing as each item of that list should add immense flavor, I seriously doubt the menu’s claim that this fish is “halibut confit.” It tasted boiled and rubbery. The angamat (a creamy vegetable soup) terrine (usually grinded meat that is turned into a creamy loaf like pate) was not a pleasant combination. The loaf was like bland custard. The server dwelled over the caviar inside, but it was just sparsely sprinkled over one area.

The course to cleanse our palates – a shot of ginger/pear juice topped with yogurt whipped cream – was a delicious mix and fun treat.

For dessert, the rhubarb trifle was fine.

But what stole the show of the entire meal was this “goat cheese parfait” that I would more adequately like to title as a “frozen white custard lava tart.”

The goat cheese created the texture of the parfait without contributing to the flavor. The dessert was frozen but still soft. Then, you dive your spoon into the center and out pours a liquid vanilla custard. The chef topped this heavenly tour with homemade blueberry sorbet, which added a sweet and sour sharpness to the richness of the parfait. Simply superb.

Considering the price of this mistake, the meal at Aquavit was a little disappointing. If I could make any suggestions, just go for dessert. Or buy a calendar.

Restaurant Aquavit of New York

65 East 55th Street

New York, NY 10022

212-307-7311