[Melonious Thunk]

Superb meal for six at Veritas tonight. I was entertaining two clients from Greece and their spouses and a friend.
I called Tim Kopec and said I wanted chef to prepare a tasting menu of six courses, balanced 4 seafood/fish and two meat plus dessert. I asked for the sommelier to recommend wines for each course, not knowing what chef Scott Bryan would prepare.
We were brought to a large table in the corner back with a banquette for three and three chairs. Nice start. After a brief discussion with Josh, the sommelier, we established some parameters for the wines.
* Aperetif 2003 Sancerre Rose, Pascal Cotat
Amuse: marinated calamari, on a bed of pickled cucumber, shiso and chilis

First course: Chilled lobster salad, spiced avocado, grapefruit and mache.

* 2002 F.X. Pihler Riesling Smaragd, Loibner Berg (an inspired pairing with the lobster).

Second course: Catham cod with manila clams, chorizo and piquillo peppers
* 2001 Mersault Boucheres, Domaine Roulot

Third course: Seared Divers scallops, celery root purée and wild mushroom and black truffle vinagrette

* 2002 Riesling Spatlaese Erdener Pralat, Dr. Loosen

Fourth course: Seared Foie Gras, quince, pistachios, armagnac and black pepper gastrique

Fifth course: Pepper crusted venison, smashed rutabagas, glazed turnips and green peppercorn armagnac jus
* 2002 Chambolle Musogny Amaoureuses, J. Drouhin

Dessert course:

Passion Fruit Cheese Cake, pistachio and berry compote
* 1999 Trimbach, VT Gewurtztraminer

Chocolate soufflé, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce
* Mas Amiel 10 year old Maury

Granny Smith Tarte Tatin, ginger ice cream and pomegranate reduction
* 1993 5 Puttonyos Tokaji, Chateau Pasjzos

Chocolate hazelnut torte, caramel ice cream and orange vanilla extract
* 20 Year Tawny Port, Ramos Pinto

Golden pineapple financier, sour cream sorbet
* 1968 Bual Madeira, D’Oliveres

Pumpkin Creme Caramel, coconut cream and rum raisins
* 1997 Domaine L. Ticharderie Quarts De Chaune, Clos Paradis

The cod was a wonderfully refined version of this Portugese dish. The scallops were superb in their dressing of wild mushroom. The venison was the consistency of the best sushi with the flavor of seared venison in a nice salt crust. The foie gras was a nice preparation, but the foie lacked the richness and unctuousness that makes foie what it is. The Lobster salad was a winner, especially with the wine paring.
Desserts were uniformly superior and impossible to deny. The tarte tatin was the equal of mine. The dessert wines served with each were chosed with a practiced palate and worked wonderfully.

Service was flawless, present throughout but invisible when not needed.

This is not food that pushes any envelopes, but it is a meal that pleases even the most demanding palates, and the wine service was reassuringly good. This was a 9/10 meal overall. It wowed my clients and left me pleased, sated and happy. It's what high end dining should be.

[SFJoe]

Nice wines.

Sounds like fun.

[Elissa]

After a screening of Kingdom of Heaven last night (two thumbs up here) we dropped in for a much needed bottle of dry, floral, minerally Gruner-Veltliner: FX Pichler's "M". Well matched the film's desert-dry environs (it was shot in Spain and Morocco but supposed to be mostly Jerusalem). We had some food too: Amuse was squid with eggplant caviar - wonderfully smokey and complex with a great play of the textures against eachother - and I'm generally nothing of an eggplant fan. Arguably the city's best sweetbreads; then black bass and scallop mains, both in foamed sauces. The scallops were perfectly browned and yet not at all overdone. Well balanced flavors in the sauces too. We shared a cardamom ice cream on lemon and blueberry tart for dessert and forwent the second - the prefixe is a huge quantity of food. I love this underhyped, understated place...which in spite of its kind of formal appearance remains fun, not at all stuffy. Apparently it was someone's last night there last night and though we were in the back a raucous celebration rang through the house.

