Cafe Boulud is one of those Upper East Side dining institutions with food that just melts in your mouth and with an old world sort of austere propriety that is traditionally found in European fine dining restaurants. However, Cafe Boulud makes itself approachable to those who might not always think of dining there by offering a summer-long Restaurant Week menu - three courses at lunch, $24.07. Today, it seemed that ordering two of the appetizers and a dessert from the restaurant week menu, instead of an appetizer, entree, and dessert, only cost $19 instead of $24.07. For the quality and caliber of the food, that was an exceptional deal!
Well we started with their amuse bouche of a risotto ball filled with mozzarella and fennel. Oozy and gooey in all the right sort of ways, with a nice aromatic wake-me-up from the fennel. An interesting combination of flavors that I wouldn't have necessarily thought should go together, especially in the summer-time, but it worked.
Then I had their cucumber gazpacho that was garnished with a chive chantilly and smoked trout. Crisp, fresh, refreshing, and delish. An ode to the flavor nuances of the cucumber and a brilliant one at that! The perfect sort of chilled soup for a hot and humid summer day.
Next up I had their salmon tartar with mango and basil with thin slivers of cucumber and a chili mustard black sesame coulis. Light and flavorful, an excellent melding of tastes!
Overall, it was a wonderful meal with great company and quite the treat for an August Monday afternoon.
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