Michael’s, long a tenant of Midtown and a business-lunch (and dinner) spot to envy, unveiled their new menu last month, and invited along the Feisty Foodie family. I attended with TT and Feisty Foodie, and we managed to rope in Gary of Foodie Call. Together we were among fifteen or so guests that enjoyed a three-course dinner that, among the four of us, managed to cross off a big chunk of the dinner choices.
Since 1989, Michael McCarty’s Manhattan restaurant has been hosting business lunches and dinners, as well as serving those out for a special occasion. The Feisty Foodie family was invited through Bread & Butter PR, and we trekked to Midtown to sample the wares and weigh in on the kitchen.
After an event co-hosted by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (visitphilly.com) and Michael’s, we were seated and, with a brief introduction from the owner, orders were taken and the drinks started arriving.
Normally I’d never comment about the alcohol (ha!), but this happens to be made at the owner’s winery in Malibu, and not a drop of his Pinot Noir goes anywhere but to his two restaurants. He even keeps a few vines at his apartment in town, and makes perhaps 3 bottles’ worth of wine from those per year — probably the rarest wine I’ll ever hear about.
I know, it’s just a roll, but these were some very, very good dinner rolls. Crusty, but hot and moist inside.
TT says: A small amuse of what I believe featured tuna tartare with a bit of fish roe. Pretty standard preparation. I don’t remember anything exceptional about this, either, but it’s certainly not a dish I’d turn away.
TT says: This was scallops with pomegranate, the first of many “bonus” dishes that Michael brought out for us. We Feisty Foodie writers had just eaten at the Alexia event earlier, and now we were being served a three course dinner at Michael’s along with a whole lot of “bonus” food. This dish was creamy and sweet, with a touch of tartness from the pomegranate. I only had a bite since there was so much food to be had.
Seared Hudson Valley foie gras, with fig compote and “finger lime”. As with virtually all dishes at Michael’s, the centerpiece was accented with a variety of (usually) complementary flavors.
Billed as Sashimi of Tsukiji Market Hamachi, Pickled Jalapeno, Bell Peppers, Salmon Roe, Yuzu Vinaigrette, my first course was, in a word, beautiful — I almost didn’t want to eat it. Maybe it was for the event, but the attention paid to this plating was rather impressive.
Of course I did eat it with gusto. The diced peppers (minus the jalapenos somehow) pitted against the citric, acetic tang of the vinaigrette, worked very well with the hamachi. No fishiness whatsoever, just delicious sashimi. I was impressed with this photogenic dish.
The California fig, burrata cheese, jamon serrano, extra virgin olive oil, aged balsamic salad. Yvo says: I ordered this appetizer because I was in the middle of a burrata kick. Longtime readers might have noticed that I’ll become obsessed with an ingredient and for a while, will order anything containing that singular ingredient; yes, some of these stay obsessions (salted caramel, anyone?). In any case, burrata, with its mild flavor and creamy texture, complemented the saltiness of jamon serrano (a former obsessive ingredient of mine, since I returned from Spain) and the sweetness of the figs beautifully. Splashed over with a bit of good olive oil and some balsamic, excellent ingredients were allowed to shine in this simple but delicious dish.
Yvo says: I ordered the pan roasted Oregon black cod with ‘littleneck clam chowder, Dungeness crab and Peewee potato’ because look at that resume of ingredients. It sounds awesome! And while I was less than impressed with the ‘clam chowder’ (um, do you even see any? I see clams, but no chowder of which to speak in my bowl) or Dungeness crab (I don’t recall even having any), the presentation was cute enough though made it unwieldy for me to eat the real star of the dish: the roasted cod. I couldn’t stuff myself any more full, but that fish? That fish. My friends, the crust – which you can clearly see in the photograph – was crisp, but the fish meat melted in my mouth. Black cod is a fairly oily (read: delicious) and creamy fish, so the crispness of the crust was not lost on my tastebuds as I crammed as much of the fish into my mouth as I could. Amazing. I forgave the lack of promised ‘chowder’ and Dungeness because that one piece of fish was just that good. That fish. That fish was incredible.
TT says: Another “bonus” — stone crab claws! Michael really went all out for us. These things are not cheap, so I was pretty shocked when these came out for a table of 15 people. The meat was light and naturally sweet.
TT says: I started with the Butter-Poached Maine Lobster with spaghetti squash, salsify, and Sauce Américaine. The lobster was perfectly cooked. A tasty way to start the meal.
My pork chop — Snake River Kurobuta pork chop, mind you — arrived with heirloom carrots, pickled pearl onions, and a mustard jus.
Yes, that is cooked to my liking. So tender and juicy, with some sear, the flavor of the pork, salted very nicely, really stood out against the mustard.
Besides being quite photogenic, my vegetables swam happily in the sauce, picking up creamy mustard and generally proving I made an excellent choice for an entree.
Gary enjoyed a 28-day dry-aged DeBragga and Spitler Prime NY steak with potato puree, porcini mushrooms and Brussels sprouts in a Bordelaise sauce.
TT says: For my main, I ordered the Ellensberg rack of lamb with tzatziki, autumn vegetables, and rosemary au jus. The lamb was juicy and tender. I liked the addition of the tzatziki to make the Greek flavors shine. Although, I don’t think the dish justified the menu price of $45.
Meanwhile, of course, we continued to have glasses refilled. I was quite pleased with the house Pinot, though bottles of a white — Sauvignon Blanc, perhaps? — also circulated.
Dessert came in the form of a selection of cookies fresh from the kitchen. The reverse chocolate chip cookie (white “chocolate” chunks in a chocolate base) was my favorite, though I did enjoy the coconut macaroon as well.
Okay, there was also a brown-sugar cheesecake with ginger Anglaise and a graham cookie.
Aaaaaand apple pie: a stack of sweetened apple slices in a kind of mega-mini tart, with cinnamon ice cream and toffee sauce.
Naturally, we needed yet more dessert, in the form of a variety of ice creams, served with nuts. I was fairly desserted out by this point, but our part of the table gamely soldiered through.
… until we reached the cheese plate, which ended the evening’s dining on a more savory note.
Again, thank you to our hosts for the evening of eating and drinking. I enjoyed the dishes I sampled, and were the price tag lower — I know, if it were lower, the quality would not be at the level it was — I would certainly be making my reservations tomorrow. But I’ll keep them on my short list the next time friends are in town and want to get together after work for a special dinner and drinks in Midtown.
Please note that the food and drink were courtesy of Michael’s. I received no monetary compensation for this review, nor was I obliged in any way to post about the food and drink, positively or otherwise. This is my own opinion and I feel it was unbiased; you are free to take from this what you will.
T.C. says
Damn. That’s a lot of good eating…and lovely desserts!! *drools*
BeerBoor says
A tour de force, it was. You might think, looking at the place, that it was a restaurant trapped in time, but from the looks of the menu they’ve been keeping up rather well. I’m amused at menus with overly-flowery ingredient lists printed, but if the food’s good, that’s most important.
Feisty Foodie says
The food was really quite good at Michael’s. My wallet doesn’t allow for a quick return, but I would not hesitate to recommend this place to people who ask me for suggestions in that area!
aimee says
Good to know it’s not as bad as some have said. I wondered why so many movers and shakers dined there so often.
thebob.bob says
I’ve only had exceptional meals at Michael’s … on both coasts. The attention to ingredients, preparation, cooking and presentation shows. No flash in the pan.
kpn says
I was there on Restaurant week. The food was superb. I didn’t really expected much, but it was so good I went for a 2nd visit. Very nice restaurant. Perhaps, I should try a la carte on my next visit.