South Gate - Jumeirah Essex House - New York City

South Gate is in the former Alain Ducasse location, and the chef is Kerry Heffernan, formerly of Eleven Madison Park. I had the pleasure of dining there last weekend and was very impressed. The restaurant decor is striking in many ways -- I particularly loved the wood floors -- and while seemingly very upscale, nice jeans are perfectly acceptable here. They have a wall of wine, sort of in the Aureole fashion. I have heard that there are great views of Central Park, but since you dine at ground level, I'm assuming the views are only on higher floors of the hotel.

The food did not disappoint, except maybe two of the starters. They start you off with both bread and miniature gougeres. The bread was tasteless and lacking a good crust, but the gougeres were fresh, warm and delicious. My Mayan Shrimp Salad with leeks vinaigrette, rocket, cardamom and dill presented delicious, perfectly cooked shrimp, although the accompanying flavors were not as exciting as described. Likewise, another starter, the Wild Mushroom Martini with a spinach fondue, poached egg and crisp pancetta seemed to be more of a soup, and decent but nothing special.

Everything else was very good to outstanding. A starter of Hamachi with eucalyptus oil, lemon zest and garlic crisp offered a beautiful piece of fish accented minimally by the described accompaniments.

As for main courses, the Glazed Pork Belly with Chinese leeks and kohlrabi puree was outstanding . . . tender, some crispy edges, and wonderful flavor. It was as good as pork belly can be and I love my pork bellies.

Also outstanding was the Sauteed Red Snapper with green celery fondue, white anchovy and lovage and the Grilled Shoulder and Roasted Loin Of Lamb served with rutabaga, brussel sprouts and marjoram. Both dishes were very flavorful and perfectly cooked.

For dessert, the Passionfruit Meringue Tart with coconut sorbet and a passion fruit soda was amazing. The passionfruit curd was silky smooth with the perfectly proportioned addition of meringue. It had the perfect balance of sweet and tart, and it sat atop a wonderfully tender, sweet crust. The coconut sorbet was the perfect match, as was the small but delicious, foamy shot of passion fruit soda. Desserts do not get better than this.

Very good, but not as good as the Passionfruit Meringue Tart was the Chocolate Caramel Tart with hazelnut brittle, caramel popcorn, and salted caramel ice cream. All of the flavors were quite good and worked wonderfully together, except I would have preferred a little more salt in the ice cream, and I did not appreciate the overly aggressive dusting of cocoa powder atop the tart.

As if the desserts were not enough, the meal ends with a plate of miniature sweets, including a mango jelly and an amazing chocolate truffle (can't remember the filling, but this truffle was as good as you will find).

Service was strong and relaxed and all of the food was beautifully plated.

As for prices, appetizers are in the $12-20 range, mains $25-40 and desserts $10-12. I would gladly return.

South Gate
Jumeirah Essex House
160 Central Park South
New York, NY 10019
212.247.0300