| rev:text
| - The Chicken Ballontine is the absolute best chicken meal I have ever had in my entire life.
About a year ago, I first visited Tricks. I was debating between the Chicken Ballontine and the Airplane Chicken. I asked the waiter who replied, "the Airplane Chicken is a nice meal; it's like a very upscale Thanksgiving dinner and quite delicious."
Me: "And what about the Chicken Ballontine?"
Waiter: "Um, well, about that. Some people have said it's the best chicken they have ever eaten in their entire lives."
Me: "I'll take it."
The Chicken Ballontine is a simply amazing chicken dish. It comes as chicken stuffed with foie gras and brioche stuffing, coated in a cognac demi glaze, with a light layer of seared caul fat surrounding the chicken to give it a crisp, served over greens (kale, I think) over butternut squash.
The dish is absolutely incredible as the flavors blend together. Everything is in perfect balance in this meal and you will find yourself cursing the gods that chicken has been ruined for you in all other forms. Even at $26, it's that good.
I know "best chicken you've ever had" sounded hyperbolic and I thought it was strange for someone to speak *so* highly about a dish. Usually, a waiter will taper their response to make sure they don't look a fool if you dislike it.
This was of no concern to him for good reason.
The chicken was incredible. And then, three weeks later, they switched to their Spring menu, and it was gone.
Distraught, I emailed them asking if it may come back. They mentioned that it was a possibility, but that chef Kelly Fletcher had been forwarded the email.
He responded saying that while he never brings a dish back in rotation, he would make an exception because of the response he had received to it.
When we visited last night, I made a point of mentioning that I had petitioned for the dish's return. The waitress (who was wonderful in all regards) sent chef Kelly Fletcher out to greet us personally. He came out with a grin and asked how we liked it. I explained that I would likely be doing serious damage to my heart several times over for the next few weeks as he had gotten it just right again.
The dish is very complex--he explained that the demi glace is of course homemade and requires ten+ veal bones, the caul fat is a process in its own right, and getting your hands on enough foie gras to use it in a dish like this can be a challenge, but it's absolutely worth it.
It really is the best chicken I have ever had.
(And the goat cheese-cinammon-apple-chutney-with-lime-basil-syrup tart was amazing too, and the perfect end to our evening last night.)
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)