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by Barbara Penny Angelakis, edited by Manos Angelakis
Gilt
New York Palace Hotel
455 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Tel. 212.891.8100
www.GiltNewYork.com
Gilt, literally means shining brilliance, and in the Michelin-stared restaurant Gilt, the name could relate to culinary excellence as well as dazzling eye appeal. Located in the landmark 1880’s Villard Mansion, at the New York Palace Hotel, entering Gilt for me is a rare visceral experience likened to Alice walking through the looking glass. Step through the elaborate iron gate from Madison Avenue into the courtyard and you leave behind the modern world and enter a long ago time of gracious elegance. Just to the right, is the entrance to Gilt or you may choose instead to walk through the stunning hotel lobby directly in front of you and ascend the stairs to enter the restaurant through the bar, redesigned by France’s famed interior designer Patrick Jouin. But for me, the experience of Gilt begins as soon as I cross the threshold of the private entrance in the courtyard and find myself inside a flawlessly matched-marble arched ceiling anteroom that leads one flight up to the restaurant. There you are warmly greeted by a host or hostess, and shown to your table.
The restaurant is relatively small, seating only 52 persons. The rectangular room itself has polished, intricately designed wood paneled walls with inset floor to ceiling paintings mounted around the room, and a sculpted coffered ceiling divided by carved and inlaid woodwork. On one end is a massive marble fireplace and directly opposite is an open door revealing the kitchen and the action taking place within. The tables are adequately spaced and the chairs comfortable enough to settle in and spend two or three hours enjoying the expansive wine list, exquisite  food and charming company of your companions. The wait staff, led by headwaiter Raphael, is attentive and invisible, just as a professionally trained staff should be.
The New American cuisine menu was created by Executive Chef Christopher Lee, whose twice-per-season changed offerings remain always tantalizing. His whimsy is not dependent on the calendar but on his love of good food. Chef Lee approaches his art with equal degrees of good humor and innovation; as an example, his signature dish, Yellow Fin Tuna “Wellington”. Here Chef Lee has taken the traditional Beef Wellington to new heights of flavor by substituting the beef with the healthier choice of perfectly cooked Tuna, surrounded by Flat Leaf Spinach, topped by the more conventional Foie Gras and chopped Porcini Mushrooms, and encircled by a flaky puff pastry, glazed with a Red Wine Reduction (for the “Tuna Wellington” recipe see the Cook’s Corner section).
The menu offers a three-course prix-fixe meal to be selected from a cold or hot first course, an ocean or land second course and a list of decadent patisseries from the fertile imagination of Pastry Chef David Carmichael. There is also a five or seven-course tasting menu with wine pairings selected by Sommelier Jason Ferris. Strictly in the interest of culinary investigation and as a service to our readership, we elected to indulge in the grand seven-course tasting menu with wine pairings.
Let the games begin… The amuse bouche consisted of Tasmanian Sea Trout, a small filet shaped like a fish with cubes of Toasted Garlic Ricotta Cheese, graduated dots of citric butter and tiny balls of White Balsamic Caviar. The ersatz-caviar is made in Chef Lee’s kitchen with different flavors and colors and is used as a delightful garnish according to the dish it accompanies. The overall eye-appeal of the plate was reminiscent of a Picasso painting which set the stage for  each presentation of the tasting menu as a work of art, as well as a marvel of culinary excellence. The first wine flight was a delicate Brut Champagne from M.V. Phillippe Prie, perfectly suited to the opening salvo.
We moved on to the warm Wild Mushroom Soup, finished with Truffle Oil and floating Crispy Mozzarella cubes. The soup was attractively served in a bowl seemingly devised to hold the divine brew. The earthy flavors of mushroom and truffle enhanced each other while the mild mozzarella added a counterpoint balance to create a symphony of taste. Next came the Fluke Sashimi with Granny Smith Apple slices, Hazelnuts, Horseradish and Salted Caramel Caviar (another of Chef Lee’s ersatz caviar creations) and accompanied by a 2006 Dr. Konstantin Frank, Gewürztraminer from New York’s Finger Lake district; according to this reviewer’s taste, this is the best American-produced Gewürztraminer. Once again, the presentation was striking and the unusual combinations of texture, color and flavor worked. The wine pairing was a perfect match.
