Telepan
Stopped by the cocktail party for the reopening of the refurbished Picholine (where I'll chow down next week) to wish Terrance Brennan good luck. Since I'm rarely on the upper West Side, it was a good opportunity to check out Telepan, finally, and I'm glad I did. Definitely worth a detour.
I wonder if everyone on the Upper West Side wears rubber soles—I was in leather soled loafers and the wood floors were so slick that after a few glasses of wine I feared for my safety. My companions weren't convinced by the lime/avocado color of the walls, but I kind of liked it, perhaps because to me it suggested pea soup and because I know that chef Bill Telepan is a guy who knows how to make vegetables exciting.
We pushed aside the menu and left ourselves in Telepan's hands. He started us with a very tasty smoked brook trout in green-onion sour cream on a corn blini, then an heirloom tomato sandwich composed of fried green and yellow tomatoes, which left me a little cold–I've never been a fried green tomato fan, despite many years in the south—and a very fine crunchy/creamy fried zucchini blossom stuffed with buffalo mozzarella in a tomato-oregano compote.
The sommelier had selected a Russiz Superiore Sauvingnon Blanc from Marco Felluga to help me wash down the tomatoes, though it was also great with the trout. Not the least impressive thing about Telepan is the wine list, which has tremendous breadth for a new restaurant; as with Cru and Veritas, this is partly the result of a partner with a deep personal cellar. Telepan isn't as crazy as the other two, but it has some rarities, including Screaming Eagle and Bryant Family cabs, Sine Qua Non, Brewer Clifton and Marcassin Pinots and Chardonnays, Henri Bonneau Chateaneufs, Dujac and Roumier burgundies… I could go on for a while in this vein. The prices are pretty good. If you have the dosh, I'd recommend the '89 de Vogue Musigny, a relative bargain at $375. I brought my own, from a tasting earlier in the day, two not even released yet '04s from Dujac, the Chambolle Musigny and the Clos de La Roche, a real sleeping beauty. (The 1987 Clos de la Roche is on the list here.)
I really liked the jumbo shrimp poppers with green chile aioli, which were kind of haute Red Lobster. And the best vegetarian dish I've had in quite some time was the Stuffed Nordello pepper, a red carrot–shaped Spanish pepper, which was filled with Spanish style risotto, whatever that is, and came with twiced-cooked beans (is that the same as refried?) and red pepper oil. Telepan is the kind of chef who could probably do a very compelling vegetarian tasting menu.
Loved my lobster Bolognese, though I'm not sure I would call it that. The bug was perfectly cooked, almost tender, as if poached, and the shallot–garlic–tomato broth was just zingy and spicy enough to keep me interested to the last bite.
I could have retired here, but I had to try the seared foie gras with pickled peach and pecan (oh yeah), which was perfect. Next thing I knew I got a dish called, pork four ways (only one night after I'd had Pork ménage a trois at Cru). They were all pretty damn good, not least the belly, the fattest and juiciest of all, but even the shoulder–if that's what it was–was moist and porky. Good enough that I kept eating well past the point of satisfaction.
God knows how I managed the cheese plate, but Telepan has sensibly tiny portions of cheese, which I appreciate, and all four (all American) were terrific and in perfect shape—a goat's milk from Vermont called Bijou; a creamy Colorado cow's milk cheese called Mouco Colorouge, a dense and complex sheep's milk cheese called San Andrea from California and a crumbly sweet and salty blue from Vermont called Bayley Hazen.
The first three were particularly good with a glass of the Prisoner ($19) a hard–to–find, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Zinfandel/Syrah/Cabernet/Petit Syrah blend from Napa. Telepan takes its cheese seriously. Like everything else. I try to avoid the Upper West Side, but now I fear I may have to go back soon.
Telepan
72 W.69th Street
NYC
212. 580.4300
