This year my birthday fell between W&L homecoming and reading days, so naturally the festivities lasted a full week. I didn’t follow the intended purpose of reading days. Instead I went to New York City to celebrate the big 2-1. My friend and I ate at a restaurant in the Flatiron district called Aldea, which means “village” in Portuguese. The chef, George Mendes, is a first-generation American born to Portuguese parents. He has worked in a number of well-known restaurants in the United States and abroad. Before opening the restaurant in 2009 Mendes worked at a three-star Michelin restaurant in San Sebastian, Spain.
When we arrived at Aldea, a young hostess led us through the modern, narrow interior to the chef’s counter that overlooked the kitchen in the back. We had a view of the entire kitchen and observed Mendes and his team all night.
The counter had six chairs and we sat next to two older couples. All of us went with the tasting menu and wine pairing, plus cocktails to start. I had the Harvester, an apple flavored drink with calvados, chai-infused vermouth, and cider foam. It arrived in a martini glass much too strong for my liking. Courtney ordered the Hemingway Heat with rum, lime, grapefruit, and jalapeno. We shared roasted marcona almonds and marinated olives with our new friends from San Francisco sitting to our right.
I have become quite an adventurous eater in the past year, but I still had not tried oysters. So I hesitated when our server brought a single oyster as the amuse bouche. My eyes darted from the translucent flesh, to the shellfish fork, and down the counter to the others slurping their oysters. Once I finally tried it, I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it, but have no frame of reference.
The first course pairing was sweet sake with cured foie gras. The dish came on a black tile with a two-bite sized piece of rectangular toasted brioche with a fig slice on the left, a delicate spoon of fig sorbet in the center and the foie gras on the right. I liked the fruit with the foie gras along with the coldness of the sorbet.
The second course, “A La Plancha,” was my favorite even though I was skeptical about eating octopus. The octopus was slightly chewy, but flavorful. The plate was misted with leek ash, a powdery looking substance; along with squid ink-citrus puree and chickpea stew in the center. The wine was a 2008 Spanish white called A. Coroa, Godello, Galicia.
Next were Bacalao Cheeks, a stew of clams with leeks, fennel, and saffron. The clams rested a top the golden stew. This course was not very memorable. We drank a Portuguese red: J.M. Fonseca, 'Periquita,' Terras dos Sado '07.
By the fourth course we were prettaaaaay happy. We watched the cook right in front of us hard at work making his seventh egg dish that they served in the hollowed shell. It was impressive, too bad we didn't get a chance to try it. We ate the popular Arroz de Pato - duck confit, with chorizo, olive, and duck cracklings. This was Courtney's favorite. The duck was delicious especially with the little bites of sausage and cracklings. I didn't notice the olives in the dish. French red wine: Domaine Roger Perrin, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhone, '07.
Dessert was a banana custard brulee with caramelized rice, lemon, and chicory ice cream. Mine came with a candle and Happy Birthday cursive script. It was perfect. After the dessert wine, one of the couples was chatting up the chef. Next thing you know, we were all in the kitchen taking a group picture. Mendes didn't seem especially pleased about the photo-op. At any rate, it was a great time.
Photo credits: Aldea. Forgot my camera this time.
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