Vilar Grand Tier at the Metropolitan Opera House: Dessert Before Dinner Write Off (DBDWO)
Feb 15 '01
The Bottom Line The Vilar Grand Tier is a beautiful and one-of-a-kind setting for a spectacular evening, whether you are thinking of asking The Question or celebrating a special occasion.
I should have trained harder. A self-professed dessert freak, I have been known to scarf entire contents of ice cream containers, dozens of cookies, pies, and the like. Guys on one of my water polo teams nicknamed me the "The Bottomless Pit."* I have eaten Ben & Jerry's Vermonster and survived.
*this moniker came from eating a pack of peanuts, a corn dog, chicken fingers, cracker jacks, cotton candy and an ice cream, and drinking two beers, all by the 4th inning of a Durham Bulls baseball game...
So when Epicure contacted me about being in the Dessert Before Dinner Write-Off, I jumped at the chance. To me, having dessert before dinner meant that maybe I could fool my husband into letting me have two desserts, one before and one after dinner, like bookends.
Problem is, I have been trying to eat a more reasonable diet, and have been cutting back on the volume of food eaten, as well as trying to eat healthier food. (You know it's time to go on a diet when aunties start eyeing your belly, whispering, and then finally electing a representative auntie, who sidles up to me sheepishly to ask, "Are you pregnant?")
As a result of the recent cutbacks, my stomach shrank, and instead of having "Dessert before Dinner," I ended up with "Dessert instead of Dinner." But we did pick a winner, though.
Location, location, location
In a city where each new restaurant outdoes the other in décor and location, the restaurant on the Vilar Grand Tier outdoes them all. Located on the Grand Tier level of the Metropolitan Opera House and Lincoln Center, what other restaurant can claim a museum-size original Chagall painting and a wall of windows looking out onto Lincoln Center and its fountain?
At a recent Saturday evening performance of Verdi's Aida, (No, not the Elton John musical!), we were seated during first intermission at a round booth big enough for six, with a view onto the plaza at Lincoln Center and into Avery Fisher Hall. The restaurant is separated from the main atrium of the Metropolitan Opera House by planters with small trees, and the ceiling is several levels up. An undulating red wall hides the kitchen/serving area. The Chagall, in extravagant, bright yellow, green and blue, hung right above our heads. Modern crystal chandeliers kept the restaurant brightly lit.
Dessert
Dr. kboo and I almost came to blows over my chocolate souffle. Mine, I say, it was mine! He ordered sorbets, the little healthier-than-thou doctor that he claims to be! While Dr. kboo and I bickered over my chocolate souffle, our dining companions shared a chocolate souffle and an apple tart. Make no mistake, the chocolate souffle is the star of this show. (Eat a few too many and you may end up like Aida's stars, only minus the operatic voice.)
The sorbets were quite good: white peach, green apple, and raspberry were the selections that night. Refreshing and not too sweet, I would have enjoyed them more in warmer weather. The apple tart was small, and looked a bit like a glazed Krispy Kreme donut. It was served room temperature, without much adornment. Again, nothing to get excited about; it was a mini-tarte Tatin, without the thick caramelization of the apples.
The chocolate souffles, on the other hand, were superb. Served with a small side container of luscious red raspberry sauce, they were simply the best souffles I have had anywhere. Rather than the traditional practice of poking a hole in the souffle and pouring the sauce into it, the sauce was wisely left on the side. Sometimes I suspect the whole process of pouring sauce into the souffle is really a scheme to cover up the inevitable and imminent deflation of the souffle as it cools at the table. In this case, however, the souffle was eaten before it had a chance to deflate.
The top of the souffle, which had risen to about an inch above the rim of the souffle dish, was light but slightly crispy on the edges, with a moist, cake-like texture inside. Once I dug below the crust, however, there was a barely set, rich, eggy mixture that was pure chocolate heaven. I would take a little bit of the cakey crust part, dip it in the chocolatey goo, and then dribble a bit of tangy raspberry sauce on it. Neither the sauce nor the souffle were too sweet, as is often the case with chocolate desserts. Instead, the deep chocolate flavor was allowed to penetrate. If the chocolate flavor was a cello, the raspberry sauce would have been a solo oboe, standing out but not overpowering the souffle.
Unique and impeccable service make this restaurant stand out
The Vilar Grand Tier Restaurant also serves pre-opera full dinners, but what makes this restaurant unique is that you can have your various courses of dinner over two 20-minute intermissions. This is accomplished by deft, perfectly timed and choreographed service. Intermission dining works as follows: Before the opera, you order your meal. At the first intermission, you are shown to your table, where your first or main course is already waiting at your table. At the later intermission, you have your dessert. Since the food is pre-ordered at the main desk at the entrance to the restaurant, there is minimal interaction with the waiters. Silently they bring full plates and take away empties, and I can only imagine the practice the waiters and the kitchen must endure to make dinner run so smoothly.
I was skeptical of the whole process, since I am the world's slowest diner and I hate to be rushed, but I did not feel rushed at all. When we were shown to our table, the apple tart and sorbets were at the table, the sorbets had not begun to melt, and we waited for about five minutes for our chocolate souffles. Even factoring in time for the kboos' spoon duel (our friends watched in mild embarrassment), Dr. kboo had time to order coffee (to stay fully awake for the rest of the opera). At 3 hours, 45 minutes, Aida had three intermissions and was perfectly suited for this write-off, but I was simply too full after the souffles to return for more food. Besides, we only would have ordered more souffles, since they were so addictive!
Would you pay $12 for sorbet? Final thoughts…
Another deterrent was the price. The individual sized souffles were $16 each, and the sorbet assortment was $12. The apple tart, also around $12, was about the size of a donut. There is also a $10 minimum order per person, so you can't just get coffee or tea and hang out.
This restaurant is an ideal setting for a splurge and a special night out. While the food overall is not the best the city has to offer, the chocolate souffles are. The service and the unique dining experience are worth the added cost.
The restaurant is only open for pre-curtain and intermission dining, and you must have a ticket for that performance in order to eat there.
Reservations for intermission dining are not necessary (we walked right up about 10 minutes before curtain of a sold out opera on Saturday night, and we were given one of the best tables in the whole restaurant), unless you are attending an opening night or other gala event at the Met. I would advise reservations for pre-curtain dinner, however, unless you don't mind intermission dining as a fallback.
Wheelchair accessible.
All major credit cards.
Dress is whatever you would wear to the opera. Fur coats optional. (blech!) Seriously, one does not have to get decked out for the opera or for this restaurant. There is no dress code. Men are fine in khakis and a clean shirt, although many people are much dressier.
Obviously, this is not a great place for kids. But given that the restaurant's only open to ticket holders, any kid who is able to sit quietly through an entire opera will have no problem being a perfect young lady or gentleman at dinner.
Vilar Grand Tier Restaurant
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
Reservations: 212-799-3400
Food: 5/5 for souffles; 3/5 for everything else
Setting and Decor: 5/5
(What other restaurant boasts a specially commissioned Marc Chagall painting?
Service: 5/5
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This review is a woefully late and pathetic entry in Epicure's Valentine's Day, "Dessert Before Dinner Write Off." Other write off participants include:
Epicure
smiles33
zzJulia
jerryla323
ifif1938
JasonNYCity
Read their reviews. At least they actually had dinner.
Next time I eat at the Vilar Grand Tier Restaurant, I will be sure to order an extra souffle. I learn from the best, you know...
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Epinions.com ID:
kboo
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Location: New York, NY
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