Cuisine:

• Mediterranean
• French
• Others
• Cheese

Picholine Description:
Terrance Brennan, perhaps New York's most cheese-centric chef, runs one of the city's most stealthy fine dining establishments. Picholine, his luxury flagship, has been tucked into a sleepy block near Lincoln Center since 1993. Before the Time Warner Center went up and Jean Georges moved in, the restaurant was by far the neighborhood's finest. Brennan's early fans have proven loyal. The former beige and forest green walls gave way to more contemporary feminine hues of purple and violet. Opulent crystal chandeliers still light up the dining room with its mix 'n' match prix-fixe menu, while lounge seating up near the bar invites pre- and post-philharmonic crowds to pop in for light nibbles from a less pricey list of more casual offerings. Brennan's most playful impulses are on full display on his modern menu divided into prelude, pasta, day boat, and land based sections. Try the skate "choucroute garni" with rutabaga sauerkraut, mustard and beurre rouge; the diver sea scallops with grapefruit grenobloise, cauliflower silk and crumble; or the squab with smoked cashew and rhubarb-foie gras vinaigrette. The chef's inspired riff on chicken Kiev comes with chanterelle mushrooms and replaces the usual parsley butter with liquid foie gras. In autumn be sure to sample what is surely one of the finest selections of Scottish game in New York, following up, of course, with a sampling of cheese from the city's best-stocked (and most aromatic) cart.


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