As the avant garde food movement becomes more well known and spreads its roots around the world from its Spanish source, it seems to make sense that some of the efforts of real merit it has engendered would start to appear around the world too. Besides everyone using foams, and a sous vide machine, and deconstructing everything from chowder to deli sandwiches, the chefs that are breaking new ground now also interact with their customers. Whether it be welcoming a stop in the kitchen at the end of the meal, or actually presenting the dishes themselves, the experimentation has forced the chefs from the protection of the kitchen to become part of the experience. These new preparations are born of a creativity best shared by their originator.
I have nothing against waiters. I like waiters. I was a waiter. I believe a good waiter can make a good food experience great and a bad waiter can make an experience with great food simply good. I feel in the wrong situation a good waiter can make a chef look genius or horrible and it will have little to do with the chefs actual skill. One of my favorite blogs is the waiter rant. But I have to tell you that one of the greatest things to come out of the modern cuisine movement is the loss of the waiter. I simply love the trend in restaurants that puts the chef right there, not near a special table in the kitchen but face to face, across a bar.
The latest chef to put himself right in front of you -- cooking your food, serving it, answering your questions about it -- is Wesley Genovart. I am sure because he has cooked in Spain, serves food in multiple courses, and uses a whipped cream canister to lighten some of his sauces, people in this town will brand him part of the molecular gastronomy movement, or whatever other trite phrase they are now using to brand food that exists outside their expectations. But, although it is a small bar behind which the chefs prepare and serve all your food, Degustation has little in common with the experimentations of Mini Bar.
Degustation inhabits the space next to Jewel Bako which has made fits and starts at being its own entity. I went to this latest incarnation, last night to sample the wares. You enter through a door and around a half wall to reveal what is basically a luxury version of the railroad car diner of the 50's. A grill, a griddle, and other means to make things hot or cold all live in the center of the room with a hip height counter surrounding them. Rather than Formica and chrome, Degusatation is outtfitted in lacquered woods and, rather than fluorescent, the lighting is directional. In the center of this is the chef, a good-looking young man named Wesley, who has a voice not unlike a young Benicio del Toro,
Wife, Bear and I made three and the menu was comprised of 16 items so we decided the best way to expose ourselves to the most was to let the chef choose his three favorite dishes in four rounds of food.
Our "amuse" was croquetas as light as anything I've had made with potatoes. A flaky fried shell barely hard enough to contain its insides crunched away from a warm pillow-like potato, ham, and green olive puree.
For our first course we had:
SALAD OF ARUGULA WITH JAMÓN SERRANO AND MARCONA ALMONDS: finished with a vinaigrette and citrus sections, it was fresh with pepperiness, aggressive acidity, and saltiness playing against the richness of the ham and nuts.
FRIED BABY ARTICHOKES WITH A KUMOMOTO OYSTER IN A MUSSEL BROTH WITH CELERY LEAVES: breaded, quartered baby artichokes, crisp yet soft in a briny broth that really drew the sea flavors from the oyster, topped with a grapefruit foam.
For our second course we had:
For our third course we had:
For our final course we had:
People have brought the Spanish-born version of the modern cuisine to NY in the past and been branded molecular gastronomists, or avant garde, become a spectacle, and disappeared. Wesley seems to be integrating the better aspects of the movement, finding harmony in contrasting aspects of textures and the combination of divergent flavors, but most importantly (the part that people forget when they brand contemplative food rather than try to understand it) he is making truly pleasing dishes. There is a genius harmony in the union of the disparate flavors of chorizo and the sea, if it is well handled, and Wesley allows you experience that treat. He also plans to vary his dishes with seasonal ingredients, monthly.
The dishes are fairly priced -- in fact, three of us had 80% of the menu and the most expensive white wine on the list on the list and got out of there for well under $250 with a good tip.
This is a place with meticulously and well prepared food that is unique without being alien, the chef is never more than about 12 feet away to discuss his passions and preparations with you, and three bon vivants left very pleased at a fair price. I'd say Degustation a good and welcome addition to the NY dining landscape.
SLOWLY POACHED EGG WITH JAMÓN SERRANO AND BREAD CRUMBS IN AN HERBAL CHICKEN BROTH: the egg (creamy all the way through the albumin and the yolk) once pierced with your spoon blended into the broth, where it became a rich soup studded with crunchy bits of bread crumb and bacon (which adding a third texture and bacon goodness into the mix). 
SQUID STUFFED WITH BRAISED SHORT RIBS AND LENTILS: the squid body was stuffed with chopped, braised short rib, grilled, and set atop lentils that had small bits of blood sausage, chorizo and pork belly mixed in. 
SEARED SCALLOPS WITH CITRUS: two well caramelized scallops atop a citrus and herb relish with a jalapeño puree. 
ROAST BEEF SANDWICH WITH FOIE GRAS MAYO AND HERB SALAD: it feels silly going any farther with this one because I think the name about says it all, but it was thinly sliced roast rib eye, open-faced on top of a round of grilled baguette. This was topped with a salad of tarragon, chervil, mint, parsley, and dill and accompanied by the foie gras mayo. 
GRILLED LAMB LOIN WITH WILD MUSHROMS AND CLOROPHYLL: slow-roasted lamb loin with a nicely browned fat cap served with grilled hen of the woods or mitake mushrooms. The chlorophyll is parsley pureed with garlic in grapeseed oil, then drained, leaving a very green tasting paste with a light garlic aroma.
SEARED FOIE GRAS WITH CARAMEL WATER AND GRAPEFRUIT: the caramel water is lightly sweet, as if the water had been affected by botrytis. The grapefruit sections were seared and were both very sweet and very acidic. The foie had been cooked sous vide prior to being seared. Wesley explained that a hard sear brings a mealy texture to liver, in his opinion, so by slowly cooking it before a quick, light sear he can add that layer of flavor without compromising texture.
COD IN SALSA VERDE WITH CLAMS: The flesh of the cod was tight without changing its basic softness. Here, a section of the fillet is served in a broth freshened with the ground herbs and garlic of the salsa verde.
SELECTION OF COMPOSED CHEESES: grilled baguette rounds, home made marcona almond butter, a French cow's milk cheese, and a Spanish goat's milk cheese.
GRILLED STRAWBERRIES, GINGER GRANITA AND EUCALYPTUS: 
pared strawberries that have been dusted with sugar are bruléed with a torch and set atop a strawberry coulis. Shaved ginger granita brings a heat, and eucalyptus espuma moves the flavors into your nose with a menthol touch.
TARTE TATIN WITH GREEK YOGURT: butter and sugared phyllo crisp and caramel sauce on top of an apple that has been shredded, spiced, shaped back into an apple and roasted are served with a vanilla-scented yogurt foam. Caramel is burnt sugar and this sauce is definitely about the bitters of scorched sugar. Tempered by the yogurt, the apple, and the crisp, it all keeps from getting too sweet and brings the meal to a perfect ending.
Hello,
Overall I thought it was a great review and really captures the feeling of Degustation. I too have eaten there and shared the same feelings. There is one correction. When you explained the Halibut, you showed the picture of the cod in salsa verde. I know because I had both the Halibut and the Cod.
That's all. Thanks for the info and the photos!
Posted by: Lucia | April 19, 2006 at 09:37 AM
well noted and said thank you. I am very glad that i chose not to note the missing chorizo or even worse its presence.
I think my notes make much more sense with the appropriate name. thanks again
A
Posted by: augieland | April 19, 2006 at 02:50 PM