Buffalo Rising Online

Aug 14th 2008, 12:52pm By Madelyn Feldman

A muse is intended to inspire, and this restaurant certainly will encourage one's own imagination. Playful dishes blur the suggested lines between modern and classic, sweet and savory, and the even the line between food and art.

A beautiful complement to one of our city’s greatest treasures, Muse at the Albright-Knox, is a perfect start or end to a day of stirring your senses. Sophisticated and subtle, the ambience of Muse’s space fits the Albright well--modern yet inviting. The restaurant overlooks the Sculpture Garden, with additional seating outside. The walls are decorated with a rotating exhibit to enjoy during a Muse visit. We were lucky enough to view a series of Claes Oldenburg’s lithographs, Text from Book Entitled Notes, based on sketches from a book he carried at all times. Quirky and imaginative, these images are studies of a special perspective of ordinary items, just as in his sculpture. I found this concept of fresh perspective to fully be in sync with our Muse experience.

Gallery Director Louis Grachos, recently extended evening hours and will be leading tours of the gallery. In answer to these tours, Muse offers innovative and themed fixed menus, and our meal was an example of that. Executive Chef Nicholas Cee graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at the top of his class, and is head chef of Le Metro, Sole, and Muse. He is an avid gardener, featured in this year's Garden Walk Buffalo, who honors the need for fresh seasonal produce. Chef Cee’s love and respect for food shows through his usage of specialty and fresh ingredients, as well as with in the composition of his plates. Each dish was a small work of art.

Expect reasonably priced lighter fare on Muse's standard menus. Lunch highlights include a Goat Cheese and Caramelized Tart for $9, and a Charcuterie et Fromage plate for $13 in the appetizer section. Light salads and sandwiches with two light entrees round out the lunch menu, with a few inexpensive children’s options. The dinner menu is concise and slightly heavier, with such options as Peppercorn and Garlic rubbed Flat Ironed Steak for $24 and the Crab Crusted Atlantic Salmon for $23. The brunch menu includes a continental buffet and an entrée of your choice for $18. A lovely wine list complements the Muse menu options. I sampled two white wines from their list: The Wieninger “WB” Vienna Blend from Austria $6/$25, which was a nice mountain varietal blend, in which the fruit eased the entrance to the first course, and the Bernardus Chardonnay from California $8/$32, which I had during the fourth course.

Food is possibly the only medium that can be enjoyed through the added sense of taste. Still playing off basic design principles; balance, textures, color, and shape, the visual elements apply when feasting. They say you eat with your eyes first, and this lunch was a beautiful presentation of 5 courses--each equally satisfying for the eyes.

Colorful and imaginatively plated, our salad of tomato confit, haricot vert, toasted brioche, tomato foam, micro greens, 15 year aged balsamic vinegar, and grey sea salt was a fresh version of a deconstructed, reconstructed salad. A true harmonious balance was struck between the sweet, salty, and acid of the flavors. Emulating a fat or a protein, precisely seasoned and surreally full of tomato flavor, the confit added a rich base to the dish, further accentuated by the buttery toasted brioche. Although slightly hard to cut, the brioche helped to create a textural variation. The traditional pairing of tomatoes and crisp, fresh, and perfectly cooked green beans went beyond the usual flavor profile.

Both the haricot vert and the micro greens added the needed lightness and freshness to the first course. The foamed tomato vinaigrette had a shocking amount of acid on its own, but mixed with the sweet aged balsamic it brought out the fresh elements in the dish, really making the green bean flavor pop. Pronounced acidic foam, intensely rich tomato confit, and the sweet balsamic ached for their counterpart the grey sea salt, a special touch that could have easily been unpleasant to the palate, even though soft on the eyes; but in fact was a successful addition of concentrated flavor. At the end our first course we both were bubbly, excited, and intrigued as to what was to follow, just as the first viewed piece of a collection is intended to do.

