While Cassie was in town, she made a reservation at Boulud Sud and rounded up a group for a girls night out. Boulud Sud is Chef Daniel Boulud’s Mediterranean-inspired restaurant. The menu is broken down to into three sections, “De La Mer”, “Du Jardin”, “De La Ferme”, offering dishes from the sea, garden, and farm.
Truth: I’m often a little wary of visiting restaurants by famous chefs. While they may have vegetarian options on the menu, the veggies are sometimes an afterthought, not the star players. Boulud Sud’s dedicated “Du Jardin” section was very encouraging, and Mediterranean cuisine tends to be very veggie friendly. However, my experience at DB Bistro Moderne earlier this year was somewhat underwhelming. I realize it’s a completely different type of restaurant, but it still has Daniel Boulud’s name attached to it.
Our original reservation was for four people, but they were able to give us a table for our party of five even though it was quite crowded. Our new table was in a less noisy spot, which was good for catching up. If you’re here with a group, you should consider sharing a bunch of appetizers. The other girls ordered a several dishes off the Sea and Farm sections of the menu, and it seemed like the sea urchin was one of the highlights.
I nibbled away at the olive bread and enjoyed one of the Garden appetizers on my own. The “Ras el Hanout” spiced squash soup ($16) with rose-scented yogurt, pomegranate, and cilantro was beautifully presented. They pour the piping hot soup over the yogurt as soon as it arrives at the table. Comforting, yet delicate fall flavors. Absolutely delicious. I wanted to lick the bowl when I was done.
For my entree, I ordered an appetizer portion of the Pumpkin ‘Girasole’ Ravioli ($19) with brown butter, sage, and amaretti crumble. I didn’t realize I had ordered another squash dish until Felicia pointed it out, but hey, let’s celebrate fall, right?
Everyone is obsessed with pumpkins spiced everything right now, and I don’t dislike pumpkin, but I’m just not drawn to it in the same way. That said, I’m glad I took a chance and ordered this ravioli. I’ve recently had a lot of ravioli at restaurants, but this was at a whole new different level. The brown butter was the perfect complement to the pasta, which melts in your mouth to reveal an indulgent pumpkin center. Beautiful with the crisp, white wine we were sipping. I have mixed feelings about the plating, which looks less like a swoosh and more like it was dragged across the plate, but it tasted fantastic.
At one point, I was very tempted to order a dessert all on my own, but I was fuller than I expected, and we ended up getting one dessert for the table to share. Girls night out is not complete without a stunning dessert!
We got the Grapefruit Givre ($15) with sesame halva, rose loukoum, and grapefruit sorbet. I believe this might be their signature dessert. I was expecting a tiny little thing that would only allow each of us a bite or two, so it was a lovely surprise to have this show up. Yes, it’s served in a grapefruit! Beneath that crazy cotton candy hairdo, there’s delicious sorbet, chewy rose candy, sesame crumble, fresh fruit and jam. It’s quite a wonderful medley of flavors and textures. Anyone up for recreating this dessert at home?
Overall, very impressed with Boulud Sud. Delightful food and excellent service. I’m glad they proved me wrong and presented some great vegetarian dishes. This is the kind of place that gets a stamp of approval from both veggie and meat eaters.
4 Comments
Mitzie Mee
atI love when the serve soup that way (pour it at the table):) In fact, I’ve wanted to visit any of the DB restaurants for a long time, and now I want it even more.
wazwu
atI know! It’s really fun when the soup is served that way. I think you’ll really like Boulud Sud. :) I’m very tempted to visit Daniel to get the full DB experience.
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