332 replies to this topic

[SethG]

I had the pleasure of dining at the Bite Club a week ago last Sunday, and with all the MF outages I haven't had a chance to post about it. (I cleared the idea of posting about the experience with Daniel, by the way.) Now a week has passed and I've lost the menu I took home with me, but I'll try to give you some idea of my experience. (If you want a bunch of photos, look at Perlow's blog.)

First of all, I want to emphasize that dining at Bite Club makes for a very pleasant evening. Daniel and his companion Alicia are extremely welcoming. You are served in the living and dining rooms of a "classic five" apartment, with the tables set up like a restaurant. Including my wife and me, there were a total of fourteen diners on the night we visited. The service is pretty professional and very attentive, handled by Daniel, Alicia, and a drafted friend of the house. Plan on a long night. IIRC, our meal had five proper courses, two amuses/palate cleansers, a cheese course, and three desserts. There's a wine pairing with every course-- it was more than I could eat and drink. A tremendous value at $100 per person. We were there from 8 p.m. until after midnight.

Mostly Daniel aims for French technique with some dabs of experimentation here and there. Luxury ingredients like lobster, foie gras, and caviar are sprinkled throughout the meal, givng a feeling of luxury, but I could see evidence of smart efforts to save money as well, such as in the apple/rutabaga soup and in some of the wine pairing choices, which included a Languedoc red and a simple French Pinot Noir varietal bottle.

My favorites of the evening were the first amuse (a powerful lobster broth with a bit of lobster meat), the rutabaga/apple soup, Daniel's cauliflower "panna cotta" (made with cauliflower, cream, and gelatin, which makes a creamy, light base for a spoonful of caviar), the rack of goat (good flavor and perfectly cooked, served with a smear of Rancho Gordo beans), and the cheese course, of which I remember little but which featured at least six cheeses from Montreal. I thought a few of the courses missed the mark, such as the pasta/lobster/sea urchin course, which just didn't do it for me, and the chef's personal favorite, his quail with waffles. The quail is fried (in a batter, seemed like), and then served with waffles and maple syrup-- I just didn't get it. It didn't seem to me like the quail really belonged in the dish, and I thought the syrup overwhelmed everything else. But most of the meal was very impressive. Daniel has come up with a few signature dishes-- I'll be interested to see what he can do with seasonal ingredients once they start really coming in locally.

I was so full and buzzed by the time dessert rolled around that I'm having trouble bringing the experience back to the surface. I do remember some tasty house-made ice creams and a home-made French macaroon, which I think earns extra points. And I liked the port.

It doesn't seem like Bite Club has sparked much interest among MF members. There was one other MF'er there (who came seperately from us) the night of our visit, but I got the sense from Daniel that we were the first MF'ers to come. Daniel and Alicia are extraodrinarily friendly (or it's possible they overestimate my opinion's value around here). At any rate, in my opinion it is worthy of your time and money-- but don't worry about them if you're not interested. I think they're booked until July.

[Cathy]

Thanks for the report, Seth. This is definitely on my must-do list!

[Liza]

I'm in.

[nuxvomica]

i've been thinking of doing it too, i saw it was in Daniel's sig for a while. And Perlow's photos sorta cinched it for me - it's definitely on the list.

a special MF edition of the Bite Club?

[SethG]

Talk about pressure for the poor guy!

[StephanieL]

I was the other MF'er who was at that dinner, and had much of the same experience as SethG. I didn't get the wine pairings though, because I knew all that wine would overwhelm me (plus I saved $25). As it was, the amount of food was staggering, and, as Seth mentioned, the meal clocked in at over 4 hours.

I enjoyed the pasta with sea urchin as well as the quail with waffles--a nice takeoff on the classic Southern dish of chicken & waffles. The baby goat was outstanding.

I have the menu at home, so I'll post later on exactly what we had. I did sample the booze that was served with the last dessert--maple liqueur, which Daniel said was a mixture of Canadian whiskey and maple syrup. It was an intriguing combination.

One thing to note: unlike at a dinner party, where everyone is seated at a long table, people are seated at separate tables according to the # of people in your party, like at a restaurant. So if you plan to go by yourself like I did, expect to dine alone at your own table unless another singleton shows up, in which case you may be seated with that person (if both of you are amenable to the idea, that is).

