Daniel

 Last week, I took the bf to a birthday dinner at Daniel. It was an amazing experience to say the least. My current boss worked there for many years there so we had slightly above average treatment. :) From the moment I stepped into the restaurant, I felt like I was taken to another world---a classy, intimate French world. The dining room was completely full but the noise level was surprisingly low. I really hate loud bustling restaurants. I loved that the tables were not extremely close to one another so every table could have some privacy. Service was seamless and impeccable. Nothing is more annoying than waiters constantly lingering while you're trying to have a romantic meal. From start to finish (all 3.5 hours), I had not a single complaint.

beautiful interior

amuse bouche: trio of eggplant, watercress soup, grapefuit something or other. unfortunately the waiter had a strong french accent so if it wasn't on the menu, i have no idea what was served

 We requested a wine pairing with the three courses and the sommelier did an amazing job. Every wine was perfect with our respective dishes.

duck terrine with sicilian pistachio, rose petal poached rhubarb, black cardamom gelee, young mesclun. all the garnish sounds frivolous, but everything tasted amazing together

Duo of octopus special: tempura octopus and grilled octopus with a whole mess of garnish

seared tuna with iberico ham, chickpea panisse and green garbonzo beans. i've never seen green garbanzo beans before and was quite excited when this dish came out

trio of milk fed pig from quebec: roasted chop with glazed turnips, braised shoulder cannelloni with cucumber smoked ribs with fennel-avocado coleslaw, vadouvan jus. all i can say is that the pork skin was ridiculously crispy and everything else was a blur of goodness

duo of baby lamb: chop and loin. so cute and yummy

uh yeah---that's all the dessert that came out: fresh baked madelines, a special birthday tart, cheese plate and a caramel, hazelnut dulce de leche dessert

and THEN, petit fours came out!

I was definitely in a painful food induced coma by this point. I think every bite of every dish was eaten except for these petit fours.

What an unforgettable meal. Afterwards, we toured the kitchen and even met Daniel Boulud himself! I hope to have an opportunity to eat here again!