Similar to what I posted on eGullet today: There are times in life when your expectations are so high that you cannot help being disappointed. Saturday night at Corduroy was an exception to this. Our dinner was fantastic, and a huge thank you goes to Ferhat Yalcin for taking such great care of us, which included paring wines with our dishes. My plan had been to order the Mozzarella Porcupine and the Lamb Sirloin with Goat Cheese Ravioli. However, we were also informed that they could do a tasting menu as well. With those words, my plans were tossed, and we chose to order the 5 course tasting menu. Our 5 courses consisted of the following: 1. Oysters - the 3 oysters were good, but difficult to slurp out of the shell. I am not a big oyster person, so this was the least impressive dish for me. 2. Lobster Salad - a wonderful salad consisting of chilled chunks of lobster served with baby arugula drizzled with basil oil. 3. Sorrell Soup - This soup was spectacular, and was served cold and contained the same basil oil as was used in the Lobster Salad. This was one of the highlights of our meal. 4. Red Snapper Bisque - I don't like red snapper, and I also have not had a good bisque in a restaurant for a couple of years. Yet, this soup was full of flavor and one that I would order again. 5. Scallop - served with garlic mashed potatoes and morel mushrooms. I ate this with some initial trepidation, as we were informed that the chef gets his scallops from New Jersey. Since I grew up in New Jersey, I had visions of ingesting scallops freshly harvested from the Hudson River. However, this was probably my favorite dish, as the scallop was seared perfectly and had such a fresh, clean taste. 6. Beef Cheeks - prepared osso bucco style and served with tarbais beans. Each bite melted in my mouth. Fabulous. 7. Wagyu Steak - At this point we were expecting to have dessert. However, we were told that they had an additional entrée for us. Twist my arm; I guess I will eat the steak. The Wagyu was such a flavorful steak. My wife was stuffed so I was a good husband and helped clean her plate. 8. Dessert - consisted of the chocolate tart and a strawberry tart. I don't remember much at this point (food coma had kicked in) but neither plate had anything left on them when we were done. As good as the chocolate tart is, that strawberry tart was outrageously good. At $55 per person, this is one of the best "bargains" in town, especially since our 5 courses turned into 8 courses. Chef Tom Power stopped by to talk with us on our way out. He told me that he is originally from New Jersey, and after swapping Jersey Geography stories, he told us that the scallops come from southern New Jersey. I cannot recommend the tasting menu enough, as it gave us a great opportunity to sample several items on the menu, which included many items that I would not normally order. Thanks again to the staff at Corduroy for a wonderful experience.
The wines that we had are below: -Charles de Fere, blanc de blancs , NV brut -Chateau Marjosse, Entre-deux-mers 2002 (sauvignon blanc) -Olivier Laflaive, Bourgogne, 2002 (chardonnay from burgundy) -Allan Scott, New Zealand, 2002 (pinot noir) -Dominis M., vin de pays, catalan, 2002 (blend of syrah and grenache from Rhone valley of France) All of the wines were really good. Not a dud in the bunch. The chardonnay had a beautiful color; a wine that you can truly taste the grape (i.e. not overpowered by oak). The wine that stood out to me most was the Chateau Marjosse, which has quickly become my favorite Sauvignon Blanc. The vin de pays stood up well to both the Beef Cheeks and the Wagyu steak.