Amazing 10 Course Meal at Degustation!

I had a really AMAZING 10 course meal at Degustation. Degustation has 19 seats that surround an open kitchen (similar to sitting at the counter for a sushi bar but a kitchen instead of sushi). You get to watch the chefs make each dish and then it’s served to you – we were seated in front of the plancha so we saw all the proteins cooked there, but the best seat of the house is near the entrance where they plate all the food. Pretty cool setup, it was really interesting to watch the chefs cook and plate everything.

The tasting menu changes every month, but from what the server told me, they only rotate a few dishes – about half the items we had were off the regular menu, so I’m guessing those will stay constant while the other half switch.


Amuse Bouche:

“Spanish Tortilla” – potato wrapper, shallot confit, and quail egg yolk inside – very playful item using potato as a wrapper and having the egg yolk run out once you bite into it

Bacalao Croquette with Aioli – pretty good as well, but more standard in delivery

Course 1:

Crudo of Mackarel – ginger, puffed rice, chive, crispy mackerel skin, champagne vinegar sauce – pretty good bite of food, lots of interesting flavors that melded together nicely.

Course 2:

Celery Root Soup, Chorizo Oil, Crouton – this was okay

Course 3:

Slow Poached Egg, Cauliflower Mousse, Uni, Microgreens - I didn’t realize egg and cauliflower paired so well together and I’m a sucker for uni – this dish was amazing.

Course 4:

Fried Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Beets, Carrots, Spicy Aioli, Hijiki Puree – really nice dish, this is the first time I’ve seen hijiki pureed and it works wonderfully with the fried Brussels sprouts and roasted beets.  A very unique and tasty dish absolutely delicious.

Course 5:

Shrimp a la Plancha, Puffed Rice, Fried Shrimp Head, Pimenton and Sherri Vinegar – the pimento and sherri vinegar was really good, but the best part was being served the fried shrimp head – restaurants need to serve fried shrimp heads more often.

Course 6:

Sea Snail with Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Fennel Mousse, and Crispy Quinoa – another great dish highlighting different textures and flavors - I was really impressed with the crispy quinoa.

Course 7:

Coca Mallorquina – Flatbread with spicy endive marmalade, chili paste, seared duck breast, black radish, and chive sauce – the spicy endive marmalade was so so good, and the duck breast was cooked perfectly - really nice dish.

Course 8:

Coffee Crusted Seared Venison, Black Beans, Farofa, Poached Cranberries, and Banana Tempura –this reminded me of an elevated version of Spanish food platters (rice and beans, plantains, and meat). The venison was cooked perfectly – granted, I haven’t had a lot of venison, but this is the best that I’ve had – nice temperature, texture, and really juicy.

Course 9:

Sangria Gelee, Fresh Mint, Blood Orange – this was decent for a palette cleanser, this is the only item that I thought was a bit gimmicky even though I like the idea of a sangria gelee.

Course 10:

Caramelized Torija (Spanish Style Bread Pudding) with Grapefruit – not really sure how this was made, but the texture of the bread was almost like the melted marshmallow from smores – very good with the brulee. A great end to a fantastic meal.

Degustation
239 E 5th St
(between 2nd Ave & Cooper Sq)
New York, NY 10003
www.degustationnyc.com