Surrender to a great meal

Despite the inability of the French to win a war, there is no denying their unparalleled prowess in matters of cuisine. While food culture has been on the rise in the US for the past several decades, food has been an integral part of life in France since the early 17th century when haute or high cuisine was first invented. In order to embrace the kosher side of haute cuisine I went to La Carne Grill in Manhattan.

La Carne Grill is a French-American fusion restaurant, styled with an open kitchen and exposed brick, giving it a feel reminiscent of its Parisian counterparts but with definite New York flair. La Carne’s cuisine is a fantastic amalgam of cultural dishes created using French cooking techniques.

Wanting us to try a little of everything, our waiter served a selection of La Carne Grill’s offerings. To begin, we tried the Short Rib Confit Spring Rolls and Crispy Sweet Breads. Both were deep fried, but they had light and very subtle flavors. The sweet breads in particular I found to be smoky, rich and infinitely more appetizing then sweet breads served in other restaurants.

Having conquered sweet breads, I decided to continue eating adventurously and ordered the Thai Beef Carpaccio. Traditionally, carpaccio is a raw meat dish served wafer thin, dressed with lemon and olive oil. La Carne Grill adds horseradish and soy, ingredients that pair beautifully with the traditional dressing and lend a spectacular amount of flavor to the beef which actually melts on your tongue.

Then I moved on to the Spanish ceviche, raw tuna and salmon dressed lightly. It was mild and refreshing, a perfect starter for a hot summer evening.

For my main course, I sampled four of La Carne Grill’s most popular dishes: the Black Angus Rib Eye, the Filet, the Japanese Short Ribs and the Baby Lamb Chops, each served with accompanying sauces. The dry-aged Black Angus was tender, beefy and soaked up the flavor of any sauce applied to it. It was possibly one of the best steaks I have ever eaten. The filet was tender and mild and is butchered fantastically. The short ribs had a sweet crust and were tender; the baby lamb chops were rich with a Mediterranean flair that was truly delicious. All these dishes were amazing not just because of the exquisite quality of their ingredients, but also because of the brilliant, and very French, techniques with which they were prepared.

La Carne Grill’s French-American heritage brings to it various benefits. The American side brings the diversity of cuisine but the French side brings with it the methodology that lends a spectacular quality to the food. The unifying factor between all these foods is the way they were sauced. The filet was given a rich earthy truffle sauce, the lamb chops a pomegranate glaze and so on. The sauces act as modifiers rather then centerpieces, enhancing and playing off the flavors of the food rather then dominating the flavor profile. I have yet to go to a kosher restaurant that has utilized this method as successfully as La Carne Grill. This method runs through all of the dishes that La Carne Grill serves and spans the globe in their use of ingredients.

Dessert was no less impressive. We were served a chocolate soufflé so good it defied logic, considering it’s status as pareve. I also tried the Bananas Foster - much less rich but also quite excellent.

Miguel de Cervantes, an eighteenth century novelist, once wrote, “hunger makes the best sauce.” Had Cervantes ever eaten at La Carne Grill, I am positive he would have thought otherwise.

Zechariah Mehler works in kosher marketing and is a staff writer for Kosher Today. Follow him on Twitter @theKosherCritic