The prix fixe brunch at Bar Boulud is a good deal, especially for NYC. It is $32 for four courses, though I'd really call it three and a half given the diminutive size of the first course. I went here with my mother, aunt, and uncle. We had a lovely time and all of us enjoyed all our food--and I got to taste what everyone else ordered. Anyway, the prix fix brunch comes with American coffee, which they refilled quite frequently, or tea for a supplement. It's always cracked me up that places charge more for tea when it's just unlimited hot water and one tea bag, but I digress.
The first course is termed "pastries" but we all only got one very small viennoiserie. I had a pain au chocolate, as did my mom. My aunt had an apple croissant, according to her, delicious. My uncle had a raisin danish, which was also lovely.
The first course is termed "pastries" but we all only got one very small viennoiserie. I had a pain au chocolate, as did my mom. My aunt had an apple croissant, according to her, delicious. My uncle had a raisin danish, which was also lovely.
For the second course I ordered the creamy grits with rhubarb compote, a maple whisky sauce, and pecans. Oh my goodness it was good. The grits were the perfect texture; not clumpy but not at all runny--I suppose calling them creamy about sums it up. The rhubarb compote was excellent, with just a hint of tartness which complemented the sweet sauce nicely. My only problem with the compote was that I'd wished there had been a bit more--not too much more or it would have overwhelmed the dish, but a bit more would have been nice. The sauce was quite sweet, but very thin and not syrupy so it did not overpower the mild flavor of the grits. The pecans worked well and added a nice crunch, however there was something slightly incongruous about them...maybe they needed to be toasted or perhaps chopped a little bit finer, they just seemed a little too strong as they were for the dish.
My mom got the grits as well. I wanted her to get the sheep's milk yogurt, granola, and berries (a former classmate of mine at the FCI told me they import their strawberries from Italy and I don't think I've ever eaten an Italian strawberry) so that I could try it but she wanted the grits and I didn't want to taste those strawberries enough to give up the grits. My aunt and uncle both had the potato soup with smoked haddock. They wouldn't let me try their haddock or croutons, apparently they were just too good to share, but I had a sip of the creamy potato broth--it was incredible. The taste was strongly potato-y, perfectly spiced, and wonderfully smooth.
For the third course we were very boring...the three of us ladies all got the croque madame and my uncle got the more manly croque monsieur. For those of you who don't know, a croque madame is a croque monsieur with a fried (typically sunny side up) egg on top. I'd heard about the croque monsieur and madame so I was always going to get that. The fact that everyone followed suit is perhaps due to the fact that, while delicious sounding, the other third course items were easier to come by at other establishments (brioche french toast, for example) but it's nearly impossible to find a proper croque monsieur. Happily, these were proper croques! My croque madame was cooked perfectly. The ham was excellent quality, the cheese was delicious, and the béchamel sauce on top with browned to perfection. The egg on top was perfect as well; the yoke was runny but the white was cooked as throughly as it can be without overcooking the yoke or making the white like rubber. We all cleaned our plates. Well that's not entirely true, I left over a bit of the side salad. It was nice with crisp mixed greens and a light vinaigrette, but I needed to save room for dessert.
The final course was not at all a let down, though dessert after breakfast never really could be a let down. There were three options, a clafoutis du jour, a sundae du jour, and a poached meringue. I'm not a huge fan of poached meringue--something about the texture--and after I mentioned that no one at the table decided to be adventurous and try it. My aunt and uncle both had the clafoutis, which was made with sour cherries--the traditional fruit for clafoutis--and had a delicious creme anglaise sauce and toasted almond topping. It was very nice. I'm not a clafoutis fan, but they both loved it. My mom and I both had the sundae. It was amazing. The waitress was quite soft-spoken and I couldn't quite hear what the sorbet was--I heard "sour" and "sorbet" but there was a word in between that none of use could catch. The what-ever-it-was sorbet was served with creme Chantilly, vanilla tuiles, and pistachio crumble. I believe the ice cream was a sour yogurt sorbet, though I could be wrong. Whatever it was, it was deliciously tart but not too sour and quite refreshing. The "served with vanilla tuile cookies" was a bit of a joke, there were three hippen batter tuile cookie dots that were smaller in diameter than a dime. That said, they were yummy. The creme Chantilly was surprisingly thick and rich, I'm wondering if it was stabilized with gelatin. By the way, that isn't a complaint, just an observation. The best part was the crumble. There were whole chunks of pistachios in a streusel-like, buttery, nutty crumble. Happily they were not nearly as stingy with the crumble as they were with the tuiles. This wasn't my favorite dessert but it was delicious and light (which is nice after a large and filling meal). More to the point it was an excellent end to an excellent meal.
