Immaculate Infatuation

If you’re like us, and/or any New Yorker that spends some of their free time and all of their money at restaurants, then you probably have this magical farm outside of town on your hit list. We most definitely did, and we finally made an Infatuation Field Trip out of the city to check it out. Here’s what we can tell you that you don’t already know: not much. Blue Hill at Stone Barns is outstanding. But while you might already know the facts, you don’t have Infatuation perspective on the place, and that’s really all that matters isn’t it? Let’s discuss.

New York City has developed quite the obsession with local and sustainable food over the last few years. Ramps show up for the first time of the season at The Union Square Greenmarket, and people buzz about it like someone just figured out time travel. Every year. Those kind of people and that kind of culture has to exist for a place like Blue Hill to be truly appreciated. If you still eat more Fruit By The Foot than actual fruit, this might not be the best way for you to spend a few hundred bucks and four hours of your life. But if you’re the type of person that desperately wants to meet a pig in person and then eat it, rent a car.

As for the facts, you probably know that chef and owner Dan Barber is a badass. You probably also know that the majority of what you eat at Blue Hill comes from the farm that the restaurant is situated on. This makes for an incredible meal that you leave in the chef’s hands, known as the Farmer’s Feast. It’s a marathon of a dinner (ours lasted well into the next morning and we sat at 9:00), but it will blow your mind. The quality of the ingredients and the creativity in which they are presented is unparalleled, and as good as advertised. What really impressed us though, was the attention to the experience as a whole, and the over-the-top efforts that the staff made to ensure that we learned something. Want to know what was in that incredible brioche thing you just had? Suddenly some dude comes out of nowhere and puts a bowl of grains and an ostrich egg on the table. Curious about that watercress? It just so happens that the poor kid that picked it this morning is putting in a shift at the restaurant just so he can serve it to you. That’s dedication to the cause, and it’s executed with class on all levels. We highly reccomend that you make your own field trip to Stone Barns, and if you want to get the most out of your journey, we suggest going well ahead of your reservation time. Roam the grounds, have a drink on the terrace, maybe help that kid pick some watercress. He looked like he could use it.

… read more

Our obsession with Freemans is truly an Immaculate Infatuation. The worn wooden frame, the taxidermy on the walls, and the beards and flannel employee dress code give this old New York style spot a very hip, yet very Vermont vibe. When this place first opened, it was everyone’s best kept secret, but in recent years Freemans has completely blown up. Since Freemans doesn’t take reservations for parties less than six, prepare yourself to go across the alley to Lorely and have a couple of drinks before you’re awarded your table. While the waits are usually quite long (we’re talking hours during prime-time), if you’re committed, it’s well worth it. Everything on the menu is good and priced right. As long as you’re willing to make a night of it, whether you’re taking out a significant other or just looking for a solid place to go with your friends, Freemans is a slam dunk. Thankfully, new chef Michael Citarella has left former chef Jean Adamson’s signature dishes on the menu virtually untouched. Thus, for those who are were used to the artichoke dip into steak filet dinner setup, it’s still the main attraction. Also, in addition to dinner, the brunch is legit, though a little expensive. If you happen to find yourself at Freemans on a Sunday afternoon, we suggest you check out the brisket and eggs dish, which is out of this world.

… read more

Blue Ribbon Brasserie somehow feels overlooked lately. Maybe it’s because the flagship of the Blue Ribbon Restaurants is nearly seventeen years old. Maybe it’s because they open a new restaurant, sushi bar, bakery, or bowling alley every six months (all to critical acclaim) like they’re in an expansion race with Panera Bread Company. Either way, it’s time someone shined a light back on the patriarch of the family.

Blue Ribbon Brasserie is famous for a few things. The kitchen is open nightly until 4:00am, which makes it the most gangster of gangster late night eating options. The raw bar is one of the best in New York City, and whether you are getting down on some hard shell crab or half a dozen oysters, you’re going to be happy. Blue Ribbon also does an incredible fried chicken, often the sole motivating factor for an Immaculate Infatuation visit. That being said, the most impressive thing about Blue Ribbon Brasserie is its consistency. The service is without exception the best in the city. Everyone on the nightly payroll is invested in you having a great meal, and it shows, yet the attention is never overbearing. The menu doesn’t really change aside from the specials, and whatever your go-to item, it will be exactly as you remember it, even if years pass between visits. The bottom line is that Blue Ribbon Brasserie is a perfect example of why it’s great to live in New York City … bone marrow and fried chicken at 3:00am. Damn it feels good to be me.

… read more

Let’s be honest. White tablecloth fine dining establishments are not places that you will typically find the staff of immaculateinfatuation.com. We like things a little bit looser, a little bit dirtier, and a little bit more laid back. That said, every once in a while a man needs to throw on a pair of wrinkle-free Dockers and dine like a gentleman. Every once in a while, a man also gets a gift card to a restaurant for his birthday.

Whatever the motivation, on a recent weekday night, we found ourselves heading for an Immaculate Infatuation man date at Eleven Madison Park. It was clear from the start that this would not be a typical night out stuffing our faces with burgers and pork buns. The dinner menu at Eleven Madison Park consists of different prix fixe configurations, including an eleven course chef’s tasting menu. No, this would not be another night of casual eating. This night we were going to be tucking our napkins into our collars and doing things real fancy like.

Fancy though it may be, the restaurant is surprisingly lively, and the room wide open and airy – definitely not typical of a place serving this kind of food. Make no mistake, Eleven Madison Park is fine dining at its most serious. The staff is polite, yet rigid and focused like they’re on a mission from God. I think one of them folded my napkin with his mind. While the formality of the staff can be a little bit awkward at times, their knowledge and focus is appreciated when eating at this level. The food rundown will give you the details, but our meal at Eleven Madison Park was amazing. With a menu that sources many local ingredients via the Union Square Greenmarket, from start to finish, you get what you pay for and more. Save it for the right occasion. You won’t be disappointed.

… read more

It’s been a few years since Momofuku Ko opened, and now that the restaurant world is done freaking out over it, we figured it was time to check in on the place and see how it’s holding up. Well, that and it took us this long to finally get a reservation. By our calculations, that means we’ll be hanging out at the Boom Boom for the first time sometime during the summer of 2016.

In fairness to the Momofuku Ko system, it’s actually a very democratic, albeit competitive process for securing a reservation. No special treatment, no secret phone number, just log onto the website and pray that one of the 70 available dinner seatings for the week will be open. Repeat. Should you manage to secure a reservation, this is what you need to know. It’s going to be an expensive meal. It’s $125 per person just to eat dinner, and drinking will cost you quite a bit more. That hefty price tag affords you very little in the way of traditional luxuries. No white tablecloths (no tables, actually), no doting waiters, and no busboys with breadcrumb scrapers. Just a front row seat to some of the most creative cooking you can find anywhere…and some really good tunes. If you’re expecting fine dining for that kind of money and want to show off your new boat shoes at dinner, allow us to suggest Eleven Madison Park. We love that place too. But if you’re looking to put a notch in your culinary experience belt, Momofuku Ko has to be on your list. Good luck getting in.

Photo Credit: Noah Kalina

… read more