Canape

Some of the canape's we did tonight. Our chilled tomato soup with olive oil and thai basil. House cured Alaskan salmon with cucumbers, creme fraiche and caviar. Seared beef tartare with aoili and pine nuts. Not pictured, Brian did a "bbq pork" which was cool, a "mini" chicken dish on a spoon, and pickled peaches with speck and squash.

Flowers

These are from the union square market. Fresh chamomile flowers we use for the chicken dish. In the future rather than as a garnish I would like to use them in a "sous vide" preparation. Something more gentle. But for now, raw they work well and hold up to the crispy skin. Also, fresh lavender for the creme brulee, and mint, which we use on the cod dish, and the bar uses for their drinks. Fresh herbs are awesome, they inspire everyone.

News...

These are the articles that appeared this week:

http://www.neoows.com/?story=8743323

http://www.thrillist.com/chinatown-ny/mott

http://www.neoows.com/view.jsp?page=http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nymag/grubstreet/~3/M3aniB5p2PU/investors_say_theyve_blown_2_m.html

Thursday Night

XP's for Tonight. Spring Asparagus with Creme Fraiche and Caviar. Two soups, Vichyssoise with more Caviar as we've done before, and the new "Tomato Coulis with Opal Basil and Olive Oil". The latter is going on our menu next week.

After one week:

Tomorrow I want to change our cold potato soup to a chilled tomato coulis that we are going to make with tomatoes from Sid Wainer. They have vine ripened yellow and red. Also we will use some of our opal basil as a garnish. Salmon should replace the cod at some point this week or into early next week.
The pork that is coming in tomorrow is going to get confit 'd in duck fat. The pork that has been being served is good, but needs to be more tender, and there also has been an issue with the fat "burning" on the plancha. Since we really want to serve a crispy skin we cant' use sugar on the marinade so I need to adjust the way that I am cooking it to begin with, and I think this will resolve the issue. I know for sure that I want to stay away from braising the pork like we did years ago at fillips, even though the results were good the effort was not worth the result.
Once we get these resolved, it's on to desserts...

Other new things...

Marinated strawberries and this awesome purple asparagus that we served with creme fraiche and caviar.

New Dish's

These are a couple of the new scallops dish's that we've been trying out during our Friends and Family week. They are both served with "marinated tomatoes" that have been seasoned with two types of basil, champagne vinegar, salt, pepper and olive oil. The second dish is served with a small salad of asparagus.

Entree's

These are both "reruns" from the past. Cod fish with Cockles, Artichokes and Mint. Roasted Chicken with Pomee Puree, Baby Fennel and Natural Reduction. Again we want to source out a better bird for our chicken dish, this one's a bell and evans which is a great bird but I'd like to find something much more interesting. Going to get Brian onto looking into 4 Story HIll Farm and their birds, I hear that they are amazing. And this cod dish is a winner, always has been. This dish is so nice because it works in both the summer and the winter. Baby turnips, arugula and piquillo peppers are also in the dish.

Steak

This is our steak dish as of now. It's a good start. I like Murphy's idea to use an aioli this time rather than a traditional sauce. He used smoked paprika which works really well with the beef, and the asparagus. Not sure where this is headed, the cut of meat for sure, next stop will be with a Ribeye and try to work our way up the ladder from there. Price points are very important to us here so that limits us somewhat to the cuts available. Also today we used a choice cut and I think we can get to prime if we look around.

Asparagus Salad

This is a OLD dish we have begun to revisit. We did this dish at Fillips and are going to try and refine the dish just a touch. I do not want to change much, it all works so well together. Asparagus Salad with grapes, cured ham and parmesan. Also in the salad is a dijon vinaigrette, arugula, shaved fennel/asparagus, salt and pepper.

Staffing

Heres a couple of pictures of some of the new kitchen staff. Brian, the Sous Chef and Barbara the extern from F.C.I. Today was our first day in our new kitchen cooking with each other!

The Mott

Now that we are getting close to opening, one week away, we are going to try and start posting again, our progress, recipe's, and press as it comes to us. Heres the first one: (just scroll down the first couple of pages, you'll see it)

Google up: Brian Bieler Grub Street

Heres the text:

Yesterday, the construction paper came off of Emma Cleary’s much-anticipated endeavor in the recently whitewashed Double Happiness/Palais Royale space. As you can see, there’s still work to be done on the upstairs restaurant, but we can now confirm that it will be called the Mott (no relation to the Eldridge, the Delancey, or the Suffolk). The executive chef will be Brian Bieler, a Kansas farm boy who showed off French and greenmarket influences at the short-lived Fillip’s (he was also chef de cuisine at Bouley for a year). Bieler hopes to start serving a “Soho seasonal” menu by early next month. Sometime after that, the downstairs lounge, Lucky’s Eleven (no relation to Lucky 13, Lucky Eight, Lucky Jack’s, or Lucky Cheng’s) will open in the basement, which of course was said to be a former speakeasy and a mob-run gay bar before it became Double Happiness. And now we go back to waiting.

