November 21, 2024 - The Introduction
This was a dinner like we’ve never experienced before. Frasca went all out! This was probably a two or even three Michelin star experience. It was $1,500 per person, and it was worth it!! Simply unbelievable, unchecked, pure indulgence. Every dish managed to show off the star of the show - The Alba White Truffle (https://www.fieradeltartufo.org/en/). These truffles are the reason the evening was expensive. Currently, the large Alba White Truffle is selling for about $1,000 an ounce!
This night was too big for just one page! I’ll split it into two pages - The Introduction and the Dinner.
Here they are! Being this near that many truffles is overwhelming! Wow! Words can’t begin to describe the experience of that many truffles right there! Part of two of the truffle slicers are in the shot, to the right and left of the truffle stand.
Here’s the overall dining room. Our table is at the front right. Pearl Street is visible out the window. There are a few more tables to the left. Probably 12 tables total.
Yes, we got to go back into the kitchen before the dinner started. Some of the canapés are ready to go at the right.
The overall kitchen.
The menu for tonight. Yes, there are 8 official courses, but the canapés should each be counted as a course resulting in 11 total courses!
Here’s the audio of our hosts introduction to tonight’s dinner.
This is the wine for the Canapés.
Krug is a special champaign, this is a special Krug.
The 169ème Édition is:
“a blend of 146 wines from 11 different years. The youngest is from the year 2013 and the oldest dates back to 2000. A stay of around seven years in Krug’s cellars gives this Édition its remarkable expression and elegance. Every glass poured from it is the fruit of more than 20 years of careful craftsmanship.” (https://www.krug.com/champagne/krug-grande-cuvee-169eme-edition)
The Canapés came out in random order and quite quickly. Our notes are, therefore, on the brief side.
The Koginut Cake. Koginut is a type of squash which they made into a cake wrapped around the truffled foie gras and huckleberry. This really was a neat way to do foie gras without overwhelming its delicate flavor. The truffle really made the foie gras “bigger”! That’s an edible squash blossom on top.
The Mountain Tart. The truffled Montasio cheese (https://www.montasio.com/en/) was just silky smooth and the truffle really brought its delicate flavor to the front. Montasio is also the cheese used in Frasca’s only permanent regular menu item, the frico caldo.
The base here is sort of a giant rice crispy made with Italian Carnaroli rice. It's the perfect crispy support for the silky smooth Ahi Tuna and Ossetra Caviar. Then, the truffled soy brought everything together.
Ok, this is a magnificent American A5 Wagyu. It’s not as fatty as the Japanese, but they wanted a bigger, beefier flavor, and they got it! It’s draped over a polenta “croccante”, which means Almond brittle cookie in Italian.
The combination of beef, polenta, and truffle mugolio, a pine cone syrup, brought the beef front and center, gently supported by the polenta.