Picholine

Picholine (35 West 64th Street) | view menu here.

One of only 6 restaurants in New York City to earn 2 Michelin stars this year, Picholine is a possibly the best haute french meal you can get in town without having to wear a jacket.

The decor is almost casual relative to what you would expect to accompany the elaborate presentation of the food.  The non-stuffy mood begins with the bar room in the front that actually seemed to have lots of guests stopping by just for a drink.

Unlike the other 2 star french restaurants in town (Bouley and Daniel), Picholine feels like a place you could go without it having to be a special occasion. This airy dining room coupled with the unpretentious staff makes for a very comfortable experience. That said, I was still probably the only person in the room under 30 who wasn’t there with their parents.

The first thing I thought about after the meal was what they could have possibly done better to earn a 3rd star and put them in the same league as Per Se or Jean Georges, and I had nothing. My only complaint with this tasting menu was the large size of the portions. I think a tasting menu should have small enough courses that you can finish your plate each time and still be hungry for desert. However, after the 3rd course I was already starting to fill up as each serving was nearly the size of a full entree portion. I would suggest to anyone else that they attempt to show restraint in the early rounds so that they can save room to fully enjoy the cheese selection, which I’m told is perhaps the best in the city. Other then that, there were no surprises here. Everything was nearly perfect and I would highly recommend a trip to the Upper West Side to check it out.