Our entire New York trip, the Czarina is convinced, consisted of merely floating from meal to meal. Don’t get me wrong, we occasionally indulged in NYC-specific consumeristic impulse buying. But overall, this trip was all about the food.

We were able to secure reservations for Adour, Alain Ducasse’s new restaurant, at a decent dinner hour only by calling the concierge at the St. Regis, where we were staying. Previously, we had attempted to get reservations through Open Table, and wound up with a 6:30 reservation. Ew.

Follow up:

Adour is reminiscent of Ducasse’s childhood; specifically, “Adour” is the name of a river in Southwest France where he grew up. It’s a small restaurant with contemporary furnishings, and it seats only about 70 people. The bar is also very small. The overall concept is that the food is planned around the wine. The current menu is available online, but the wine list isn’t as of yet. Interestingly, if you are special (read: spend a lot of money there and frequently) you can store your own wine in their cellars. You can even get a personalized wine list unique to your stored wines, or you can get your corporate logo on the menu for special events.

My kokoshnik would look just super cool on a menu, eh? Have to get going on that “special” aspect though…

Anyway, in looking to write a review, I have to see what other people say:

Adour: Forget the food: fancy ladies with fancy purses are going to love the specially designed chairs at Alain Ducasse’s new French restaurant; each is appointed with a dainty perch upon which your precious accessory can safely and conspicuously preen. The chairs are the work of designer David Rockwell, who transformed the space formerly occupied by Lespinasse in the St. Regis into an elegantly modern stage for Ducasse’s third attempt to take Manhattan. (The Frenchman’s two previous New York failures, Mix and Alain Ducasse at the Essex House, weren’t quite the right material.) The wine cellar at Adour bulges with over 1,800 bottles, which can be sampled one by one at a small “interactive wine bar,” where tasting notes appear on the high-tech bar top. Those who can afford to dine might find the truffle foie gras ravioli to their liking, or perhaps the roasted lamb loin with piquillo and espelette peppers. – From The Gothamist

Every review so far that I can find is similar…no one really says anything of substance, which I find interesting. Even the venerated EGulleters are surprisingly ADD on the topic – the thread meanders and doesn’t go anywhere.

Maybe people are sick of contemporary French and there just isn’t much to say anymore. I know that I don’t really like French either; it’s too heavy for me. But I did like Adour, an a large component of my A grade is because the sommelier provided spectacular service. He spent so much time with us, I started to worry that other people would get annoyed, and in New York, you can never be sure what the native annoyed people will do or say. It turned out well, though, because we fell in love with a bottle of Cote Rotie Les Essartailles, 1998. If you go, I highly recommend picking out your wine and choosing the food to go with it.

Both the Czar and I had the gnocci to start, which was a very interesting and unusual texture and extremely light. Then, I chose the seared venison medallions, which were also perfectly done. The Czar had the glazed pork tournedos, which were also perfectly done and tender. For dessert, we shared the gala apple souflee, which was so excellent I can’t believe no one has commented on it. Well, one person on EGullet said that his compadre didn’t share it and took that to mean it was good. I mean, I would hurt people for this dessert.

Service was attentive and flawless. They served a few bite sized cookie-like desserts, and we were too full to eat them. So we asked to take them home. They were waiting for us in a bag when we walked out, and they knew who to give them to without asking. I love service like that.

The silence surrounding this place is bizarre, because we had a very positive experience. It had only been open a couple of weeks when we went, so perhaps we’ll be hearing more. But if you get the chance to go, take it. The people watching isn’t bad either. (Wink wink, nudge nudge.) Not that I would eavesdrop on the I-bankers next to me, no sir-iee. *whistles*

ADOUR
The St. Regis Hotel
Two E. 55th St.
NY NY 10022
212-710-2277
http://www.adour-stregis.com/

Czarina’s Grade: A