Bouley Restaurant
www.davidbouley.com
163 Duane Street New York, NY
10013
$$$$$
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I wanted to have a wonderful Thanksgiving experience this
year with the man that introduced me to restaurant food, my father. After
my parents’ divorce back in 1991 he would drive 75 minutes from Bridgewater, NJ
to Queens, NY and we would spend every other Sunday exploring Manhattan. We spent most of our days at art galleries, antique stores,
auction houses, Sotheby’s and museums of all kinds. We would usually end our day together at a restaurant.
Thanksgiving was my “fathers” holiday, Christmas belonged
to my mom and so we gave up on our traditional home cooked meals and headed to
Willow restaurant on Madison Ave for Thanksgiving.
Every
year for many years we went to the same place until dad of course started
dating and we went back to having family Thanksgivings at home. Willow is no longer in existence and so I
wanted to take my father someplace special this year we would go to Bouley in
Tribeca.
I made a reservation a couple of months in advance on Open Table;
Bouley would be offering a six course tasting menu. Surely, Dad would appreciate having a dinner
of a lifetime.
Tribeca was very quiet on Thanksgiving, all the tourists
ventured up to midtown for the parade and all the locals escaped the hustle and
bustle. Once I entered Bouley I walked into a foyer area which contains shelves
from floor to ceiling, covered with fresh apples. I was suddenly engulfed with the fragrance of
apples, it was AMAZING. The fragrance caused me to smile at the notion of originailty. I
entered another door which leads to the hostess station and in that moment, when
I thought everyone escaped Tribeca, I suddenly realize that everyone in Tribeca was in this restaurant.
A man came by with a push cart filled with freshly baked
breads. And told us a story about how
David Bouley decided to start baking his own bread during the Atkins
craze. Seems Bouley likes to go against the
grain (no pun intended). The Baker would pass our table every few minutes and my
father would ask him to stop for another type of bread. My father looked intrigued
and appreciative of the exchange.
For the next two hours I would admire the beautiful, extra
large murals on the walls, the large ceiling arches, and the accents of apple
green through the restaurant. I felt cozy, at home and relaxed dining at
Bouley. I watched my father, smile with
each bite, of each course, enjoying the Porcini Flan with Dungeness crab and
black truffle dashi, the New Zealand venison, the butternut squash soup from
David Bouley’s home garden, the organic Connecticut farm egg, the pineapple soufflé,
the exotic sorbet and the French macaroons.
Oh, and the bottle of Pino Noir and the espresso with sambuvca and lemon
peel. The service was impeccable and the ambiance and people watching was incredible.
Bouley is an experience that I will never forget. A
time where I got to spend my Thanksgiving meal with the two most important men
in my life, my father and my partner. Isn’t that what life is about, creating memories which
happen to be around food.
Total 3 people with wine and tip: $820.00
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