week 22: nougatine at jean-georges

it was like playing a game of 

pretty pretty princess...

you know, the one where you move around the game board

and win plastic beads

until you've collected them all

and you earn a plastic crown 

fit for the most queenly of seven year olds?

sure the jewels are fake,

and sure even the most oblivious little girls know it,

and sure it was just the lunch prix fixe

and yeah i only spent the amount i earn in one hour of workstudy

but it was still jean-georges!

and it was delicious!!!!!!

known for it's wildly intense bougeyness

and outrageously (in a good way) priced three-course lunch,

friend maria and i chose jean-georges vongerichten's trump tower café 

for our post-jury, post-final celebratory gorge. 

{you must understand that with maria, you do not eat. you gorge.}

it began with asparagus for maria

and this soup for me.

however, every time i look at this picture of the soup

a little part of my soul dies

because 

underneath the soup there lies a beautiful little design of 

sauce and croutons and brie cheese

-something you'd find in a doll house-

and before i could whip out my trusty point and shoot,

bombs away!!!!!!

...came the flood of pea purée, courtesy of monsieur waiter!

devastation.

regardless,

eating my feelings about a missed opportunity never tasted this good!

now for the main course,

the burger on the menu tempted maria and me an embarrassing amount...

but since we are certainly more posh than that,

{HAH}

maria got the red snapper with green things and sauce things {above}

and i got the steak with a spinach and gruyère crêpe {below}

both fought for the show,

as they were both prepared pretty much to perfection,

but in the end

the gooey crepe won my heart.

the dessert kept the steak and fish in the spotlight,

yet they were still legitimately outrageous.

maria seemed to find more amusement with her puff pastry stick than the caramel-y flan it garnished

and i just got lost trying to keep track of the different kinds of chocolate in my molten cake.

almost more impressive than the food

was the quality of the service. 

i recently read bruce buschel's 100 things staffers should never do

{and just about died}

 i am fully convinced that this is on the required reading list for what is rumored to be a long and intricate training process for all jean-georges wait staff.

the service 

+ 

the food 

+ 

the high you get after you've officially completed a school year 

= 

an extremely enjoyable dining experience.

one that i'd most like to repeat...

but i've got 30 more restaurants to go!!

xoxo

yeh

nougatine at jean-georges is located at 1 central park west, at columbus circle