Amuse(d)-bouche.

Sorry I've been away! Last weekend was a whirlwind of packing, travel, more packing, and more travel (a quick trip for work, a quick trip for fun). But you know me: plenty of goodies to eat on the road.

This past weekend I went to New York with my parents and Nick. The first night we went to Bouley, a spectacular French restaurant in TriBeCa that was just voted the #4 best restaurant by Zagat last week. I'm lucky enough to have been to several excellent restaurants with my parents over the years (including Chez Helen -- a.k.a. My Mom's Kitchen at Home -- where we always get the Chef's Table without a reservation), and this is one of my favorites that keeps us coming back for more.

Once you open the rather inconspicuous front door, you're greeted by the fragrant smell of sweet apples that fill shelves in the entryway from floor to ceiling. You walk through a small lounge area to a cozy, lively dining room with plush arm chairs and charming paintings of the French countryside. Delicate china patterns (way out of the league of even my most favorite Anthropologie ceramics) and sweet flower arrangements by candlelight complete the picture.

Now for the food...dinner started off with a fairly complex and generously portioned amuse-bouche (a small bite of pre-appetizer, whatever the chef feels like for the day; literally meaning "mouth amuser"): apple and celery sorbet with roasted red and golden beets (so much better than mine), avocado, and a crisp rice paper  wafer with pine nuts (pictured above).

Followed by oysters and salmon roe with a Meyer lemon cloud, yuzu, and micro greens:

An umami explosion of porcini flan with dungeness crab and an incredibly rich black truffle dashi:

For the "main" courses: sea bass with heirloom tomato water and hints of tarragon and vanilla that didn't taste at all like tarragon and vanilla but gave the dish a slight roundness that had me phantom-tasting saffron when paired with the fish:

And the meat course: duck breast with pencil asparagus, served over porcini mushrooms and another delicate foam (not pictured: the most amazing mashed potatoes you have ever had in your life. I imagine the recipe must be something like this: 2 parts butter, 1 part potato):

A cool palate cleanser of cantaloupe soup (listeria be damned!) and a scoop of creamy, tangy goat cheese sorbet:

Dessert, part I: an amazingly intense Concord grape sorbet and sauce with freeze-dried Concord grapes for a perfect contrasting crunch:

Dessert, part II: a caramelized pear and lemony "soufflé" (as our waiter called it) served on a crumbly, buttery cookie with a velvety vanilla ice cream and Valrhona chocolate:

My bouche was very amused, indeed.