The Consumer Electronics Industry holds its largest trade show (perhaps the largest trade show in the U.S. – or even the world) each year during the second week of January. So, for manufacturers (like the one I work for), we spend the eight (or more) weeks leading up to the show furiously preparing our new product announcements, show-related events and on-site meetings.

So, that means…  ‘tis the season to sit though meetings, meetings and more meetings.  I left my house on Tuesday, an hour earlier than usual, braved Manhattan’s holiday gridlock traffic and sat through a full day of… you guessed it… meetings. 

My brief reprieve came during lunch, when I attended a lunch meeting (yes, another one) at Jean Gorges  Located in the Trump Tower at Central Park West and Columbus Circle, this magnificent restaurant sat eloquently in the corner of a beautiful building with views of Columbus Circle throughout the dining room.

Named by many to be one of the best French Restaurants in New York City, Jean Georges truly caters to the rich and famous.  In fact, we sat across from Sam Donaldson (TV News Anchor in NY).  From the moment we walked in the door, I felt somewhat under-dressed.  Now, I wore proper business attire – however my Jones New York skirt, Brighton purse and Nine West heels were no match for the blue haired ladies of the Upper West Side that wore Channel, diamonds and fur (not that I care about designer labels mind you – it’s just these circumstances that painfully draw my attention to them).  My less than top-dollar clothes did not affect our service one bit.  The hostess were phenomenally gracious, the wait staff extremely attentive and our table – well situated.

When my colleague arrived, we both decided to do something neither one of us ever does in a lunch meeting – order a drink!  She wanted something light and Riesling-like, so I suggested she try the Alsace Pinot Gris, whereas, I wanted a floral and full-bodied white.  I indulged in a glass of the 2004 Mersault from Domaine Caillot, which opened up beautifully, like a summer bouquet on both the nose and the palate.

They brought us an Amuse Bouche consisting of three items: a tuna tartare on a rice crisp topped with a bonito mayonnaise; a mushroom, chestnut soup with mini-mushroom ravioli; and a Kumamoto oyster.  Each bite further developed the flavor profiles and palatial experience.  Both of us stopped mid-sentence to “mmmm” and “Wow!”



Our appetizers came next.  My colleague ordered the watercress salad while I tried the butternut squash and black trumpet mushroom soup. My soup first arrived as a dish of diced squash amongst a bed of black trumpet mushrooms and julienned greens.  Our server then poured the soup on top of the diced squash.  We dove in.  To say the soup was divine would be an understatement.  My own beloved butternut squash soup paled in comparison.  This soup clearly made its way through more than one strainer before reaching my table (I just puree with an emulsion blender).  The sophistication and complexity of flavor within this simple, elegant dish delighted me.

 

 



Then our main courses arrived. My colleague the steamed halibut topped with mushrooms and lemongrass broth – and a second glass of Pinot Gris — while I ordered the sweetbreads with licorice root and grilled pears.  However, I switched to the 2005 Chateauneuf de Pape from Domaine de Val Frais, which had deeper floral and fruit notes.





 

What I appreciated most about Jean Georges is their portions are small.  This way, I could taste many things without overwhelming my body with too much food. Each course had just enough to give me a sense of the dish and satisfy me.

Our meeting continued, so we decided to order dessert.  She tried the berry tart with pistachio crème fraiche and the raspberry rosewater sorbet.  I chose the “Autumn” pumpkin mouse atop a ginger spice cake with pumpkin seeds and a pomegranate sorbet.

 



Then came the homemade marshmallows (WOW!!) and the truffles, oh, and the macaroons too!  They made each made item tiny enough to give you a taste – and taste we did!







Alas, our lunch meeting ended and we went back to their office for more non-food related meetings.  I then braved the mid-town gridlock, the West Side Highway and the Bridge traffic and finally made my way home.

All in all, we had a really lovely and decadent holiday lunch amongst a sea of business meetings.  It was really fun!

Oh well, back to business…