Three people, three dishes, three disasters.
Such was our evening at Brasserie Beck.
Here they are in order of ascending offensiveness: my dish, the "Long Island Duck Cassoulet", served on a bed of inedible, over-buttered couscous, was perhaps the least offensive. Chris, craving meat, had ordered the "Bistro Filet" with seasonal vegetables, bordelaise and bearnaise sauce, and frites. A self-described "sauce person", she no doubt ordered the dish because it came with not one but two sauces. She was disappointed though. "It tastes like mud," she said, making a face. I took a bite from her proferred fork and got a mouthful of fat and gristle.
But the dish to die from was Barri's: mussels with applewood smoked bacon and truffle cream. Barri seemed excited about these ingredients when she selected this dish, but it turned out not to be a winning combination. My taste produced a turn of the stomach as the strong scents of smoke, bacon and truffle competed with each other to overpower the molluscs, and cream heightened the richness to unacceptable levels. Barri did not look happy and I understood why.
As it turned out, the only enjoyable dish of the evening was the complimentary platter of charcuterie, which we had received at the bar while having to wait almost an hour for our (reserved) table.
For those who will be lured to Brasserie Beck by the Living Social deal that is floating around until 08/06/11, I suggest sticking to a basic mussels with white wine, garlic and parsley. I wouldn't trust the kitchen with anything innovative, but I did see happy faces enjoying this Belgian classic. And it comes with rather sexy looking frites.
Antoinette Id
Such was our evening at Brasserie Beck.
Here they are in order of ascending offensiveness: my dish, the "Long Island Duck Cassoulet", served on a bed of inedible, over-buttered couscous, was perhaps the least offensive. Chris, craving meat, had ordered the "Bistro Filet" with seasonal vegetables, bordelaise and bearnaise sauce, and frites. A self-described "sauce person", she no doubt ordered the dish because it came with not one but two sauces. She was disappointed though. "It tastes like mud," she said, making a face. I took a bite from her proferred fork and got a mouthful of fat and gristle.
But the dish to die from was Barri's: mussels with applewood smoked bacon and truffle cream. Barri seemed excited about these ingredients when she selected this dish, but it turned out not to be a winning combination. My taste produced a turn of the stomach as the strong scents of smoke, bacon and truffle competed with each other to overpower the molluscs, and cream heightened the richness to unacceptable levels. Barri did not look happy and I understood why.
As it turned out, the only enjoyable dish of the evening was the complimentary platter of charcuterie, which we had received at the bar while having to wait almost an hour for our (reserved) table.
For those who will be lured to Brasserie Beck by the Living Social deal that is floating around until 08/06/11, I suggest sticking to a basic mussels with white wine, garlic and parsley. I wouldn't trust the kitchen with anything innovative, but I did see happy faces enjoying this Belgian classic. And it comes with rather sexy looking frites.
Antoinette Id
