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- Alain Ducasse at the Essex House
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155 West 58th Street, 212-265-7300
Gougères, those wonderfully light cheese puffs, have been elevated to new heights by chef de cuisine Didier Elena at Alain Ducasse, where the little Burgundian delicacies get a surprise creamy cheese filling. The airy, puffy choux pastry shell, flavored with comte cheese from the Jura, is filled with Mornay sauce while still hot and crisp, then served immediately on a silver-edged Lalique plate as a welcoming hors d’oeuvre with an aperitif. Avoid the temptation to take a bite. The cheese might ooze and ruin the evening. Happily, they’re small enough to pop into the mouth whole for an unexpectedly intense cheesy sensation.
Best Amuse-Bouche
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PrintFrom the 2004 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine
Competition breeds the best. If only one pizzeria existed in New York, of course, there’d be no real winning slice. Thankfully, we’ll never know what that sorry situation tastes like, since pizza—like dance parties, dog runs, and fried chicken—has to evolve upward here.
