Bouley

I visited this fine dining establishment with my girlfriend a few days ago. It was overpriced and underwhelming. Allow me to explain.

We both chose the Chef's tasting menu, which one would think at a Michelen 2 star restaurant would contain a panoply of culinary delights. Not so. The selection was pretty uninspiring, which was a disappointing start to the evening. Nevertheless, thinking that the wonderful flavors would be sure to impress me, I ordered a nice four course meal.

It started off with a vegetable broth containing a few pieces of seafood (squid, scallops, salmon). Although under-seasoned, the fish was cooked perfectly and was of the highest quality, and I was pretty satisfied. And then it went downhill. The second course was a Rouget (it's a fish people, get with it) that was very well cooked - the meat was tender, the skin was nicely crisped. But the flavor was bland - no spicing or flavoring, and the portion was tiny. Next came the main course: squab and foie gras with cabbage. It sounded great, and even though I normally boycott foie gras (as should you -- cruelty to geese is beyond the pale) it looked interesting enough for me to give it a try. Ugh. The squab was really undercooked -- to the point where I had to send it back to the kitchen for recooking. They sent me back a plate without the squab! Just a piece of foie gras neatly arranged on a bed of cabbage. It was disappointing. I should note here that my girlfriend enjoyed her squab, so perhaps what I was served was an anomaly....nevertheless, it was bad. We both finished off the meal with a chocolate souffle, which was good but not great. It really was more like a molten chocolate cake -- not at all fluffy and airy like a real souffle should be (or at least, what I would expect from a supposedly great French restaurant).

I'm just your average amateur foodie, but this place disappointed. If you're going to pay that much money for a meal in NYC, there are a dozen places you should try first.