Dinner at Jean-Georges

So, for all my slaving and suffering over the contentious project for the past six months, someone quit, someone else got promoted, and I was given $200 to spend on a fancy dinner and expense it.

$200!!!! Nowhere near the bonus I would have expected. But with my magical powers of getting reservations at hot restuarants, Haneway and I were in at Jean-Georges the next night.

Lovely lovely lovely. Excellent service, and entertaining fellow diners. Here's what we had...

• A glass of Pierre Gimonnet blanc de blancs. Jane had a glass of Nicolas Feuillatte brut rose


• half-bottle of Cristom pinot noir, Mt. Jefferson Oregon 2002


• trio of hamachi on brioche, goat cheese and cracked pepper under gelee with basil, and chilled basil soup with shrimp.


• First course. Egg caviar: wet scrambled eggs topped with vodka-infused whipped cream and Caspian oscetra.
  Fois gras sandwiched in grilled brioche, with cherry-yuzu compote.


• Second course. Seared sea scallops and cauliflower with caper-raisin emulsion.
  Slivered suzuki with rhubarb semifreddo and grated fennel. (We switched halfway.)


• Third course. Garlic soup with thyme, frog's legs, and a finger bowl.
  Asparagus on asparagus puree with morel sauce.


• Fourth course. Steamed turbot fillet with finely diced zucchini and tomato, in a lovely, rich wine-based sauce.
  Poached sea bass with poblano peppers, Japanese eggplant and purple potato puree. Mine smells magnificent, Haneway's has great texture. She said the eggplant was like eating pinecone, but good. We switched, and switched back, because I liked mine more. My sauce was so delicious it made me grateful for my sauce spoon.


• Fifth course. Lobster on crouton with lemongrass-fenugreek broth with greenery.
  Lobster with mace, lychee & baby celery leaves, red clear juicy broth. We watched the lone diner across from us read his magazine while wolfing down his fois gras en brioche. Found out later he is a Russian new-money magnate.


• Sixth course. Squab with yummy sauce, preserved lemon, onion compote, corn cake, fois gras and mache.
  Baby rack of lamb with cardamom-panko crust and fava-bean puree.

After-dinner drinks and sweets:

• Coqnac Germain-Robin XO Jean-Georges


• Amontillado sherry


• chocolate, rhubarb dessert tastings


• macarons


• vanilla, cardamom & coffee marshmallows


• chocolates

The expense report has already been submitted. If all they're giving me is a fancy dinner (and by the way, it didn't even cover half; I was hoping to at least subsidize Haneway's dinner a bit), I'm cashing in on that as soon as possible.