[The Princess]

I'll definitely try to find time to go.

[SethG]

I enjoyed the pasta with sea urchin as well as the quail with waffles--a nice takeoff on the classic Southern dish of chicken & waffles. The baby goat was outstanding.

That's interesting about the quail-- I had a feeling it was a take on some traditional dish I didn't get. It makes sense that it's Southern in origin. Way too sweet for me!

[Blondie]

I'm in.

Me too!

[Daniel]

There was one other MF'er there (who came seperately from us) the night of our visit, but I got the sense from Daniel that we were the first MF'ers to come. Daniel and Alicia are extraodrinarily friendly (or it's possible they overestimate my opinion's value around here). At any rate, in my opinion it is worthy of your time and money-- but don't worry about them if you're not interested. I think they're booked until July.

Hey Seth,

So happy to hear your write up.. We dont think you are that big time, I was just being nice for the next time I need legal advice..I am in China right now and will have Alicia post desserts.. But I think we gave you the broiled melon with homemade phyllo and ice cream, the chocolate macaroon, a shot of ginger hot chocolate, a chocolate cognac mousse a la whipped cream maker, and the baby poached pear, with pear rum caramel, and pistachios, with an eight egg vanilla bean ice cream...Plus everyone left before we could give out our take home desserts, they went to good use.. I also think that cheese plate was some of the best collection of cheese I have personally ever seen.. But Miss A is in charge of desserts so I will ask her..

Anyway, you and your wife are just so lovely, we hope to see you soon.. I love being a day a head over here, if anyone needs the lottery numbers, just ask... Off to breakfast!

[StephanieL]

Those desserts sound about right. Here's the full menu from that evening, with the wine pairings.


Amuse: lobster broth and lobster meat

Cauliflower Flan with Caviar
Entre Deux-Mers Chateau Turcaud 2006

Apple Rutabaga Soup with FoieReo (an Oreo takeoff, with two "cookies" made with foie and a foie creamy center)
Domaine Barmes-Buecher Sept Grains 2004

Spaghettini, Lobster, Sea Urchin Butter (served in a hollowed-out sea urchin)
Domaine Daniel Rion Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits Blanc 2004

Quail and Waffles (fried quail with waffles and maple syrup)
Guillaume Pinot Noir 2005

Mulled Apple Cider Granita

Rack of Baby Goat, Puree of Rancho Gordo Beans (I think he used the flageolet)
Domaine Le Pas de L'Escalette Le Premier Pas 2005

Cheese Tasting (mostly raw milk cheeses; I remember an especially fine cave-aged blue)
NV Mas Amiel Maury Cuvee Speciale 10 Ans d'Age (this was the port Seth mentioned)

Broiled Melon with Vanilla Ice Cream

Vanilla Bean Poached Pear, Madagascar Custard, Poire William Caramel
L'Orpailleur Seyval Blanc 2004

Macaroons, Spuma, and Hot Chocolate Du Jour (the hot chocolate had ginger and cardamom)
Sortilege Maple Liqueur

[SethG]

Daniel, you went all that way for ingredients for this week's dinner? Please tell me you didn't drive to China.

I forgot to mention the little foie gras oreo-- it was a great rich counterpoint to the humble (yet very satisfying) soup. I think that was actually my favorite course of the meal.

[Daniel]

Stephanie it was really so great to see you also... I can honestly say, everyone who has come has been just really so wonderful.. I am happy that this place has attracted a very enthusiastic and unique crowd...

Seth I will concede that the soup is inexpensive to make but thats not why we made it.. It was a cold rainy night, actually it was the sunday night when we got all that crazy rain... A guest there said her favorite things on the sign up sheet where sweet potatoes and we did make a foie gras mousse and a pastry from foie gras that housed the filling.. The pastry alone took two days to make.. Your opinion is still very valid, I just dont want you to think it was driven on economics.. We are not that savy, we make the meals and then at the end are like oh shit, how much did this cost to make..Haha

[TrishCT]

You make homemade phyllo..?? Wow.

[Daniel]

Yup, we run it through the pasta machine.. Its fairly easy to make.. The recipe calls for like three of four things.