I suppose Mussels Provincial is a Buffalo summer staple, a fact that makes me very happy. I love mussels. A few important details made this dish stand out, beyond just the fresh juicy mussels. The mussels, broth, toasted baguette, tomatoes, and roasted leeks are served in a substantial, round, shallow, white bowl. Successfully visually exciting, the black mussels and strips of red roasted New York grown Romas are striking against the stark white dish, making the anticipation of the bite even better. Tarragon, thyme, and basil enhance the garlic butter and wine broth. The daily fresh baked baguette, from Le Metro, another company under the executive chef Nicholas Cee, again a little hard to manage with the allotted silverware, added flavor and texture.

This dish is all I could have asked for; we each ate every bite, but the roasted leeks stole the show. As my guest pointed out, rarely does a garnish of such beauty actually add anything to a dish. This however, was the most appealing facet. The added element of roasted spring leek created a new layer to the mussel dish, but technically speaking these crisp, well seasoned, flaky, sweet leeks produced a version of mussels provincial that really stands out. This exceptional garnish proves how an attention to detail can make respectable food truly superb.

The third course was one of the most unique plates I have ever had--a playground of flavor and textural combinations. Whimsical and charming, two different narratives played out on either side of the plate. Balance was created through contrasting color palates, shapes, and flavors. The right side of the plate consisted of a range of beiges, a poached pear nestled in a parsnip mash, accented with a harsh diagonal strip of puffed rice. The sweet flavor and mushy texture of the poached pear and parsnip needed the crunch and salt of the rice. A garnish of peeled and pan seared asparagus unifies the plate.

The brightly colored left side consisted of a seared-to-perfection diver scallop sitting upon a circular drizzle of both a raspberry colis and a vanilla shallot puree, and when tasted together a little moan escaped before I could catch it. Teetering between sweet and savory, the combined sensations of the succulent and buttery scallop, the fruity and tangy colis, and the rich and unique vanilla puree took my receptors somewhere they had been before, yet couldn't recognize. Switching from side to side tasting each element individually and then together, Muse and Chef Nicholas successfully engaged us with this dish. Busy, but truly satisfying, this plate is what I look for in my food and my art--something unexpected.

The next course shows Muse’s ability to invite both the foodie as well as the less adventurous eaters alike, accessing everyone’s unique love for food. Chicken breast stuffed with manchego cheese and wrapped with Serrano ham sitting on top of sautéed arugula and mashed Peruvian purple potatoes, served with a rich, sweet port wine demi reduction and topped with fried shoestring potatoes with the bias cut, pan seared asparagus. Well composed and reminiscent of a Spanish version of chicken cordon blue, it held up to the previous courses in visual excitement.

Much in the vision of the other Muse samplings, each element in the dish strongly relied on each other to paint the full picture. The salt from the Serrano ham coupled with the complexity of the manchego cheese harmoniously played against the peppery just wilted arugula, the earthy rich potatoes, and sweet port demi reduction. The garnish of fried potatoes tied the textural components together. I asked for a suggested pairing for this dish, and the Bernardus Chardonnay was brought out. Usually, I find California Chardonnays to be over oaked, but this wine is buttery, smooth, and I could still taste the grape. It paired especially well with the sweet and salt aspects of this dish. Yes, chicken and chardonnay is a typical match, but maybe now I more understand why.

We finished off the meal with a truly aromatic dessert. Dark chocolate and raspberries filled the air before any bites were taken. Two decadent slices of a homemade almond ice cream layered with hazelnut chocolate cake terrine were offset with a broad, brightly colored brush stroke of raspberry sauce. Texturally light, but indulgently flavored, it followed the quality of the previous dishes, especially the first three, with a strong showing from the pastry department.

There is a certain level of stimulation I receive from witnessing great works of art, and Muse helps accentuate the Albright-Knox experience. A creative interpretation of casual food, Muse is another fabulous reason to visit the Gallery.
Muse at the Albright-Knox Gallery
1285 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, New York 14222
716.270.8223
Lunch: Wednesday through Saturday 11:30 to 3:00
Dinner: Thursday and Friday 5:00 to 10:00
Sunday: Brunch 10:30 to 3:00

Ticket for Director's Tour.