An apple tarte "with cobbler top" is too dry and apples are undercooked.
RECOMMENDED DISHES -- Chicons au gratin, foie gras au Torchon, brioche au fromage, wild mushroom ragout, salmon crêpe, herb-roasted rack of lamb, waterzooi de poulet, Javanais, warm lemon chiffon cake, pear tarte with frangipane, gateau de Bruxelles.
Lunch is, to be sure, served buffet fashion, but each day brings something warm (roast beef or grilled tuna or, on one occasion, a pyramid of roast quail), three salads, something exotic (note to self: try Roquefort and raspberries or beets and strawberries at home) and a hot-out-of-the-oven quiche, or tourte or tarte, with seconds available.
My favorite approach to dinner is to choose two savories, skip an entree (though the robust herb-roasted rack of lamb with five meaty chops and herbed and roasted potatoes was too tempting to pass up) and indulge in an elegant dessert, like the lovely pear tarte with frangipane (a delicate almond paste) and Belgique's own vanilla ice cream.
Figs are featured in several dishes on Daniel Boulud's menu, including a goose ballotine en croûte with frisée salad, mission figs, Gewürztraminer gelée and walnut vinaigrette, and two desserts: a fig purse with crème fraîche ice cream and port wine sauce; and a black mission fig tarte with caramel-nougat ice cream.
For lunch, it offers "Le Menu Plaisir" with unlimited wine for about $70; dishes like carpaccio de gambas, p? press?with c?s, saumon mi-doux au feu de bois, and quince tarte with Granny Smith ice cream represent some of the choices.
The surprise plates of small bites are arranged on a tiered holder: calf's head with kohlrabi cream, shallot tarte Tatin with truffle foam, smoked catfish with olive jam — that sort of thing.
Dinner is a chatter-filled communal event around that big old table, and who'd expect a farmhouse supper (greens from the vegetable garden and their own beef) to kick off with red onion tarte tatin with parmesan cream?
The tarte comes with crème fraîche, ladled tableside with dramatic flair, and at that point of exquisite freshness where it tastes more sharp than sweet.
The menu features fondues, steak tartare with Parmesan tuile, cheese plates and tarte Tatin with Cheddar cheese in the crust.
Dessert selections include a warm chocolate souffle with bourbon sauce, and a pear tarte Tatin with caramel ice cream.
