Pete Wells Gives Four Sparklers to Jean-Georges

Pete Wells finds that Jean-Georges Vongerichten's flagship restaurant is still at the top of its game. Well, mostly. The spring rolls aren't perfectly crispy on one of his visits, and the critic finds a weird energy at the host podium. But he loves the overall dining experience:

Over and over, Mr. Vongerichten takes risks that are almost shocking. A little canal dredged into a pool of sweet parsnip purée is filled with a fruity riesling raisin vinegar, straight up. Taste it alone and you pucker, but swirl it into the parsnips with a forkful of meltingly soft Arctic char under an airy black-truffle crust, and it's spectacular. In the same vein, the buttermilk sauce under red sea bream sashimi or the unsweetened lemon mousse with raw sea trout and roe are almost acidic enough on their own to clean copper pots. Taste a little of everything, though, and the sourness takes its place and galvanizes the rest.

The critic reserves special praise for the desserts from Joseph Murphy and the wine service from Laura Williamson. Wells also writes that Jean-Georges "is the most elegant modern dining room in the city." Four stars.
NOTE: One thing has changed since Frank Bruni's review in 2006: The restaurant is now spelled Jean Hyphen Georges. Although an employee previously told Eater that the restaurant was still spelled without the hyphen, now it looks like the team has made the switch to full hyphen. The names of the man and the restaurant are now spelled the same.
· The Stars Remain Aligned [NYT]
· All Coverage of Jean-Georges [~ENY~]