The picture they got through the window...

Opening Menu, 2009

First Course:

Flying Pigs Farm Crispy Pork Belly-
pickled ramps, Miners lettuce and natural jus
Citrus Marinated Day Boat Fluke-
cilantro, breakfast radish and pink pepper
Bellwether Farms Sheep Milk Gnocchi-
artichokes, spiced pine nuts and fine herbs
Rabbit terrine-
pancetta, spring fruits and watercress
Spring Vichyssoise-
extra virgin olive oil and American Caviar
Smoked Sturgeon "Salad"-
frisee, dijon mustard vinaigrette and hen egg

Second Course:

Chatham Bay Cod Fish-
artichokes, cockels, piquillo pepper and mint
4 Story Hill Roasted Chicken-
pomme puree, fennel and natural reduction
Monkfish-
sunchokes, preserved black truffle and asparagus
Long Island Duck Breast-
Savoy cabbage, foie gras and salsify
Black Bass-
parsnips, tangerine and almond
All Natural Beef Shell Steak-
cipollini, spring asparagus and sauce bearnaise


Third Course:

Creme Brulee-
tangerine and lavender
Almond Cake-
spring fruits and creme fraiche
Meyer Lemon Tart-
pine nuts and meringue

3rd Fish

Black Bass with
Lemon Puree
Carrot Confit
Parsnip Puree
Tangerine
Leeks
Almonds (Broth)
Saffron
Watercress
Pine nuts
Ravioli

Spring menu begins:

Second Course:
Red Meat. Looks like we are going to go with a shell steak, 4 Story Hill perhaps.
Duck and or Squab. Poached in cabbage, served with a natural reduction, foie gras and spring fruits.
Cod with Cockles, Artichokes and Mint.
Monkfish with Sunchokes, Truffles and Asparagus.
Salmon.
Chicken. Organic/Free Range is a must, 4 story hill again. Whatever Shaun comes up with. Pomme Puree and Fennel.
First Course:
Pork Belly. Cured then roasted confit style. Idea is to keep the pork as moist as possible while being able to really render out the fat, crispness is key. Served with a natural jus and pickled ramps.
Ricotta Gnocchi. Artichokes, Tomato Confit and Lemon.
Rabbit Terrine. Wrapped in Pancetta served with pickled onions and fruit.
Country Salad? Possible, if we move forward, smoked sturgeon, poached egg and bacon.
Scallops. Celery Root Remoulade and Caviar.
Soup.

Heart of Palm Puree

This is for the soup that we do at Town. Served with a rock shrimp tempura, croutons and micro arugula. The hearts are sliced into rounds, half covered with water and parchment. Cooked very slowly until they are soft. Reserve liquid. Meanwhile, brown some good quality unsalted butter until golden and also reserve. Puree in vita prep, butter, palm, liquid salt and white pepper. Use some light chicken stock if you need more liquid.

Some dishes at Town

Town is where I am working currently, helping out my friend Shaun Gouland until I start working on the new restaurant downtown. It's been fun working with Shaun again, and there are a few other guys from Bouley working there as well, Sammy, Domingo and Chef Rudy. Currently I am roasting all the meats and fish for dinner service, but hopefully I will be able to make the rounds and learn as much as possible before I move on. Our canape right now is an orange gelee with a shrimp and avocado salad. Carrot soup served with croutons and a spiced oil. Chilled Lobster Salad with multiple layers of citrus. Also on this is jalapeno, red onion that has been pickled and scallion. Last is the vegetable terrine that is held together with dashi that has been bound with gelatin.

More Jean George

Picture of the dining room, the open kitchen, chocolate course and Sasha!

Dinner at Jean George in Trump Tower

Amuse Bouche which included carrot soup with chili oil, potato fritter and tuna sashimi. Crispy Rabbit, they must have deboned the rabbit, rolled it into a torcheon, coated it with breadcrumbs and seasoned with dill. It was served with Garbanzo beans that had been cooked in Reisling. The arctic char was really good, served with trumpet royal mushrooms and jalapeno. The jalapeno had it's seeds removed and had been slow roasted so there was just the right amount of spice. The desserts were good, we had two flights, one of chocolate and one of apple.

Taste

This is a tuna sashimi that we served as an amuse bouche. Tuna seasoned in Yuzu, Jalapeno and Pink Peppercorns. Pineapple, Grapefruit, Corriander and Lime broth. Next is the Ricotta Gnocchi that will probably be going on the new restaurants menu. I would like to think of a different prep on these guys, but it just taste's so good with the artichokes. Time will tell...