This time, we were sitting right outside of the cupola.
It was about 90 degrees when we started, so we got some refreshing drinks.
I got the Mai Tai, and finally got to try the Paint it Black. I didn't go nuts though... not because I was "teetotaling" but because last night got a little crazy.
First course was same as last time. It's a little better than I remember actually - they have toned down the citrus, and the lime ice had a lot more impact at 90 degrees than the comfortable 70 degrees inside the cupola. I listened this time: the ceviche was of little neck clams, smoked sturgeon, and smoked salmon.
This is where we found out that the theme for the night was "tomato." This was a tomato soda that, as one of our friends noted, should be served as a shot. It was very interesting at first... It captured the essence of a tomato extremely well, and even had the aftertaste. But then it was all downhill. I mean how much tomato can you drink?
Tomato bread with cherry tomatoes, basil, and parmesan. The cherry tomatoes were dried *whole* not halved, so they exploded in burning hot blisters all over the white marble table (and possibly your shirt). I miss the zucchini bread...
The meal improved with this lovely assortment of different tomatoes, some grilled, and some raw.
Underneath this bread-like cracker was a beautiful poached quail egg on top of a piece of fennel. I thought serving the egg on the fennel was a little strange, but it fits the tomato/wild plants theme.
Black bass in a tomato based sauce. It was very light! The assortment of squash was extremely enjoyable. I was surprisingly not sick of tomato yet (probably because I stopped drinking the soda), but I was reaching my limit.
Brief intermission - it's now nighttime, and the Empire State Building was lit up behind the cupola.
Wow. This was some great ribeye. The pickled radishes were squint-your-eyes sour, but everything else worked in such harmony! The yellow thing was actually some kind of sauce, not mashed potatoes. The sauces were salty, the radishes were sour, and the corn was sweet... and everything paired well with the steak. Everyone else finished their radishes, so maybe my sourness taste buds were just going haywire.
Same amazing dessert as last time with the pistachio sponge cake, mascarpone ice cream, cherry sorbet, random crackers, nuts, and cherries. It's so fun to eat with all the different textures and flavors. They made one change and dipped the pistachio sponge cake on top in dry ice so that it arrived smoking.
End of meal palate cleaner - NoMad lime, coconut, and strawberry shaved ice.
The meal was even better than I remember, and that just shows what a great restaurant NoMad is. Next time I would either like to go to a themed dinner on the rooftop, or try the famous chicken downstairs... hopefully in the library.
No comments:
Post a Comment