Aix-cellent
My cousin TarBabe came to visit me in New York over New Year's Eve. It was so great to see her and catch up on years of not seeing each other. We had a blast, to say the least.
Since she doesn't get up here very often (I think this is the first time I saw her in about five years), we scheduled a fun dinner with Uncle Butzy, better known as the Gravy King from Thanksgiving weekend.
Uncle B has a few favorite restaurants up his sleeve but he knows I live on the west side, so he picked a place accordingly.
Aix marks the spot.
I met TarBabe and Uncle B after work around 8:30ish. Aix is on Broadway and its sleek lettered sign jumped out at me, reminding me of the "King Kong" font of the '30s.
When you walk in, the bar is immediately to your right. Aix's bar area was surprisingly sleek- chic. The bar is 3/4 of a square around, with plenty of countertop, a rarity among most restaurant bars. In addition there are tables around each side and some even kiss the windows. I could definitely see myself returning for a fancy cocktail.
Uncle B and TarBabe were sipping their wine glasses while I decided to wait to sit down, which was a short two minutes after I arrived.
Didier Virot is the executive chef of Aix. And he has quite an an impressive history: he was the sous-chef of a Michelin 3-star restaurant Michel Bras and was the executive chef of Jean Georges at its opening. One of my appetizers actually reminded me of something I had tried previously at Jean Georges...great minds must think alike.
The hostess walked us up the small staircase and into the main dining room. Aix, like its sign and entrance suggest, is very angular. Tall sleek walls and dividers contrast with warm dark wooden blinds; and sharp corners and bright lights give off a very geometric feel. I think Howard Roark of The Fountainhead would have been very comfortable in this space.
The server came to our table a few times, but it took us until the third or fourth time to decide on our dinner. Aix's forte is seafood. There were a few other options besides seafood, but we all decided to go with what they seemed to be good at.
Uncle B and TarBabe tried a mesclun salad with endive in a shallot vinaigrette. I went with the peekytoe crab and hass avocado Napoléon with a roasted baby carrot salad in a red chili pepper sauce. The mesclun salad was simple in appearance but not so simple in flavor. The dressing brought a light sweetness to the bitter mesclun. My appetizer was an elegant display of layered crab and avocado resting on the pepper sauce. Julienned carrots sat atop the fishy Napoleon. The crab was light and tender, almost like a crab tartare.
For the entrees, Uncle B chose the steamed wild bass, Basmati risotto with black trumpet, littleneck clam and English pea in a fresh herb broth. I only snagged one fork of this and made sure to pack in some risotto with a bass bite. It felt I had bit into a soft warm cloud. I chose the crispy daurade, which was one of the best fish entrees I'd ever had. I would go back to Aix and order nothing else. Daurade (doh-RAHD) is the French word for Red Snapper. Where have I been? I can't think of ever trying this delicious fish before. Boy, have I missed out. It was served with a fine herb parmesan crust, a zucchini Tian and tomato-anchovy compote in a broken rosemary sauce. I should have asked our quirky server what "broken" sauce meant but I hesitated to make him stay at the table any longer than he needed to (I should really ask Kitchen Savvy). The soft fish went superbly with its crispy coating. And the coating did not suffer from sogginess from the oils of the fish-it was crispy all around.
And last but not least, TarBabe chose the Atlantic salmon with French lentils and a brunoise of vegetables and frisée salad in a smoked salmon sauce. TarBabe didn't say much from the moment the salmon landed in front of her. It must have been pretty good.
The service at Aix was excellent. Our waters were filled consistently and dishes were brought out and removed in a timely fashion. I wouldn't call our server to hang out on an off night- he seemed slightly awkward for someone working in customer service-but he got the job done.
Aix was a pleasant surprise. I haven't found another restaurant comparable to its quality on the Upper West Side. I seem to be consistently disappointed up here.
I'm sad to realize someone already coined the phrase "Aix marks the spot." After I wrote that at the top of my post I found it in fine print on their website. Bob Lape of Crain's New York Business proclaimed "Aix marks the spot" first.
Alas, I am forced to come up with my own catchphrase...
The restaurant is rated-Aix, for Aix-cellent.
2398 Broadway at 88th St.
212-874-7400
Since she doesn't get up here very often (I think this is the first time I saw her in about five years), we scheduled a fun dinner with Uncle Butzy, better known as the Gravy King from Thanksgiving weekend.
