Steamed Scallop & Foie Gras Dumplings w/ Mushroom Coulis & Chive Oil

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
November 25, 2008

CHANTERELLE [CLOSED]
2 Harrison St
@ Hudson St
New York, NY 10013
212-966-6960

Birthday celebrations are hard. While they’re a good opportunity to try a fancy restaurant, I often prefer a more intimate and comforting setting. This year, I found the best of both worlds at Chanterelle. The lavish dining experience in a small restaurant, run by husband and wife team since 1979, provided the warmth of the special evening I wished my birthday to be.

David Waltuck is the chef, while his wife, Karen, runs the front of the house. Most of the staff have been with the restaurant for over a decade, including Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn. Besides his impeccable taste and masterful work, I was impressed by his approachable and fatherly demeanor. Though two of us ordered the same entrée, Roger paired each plate of each course with a different wine, and it was fun and educational for the three of us to compare the pairings. Having just been named a Sake Samurai in Japan this year, Roger served us an aperitif that was a blend of sake, champagne and a little wasabi. We honestly had difficulty detecting the subtle wasabi, but it was a lovely start to the evening.

Our three selections for appetizers were Blue Island oysters with sauerkraut and black caviar, butternut squash ravioli with oxtail ragout and sage cream, and steamed scallop and foie gras dumplings with mushroom coulis and chive oil. All were delicious. The scallop and foie gras dumplings were a unique twist that combined the best of East and West. The exterior dumpling was thin like shumai, and the delicate stuffing of scallop and foie gras melted in my mouth.

For entrées, we had two orders of the roast lotte (monk fish) with lobster risotto and parsley jus, and the loin of lamb with green olives, cumin and mini falafel. Every last bite of these dishes was worth savoring.

No meal would be complete without an assortment of artisanal cheese, so with the help of distinguished fromager, Adrian Murcia, we selected some of the most varied and delicious cheeses I’ve tasted this year, including a Gruyère that just blew us away.

At this point, we decided to share two desserts instead of three: spiced pumpkin mousse in crisp kataifi with maple ginger ice cream, and the Valrhona chocolate and jasmine tea pyramid with chocolate-lime ice cream. The spiced pumpkin mousse was the first pumpkin dessert I’d tasted this season, and it reminded me of why I love pumpkin so much. Smooth and delicate, the mousse complemented the kataifi’s nest-like crispy thin shreds of phyllo dough even if the maple ginger ice cream was a bit heavy in flavor for this pairing. The chocolate dessert, though elegant, did not interest me beyond the ice cream. And even so, the flavors of chocolate and lime, which didn’t meld together but vied for attention in their singular forms, were not the match I had thought they’d be.

The menus, handwritten in cards daily by Karen, feature the work of contemporary American artists. The menu covers change twice a year and each retired cover is added to the gallery in the anteroom. The checks come handwritten as well in smaller but equally beautiful cards. It’s heartwarming little details like these that make Chanterelle so special.

Also in American, Duck, Scallop, Seafood, Tribeca