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Dream Meals

Our critics cook up their ultimate food fantasies.


Adam Platt
Appetizer: Steak Tartare
360
360 Van Brunt St., Red Hook, Brooklyn
718-246-0360
Arnaud Erhart’s little bistro opened next to a cremation consultant in Red Hook, so it’s only fitting his steak tartare is the best in town.

Fish Course: Lobster “Noilly Prat”
PER SE
10 Columbus Circle
212-823-9335
Thomas Keller touches his lobster with sweet vermouth and a little disk of candied fennel.

Intermezzo: Crispy Sweetbreads
CASA MONO
52 Irving Place
212-253-2773
They have a brittle, compulsively tasty crunch like Chicken McNuggets, only much, much better.

Entrée: Les Tripes en Cocotte à l’Armagnac
BRASSERIE LCB
60 W. 55th St.
212-688-6525
An ancient classic, prepared by a master and served, with proper fanfare, under a great silver warmer.

Dessert: Baba au Rhum Monte Carlo Style
ALAIN DUCASSE
55 W. 58th St.
212-265-7300
If you want to end your ridiculously rich, over- the-top meal with a bang, this is the way to do it.

Hal Rubenstein
Amuse-Bouche: Blistered Peppers
AUGUST
359 W. Bleecker St.
212-929-4774
It’s astonishing how something so simple can cause such a ruckus.

Appetizer: Our Own Liverwurst
THE MODERN
9 W. 53rd St.
212-333-1220
No, it’s nothing like what you remember or fear. A gorgeous, smoothe pâté to cool the spice’s flames.

Pasta Course: Pasta Fiori
CAFÊ GRAY
10 Columbus Circle
212-823-6338
A simple flat noodle tossed with tomato concassé, thyme, and rosemary—but it’s like tasting tomatoes for the first time.

Fish Course: Snapper in Sancocho Broth
LE BERNARDIN
155 W. 51st St.
212-554-1515
Sancocho is a classic Puerto Rican dish of long-stewed veal, beef, pork, and peppers. Its briny, rich broth ignites a baked snapper. The fish course is no longer the tame one.

Entrée: Boeuf Grillé
PER SE
If you love steak, who better to leave it to than Thomas Keller, who finds a cut even more flavorful than Black Angus? It doesn’t even need the lovely Bordelaise it comes with. The bone marrow is divine.

Dessert: Coconut Vacherin
DANIEL
60 E. 65th St.
212-288-0033
This glistening white circle of half-crunch, half-velvet is dabbed with passion-fruit purée and diced fresh pineapple. It’s citrusy, palate-cleansing, and lush at the same time.