For our two year anniversary, Cookie Monster surprised me with reservations at Ai Fiori Restaurant: Michael White’s new foray. I’ve been to his first restaurant, Marea, and absolutely loved it. Mr. White beautifully executes Italian cooking mixed with fresh seafood influences. I was excited to see what his new place had in store for me.
I’ve stayed at the Setai in Miami and dined at the restaurant there but this restaurant is totally different in feel – probably because of the urban location versus the oceanside one. It’s located on the second floor and has the same minimal and elegant decor touched by Asian influences but it’s much larger with higher ceilings. Like the restaurant located in the Miami Setai, Ai Fiori is five star and high end dining.
The pretty pretty place setting greeting us when we sat down:
We were started with a complimentary amuse bouche of a cold veloute I recall tasting like cucumber, kale and hints of celery (?):
This wasn’t a favorite of ours because it tasted almost exactly like the green juice in the Blue Print Cleanse! It’s a more elegant twist but the cucumber notes were quite strong and it left a taste on your tongue that lingered.
The gameplan: we would each do the four course chef’s tasting which gets you an appetizer, a pasta course, a choice of seafood or meat and a dessert.
Cookie Monster started with the amberjack tartare while I pulled myself away from the foie gras appetizer screaming at me and got something different: the slow poached egg with lobster knuckles and sweetbreads:
I’m sorry the foam hides the deliciousness waiting underneath – I tried to expose them to no avail. The lobster was sweet and tender (even if they were just the knuckles) and there were bite sized pieces of wonderful sweetbreads. I was in heaven. The slow poached egg added an unctuousness to the foam/sauce. It was a wonderful play of the earth (sweetbreads) and the sea (lobster knuckles) and the air (slow poached egg) all in one dish. How poetic.
For the pasta course, Cookie Monster got the tortelli stuffed with ricotta and marscapone, boschetta cheese with a red wine glaze:
The tender homemade pasta encased this wonderfully creamy and savory cheesy filling. I was in heaven with the bite he gave me. If you love ricotta or cheese ravioli, this pasta is for you. Cookie Monster certainly was.
I got the agnolotti stuffed with veal served with fava beans and black truffle sauce:
Wow. The veal filling was really delicious and the black truffle sauce enhanced that savory filling by rounding out a deeper flavor. Fava beans being more on the savory meaty side for beans only accentuated this full flavored meal. I was incredibly happy with my choice.
For main course, Cookie Monster got the butter poached lobster served with spring vegetables:
The lobster was impossibly tender and wonderfully prepared. I did make a comment about how small the tail looked – I mean it was literally the size of an oversized langoustine. The restaurant being a class act brought Cookie Monster an additional supplement of that same dish. Apparently the waiter had overhead me mention how small the dish looked and agreeing with my comment, commissioned the kitchen to give him more. Note to self: always speak loudly about how small the food looks 
I got the seared filet of beef with crisp pommes dauphines, saffron onion and bordelaise:
Tender beef cooked perfectly medium rare. The beef had that well balanced beefy aged flavor you look for in a good steak – not a trace of gristle. Loved that bordelaise sauce. You see those little round balls to the left? they were awesome – basically small fried balls of mashed potatoes: creamy on the inside, crispy and fried on the out. The ultimate highlight: you see that dark cube nestled underneath the shadow of scallions? It was a fall off the bone tender block of short rib……to eat with that perfectly cooked slice of beef. This is what meat paradise should look like.
For dessert, Cookie Monster got the tartalletta with dark chocolate, grapefruit, anise, hazelnut gelato:
It was a very thick mousse cut by the acid in the grapefruit gelee and cooled by the hazelnut gelato. It is a chocoholics dream.
I got the Vacherin which is basil cream with walnut, persimmon and meyer lemon sorbetto:
I’m not a dessert person so I chose this dish because it sounded interesting. Have you ever had basil cream? I’ve never had it….It’s kind of sweet but basil usually being used in savory dishes, the ice cream made me believe it was slightly savory too. If you like interesting twists, this is a try and although I enjoyed it, it wasn’t my favorite dessert ever.
The restaurant closed out our wonderful meal with petite fours:
This meal was amazing. From start to finish the service was impeccable and the plates themselves were works of art. Michael White is still doing magic in the kitchen. Sadly, like Marea, Ai Fiori is not the type of restaurant you go to regularly as it isn’t cheap. But if you have a special occasion or simply feel like getting dressed up and enjoying a magical meal cooked by a chef that is not only talented but creative, you have to come by Ai Fiori.
Ai Fiori, 500 Fifth Avenue, Setai Hotel 2nd Floor, New York, NY
