Jamie tracked down a wonderful surprise for a recent dinner. She made reservations far in advance for one of the special Friday Night dinners at the Natural Gourmet Cooking School on 21st Street in Manhattan.

For a very reasonable $40 per person, and the opportunity to BYOB, we were treated to a gourmet presentation of all vegetarian (although not vegan, as there was some dairy) healthy, organic, sustainable foods. Normally, one considers that the healthier the foods are, the less attractive and tasty they are. In this case, the meal proved to be not just beautifully prepared and presented, but very delicious, as well!

The Photos

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The Menu

Caribbean Trio

• Black-Eyed Pea and Mushroom Fritter with Spicy Mango Catsup
• Okra Cou-Cou in Banana Leaf Purse
• Plantain And Spinach Roulade

Jewel Salad

• Mixed Greens, Fresh Herbs, Pickled Beets, Spaghetti Radishes And Carrot Creamy Avocado Dressing

Tropical Tower

• Tri-Color Quinoa Cake with Cilantro Pistachio Pesto, Smoky Calypso Bean Sauce, Curried Squash and Collards, Grilled Pineapple, Passion Fruit Coulis

Island Bites

• Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Guava-Cardamom Sorbet, Coconut-Cashew Cookie, Pomegranate-Raspberry Reduction

The Wine

Once we heard that the theme for the dinner would be Caribbean, with the full complement of sweet, spicy, smoky, and tart flavors, we decided that we had to go with a Northern white, something like a Gewürtztraminer or a Riesling. With lighter flavors of peach, melon, and pineapple, the Rudolf Müller 2006 Riesling Auslese paired beautifully with every course, proving an ideal complement in particular to the main course.

Impressions of the Meal

All of the dishes were charmingly conceived, and adroitly executed. The starter was perhaps the most difficult of all to pull off, the small, provocative bites that would give an idea of what was to come. Of these, the “Cou Cou” was the one most in need of an identity; opening up the banana leaf pouch was a bit of letdown. The roulade was fairly well-handled, and hung together well, both visually (the surrounding plantains looked like bacon strips), and flavor-wise (the combination of sweet and savory worked just right here).
The salad, graced with precious, bitter frisée, was extremely well-executed, both in terms of the flavor mix, with the earthy beets complementing nicely the crisp bitterness of the greens, tied together with style by the avocado dressing.
The main course was my most personally satisfying dish. The smoky Calypso bean sauce really added an almost meat-like depth to the quinoa cake. The grilled-pineapple “mohawk” was candy-like and added a real element of both visual and flavor excitement to the dish.
The dessert simply worked, from beginning to end. The pomegranate-raspberry reduction, with a few floating pomegranate kernels, was just the right canvas on which the ice cream and cookie floated. Very enjoyable.

Final Thoughts

Sitting at long tables encouraged a communal group dining atmosphere which added to the meal. Jamie and I sat with one gentleman who lamented the increasing cost and crowded nature of what were once one of New York’s best kept secrets. While still a steal at $40, it does seem like the school is winning on every front, having students pay to cook, and then charging diners for the food that they cook. Still, there are raw materials costs, and the quality of all of the ingredients was top-notch. And the space was also quite large, always a high cost anywhere in Manhattan, not to mention the Flatiron district.

Details

Friday Night Dinner at the Natural Gourmet Cookery School
Prix Fixe: $40.00 (includes tax)
6:30 p.m. seating
BYOB
Reservations required: 212-645-5170 (ext. 0)
Visa, Master Card and American Express accepted (Keep in mind that the credit card machine was inexplicably “down” when we presented ourselves at dinner time, so we had to pay with cash. It may be wise to be prepared.)
48 W. 21st St., 2nd floor
New York, NY 10010
(between 5th & 6th ave.)

Closest Subways: E, C, F, N, R, 1, 9 or 6 train to 23rd Street.

Popularity: 80% [?]

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