On Sunday, a friend and I had plans to see the Chinese Philharmonic performing at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. Since it’s a few minutes away, we had brunch at Grand Tier at the Metropolitan Opera. (The Sunday brunch at the Grand Tier started on December 4th.)
Walking up to the second floor where the Grand Tier is located in the Met Opera house, it’s a beautiful restaurant with the stunning drop chandeliers and natural light from the large windows with views of Broadway. What really made this brunch special the moment we sat down was the lovely performance by a resident artist of the Metropolitan Opera. That day was the powerful voice of sopranist Michelle Bradley singing three songs without any use of a microphone.
We warmed up with cups of green tea and French pressed coffee and started off with a delicious plate of whipped ricotta and figs, housemade duck prosciutto, Anson Mills farro, and drizzled with 12-year old balsamic vinegar. The ricotta and figs were a classic combination and it’s delicious. The farro was cooked nicely and gave it some substance.
The crab cake was solidly good. Lots of sweet crab meat and not too much breading. The charred corn remoulade, basil oil, and corn emulsion are great components to the dish adding some vegetal sweetness and the taste of summer that we all miss right now (especially those who are living in colder climes). My cocktail of Otello’s Kiss was potent and lemon-y without the tartness. It’s refreshing.
If you want to have brunch with a luxurious touch, the soft scrambled eggs with chopped house smoked salmon topped with fresh truffle shavings is it. The flavors were big and bold and it’s cooked very nicely but it’s a little bit too salty for me. Otherwise, it’s a great dish.
The wild mushroom risotto with Taleggio cheese, truffle butter, fresh mushroom and a touch of fresh chili peppers. It’s a fantastic, albeit upscale bowl of risotto that gives you also a sense of comfort for a winter’s day. It’s creamy without the rice being mushy. The mushrooms were fresh and incredibly flavorful and the chili peppers added some pleasant heat. If there’s anything negative to mention, it’s a bit too salty as well.
The GT burger is made of house ground Angus beef topped with creamy brie, sweet onion jam, on a fluffy brioche with a side of rosemary salt French fries. It’s a very good burger with complimentary toppings — and no, this burger isn’t salty.
To finish off the meal, we had a tasty Baked Alaska made of vanilla ice cream with a raspberry sorbet center, sitting on a delicious pool of crème anglaise. My friend’s egg nog crème brûlée with peppermint chocolate cookies was masterfully done as well and my friend hogged that dessert after I had a bite of it.
We had a very good time dining at Grand Tier. Personally, I didn’t have high expectations of a restaurant found within any theater (I was thinking it would be decent) but Grand Tier exceeded it. The food was very solid. Service was friendly and the performances from the day’s singer made it extra special. I would definitely come back when I do have to catch a show in the Lincoln Center area.
For more photos of this visit, please CLICK HERE for the complete set or see below:
[alpine-phototile-for-flickr src=”set” uid=”26389565@N00″ sid=”72157677633598956″ imgl=”flickr” shuffle=”1″ style=”gallery” row=”4″ grwidth=”1200″ grheight=”800″ size=”640″ num=”30″ shadow=”1″ border=”1″ align=”center” max=”100″]Information:
Metropolitan Opera Grand Tier Restaurant
Website
Located at Lincoln Center
30 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York City, NY 10023
Tel. +1 (212) 799-3400
