The former Gourmet editor took the train to Bushwick last night to eat at Blanca and reports that the couple dozen tasting-menu courses were all “almost entirely wonderful.” Ruth Reichl marvels at raw Wagyu with beef broth, a beautiful magenta square of tuna, a single tortellini with a “powerful” punch of flavor, the beauty of a “single raspberry in almond milk” — in short, she was absolutely blown away. “But I wonder where the restaurant will be five years from now,” she writes. “At the moment these expensive tasting experiences for a small, exclusive audience — think Ko, Atera, Brooklyn Fare — are the meals of the moment. How will they evolve?” Reichl suggests chefs who are now thinking ahead will change the nature of counter seating and overly curatorial menus by making the experience less precise, more personable, and ultimately by imbuing a quality she elusively identifies as the “total experience.” Intriguing. [Ruth Reichl]
