Café Boulud and Daniel Signing

Last Saturday, we found out that Daniel Boulud would be having a book launch at the Four Seasons Hotel for his new cookbook, Daniel: My French Cuisine. It's a big tome of a book and well, I knew that I would eventually want a copy for my collection, so why not have it personalized?

Since the book signing was scheduled for 2pm, Howard and I went to have lunch at Café Boulud first. We find that the service there is always impeccable. We were running late due to traffic and construction and called to let them know, they were very gracious in moving our reservation back. It was nice to not worry about rushing knowing that they were still keeping our table.

Went we arrived at Café Boulud, Daniel himself was at the front overseeing some of the preparation for the book launch. We were escorted to our table by the lovely hostess who field our phone call earlier and were promptly served with water as we browsed the menu.

Howard and I decided to get charcuterie to start. The Saucisson Lyonnais had pistachio embedded in it and was served with a potato salad and cornichon vinaigrette.

I chose a lighter fare, the Chop Chop Salad with romaine, cucumber, avocado, grapefruit, cilantro, and a sesame-ginger dressing.

Howard decided to try the Lamb Burger with eggplant, tzatziki, and sweet potato chips. There was an option for feta cheese, but Howard forgot to include it in his order. I tried a bite of it and have to say it's a very good lamb burger! I personally wouldn't add the feta if I were to order this again.

And the side of sweet potato chips? So crispy, salty, and delicious!

I really wanted dessert because I think they're stellar here, but the signing was about to begin, so we made our way down to the gift shop to purchase our copy of the book.

The cookbook was out on display for anyone to browse. As instructed, we started to form a line beside this table. I liked how organized this event was!

Daniel Boulud signing my copy of Daniel!

He was so nice and beckoned me over for a picture. :)

Not only did we get our book personalized, they also handed out little cans of madeleines with dark chocolate crispearls. This made me so happy! You don't understand, we were going to go back to Café Boulud for dessert but dessert came to me! If you've never tried the fresh madeleines from Café Boulud, I highly suggest that you do. They arrive warm in a cloth basket, you start with one and before you know it, you'll be thinking about them long after you finish eating them.

We're going to be back, because included with that gift was a card for a complimentary dessert when you order any main course. That's really difficult for me to resist, so we'll be making another visit during the holidays.