Caviar Russe, Midtown - She says...

I have to admit that caviar is one of those luxury food items that he taught me to enjoy. Before moving to New York, I'd never tried it as it was meant to be eaten. Now, while I certainly don't crave it the same way he does, I appreciate how special it is - both as a garnish and showcased on its own. We'd already tried the Russian Tea Room, which was a strict caviar and vodka tasting, so now he wanted to try Caviar Russe.

I didn't know much about Caviar Russe until our waiter handed us two menus: the dinner menu and the retail caviar menu. Aside from caviar tastings, the dinner menu was focused on sushi and seafood. The caviar menu was a catalog of the caviar available for purchase. It made the experience feel a bit commercial, but it explained the different types and varieties of caviar so at least it was educational.

We started with an assortment of oysters, which were fresh and briny, followed by several "bites". The bites were served as single servings, so we ordered two of each. Again, we ended up being a bit over-zealous with our ordering, but it gave us the opportunity to try everything. I think we'd both agree that the FLT - foie, lettuce, and tomato "bite" served on a brioche roll - was the best, and most indulgent, item that we tried. It was deliciously gluttonous. The slightly roasted tomato provided sweetness to the buttery richness of the foie gras, and the lettuce added a hint of needed freshness and crunch. The bite was smaller than the average slider, but I still had trouble finishing it. He had no trouble finishing my portion.

Two of the more manageable bites were the caviar blini purse and the gnocchi. The blini purse was an elegant but simple serving of caviar wrapped in a warm blini. The gnocchi were delicious pillows covered in a truffle-infused creme fraiche, topped with dollops of American sturgeon caviar. Each "bite" came with three gnocchi, so we should have shared a single order. Still, they were delicious and the presentation was beautiful.


We also ordered the caviar and scrambled eggs. It seemed like a classic dish that we had to try, and we probably would have appreciated it more had we not just finished our FLT's. The eggs were simple, tasty, and would have been great as a brunch item.

Our entrees were the low point of the night. He had the steak tartare with lobster, and I ordered the lobster trio. Everything was served at room temperature, which was odd considering my trio included a lobster bisque, lobster salad, and lobster tempura. The lobster bisque was tasty, rich, and appropriately frothy. Unfortunately, the lobster salad was under-seasoned, and the lobster tempura lacked the light crunch of a good tempura - in fact it was almost soggy and tasted greasy. I would have rather had a few more oysters or taken more time to enjoy the bites, but now we know for next time.


Our meal at Caviar Russe was prompted by a Blackboard Eats deal. I doubt we would have tried it had it not been for this offer. The bites were undeniably delicious, but I think that had more to do with the decadence of the ingredients than the preparation in the kitchen. If we return, hopefully we'll be less distracted by the other dishes and focus more on the caviar itself - or consider simply purchasing a jar to enjoy at home.