Ça Va with Todd English

It seemed only right to finally try Ça Va after my steak tartare cravings.. going to Artisanal for some and also meeting the gorgeous and talented Chef Todd English during Food & Wine Festival this year in NYC.

I was super excited….. it was only a short walk from the apartment…. in fact it’s right by Shake Shack in Times Sq/Theatre District….

Of course, I need to start off my night [and meal] with champagne… especially since I knew oysters were going to be on the menu….

The waiter just suddenly walked by and plopped down a HUGE baguette…. like, LITERALLY, on the TABLE. Just PLOP

I mean who does that?

Hilarious… it was fun playing around with the huge baguette – I wanted to take it home and cuddle with it. I have a tendency to hug warm freshly baked loaves of bread… and bringing them home with me… then I have too much bread at home which results in weeks of croutons, french toast, sandwiches and lots of jam+butter toast

Half Dozen Raw Oysters

migonette, rouille, cocktail sauce

I love raw oysters. I don’t think I can go anywhere, see them on the menu and NOT order them anymore.. the past few months, it has become an OBSESSION!!! These were salty, oyster-y and delicious. Should’ve ordered more… seriously…

They didn’t give any tabasco or horseradish, so I had to ask for some… why they gave me SO much I have no idea… but it was fresh and delicious.

The perfect oysters!!!..

Then… onwards to the cute mason jar :D — I’m a sucka for cute little jars :D I think you could serve me anything in one and I’d get super excited…..

Steak Tartare

egg yolk, capers, onion, parsley, mustard, grilled bread

I kinda wished that the yolk was left on top and I could mix it myself [a la ilili] BUT…… this was good, a bit salty, but good…definitely needed the bread to balance out the sodium content tho.

Roasted Bone Marrow

oxtail marmalade, beet-horseradish salad

ONLY ONE HALF OF A BONE??… Should’ve order 4… for ME… delicious as usually.. creamy, fatty [the good kind] and the oxtail marmalade was delicious…. But what gives?!… only ONE HALF?… sigh…. *dreams of the day I made my own*

— start dream sequence —

♥

Ohhhh BONE MARROW <3

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

… OOHHH COREY MONTEITH….. what I wouldn’t do to y…

oh wait… what?…. this isn’t a food-related dream anymore….

— end dream sequence —

Back to the FOOD turning me on… not Finn Hudson [#glee] Lick lick suck suck

HELLO PG BLOG PEOPLES…

Foie Gras Stuffed Mushroom

wild mushroom-foie filling, toasted hazelnut

To be honest, this was OKAY….. so OKAY that I only took one nibble of it… and the rest I gave up on… the foie was ground up and then cooked inside of a mushroom.. doubtful about it being “wild” since it seemed like just a regular old crimini…. meh… but I was really into the Mussels…..

Moules Marinieres

white wine-shallot broth, parsley-garlic baguette

Delicious mussels. Perfectly cooked. Tender, yummy.. and then the garlic bread was just soooooo amazing….

I don’t remember the last time I had garlic bread – I definitely need it more often. If my date doesn’t like my garlic breath than he ain’t good enough for me ;D Besides, doesn’t garlic breath and garlic breath cancel out?!?!…

Ça Va Bouillabaisse

grilled fish, saffron tomato garlic broth, littleneck clams, mussels, rouille, toasted bread

Definitely NOT what I expected.. I’m used to a red-based soup… this was a thick orange creamy broth… but it was good nonetheless…. the seafood was extremely fresh and cooked to perfection.

Rabbit Wellington

puff pastry wrapped loin, spinach, mushrooms, braised leg, carrot puree

The rabbit was extremely tender and flavorful. I wasn’t as into the pastry surrounding it, but was definitely picking out all the meat and stuffing it into my mouth. It was unevenly salted tho, so it was a love/hate experience.

Pose #1

Pose #2

Pose #3

I think it’s the wine smiling :]

Hazelnut Pot a la Creme

hazelnut mousse, dark chocolate pudding, caramel sauce, vanilla chantilly, crispy hazelnut

This was SO good… perfection combination of flavors and textures – which totally got me hooked… every bite was a little different from the last.  Just looking at the spoonful of it makes me almost taste and feel the caramel with the creamy mousse and pudding with the cookie… YUM!

French Apple Tart
buttery biscuit, caramelized cinnamon apples, salted caramel ice cream

Super apple-y.. which is great, and the salted caramel ice cream was so heavenly. I LOVE salty/sweet foods – I think it’s SUCH a good pairing :]  I love a good classic apple pie/tart – and it has been awhile – so this was a nice change up. With desserts I like to get at least one fruity and one chocolatey :]… Creamy.. crusty… I love it all, so I want it all – so I order it all ;D

The experience was good, not great…. I think I’m starting to get bored of fancy gourmet foods… I’m getting more into the basics and the simple stuff… and back into more Asian food again… the past week I was eating basically just Chinese food, basic seafood or Steak :]