NYC Thanksgiving 2016 at Dovetail

Greetings from crowded yet refined New York City. This year, the Madre and I decided to change things up and celebrate our Thanksgiving in the Big Apple. The inspiration for this decision came as I watched the 2016 Tony Awards. Here were all these amazing shows performing, and as one who lives on the west coast of this great country, I realized that I may not see any of them while their principal casts were on stage. A few days later, I booked my flight to NYC and bought tickets to The Waitress. Gutsy considering I had yet to tell the Madre of my plan. It all worked out, however, and as I sit here at the Hotel Intercontinental Time Square writing this post... so far so good.

To be blunt: today was a complete lounge waste of a day. I arrived into EWR at 9:45 AM after 5 hours of red eye bliss. By the time I got to the hotel to meet up with the Madre, our room wasn't ready, so we sat in the hotel lobby for a few hours before grabbing a dim sum lunch. A universal truth: Chinese  restaurants are always open on American holidays. We posted up at a coffee shop for another hour until our room was ready, and then I spent the rest of the afternoon recovering from the travel and watching football.

This really wasn't a problem because - having lived in Connecticut for a few years in the past - there are no true touristy things that I need to do. My entire goal for this trip was to eat at some amazing restaurants, see some amazing Broadway, check out a Gustav Klimt exhibit at the Neue Galerie, and possibly see some friends from my Stamford days. To kick off the trip's dining program, our first dinner was at the upper west side restaurant called Dovetail.


Located a short walk away from the American Museum of Natural History, Dovetail is a Michelin star winning contemporary American restaurant. Upon arriving, I was greeted by a traditional NYC apartment building, with one of the street level retail suites converted into a fine dining establishment. The inside was decorated not in the traditional dark woods of some of Manhattan's pretentious dining brethren. Instead, the place was warmly let by cream walls and light brown wood accents, accentuated perfectly by subdued lighting and the flicker of the occasional candle.

Lots of cream palette and light wood bring out the warmth of this contemporary American eatery

As today was Thanksgiving, the menu highlighted a selection of Thanksgiving dishes along with some staples to round out their prix fix menu. I opted for the foie gras with huckleberry and graham cracker reduction, truffle topped risotto, steak with meat lasagna and scalloped potato mash, and a pumpkin pie tart for desert.

Foie gras with huckleberry and graham cracker reduction
2016 Dovetail. New York, NY

The foie gras started the meal out right. It was cooked to perfection, with a slightly goey center and a firm crust on the exterior. The foie gras provided its typical savory rich notes, which paired superbly with the huckleberry and graham cracker reduction. The dish was served with a glass of sauternes, which provided sweeter notes adding to the dishes overall depth of flavor.

Risotto with fresh chive and shaved truffle
2016 Dovetail. New York City, NY

 The next course was a risotto, topped with three grams of fresh shaved truffles, and cooked in a fresh chive sour cream-esque liquid. The beauty of this preparation was just how vibrant the truffle came across. The fresh chive and creme brought their own flavors, but they were subdued enough that the truffle really shined brightly with its rich, earthy flavors.

Steak with meat lasagna and scalloped potato mash
2016 Dovetail. New York City, NY

The final entree for the evening was the steak, served with a meat lasagna and what I believe to be scalloped potatoes mashed, plated with both an au jus/balsamic reduction, and a herb reduction. The steak was cooked to absolute perfection, with a nice crust ring, and the rest perfect pink. The steak was not overly salted or seasoned, which allowed it to take on the notes of the reductions, as well as pair beautifully with the meat lasagna that was exceptionally savory. The potato rounded out the dish by providing buttery starchy notes to the overall flavor profile.

Pumpkin tart with whip cream and apple cider reduction
2016 Dovetail. New York City, NY

The final course of tonight's contemporary American odyssey was a delightful pumpkin tart with apple cider reduction. The crust was baked perfectly, with just the right amount of crunch, flake, and sweetness. The whipped cream was homemade decadence, with more buttery notes than sweet. The pumpkin filling had just the right balance of spice. And to pull the whole dish off, the apple cider reduction was that little note of flavor that one's fork accumulated with every bite.

All in all, Dovetail offered an impeccable dining experience tonight that I would certainly be keen to recommend. In fact, I felt they cooked above their level of service. Towards the end of the evening, as new people were seated next to our table and were provided bread and amuse-bouches, we realized that our servers completely skipped over these parts of the meal for us. Lord knows I don't need more food, but it is the principal of it all. The minor detraction from service aside, tonight's meal was excellent, and I would definitely recommend Dovetail for any occasion greater than ordinary.