Landmarc - Two times this week. I gave it a second shot and it was well worth it!

I went to Landmarc twice this week for dinner - the first time (Wednesday) at the downtown location and the second (Friday) at the Time Warner Center.

I was very much looking forward to going since Liz was there a bit ago and said it was really great and I also cheated by peeking at the menu online so I pretty much knew the menu and was intrigued by a number of dishes.

Landmarc - West Broadway
We got there, and as usual, I was late. However, this time it TOTALLY wasn't my fault...really, it wasn't. Regardless, I still bet Sarah a cocktail that I wouldn't be late, and I lost. Earlier that evening, I was SO sure I was going to win this time.

Once we got there, Sarah was waiting at the bar, I paid for her drink, and we were promptly seated.

I took a quick peek at my menu to reconfirm my choice for my main and to decide from a few planned choices for my starter. I decided on the French Onion Soup to start and the Smoked Duck for my main. Liz had some salad thing - no interest on my part, so I don't really know what salad she had - it was colorful though, so that was nice. Sarah, after some prodding from me got the Sirloin - She wanted the burger, but since I knew we were going again on Friday, I convinced her to get the Sirloin so that I would know whether to get it on Friday.

My French Onion Soup came quickly and the melted cheese looked so yummy, and it was - I love cheese by the way. After poking through the cheese, the soup was equally good. Since it has been so cold in NYC these past couple of weeks, the nice warm soup totally hit the spot. The richness of the cheese and the savoriness of the broth just added to the overall yummy-high.

Then came our mains. My Smoked Duck was presented nicely on a bed of wilted spinach and a wild rice cake. Overall the dish was on the disappointing side. I am typically a huge fan of duck, but this time, it tasted overly smokey and was on the saltier side. The plus was that despite being salty, the duck flavor was really nice once you got over the initial salt shock. Texture wise, it was very soft and tender. Unfortunately I really couldn't get over the saltiness of the meat. The spinach and the rice cake were a nice compliment to the dish and helped to balance the intense flavor of the duck.

Perhaps I over hyped the duck in my mind prior to eating it. I really expected it to have a much more subtle and delicate taste to it rather than the overpowering salt taste...I guess I was expecting it to taste like the Eastern Gaspe Lox from Fairway, when in fact, the duck tasted like a thick cut of Belly Lox. Not terribly bad, but not terribly good either when I was expecting something much more balanced in flavor.

I finished by meal with a Coffee ice cream cone and a nice cup of coffee. The ice cream was, again, merely OK. I don't really like coffee ice cream with ground up coffee beans in it like this one had. Additionally, the sugar cone that they used had a paper wrapper on it that left paper residue on the cone so I wasn't able to eat the whole cone.

The coffee was quite good and was served in a very comfortable and large ceramic mug - kinda like you were enjoying a coffee at a friends house. Nice.

WHAT WE ATE
Starter:
French Onion Soup

Main:
Me: Smoked Duck Breast
Liz: Some salad thing - not too interesting
Sarah: Grilled Sirloin with fries - The fries were really tasty - I snuck a couple from her plate

Landmarc - Time Warner Center
It had been a long while since I had been to the Time Warner Center. This mega mall at Columbus Circle is actually kinda neat and has lots of great restaurants inside.

After a minor table issue, we were seated in a booth by a window. While we didn't get a table with the best views, it sure beat the high traffic table they tried to seat us at.

Having had a mediocre dinner this past Wednesday at their Tribeca restaurant, I was feeling hesitant about coming back on Friday. I revisited the menu and figured that I give the place another shot. This time I was pleasantly satisfied - everything was great.

I started with the Escargot Bordelaise. While it was good, I think they gave a few pieces too many for a single person. Sometimes food is most enjoyable when the portion size is just too small - this was one of those cases. The escargot was in a beautifully rich tasting sauce that was equally delicate. The sauce was also perfect for bread dipping.

For my main I ordered the Grilled Pork Chop. Heaven. So good. The chop had the perfect amount of fat and was perfectly cooked. I was so hesitant to order this as I was afraid that like so many other places, the chop would come out over cooked and dry. It wasn't.

This chop was prepared pretty naked - meaning without over doing it and trying too hard. Too often I find that food is prepared in a way that it becomes too complex because the chef tries too hard to make the flavors richer and deeper and in the end, the dish fails miserably because the flavors end up being so complex that things clash. Even the accompaniments to the dish were equally simplistic yet right.

Bite after bite, each piece had the perfect amount of fat attached and was extremely juicy. The best part was when I cut to the meat directly touching the bone. In my opinion, this is the best and most flavorful part of any meat.

After I polished off my chop, I saw that Liz had some scraps of her burger. I ate that up too and have now decided that if we come back to Landmarc, I'll be getting the burger.

For dessert, Liz and Hai Dan ordered some cones. Caleb and myself originally ordered two tiramisus, but in the end, we changed our minds and got the sampler. What a great deal. The desserts were all really good, but some got overshadowed. Out of the desserts within the sampler, the Lemon Tart, Blueberry Crumble, and Creme Brulee were head and shoulders above the rest. The Lemon Tart I had had once before when Liz brought home a slice from when she went with another friend. The Blueberry Crumble was just so comfortable feeling and the Creme Brulee was perfectly delicate.

WHAT WE ATE
Starters:
Me: Escargot Bordelaise
Caleb: Smoked Mozzarella & Ricotta Fritters
Hai Dan: French Onion Soup

Main:
Me: Grilled Pork Chop
Liz: Burger with American Cheese
Caleb: Burger with Cheddar Cheese
Hai Dan: Linguini con Vongole

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