With the Olympics kicking off and Summer in full swing, Benoit, one of Manhattan’s most-loved French restaurants by legendary chef and restaurateur, Alain Ducasse, has introduced a new Olympics inspired summer menu.
From July 26th to August 11th, Benoit will host live broadcasts of the global sporting events straight from Paris, showcased on both indoor and outdoor screens. This summer, Benoit emerges as the quintessential spot for Francophiles to immerse themselves in the Olympic spirit.
During this festive period, guests can indulge in a specially curated Olympic Menu that reimagines classic sports-bar fare with Benoit’s signature flair. Featured dishes include Mozzarella in Carrozza, Sliders, Truffle Croque Monsieur, Parmesan Fries, and Chicken Wings.
To complement the culinary delights, Benoit offers refreshments such as $6 bottles of beer, buckets of Moretti (6 pieces) for $30, and Provence rosé priced at $10 per glass. An exclusive highlight of the celebration is the ‘Olym’Paris’ cocktail, blending gin, elderflower, egg white, superfood greens, and shoshu lemon peel infusion, garnished with cucumber.
I got to try out this wonderful new menu which started off with the ‘Olym’Paris’ cocktail which was fantastic. You would never guess a “healthy” cocktail with superfood greens would be so good and refreshing. Next, we had the Olympic inspired tartlet with stracciatella, tomatoes, and basil. Like the cocktail, it was healthy, tasteful, and refreshing. Overall a wonderful addition to a summer brunch menu and inline with the Olympic season.
Next we moved on to the mains, where we had a Lobster Croissant with fresh mango and Egg Florentine with a parsley and spinach emulsion on top and a traditional hollandaise sauce. The Lobster Croissant was pair excellently with the mango and made for a combination that worked far better than I expected. The Egg Florentine featured a perfectly poached egg that had the perfect balance of flavors, the highlight of which was the “shell” it was served it – a crisp wafer as opposed to a heavy English muffin.
To finish off the meal, we had chocolate mousse served table side which had a rich chocolatey flavor and a sweet caramel base that haunts me to this day. Finally, we had one of coolest things I’ve ever seen at brunch – an ice cream sandwich station. Never have I seen such a set up.
The pastry chef made fresh brioche buns which was then stuffed with two large scoops of ice cream and pressed in a specially built machine, all served in a newspaper like wrapping. Needless to say, this was fantastic and certainly a cool feature everyone should experience. Although, please note that this is only available on weekends.
All in all, this was one of my favorite brunch experiences in New York and a must-do this summer. However you make it work, experiencing this summer menu, particularly on the weekends for the ice-cream sandwich experience, has to be on your list.