THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Zealous

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Zealous Restaurant Review:

When you’ve got it, you’ve got it. Such is the case at Michael Taus’ longtime, off-the-beaten-path restaurant with an amazing wine cellar and food to match. You may order à la carte, but trust the vegetarian menu, five-course menu or seven-course chef’s menu. Dishes walk the line between all-out formal and comforting --- take the lovely, soul-satisfying duo of roasted halibut and pork belly with Savoy cabbage, white beans and confit fingerlings with blood orange emulsion as a case in point. From the aforementioned glass-enclosed wine cellar --- its some 5,000 bottles visible to diners --- comes Landmark ‘Overlook’ Chardonnay as a complement. Taus loves to tinker, so the offerings change frequently, though we’ve delighted in the short stack of mango pancakes with Hudson Valley foie gras and an oozy quail egg --- it’s elegant whimsy defined. And the composition of tender, grilled beef filet, braised short rib with a mushroom-potato lasagna and truffle reduction? It’s surprising and swank. Service, as one would expect, is attentive; prices, naturally, correspond with the experience. Don’t miss the apple-brown butter custard tart with flaky butter crust and Goldschlager ice cream --- it is most worth the dietary setback.