My mom got the grits as well. I wanted her to get the sheep's milk yogurt, granola, and berries (a former classmate of mine at the FCI told me they import their strawberries from Italy and I don't think I've ever eaten an Italian strawberry) so that I could try it but she wanted the grits and I didn't want to taste those strawberries enough to give up the grits. My aunt and uncle both had the potato soup with smoked haddock. They wouldn't let me try their haddock or croutons, apparently they were just too good to share, but I had a sip of the creamy potato broth--it was incredible. The taste was strongly potato-y, perfectly spiced, and wonderfully smooth.
For the third course we were very boring...the three of us ladies all got the croque madame and my uncle got the more manly croque monsieur. For those of you who don't know, a croque madame is a croque monsieur with a fried (typically sunny side up) egg on top. I'd heard about the croque monsieur and madame so I was always going to get that. The fact that everyone followed suit is perhaps due to the fact that, while delicious sounding, the other third course items were easier to come by at other establishments (brioche french toast, for example) but it's nearly impossible to find a proper croque monsieur. Happily, these were proper croques! My croque madame was cooked perfectly. The ham was excellent quality, the cheese was delicious, and the béchamel sauce on top with browned to perfection. The egg on top was perfect as well; the yoke was runny but the white was cooked as throughly as it can be without overcooking the yoke or making the white like rubber. We all cleaned our plates. Well that's not entirely true, I left over a bit of the side salad. It was nice with crisp mixed greens and a light vinaigrette, but I needed to save room for dessert.
The final course was not at all a let down, though dessert after breakfast never really could be a let down. There were three options, a clafoutis du jour, a sundae du jour, and a poached meringue. I'm not a huge fan of poached meringue--something about the texture--and after I mentioned that no one at the table decided to be adventurous and try it. My aunt and uncle both had the clafoutis, which was made with sour cherries--the traditional fruit for clafoutis--and had a delicious creme anglaise sauce and toasted almond topping. It was very nice. I'm not a clafoutis fan, but they both loved it. My mom and I both had the sundae. It was amazing. The waitress was quite soft-spoken and I couldn't quite hear what the sorbet was--I heard "sour" and "sorbet" but there was a word in between that none of use could catch. The what-ever-it-was sorbet was served with creme Chantilly, vanilla tuiles, and pistachio crumble. I believe the ice cream was a sour yogurt sorbet, though I could be wrong. Whatever it was, it was deliciously tart but not too sour and quite refreshing. The "served with vanilla tuile cookies" was a bit of a joke, there were three hippen batter tuile cookie dots that were smaller in diameter than a dime. That said, they were yummy. The creme Chantilly was surprisingly thick and rich, I'm wondering if it was stabilized with gelatin. By the way, that isn't a complaint, just an observation. The best part was the crumble. There were whole chunks of pistachios in a streusel-like, buttery, nutty crumble. Happily they were not nearly as stingy with the crumble as they were with the tuiles. This wasn't my favorite dessert but it was delicious and light (which is nice after a large and filling meal). More to the point it was an excellent end to an excellent meal.
The service was excellent. It is a little slow at times, for example the coffee came well after they'd served us our pastry. On the flip side, they don't rush you through courses or out the door at the end. They weren't perfectly attentive with keeping our water and coffee full, but then again I was drinking water like a fish (though fish don't drink water, I suppose) so they probably just couldn't keep up.
Overall an excellent experience for a (relatively) reasonable price. A great place to bring family from out of town if you want to impress them or just a nice place for a bit of a splurge. I'm not sure I'll be going back for brunch anytime soon--there are at least four other places I have to try first and I don't go out to brunch very often--but I'd definitely recommend it!
Overall an excellent experience for a (relatively) reasonable price. A great place to bring family from out of town if you want to impress them or just a nice place for a bit of a splurge. I'm not sure I'll be going back for brunch anytime soon--there are at least four other places I have to try first and I don't go out to brunch very often--but I'd definitely recommend it!
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