Veritas - Review

Intro
Veritas - Recommended
43 E 20th St, New York 10003
Btwn Bway & Park Ave S
Phone: 212-353-3700

I have been looking forward to going to Veritas for about 5 years now, but some how I've never made it to the restaurant. Finally, for my birthday *<:) my girlfriend took me out to Veritas last night. If Daniel and Jean Georges were the best in the NYC restaurant scene, I always thought Veritas would be one notch below it. Unfortunately, I would say it's 2 or three levels below. It was still a pretty good meal, but I was definitely disappointed. Overall, I gave it a 82.5/100.

My Menu
Crisp Pork - recommended
Tender braised short ribs - recommended
Maple Creme Caramel - highly recommended

Girlfriend's Menu
Mushroom Ravioli - recommended with reservations
Scallops and Risotto - not recommended
Chocolate souffle and thai ice cream - highly recommended

Dishes (82/100)
Amuse Bouche - Octopus with Eggplant Caviar
Pretty good amuse bouche here. Octopus had a perfect texture with an Orange Juice and pepper dressing. The eggplant caviar was heavenly - perfectly smoky. Add the two together and it was a great flavor combination

Crisp Pork (85/100)

• Flavor 8.7/10 - Nice porky flavor that went very well with the balsamic, port reduction. Arugula and roasted cipollini's (small onions) gave it a nice contrast.
  
• Texture 8/10 - It was very good, but for some reason I felt it could have been more tender. Still a juicy piece of pork though.
  
• Aroma 8.5/10 - Great pork and sauce aroma.
  
• Presentation 8/10 - Very clean and nice. Nothing extraordinary.
  
• Price 8/10 - Since this was a prix fixe, the price refers to how happy I was for the overall price of the prix fixe. Vey good dish and worth the price.
  

Mushroom Ravioli (75/100)

• Flavor 7.8/10 - This was a tough call. The sauce around was very intense, however, the actual ravioli filling was ok. Mushrooms surrounding the dish could have been more mushroomy.
  
• Texture 7.5/10 - The texture of the pasta and the surrounding mushrooms could have been better. I like my ravioli to be silky with a little bit of al dente-ness.
  
• Aroma 8.8/10 - Intense mushroom aroma here, but when you use truffle oil - it should be that way
  
• Presentation 8/10 - Ravioli island in a sea of mushroom foam sauce.
  
• Price 7.5/10 - Expected more bang for the buck, but still a pretty good dish.
  

Braised short ribs (83/100)

• Flavor 8.5/10 - Very good flavor here. Nice contrast between the short ribs, barolo reduction, celery and parsnip puree. Interestingly enough, Neyla (DC) should take lessons here on balance. Parsnip puree added the right amount of sweetness and did not take over the dish.
  
• Texture 7.8/10 - I felt the texture should have been much more tender here. It was tender, but not enough to my liking. Crunchy celery added a unique twist to this dish which I've had many a time.
  
• Aroma 8.3/10 - Intense meaty aroma
  
• Presentation 8/10 - I liked the presentation here. Very rustic and simple.
  
• Price 8/10 - Price was well worth the dish.
  

Scallops and Risotto - special of the day - (60/100)

• Flavor 6.5/10 - Scallops had a nice crust, but there was no sweetness there - which I feel is key in eating scallops. The risotto was too fishy.
  
• Texture 6.5/10 - Risotto was undercooked - still chalky on the inside...completely unacceptable. The scallops were done well with a nice crust and soft on the inside.
  
• Aroma 6/10 - Unpleasant fishy smell.
  
• Presentation 8/10 - Dish looked pretty good and made me want to eat it.
  
• Price 6/10 - For the price of the menu, this should have been much better.
  

Creme Caramel - (91/100)

• Flavor 9.1/10 - Nice and rich creme caramel. Matched perfectly with the crunchy sweet pecans, and sour cherry sauce. I'm a sucker for creme caramel (or flan) though
  
• Texture 9.2/10 - Nice and silky. Even though I like a flan dense, creme caramel is supposed to be lighter and it works well.
  
• Aroma 9/10 - Mmm. Caramely
  
• Presentation 8.5/10 - Looked good.
  
• Price 9/10 - My favorite dish of the night.
  

Chocolate Souffle- (90/100)

• Flavor 9.0/10 - Combining the Chocolate Souffle and the thai ice cream was heavenly. I'm going to make thai ice cream soon...
  
• Texture 9/10 - Souffle was wonderful.
  
• Aroma 9/10 - Mmm. Chocolatey
  
• Presentation 8.8/10 - Definitely made me want to eat it
  
• Price 9/10 - Great dessert
  

Overall Restaurant Experience (82.5/100)

• Food 8.2/10 - My dishes were pretty good, but I was expecting more. My girlfriends dishes were not so good.
  
• Service 7.8/10 - Waiter was very friendly. However, sommelier was an ass. He never stopped by even though the waiter asked him to and he definitely had attitude. Food came out a little slow.
  
• Atmosphere 8.5/10 - Clean decor. Kinda reminded me of Nobu - asian-esque.
  
• Price 8.3/10 - Price was great for NY ($79 tasting menu), but still expected the food to be better, especially after the scallop and risotto disaster.
  

Closing Comments
Back in the day, I would have been pretty upset since my expectations for Veritas would have been very high. But after going all around the world to eat, it's hard to be blown away by a restaurant any more. Veritas is a pretty solid restaurant, but there are better ones in NY. I would say Union Square Cafe serves the same style of food, but done way better. The short ribs and ravioli I had at Union Square Cafe blew Veritas out of the park. However, the one thing I have not mentioned is the wine. The wine list at Veritas is pretty intense. I'm not a big wine guy, but this wine from bordeaux was one of the best I've ever tasted. Super complex that paired well with my food. I would say if you want some great wine with pretty solid food Veritas is a great choice. If food is your number one choice, Union Square Cafe may be better (the service and decor there is more casual though)...