Allen and Delancey

I have so much to say and I feel a great rush to say it all... Hopefully I can get all the writing done well, quickly enough before it fades. Even now, the memories of my ridiculously extravagant meal at Allen and Delancey are starting fade. This is perhaps the saddest part of dining out. It is a transient pleasure, one that will never shine with the same luster in recollection as it did while you were savoring every bite. Jason somehow got us a two-top at this extremely chic and desirable location for 8:30 about two weeks ago.
I'll start with the room: I found it extremely beautiful, well lit with a ton a candles... (who doesn't look good, or at least better, by candlelight?) The deep dark reds contrasted nicely with the dark hard woods and brick in the room. We were given, arguably, the worst table in the restaurant... the hostess had to walk all of 5 feet from the entrance to seat us... but such is life. Funnily, she still gave us a formal little "If you'll just follow me this way, I'll show you to your table" (or some such). Still, it was a good vantage point for watching and smelling food go by and scoping out the number of people in the room who were richer than me. Jason thought it was a little hard to read the menu, but de gustibus non disputandum est. I found it strange that they had only one bathroom, but I found it strangely awesome when the hostess noticed me looking longingly at the line for it and invited me to use the employee's restroom in the belly of the beast. I got to go down the service stairs and check out there back rooms, get a look into the dish washing operation, if not much else, of the kitchen, and I took a peek into the office, where Neil Ferguson was at the computer and on the telephone. Very, very cool. And I got to use the bathroom.
The food: Was sensational. I started with the rabbit terrine and then moved up to the duck breast and foie gras. Jason had the sea scallops and then the veal cannelloni, trotters, sweet breads, etc. I thought that everything was extremely well seasoned... perfectly salted. I particularly enjoyed my terrine, I think I noticed the inclusion of a trace quantity of liver which really made the plate. I was given some grilled bread to eat it on but found that I didn't even need it, that's how delicious it was. I should actually mention the table bread they provided, because it was absolutely amazing. The roll: good god was that salty and delicious. As for my duck, the foie gras was appropriately luscious, though I thought the breast could have been a bit more succulent. Looking back at Frank Bruni's review, he made a similar complaint about the duck in his otherwise extremely positive review. I didn't get a good sense of Jason's dishes, and maybe he will comment a little on them in this blog, but my one bite of the cannelloni was delicious... I think it would have been fun to try the three different types of veal separately and then try them in combinations. We also had the Peach Strudel with Sweet Corn Ice Cream and blackberry sauce. Delicious: nice textural contrasts, and the sweet corn ice cream was absolutely stunning.
The wine: We began with a stellar bottle of white, though Jason usually favors red. (Perhaps he was humoring me, knowing that I like to start with white and move up.) It was a Condrieu, and while unfortunately I didn't write down my notes, I remember getting some white flowers, plenty of minerality and acid, I recall it as a relatively full white, though certainly subtle and well structured. I thought it a nice lead in to our absolutely sensational and now legendary (in my book) Valdicava '99 Brunello di Montalcino. This wine absolutely stole the show. It had amazing structure, balance and a lengthy finish. To me, the sign of a great wine is that it changes noticeably throughout the drinking process. This wine kept us talking, smelling, tasting and enjoying for quite a long time and I'm sure it would have continued to do so if we were men of extreme patience. Not to mince words, I loved this wine. It began with rose petals and anise, moved to apricots and smoke, and finally gave way to intense plum and slate-like minerality. Thank goodness we, or rather Jason, decided to bring this with him rather than buy off the list, since it would have been an (even larger) small fortune. However, I couldn't approve of giving the waiter and the sommelier a taste of it, since I wanted it all for myself.
On the whole this restaurant will bear my highest recommendation; particularly if Warren Buffett happens to be in town and taking you out to dinner.