So a recent Bon Appetite streaming program showcased some cool restaurants and Olmsted popped up on our home screen and radar. It a long stone’s throw (well actually over the Brooklyn Bridge) but still only a 40 min cab ride (at 6:15 pm on a Friday) from Isabella’s swank Yorkville studio (but still only 11 miles.). Everything is compressed here in the Big Apple, distance, time, space, but I digress.

Olmsted is a food/wine geeks Shangrila. Their tasting menu is just that, a Prix Fixe affair and you get 4 courses. NO choices. Your only option is a wine pairing addition (other than glass pours, bottles or cocktails) with chef selected wines for an addtional $55 (base dinner for 4 courses is $89) and of course you can upgrade the wine pairings for $85 (yes, that happened). Olmsted is the brain child of Chef Greg Baxstrom of Alinea (yea that Alinea) Stone Barns, Per Se, Atera,) and it shows. As Eater Magazine effused - “Credit is due to Greg Baxtrom, a chef who’s spent time working at venues where $800 meals for two are not uncommon - for giving New York its most paradoxically ambitious yet most approachable restaurants. Olmsted easily joins the ranks of Estela and Wildair as oner of the city’s best most creative small plates places.” This writer would heartily agree - most dishes are under $20 and the tasting menu was 4 courses - again only $89. So yea, I’d say approachable for world class dining. The premium option wine pairing to accompany each course was an extra $85 (base pairings were $55 - so yea $30 more seemed like a no brainer - again, approachable).

The first course was a triple header wtih Lime Leaf Popcorn Monkfish, (delicate and delectable, could have eaten a bucket of those), Duck Ham Air Baguette (you had me at duck ham) and a Rutabaga soup with Green Curry and Cocount. This was paired nicely with a La Caravelle NV Blanc de blanc Brut Champagne which opened with a nose of minrerals and apple with a satisfying medium long finish, with fine smooth bubbles and a crisp acidity. Yum, nice pairing.

Course 1.5 was a bread plate of Red Fife Brioche, aerated with Tellicherry-peppercorn scented Ricotta supplied by Evi’s bakery, a subsidiary of Olmsted’s longtime pastry chef Alex Grunert which is his mother’s namesake and showcases his and his mom’s Austrian roots. Alex grew up in Vienna baking 1000s of stollen for holiday season. In Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights neighborhood where the Austrian population is considerably smaller, he’s had to scale things back. The bread was freakin delicious.

Course 2 arrived: Salsify “Rissotto” with Black Truffe Parmesan Reggiano. Salsify is a root vegetable and when grated and soaked in 3 kinds of rice milk, makes a convincing all vegetarian “risotto”. The Black Truffle and Paremesan continued the illusion and the deep fried Salsify chips on top were a welome texture addition, continuing the Salsify notes thru the dish. This was paired with a bone dry 2020 Mosel Valley Riesling from Peter Lauer (Ayler Riesling No. 25) beautiful, dry, and a hint of sweetness. The Ayler is made with grapes from the Eastern slopes of the Mosel valley and has been a regular for wine lists in German restauraunts since the 1920s. This one did not disappoint.

Course 3 (which I had been patiently waiting for all night) was an Agedashi Scallop served with Red Dashi, Hon shimeji (mushrooms) a la Grecque, and Kombu. The Scallop is a minced and pounded affair, formed into a square and served as an illusion to the Agedashi Tofu that most Japanese Cuisine fans are familiar with. Alinea did a similar rif and I’m sure that’s where Chef Baxstrom was influenced (unless he developed it). Anyway, familiar Alinea bait and switch with pounded/minced scallop acting as the fried tofu in the traditional Japense dish with hon shimeji mushrooms and Kombu dashi (dried kelp broth) which was poured over the scallop at serving. You had me at minced pounded scallops served like fried tofu (and dashi). This was paired with a 2018 Pilcher Kutlzer Gruner Veltliner from Wachau Valley, Austria and grown from the single vineyard of Ried Klostersatz, in the village of Oberloiben, one of the oldest in the Wachau, and first documented as a wine producer in 860 (is that all?) Attirbutable by its position on the Danube river bend, the sediments are fine grained on top with pebbles from the Alps building drainage underneath. The wine exhibits smooth clean, crisp pear and a long silky finish with lime aromas, medium plus body, saline on the palate (Gruners are known for going well with scallops). I could have had another or two of those, but dessert was en route.

Course 4 was a Rainbow Carrot Cake, with Citrus Caramel and Cream Cheese Fluff. As described, rich and delicious. Paired with a 1996 Chenin Blanc from Moulin Touchais. The chenin is almost a light copper in the glass (presume from aging changes). This estate is owned by the same family since 1787 and has amazing stocks of old sweet vines maturing in its cellars. With red apple, honey, and apricot, this wine is mature and yet so fresh, it is proof positive of the aging ability of Chenin Blanc. It is well balanced between the ripe honey flavors and the intense acidity that keep it well preserved. The 1996 is drinking very well right now and played well off the citrus carmael, rainbow carrots, and cream cheese flavors of the carrot cake. Another fabulous evening in the Big Apple with my best dinner date ever (that’s a blood relative in the City). It will be tough to leave (and I’ll miss Isabel). Thanks for enjoying along with us and thank you Isabel for arranging all the festivities. We hope to provide more notes from the field on Gramercy Tavern shortly as my culinary/wine exursion to the Big Apple draws to a close.