Almanac: New Concept from Chef Galen Zamarra

Chef Galen Zamarra was at the helm of Bouley where he was awarded the James Beard Rising Stary Chef award.  After the events of 9/11 with the closing of Bouley, Chef Galen ventured to open his own concept  based on his experiences working in France and sticking to seasonal and local offerings with Mas Farmhouse.  He later opened Mas Grillade, a more casual version of Mas Farmhouse.  Mas Grillade recently went under complete renovation and re-branding to become Almanac.  This concept is based on micro-seasonal cuisine following the phases of the moon.  The menu is assembled daily into three different sized tasting menus (3, 5, or 8) based on the micro-seasonal ideals.  http://ny.eater.com/tags/galen-zamarra

The restaurant is not pretentious but rather cozy and inviting.  The décor is simple, red leather booths line the perimeter with small embroidered pillows and small, white table-clothed tables dot the room.  The walls are affixed with reclaimed wood, mirrors, and there is a comfortable level of lighting and music.  The service was impeccable; timely with fluid movements and precise attention to detail. The menu and photos show the meal created for our ICCA Culinary Immersion on April 9, 2015 and it was amazing.

In another visit before the event Andrea Gillman said the following: For an amuse, the Chef sent out a silky duck liver pate with crouton.  We selected the 3 course menu with an additional appetizer.  The first; Yellowfin Tuna which was raw marinated and confited and topped with hackleback caviar and dotted with lemon mayonnaise.  The Razor Clams were finely chopped on a bed of sea lettuce salad that was tossed in sesame seed dressing with kohlrabi and parsley.  My favorite of the first course was the acorn squash.  Roasted squash with lamb bacon on a bed of local greens with smoked blue cheese and a cilantro pesto.

For the main course, we selected the duck and monkfish cheeks.  The duck was medium rare with a crusty layer of fat and wrapped in swiss chard.  This was served on top of a sweet potato hash with date-sage sausage.  The monkfish cheeks were delicate and tender.  Served with grilled hen of the woods mushrooms and mushroom stew over black trumpet pasta and topped with a gouda foam.

For dessert, the Date was our favorite.  A sticky toffee pudding with dates topped with granola and served with salted caramel ice cream.  The other dessert was also very good, a grilled olive oil cake with candied chestnuts, bay leaf ganache, and cara cara sherbet.

They feature a great wine list with offerings starting at $60.  We chose the 2011 Cristom Pinot Noir which paired beautifully with the meal.