Boulud Sud : A Birthday Dinner to Remember!

We wanted to check out one of Daniel Boulud's restaurants for my boyfriend's birthday dinner, and Boulud Sud  (20 West 64th St.) was the perfect choice!

From the moment we arrived we were escorted directly to our seat, however the hostess did not give us the prix fix menu that we saw being offered online and we had to wait for the waiter to come over and check on us to receive it. 

The prix fix menu had decent options, however most of the table chose to order a la carte because we wanted the opportunity to order freely. 

The main menu was divided up in 3 sections, the sea, the garden, and the land, with each being divided into courses. I thought this way of displaying the menu was quite interesting and unique. In some ways it made it harder to order because you had to look at each area for the appetizers and entrees to see all the options. In other ways it made it easier because you could make sure you were ordering appetizers from each area. 

The bread that was placed on the table while we were analyzing the menu set the standard for the meal from the very beginning because it was perfection. It was extremely garlicky in a great way with seasoning and salt giving it that extra added flavor and bite.

As per usual, my boyfriend and I ordered an assortment of appetizers instead of a main course to make sure we could taste as many different things as we could! 

Octopus a la Plancha - Marcona Almonds, Arugula, Jerez Vinegar

We started with the octopus, which is one of our favorite dishes to order when offered at a restaurant. It was prepared in a very unique way, where it was over an almond puree with clementines, arugula, and crunchy almonds. The almond puree was the consistency of smooth hummus, which offset the crunchiness of the actual almonds in the dish. The clementines and vinegar gave the perfect level of acidity to the dish and made me want to lick the bowl! And of course the octopus itself was cooked perfectly and there was a lot of it!

Mediterranean Mezze - Spicy Moroccan Hummus, Herb Falafel, Babaganoush

Secondly, we were given the mezze platter, which consisted of spicy Moroccan hummus, falafel, and babaganoush. I actually could have gone without this platter, as it was more disappointing than enjoyable. The hummus and the babaganoush were too seasoned with spices and just tasted weird. It was almost as though they had used whole bottles of spices on this dish and it was just too much!  The falafel was flavored with mint and cilantro, which was a nice touch and a little more unique than most falafel that I have had, but still too seasoned!

Sea Urchin and Crab Tartine - Green Olive, Lemon, Seaweed Rye Bread

Next we have the sea urchin and crab tartine which was the appetizer that I was most looking forward to because it sounded so unique! The crab and sea urchin itself was amazing with lemony citrus seasoning, however it was on top of rye bread that got a little soggy if you didn't eat it immediately upon arrival to the table. We unfortunately waited to eat this appetizer third, and wished we had eaten it first to preserve the crunchiness of the bread. We each got 1 crunchy tartine, and 1 soggy tartine, but all in all still delicious!

Stokes Farm Heirloom Tomato Salad - Watermelon, burrata, arugula pesto

Next we had the Stokes Farm heirloom tomato salad that was burrata atop a pesto puree and surrounded by heirloom tomatoes, croutons, and arugula. This dish was supposed to include watermelon and when we were all done eating we realized they were missing, which was quite disappointing because the sweetness was missing from the dish. The burrata bled out like it should when pricking it with a fork and was just what we were hoping for! The pesto made a very nice addition to the creaminess of the burrata and the tomatoes added the acidity that was needed. All in all, it was burrata done right! I would definitely reorder this one.

Chilled Lobster Salad "Catalan" - Artichokes, chorizo, crispy bomba rice

Oddly, the chilled lobster salad was the worst dish at the table! Normally lobster dishes are my favorite. The description made it sound great on paper, but in reality it was missing all the flavor and the addition of the artichoke was weird. The dish also did not have nearly enough lobster as it probably should have, as it basically was non existent. The crunchy bomba rice that sat atop the dish was a nice touch and added some nice texture. Additionally, the chorizo was delicious, but we didn't order a lobster salad for the chorizo!

Hand-Cut Beef Tartare - Charred scallion, eggplant, choron, espuma

 Lastly, the hand-cut beef tartare was delicious. It was prepared in more of a puree type of consistency with charred scallions mixed in. I didn't taste the sauces on the plate that came with it, since it was not my appetizer, so I cannot speak for that, but the actual tartare was divine and had a beautiful presentation.

Charred Broccoli Rabe - Pepperoncini peppers, crispy shallots

On the side, we had charred broccoli rabe which was served with pepperoncini peppers and crispy shallots mixed in. Definitely a dish that screamed "Carlen" because of the addition of spicy from the peppers and the crispy texture of the shallots to a savory dish. This was definitely a perfect way to enjoy already delicious vegetables. They were prepared in an oil base and we all enjoyed them.

Olive Oil Crushed Potatoes with Garlic Chips

For the other side, we had olive oil crushed potatoes with garlic chips mixed in. We originally thought we were ordering garlic chips based on the description, but were somewhat surprised when we received more of a mashed potato. They were the perfect level of garlic with many other spices that seasoned it quite nicely. The potatoes had a nice texture since they were not truly pureed like traditional mashed potatoes are.

Grapefruit Givre - Sesame halva, rose loukoum, grapefruit sorbet

For dessert, we ordered this dessert that we kept seeing everyone in the restaurant order and figured this must be the one to order! The grapefruit givre had phenomal presentation with even better taste! A grapefruit was stuffed with grapefruit sorbet and then topped with sesame halva. I don't even like grapefruit and I loved this dessert! The sorbet was so fresh and tart and the addition of the sweet halva was amazing. The halva had a cotton candy consistency which was pretty unique and made it fun to eat!

Chocolate Mousse

Lastly, we had the chocolate mousse. This dessert was equally beautiful and was rich as rich can be. It was creamy and tasted like the most divine chocolate mousse you could ever have. For chocolate lovers, this is your dessert!
I would definitely come here again, and would not skip dessert even if I was full because it cannot be missed!