Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
I have been a fan of Dominique Ansel way before he made headlines with the Cronut. My ultimate pick at his bakery is the DKA or Dominique Kouign Amman, a buttery mount of deliciousness that makes me drool just thinking about it. And guess what? You may have to queue up at 5am for the Cronut, you do not need to for the DKA! But don't get me wrong, the Cronut is delicious and sort of have a French touch to the doughnuts, creating a craze that seems to have worn off.
But this time, it is not about Dominique Ansel Bakery, the DKA or the Cronut. It is about Dominique Ansel Kitchen, a made to order bakery, where 70% of the dishes are made to order, the Chef considering that the fresher the better. In fact, when I say made to order, I should correct myself and more say assembled to order.
Kitchen at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
Dining room at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
This place is small, with only few seats, smartly placed to optimize the space. First, you order at the counter, where there are nice and appetizing photos of the dishes. Then, you pick a seat. They will then being your dishes as they are ready (took maybe five minutes).
Lunch at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
We decided to try two dishes and two desserts. First, we started with the edamame and avocado toast.
Edamame and avocado toast at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
Edamame and avocado toast at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
The vessel for this dish is a poppyseed brioche that is stuffed with ricotta, mint, edamame and avocado. I liked it, although the brioche was a bit old and so tough (Jodi thinks it was toasted, but I doubt considering how hard it was)...Otherwise, I thought it was a pretty successful vegetarian dish, the edamame and avocado working very well together, and the ricotta adding even more freshness.
The second dish was the Egg-clipse, an interesting brunch dish made with a delicious squid ink brioche (the taste of the squid ink was very subtle), topped with mashed potatoes, a fantastic mushroom bechamel and two egg yolks.
Egg-clipse at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
Egg-clipse at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
For dessert, we chose the ultimate S'mores, a decadent dessert made with homemade speculoos cookies, a honey marshmallow, a dark chocolate whiskey ganache and some sea salt milk chocolate shards.
Ultimate S'mores at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
It was definitely looking spectacular and I had no idea how to start eating it...It was good, but very sweet and I admit that I could not finish it. Also because we had another dessert...It was the Maple filled waffles with hazelnut sugar.
Maple filled waffles with hazelnut sugar at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
Maple filled waffles with hazelnut sugar at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
Maple filled waffles with hazelnut sugar at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
Maple filled waffles with hazelnut sugar at Dominique Ansel Kitchen in NYC, New York
There were four of them that came in a paper bag. They were filled with a thick maple gelee. The waffle itself was very good, to the point that I would not have minded having just the waffle and nothing inside!
Overall, it was good, but I am not sure it is the kind of place I would go often, at least for brunch. Breakfast is another story as their pastries look amazing and I cannot stop thinking about that DKA...so, yes, I would go back!
Enjoy (I did)!
If you like this post, the photos or the blog, please feel free to share it or post a comment. Merci!
