Foodie Chat (5): Blue Hill

New Yorkers are obsessed with healthy life style. We sweat in the weight room, run in Central Park, eat grass-fed beef and wild caught salmon, pick up groceries at farmer's market, and starve ourselves with juice cleansing. At any social gathering, the most resonating discussion is inevitably built around health: diet vs. exercise, fat vs. carbs, Atkins vs. Paleo, strength vs. cardio... Not everyone is able to live large, but we all want to live long. And among all these, we go to Blue Hill, which offers the ultimate healthy fine dining experience at a hefty price tag.

Blue Hill at Stone Barns is one of the most hard-to-book restaurants in the metro area. Given that it's not even in New York, its simplistic menu, high price tag and extremely limited availability makes it one-of-a-kind dining mystery to me. Fortunately I've been to its more approachable Manhattan sister restaurant in Washington Place...twice, and got a rough idea at what Blue Hill offers.

The picture shows one of Blue Hill's signature appetizers: This Morning's Farm Egg. That's right -- this egg was laid this morning by a happy free range hen that was fed with natural organic food and has been running around the sprawling Rockfeller family farm in Westchester since the day she was born. That bright red-orange egg yolk and unmistakable strong egg flavor is not what you usually get in a typical organic grocery store. That fresh.

That's what is sold in Blue Hill. All ingredients are fresh and green, mostly from its own farm. And that's why seating is so limited on daily basis. Unlike other chefs who are more or less concentrated on showing off their mastery of spices and flavors, Dan Barber of Blue Hill is dedicated to making sure that those ingredients don’t compete with flashy sauces or spices. Blue Hill pays clean homage to nature’s remarkable bequests.

Another appetizer I tried was Seafood Pie. Called pie, it was actually a very thick creamy soup with quite a bit seafood buried underneath. Delicate and tasty. The thick paste-like texture strengthened the usual light flavor of a soup. I really appreciate the chef's imagination and technique.

On my first visit, I ordered Hudson Valley Chicken as the entree. Butter soft and moist, with remarkable clarity of flavor. It reminded me of the free range happy chickens I used to have back in China. But this was more meaty and tender. On my second visit, I ordered Stone Barns Berkshire Pig.  It featured various cuts of the pig, almost like an individual serving of a whole pig dinner. The jowl (猪脸）was juicy and creamy, almost melted in my mouth. It tasted like suckling pig. The snout (猪嘴) was sticky and jelly. The tenderloin was infused with rosemary and garlic flavor, with a pinkish center. For that reason, it was not dry or rubbery. Not juicy either -- I guess it's impossible to make a lean cut juicy or buttery anyway. The shoulder was chewy in texture and smokey in flavor. Overall, this was a very interesting combination of flavor and texture of pork parts.

For dessert, I had the lightest one on the menu, Citrus. The cake was light and airy. Just right for the citrus flavored ice cream.

Overall, Blue Hill at Washington Place was tiny but sweet, elegant and sophisticated. The waiters were polite and attentive. It's exquisite dining that features farm-to-table ingredients and less intrusive cooking techniques. If you are used to heavy seasoning or flashy spices, this may not be the place for you. For me, this is a hidden gem. Two thumbs up.

Address: 75 Washington Place
Telephone: 212 539 1776