Café Boulud, NYC 5

Café Boulud was opened more than 100 years ago by Daniel Boulud’s great-grandparents on their family farm outside of Lyon. It opened in New York in 1998. We had dined there many times before the Surrey Hotel, where it was located, closed in 2021. Its reopening was delayed due to Covid until December 15, 2023, in the Park Avenue site of the former Vaucluse and Perigord Park. Linda and I went for dinner on February 19, 2024.

The dining room seemed more crowded than before. It was dominated by a huge leafy arrangement.

We were seated on a comfortable banquette where we had once been seated when the restaurant was Vaucluse. We started with glasses of Maxime Ponson Blanc de Blancs ”Les Barbaries” Extra Brut 1^er Cru Champagne. 

The menu is in four parts “inspired by Daniel Boulud’s four culinary muses: La Tradition, classic French cuisine; La Saison, seasonal delicacies; Le Potager, the vegetable garden; and Le Voyage, flavors of world cuisines.”  One can choose from any part. We made our selections and ordered a bottle of 2021 Jean Boudier Savigny-lès-Beaune,

Nice.

The appetizer was a little pastry cup with spaghetti squash, mascarpone, pumpkin seeds and lemon

The bread basket was put on the table.

 

Linda’s first course was
RIS DE VEAU “DU BARRY”
glazed sweetbread,
ginger jus, cauliflower, toasted oats, purslane

The three pieces of glazed sweetbreads sat on a cauliflower base.
..

Mine was
HOMARD À L’AÏOLI
lobster, artichoke, potato and mâche salad,
light saffron sweet garlic dressing

Good chunks of lobster were interleaved with braised small artichokes and potato rounds. They were dressed with aïoli dabs and pearl onions. Alongside was a fresh mâche salad which provided a crisp palate clearing textural contrast to the rich lobster. Very good.
.

Linda’s main was
FUSILLI CARBONARA
creamy pasta with celery root, lomo pata negra, cured egg yolk, costa rica peppercorn

The fresh pasta with celery root and egg yolk carbonara was very good. The Costa Rican peppercorns were too strong for the delicate sauce.
.

Mine was
CANARD AU KAKI
roasted pennsylvania duck,
persimmon jam, endive, monk’s pepper duck jus

The duck breast slices were juicy and flavorful with a crisp spiced skin. They were garnished with a persimmon jam, which went well. The slice of braised endive was a good accompaniment. 

We did not have dessert, although the selections looked interesting.

The service and pace were good, but the noise level was high. The clientèle was what you would expect on the Upper East Side. We are glad that Café Boulud has returned.

https://cafeboulud.com/nyc/about

To see our other Café Boulud blogposts click here.