L'Espinasse is one of the new wave of hotel restaurants that disprove all the old things people used to say about hotel restaurants.
L'Espinasse is an old fashioned French restaurant, but at the same time surprisingly modern. It is also expensive, but the food is absolutely exquisite. Every dish was perfect, from the mussel cream soup with chives to the palmiers and madeleines on the petite fours tray. Every flavor came throught clearly and intensely. The risotto with truffles. lobster and fava beans was a classic combination, but it was the foamy seafood sauce topping the dish that made it extra special. The civet of hare was dark and richly flavored, served with a variety of root vegetables. The suckling pig with a broad bean cassoulet tasted intensely of pig, unlike the usual supermarket pork.
The food at L'Espinasse brought back memories of Paris. The next time the craving for real French food gets intense, we'll either hop the Concorde or we'll be back at L'Espinasse, fork and knife in hand.
New York Restaurants