Uncle B has a few favorite restaurants up his sleeve but he knows I live on the west side, so he picked a place accordingly.
Aix marks the spot.
I met TarBabe and Uncle B after work around 8:30ish. Aix is on Broadway and its sleek lettered sign jumped out at me, reminding me of the "King Kong" font of the '30s.
When you walk in, the bar is immediately to your right. Aix's bar area was surprisingly sleek- chic. The bar is 3/4 of a square around, with plenty of countertop, a rarity among most restaurant bars. In addition there are tables around each side and some even kiss the windows. I could definitely see myself returning for a fancy cocktail.
Uncle B and TarBabe were sipping their wine glasses while I decided to wait to sit down, which was a short two minutes after I arrived.
Didier Virot is the executive chef of Aix. And he has quite an an impressive history: he was the sous-chef of a Michelin 3-star restaurant Michel Bras and was the executive chef of Jean Georges at its opening. One of my appetizers actually reminded me of something I had tried previously at Jean Georges...great minds must think alike.
The hostess walked us up the small staircase and into the main dining room. Aix, like its sign and entrance suggest, is very angular. Tall sleek walls and dividers contrast with warm dark wooden blinds; and sharp corners and bright lights give off a very geometric feel. I think Howard Roark of The Fountainhead would have been very comfortable in this space.
The server came to our table a few times, but it took us until the third or fourth time to decide on our dinner. Aix's forte is seafood. There were a few other options besides seafood, but we all decided to go with what they seemed to be good at.
Uncle B and TarBabe tried a mesclun salad with endive in a shallot vinaigrette. I went with the peekytoe crab and hass avocado Napoléon with a roasted baby carrot salad in a red chili pepper sauce. The mesclun salad was simple in appearance but not so simple in flavor. The dressing brought a light sweetness to the bitter mesclun. My appetizer was an elegant display of layered crab and avocado resting on the pepper sauce. Julienned carrots sat atop the fishy Napoleon. The crab was light and tender, almost like a crab tartare.
For the entrees, Uncle B chose the steamed wild bass, Basmati risotto with black trumpet, littleneck clam and English pea in a fresh herb broth. I only snagged one fork of this and made sure to pack in some risotto with a bass bite. It felt I had bit into a soft warm cloud. I chose the crispy daurade, which was one of the best fish entrees I'd ever had. I would go back to Aix and order nothing else. Daurade (doh-RAHD) is the French word for Red Snapper. Where have I been? I can't think of ever trying this delicious fish before. Boy, have I missed out. It was served with a fine herb parmesan crust, a zucchini Tian and tomato-anchovy compote in a broken rosemary sauce. I should have asked our quirky server what "broken" sauce meant but I hesitated to make him stay at the table any longer than he needed to (I should really ask Kitchen Savvy). The soft fish went superbly with its crispy coating. And the coating did not suffer from sogginess from the oils of the fish-it was crispy all around.
And last but not least, TarBabe chose the Atlantic salmon with French lentils and a brunoise of vegetables and frisée salad in a smoked salmon sauce. TarBabe didn't say much from the moment the salmon landed in front of her. It must have been pretty good.
The service at Aix was excellent. Our waters were filled consistently and dishes were brought out and removed in a timely fashion. I wouldn't call our server to hang out on an off night- he seemed slightly awkward for someone working in customer service-but he got the job done.
Aix was a pleasant surprise. I haven't found another restaurant comparable to its quality on the Upper West Side. I seem to be consistently disappointed up here.
I'm sad to realize someone already coined the phrase "Aix marks the spot." After I wrote that at the top of my post I found it in fine print on their website. Bob Lape of Crain's New York Business proclaimed "Aix marks the spot" first.
Alas, I am forced to come up with my own catchphrase...
The restaurant is rated-Aix, for Aix-cellent.
2398 Broadway at 88th St.
212-874-7400
posted by Mona at 1:08 PM
1 Comments:
didier virot and his pastry chef did a demo at the FCI when i was there and besides being amazing chefs are both extremely intresting and gracious. i've wanted to go ever since but couldn't swing it on a student's budget...or a cook's budget for that matter so I will just live vicariously through your fabulously mouth-watering descriptions. merci!
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