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Something amazing is underfoot on tiny Cleveland Place, and if you arrive early enough in the evening, you may be fortunate enough to get impromptu tutorial in the production of the incredibly complex and brilliant desserts created by wunderkind Will Goldfarb. With his remarkable pedigree, Goldfarb quickly turned this seemingly-modest 26-seat dessert bar into probably the most transformative dessert experience in New York. Goldfarb describes himself not immodestly with good reason: "Raised on the sunny shores of the Costa Brava at the age of 24 with mixed reports. Moved to pastry to avoid law school and ended up in Paris instead of surfing Southern California. Stumbled among giants early in the career, and found difficult to retreat."
While Goldfarb's personality is very much part of the experience here—you might even see him changing the CDs or greeting guests out on the street—his culinary skills indeed merit special attention. It seems that his work with Spanish geniuses Ferran and Albert Adria crystallized his dedication to avant-garde culinary techniques, and Room 4 Dessert functions both as kitchen laboratory and astounding gastronomic world unto itself.
Despite some initial glitches with service—perhaps you might have read Bill Buford's New Yorker piece about his tour of duty here in the early days—we've repeatedly found the atmosphere warm and inviting, even for those utterly unfamiliar with Goldfarb's techniques. You would be wise to order the $12 plates with four desserts each, as each is a tour de force that stands on its own. Sit close to the door to observe the preparation of these marvelous plates. Although the menu changes with the season, particularly extraordinary are a pistachio financier with pistachio butter, the creation of which was described in minute detail and is far more complex than one might imagine. The flavor is intense and superb. A fruit "caviar" defies any explanation other than stunning, these little gems with a concentrated tang. Recent selections include a "Chocolate Banlieue" featuring cocoa foam, chocolate parfait, panna cotta vanilla and "cocoa sirop". Housemade mascarpone is divinely paired with cherries (whipped cherry gelee), a fennel confit, pain ecossais and "little pieces of amaretti" which are indeed miniature. A tasting of four desserts simply titled "Red" was one of the highlights of mid-summer. For on the level of molecular gastronomy, Goldfarb offers up so many transformed gems. You will be astounded by the somewhat crispy/dehydrated surprises served in a modest clear plastic bag, charmingly slit open by your server. With those ubiquitous woven placemats, attractive porcelain and tasteful utensils, the atmosphere translates as SoHo casual meets haute cuisine, where stunning surprises await you.
Wine pairings and speciality cocktails are equally delightful. We found the sweet wines on offer terrific, from a nice Auslese Riesling to a 1999 Sauternes, as well as more unusual selections such as a marvelous Gruner Veltliner and a refreshing Lambrusco. But with the rosé Perrier-Jouët Blason de France on offer as well, Goldfarb's selection of Champagnes may just be the perfect complement to your desserts.
Now with a website called Willpowder that sells speciality technical products too obscure and complex for ordinary home cooks to obtain on their own, Goldfarb makes innovation possible for the home cook with this dazzling product line and "online support network". Want to make mango caviar in the style of Adria's El Bulli? Just order the sodium alginate and soon you'll be spherifying "all manner of shapes and sizes of liquid center flavor carriers". Or order methylcellulose for creating hot emulsions, and so forth.
Tags:
bill buford, fernan adria, will goldfarb
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Posted on 8/7/2006
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