Gordon Ramsay at the London, NYC
As promised, I am sharing more deats from my fabulous fancy birthday dinner in NYC. Not only did Adam surprise me with a weekend in NYC but he also totally surprised me with his restaurant choice- Gordon Ramsay at the London NYC! I’ve been to my fair share of nice restaurants and this one tops the chart. (as it should!)
Fact: I forgot the names of some of our courses. I did some research until I was able to determine exactly what we ate except the dessert portion gets a little tricky.
I’m not a food critic and I typically use words like fabulous, delicious, and yummy to describe my food. Even if I watch The Food Network daily, I don’t know- if it tastes good that’s really all that matters to me. With that being said I’m just going to give a brief rundown of what we ate that night.
As we entered Maze we were greeted with a very friendly front staff. I’m sure everyone is treated this way, and it’s not because my sister in law’s bestie is employed by Chef Ramsay, right? We had a light discussion on how we knew Peggy as we were escorted through Maze and through some doors until we reached Gordon Ramsay at the London NYC. It reminded me of a private dining room that would be available to rent for an event. There are only about 15 tables in the restaurant. The white and gold décor with dim lighting gave a very warm and inviting effect. And the chairs were super plush-perfect for a multi-hour long meal!
Shortly after we sat down and handed menus they wheeled over the champagne cart, popped a bottle and poured us two glasses of bubbly- compliments of Peggy! Another totally unexpected surprise!
Our waiter began to explain the menu choices to us, letting us know everything can be customized to our liking. We ordered our respected courses, selected our wine choice and had a toast. Then the food started coming. Oh my gosh, readers- get ready.
First was the amuse bouche which was a chilled cucumber and almond soup with the tiniest pommes gaufrettes. I think I could have ate an entire batch of the waffle fries. They were light and crunchy, so good.
Next was our hors d’oeuvre. It was a deconstructed gazpacho consisting of melons and cucumbers. I remember thinking it was refreshing.
They brought out fresh baked bread and I think sea salt butter. We were really impressed with the butter dish. I sorta want to get one, isn’t it cute?
And then our wine was poured to let it breathe. I don’t remember what type of wine this was, except that the waiter explained it has sort of a “band aid” after taste. Why we chose this one, I don’t know. I think we were intrigued. The wine became better the more it breathed, but after the first sip it really did taste like a band aid was in your mouth.
Then our starters came out. Adam ordered the carpaccio. I had tomato and basil risotto specially made.
I really wanted risotto, the one on the menu had wild mushrooms, I have an allergy- whatcha gonna do? Be that girl, yes ma’am! And I’m so glad I did. I could have happily eaten plate after plate of this creamy goodness!
For our main courses, I selected the filet of turbot with marinated sungold tomatoes, asparagus, and basil velouté. Confession: I didn’t know turbot was a type of fish until after I ordered. My mind was still wrapping around the words “deconstructed gazpacho”- I saw filet, thought it was cow. Ha. Thankfully I still found my dish delightful. It was very flakey and tender. Best piece of fish I ever did eat, I tell ya!
Adam selected the colorado lamp over Moroccan couscous and braised artichokes with a lamb vinaigrette. I did not try any of his meal but he said it was really great. He ended up not really digging the Moroccan couscous but he eat every last bite of lamb.
Being stuffed with wine and food we had to make room for dessert. And this is where things got crazy. First came out what I believe to be a palate cleanser, and sadly I don’t remember what it was. I think it ended up being very similar to the dessert selection Adam choose. I do know it was sorbet, and it was good!
Next came out a berry sorbet with a single candle and Happy Birthday written in chocolate. No singing, or clapping or dancing- just an elegant but understated birthday surprise. It was good.
Then they brought out the desserts we ordered- I picked the chocolate soufflé. It’s something my baking skills cannot master. Mmm, the inside was gooey and warm. It was served with mint ice cream. I’m not a fan of anything mint unless it’s chewing gum. But I scarfed down the ice cream so fast that I didn’t even snap a picture. If all mint flavored treats were that good I’d probably eat more!
Adam’s desert.. hmm. He says it was something peach. It looks similar to our palate cleanser and during my research this morning I read another person who ate here last month received white peach and thyme crumble with peach puree and lemon verbena sorbet. I’m not sure if that’s what Adam had, as I also did not try this dish. Actually, I didn’t try any of Adam’s selections. I kinda regret that!
Okay- so I’m still not done with dessert. I’m sure you’re like “this post is long enough”, believe me I was thinking similar thoughts as more food was brought to us. (though I’m not complaining)
For some reason we received this extra dessert of lemon pudding cake with strawberry meringue topped with champagne sorbet. Every event should have champagne sorbet. I’m just saying.
Our last course was the candy cart. They rolled over this fabulous display of house made candies. Our waiter loaded up a plate filled with cotton candy, marshmallows, honeycombs, salted caramels, truffles and other assorted chocolates. If that’s not enough, they sent us home with little boxes of chocolates too!
After dinner, we were escorted through the kitchen where I was once again completely thrown off my game. The pastry chef for Maze asked “How’s Emitt doing”- Emitt, as in my nephew who was only 4 days old at this time. As it turns out, the chef is Peggy’s sister! It’s a small world.
I absolutely loved this dinner. It was an experience- and probably something I’ll only do once in my lifetime. My husband is awesome. It was the ultimate birthday dinner!
