TUNA TARTARE - CHEF JEAN-GEORGES VONGERICHTEN
Avocado, Radish, Ginger Marinade.
PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER HODSON
I know what you’re thinking. It’s just another tuna tartare and it looks pretty generic, like so many other tuna tartare’s on social media that virtually every restaurant plates and serves this way. The chef used a ring mold probably made in the 1970’s and started with some softened avocado on the bottom before packing diced tuna on top of it. He or she, pulled the ring mold off, added the sauce around it and then delicately finished it with some raw radish that had been thinly sliced and chilled in cold water so that each piece curled upward for a more dramatic presentation. (On a side note, this picture just happens to be one of my favorite food photos I’ve ever taken and I’m humbled and grateful to know that the JG restaurants have used it and reposted it, along with actually asking for my permission to do so. It was one of the first photos I took in which I understood how important natural light is to food when photographing it.)
I can almost guarantee that you could plate this on your own at home even though there are supposedly no guarantees in life. You’d really have to almost try to screw this plating presentation up, but… could one really be that inept in the kitchen? I really hope not. As confident as I am in your ability to plate this at home, I’m less confident in yours actually tasting as good as this one and I’ll tell you why. You are not Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The one component of this dish that separates it from all the others, is the ginger marinade and it’s the reason that this is served in many of his restaurants and considered a signature dish.
If you’re willing do a little research and digging around online which I wholeheartedly suggest, there is a pretty accurate recipe out there that my wife and I use and have adopted as the closest thing to what is served if you order it in the actual restaurant. Chef’s don’t like to give away their secrets in my experience so I am going to let you do the digging around on your own to find the recipe. Beware however, because there are many that leave steps and ingredients out, while also taking shortcuts that don’t achieve the desired end result. I will say though, that it does require a couple ingredients that aren’t in your every day supermarket so you may need to find a specialty store or order them online. The best version of this sauce also requires a 24 hour advance prep time for it to taste its best in my personal opinion.
Now if you don’t have the time or the fortitude to attempt this at home, that’s okay. If you want this dish, the other obvious choice which I still am highly recommending, is to just drive to The Inn at Pound Ridge and experience it for yourself which by no means is a bad option. It truly is one of the best Tuna Tartar’s I’ve ever had and an absolute must if you haven’t had it. You’ll probably end up judging every subsequent Tuna Tartare you have after it, against it, so I’m sorry for that in advance. The restaurant itself is stunning inside and completely unexpected from the outside as you drive up to the valet. There are several other dishes on the menu that are just as good so make a night out of it, or better yet a lunch so that you can take a short drive into downtown Pound Ridge after to stroll around the quaint little down and have a glass of wine somewhere.