The menu was playing with us, light and delicate to bold and earthy to gently  savory… what was waiting for us in the next offering?
A succulent dish of grilled Nantucket Bay Scallops with seared Foie Gras, Jerusalem Artichokes, Meyer Lemon for citric accent, served over a ribbon of sweet Concorde Grape reduction. The wine was an almost dry 2002 Prinz von Hessen, “Winkeler Hasensprung” Riesling Spätlese from Rheingau, Germany. The scallops were crunchy on the outside and silky soft inside cooked to perfection, and again the plating was almost too artful to disturb, but once violated was consumed down to the bare porcelain. The Riesling paired with the dish was a Spätlese (grapes harvested at peek sweetness) vinified to dryness. Even though it is relatively young, it had started displaying the typical Riesling petrol nose.
Chef Lee’s signature Yellow Fin Tuna Wellington was next served with a 2000 Damaine Courcel, Pommard “Les Grands Epenots” 1er Cru from Burgundy. The dish was described earlier in this review and it was equally as good to eat, as it was to admire. The wine paired with the Tuna Wellington was a scarlet-hued beauty, showing great legs. The only comment would be that, perhaps, a less oaked wine might have been a bit better. The “Pastrami” Pork Belly with Rye Gnocchi, Pickled Cabbage, Raclette Cheese and Russian Dressing was a fun idea but after the subtle build up of tastes in the previous offerings, seemed to this reviewer a bit jarring. I would have preferred a palate-soother to the salty pork belly in order to set  up the coming Australian Lamb Loin. The wine chosen was 2005 Lucien Barrot Chateauneuf-du-Pape, a ruby Grenache from the Rhone Valley.
Back on track with the Lamb which was served with Parsnip Puree, Cardoon, Crosnes, Roasted Garlic and Black Truffle Lamb Jus. The wine was a Tuscan 2001 Collemattoni, Brunello di Montalcino. The lamb was of the highest quality and once again cooked to perfection, rare, in the French manner, and surrounded with succulent vegetables and rich truffle flavored jus.
Desert was four separate confections, each one a dream by itself. Warm Sticky  Toffee Pudding with Black Walnut Ice Cream and Pomegranate Jus; a Tahitian Vanilla Panna Cotta with Concord Grape Soup; Valrhona Chocolate Mousse and Peanut Butter Crunch; and Hot Chocolate Strudel with Vanilla Hazelnut Swirl Ice Cream accompanied by a 2000 Ey, Banyuls, “Vigne d’ en Traginer”, a wonderful, single-vineyard Grenache dessert wine, from the French Pyrénées. And, in case your sweet tooth still has a smidgen of room left in it, a box of hand made jellies, white-chocolate covered nuts and candies are offered to fill it.
We ended the meal with a perfect espresso – the espresso coretto we ordered was properly drawn and “corrected” with a shot of Grappa. Or, for the lovers of tea, ask to choose from the restaurant’s collection of truly rare and exotic teas.
Christopher Day, the Restaurant Director, tea cognoscenti, and congenial host, graciously guided us to the kitchen for a tour of the premises and while there, we met with Chef Lee. His philosophy of food is that it should be healthy, delicious, and fun. He works hard at creating just the right symmetry and balance in his dishes - the Tuna Wellington took three weeks of hard work to achieve perfection – but that’s fun-time for Lee, and the results speak for themselves. Chef Lee is a young man and his dedicated staff works well with him, insuring that dinner at Gilt will be a journey of extraordinarily satisfying culinary discovery.
© January 2008 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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