(In honor of IG's birthday & to get this new restaurant review out, I'm posting this sucker on time for once!) ...kinda.THE RESTAURANT
It's reeeally rare for me to try a restaurant right after it opens - either it has too much hype & gets crowded, or it's in a neighborhood I don't frequent, or both. Ça Va worked out well for us, as it opened just days before IG's bday (company field trip excuse!), and is located a whopping 4 short (but pedestrian-oversaturated) blocks from our office. So, I'm going to give it a full review, complete with pictures of everything we tried.
On the inside, the restaurant looks expensively decorated, as a hotel restaurant should look. We were instantly greeted as we walked in the door (which blends in a little too well with the rest of the wall...), and upon revelation of our reservation, were guided over to the hostess. The room was sparse except for a few occupied tables, and though we were seated at a center table, we were given the offer to choose otherwise.
The service was excellent. If I so much as turned my head, three heads would turn to me checking to see if I needed something. Our waitress was impeccable - she was obviously very familiar with the menu items, and showed real passion for the dishes. Of course, this may all be because of the need for good first impressions, the lack of patrons there at the time, or because good behavior was still fresh in their minds. Or maybe, this is how they'll continue to act all the time.
THE DRINKS
While waiting for B to arrive, we debated on some wine. M asked the waitress for a recommendation, and she absolutely beamed at the Louis Latour - the cheaper of our two choices. Louis it was! And so delicious was he! :)
(And now you'll see that I've outright lied to you, and will NOT be posting a picture of the wine. Not because I don't have a good one, but because I just don't feel like it :P)
THE FOOD
I usually don't have this problem, but I honestly had too many dishes to choose from. As a first try, I decided to stick with le déjeuner prix fixe menu, and ended up getting the GNOCCHI [black olive pasta wrapped herb goat cheese, roasted tomato ragu, mint, shaved ricotta salata] as my appetizer, the ORGANIC CHICKEN BREAST [summer vegetable vol au vent, mushroom jus] as my entree, and the "dessert du jour" was CREAM ‘PUFFS’ [pistachio brittle ice cream, chocolate sauce]. Every bit of every bite of every one of my dishes was phenomenal. Le mushroom jus was sooooo yummy, I could eat that all day with plain white bread. But it was especially yummy with the puff pastry (that I only got to eat 1/4 of thanks to my tablemates).
After almost choosing the steak salad (that she's been craving), M went with the prix fixe as well, and decided on the BRAISED SHORT RIB [vegetable provençal, salsify purée] - with little persuasion from the rest of us (Have the braised short rib - it'll be really really good. M: ...ok. Guess she wasn't craving the steak salad that badly ;p). B went off a recommendation from our knowledgeable waitress and chose the ORGANIC CHICKEN PAILLARD [braised baby artichokes, chanterelle mushrooms, arugula salad] as his entree. It was preceded by the FRISÉE AUX LARDONS SALAD [smoked berkshire bacon, poached egg, mustard vinaigrette] (bacon in salad - is that an oxymoron?).
Last but not least, our birthday girl started off with the TARTARE DE SAUMON [shaved red onion-radish salad, avocado, fingerling potatoes, horseradish crème fraiche]. For her entree, she settled on the ROASTED LAMB ‘FRENCH DIP’ [leg of lamb, pickled cucumber-red onion salad, curried potato chips]. B got a good chunk of her lamb, and I got a try at her chips :)
M & I had the cream puffs to finish off our meals, while IG chose the STRAWBERRY RHUBARB TARTE [yogurt bavaroise, oatmeal crumble]. B had to draw the line somewhere (on a diet!) and said he'd just have a spoon, please. A few minutes and 2 bites later, B orders his own strawberry rhubarb tarte (what diet?). It was just that good. And to think - it was still in its trial stages.
THE ANALYSIS
Todd English's opening gets 8 thumbs up from this crowd. We really had no complaints about our experience here. And at least one of us will be back again soon for some breakfast goodies... ;)
Ça Va
310 W 44th St
(@8th Ave)
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