[Wilfrid1]

A spontaneous dinner at the bar, with very pleasant service. Enjoyable, although a reminder of why I rarely choose Veritas for a special meal. The menu remains very predictable and conservative - several dishes mentioned by Mr Thunk above were available: it's the usual round of foie gras, scallops, beef and lamb. Nicely executed, though.

There was cod special which sounded interesting, but I was committed to red wine, a modest 96 Medoc. I started with the wild mushroom tart, which had good black truffle aroma and flavor; then, not liking black pepper crushed all over my venison, I pretty much flipped a coin between the beef filet and the rack of lamb. The beef was quite tasty, cooked to order, and came with some haricots verts. No fireworks.

The cheese course was very good - French (exclusively?) - and included an epoisses which was in good condition. Just bread, no messing around with jam and syrup and honey. The thinly sliced ciabatta roll did a convincing impersonation of a first rate baguette - it was from either Tom Kat or Sullivan.

I was comped the deliciously puddingy 1968 Bual from D' Oliveiras. I tasted it alongside a drop of a much lighter, thinner (and less expensive) Bual on the list - which a passing server noted, with disturbing accuracy, boasted Worcestershire sauce on the finish.

[Wilfrid1]

Nothing in nearly two years? That dinner above doesn't seem so long ago.

Anyway, I think I saw a rumor that Scott Bryan was moving on. Anyone know if it's true?

[SFJoe]

Nothing in nearly two years? That dinner above doesn't seem so long ago.

Anyway, I think I saw a rumor that Scott Bryan was moving on. Anyone know if it's true?

Yes. He's there until the end of September, then gone. No successor named as of my tasty squab at the bar on Tuesday. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself now.

[rozrapp]

Anyway, I think I saw a rumor that Scott Bryan was moving on. Anyone know if it's true?

Definitely. Read about it here.

[Wilfrid1]

One of the longer runs in one restaurant, in this fickle town.

[Melonious Thunk]

I just reread my report of the dinner we had in 2004. Wonderful meal and wines.

[SFJoe]

On the personal upside, 10 Downing is a reasonable stroll from my front door. I'm pretty eager to see what Scott does there.

I wonder what they'll do at Veritas--the only partner still active in the business is Park Smith, who is no spring poussin. Despite his predilection for 17% abv Chateauneufs. Verlin died, and Gino had some falling out with the rest. It's a little hard to see Park inspiring the place and recovering from the loss of Scott, but who knows?'

[rozrapp]

On the personal upside, 10 Downing is a reasonable stroll from my front door. I'm pretty eager to see what Scott does there.

I wonder what they'll do at Veritas--the only partner still active in the business is Park Smith, who is no spring poussin. Despite his predilection for 17% abv Chateauneufs. Verlin died, and Gino had some falling out with the rest. It's a little hard to see Park inspiring the place and recovering from the loss of Scott, but who knows?'

Interesting that you mention all that. Veritas has always been a favorite, but we haven't been back in more than a year because I feel the menu has remained quite stagnant. Some seasonal tweaks here and there, but pretty much the same old, same old. Not that I'm saying Bryan's departure isn't a loss, but from my perspective, it seems he's just been treading water.

[SFJoe]

Scott's been talking about leaving for quite a while. Though there is new stuff on the menu, and he did fine things with the end of summer. But he's been looking for his next gig at least since Verlin died.

[Wilfrid1]

Snails two ways from the just departed chef.

It will be interesting to see what Pugin brings to the place.

Pink Pig

Attached File(s)

•  veritas_snails.jpg (31.24K)
  Number of downloads: 1

[oakapple]

It will be interesting to see what Pugin brings to the place.

Even under Bryan, the cuisine at Veritas was always a tad understated—a shade or two below true excitement, as if they wanted to be sure that nothing, not even food, would overshadow the wine list. You have to wonder if Pugin is going to dial it up a notch.

[Wilfrid1]

I agree. I guess it's wise to wait for him to settle in.