MyWorldReviews.com

What Happens When

New York, New York, United States

What Happens When is a popup restaurant in the SoHo neighborhood of NYC. For nine months, the restaurant is changing their menu, decor, and theme every month. During our visit in the 3rd movement, the theme was inspired by a 19th century French Impressionist painting. The food and music was French themed, and the decor had a few elements from the painting.

While I loved the concept, there were several things that were done poorly giving the restaurant a low rating. All the two person tables were stuck together with only 2 inches of space between them. When we arrived, I asked if we could have an empty table near the window. They told us they needed that table for a group of 4 in half an hour, only to give it to another couple a few minutes later. With the low lighting, while I was eating my chicken, I thought the chicken looked a bit pink, and felt a bit rubbery. I wasn't sure if it was undercooked. When I asked if it was suppose to be like that, they took it away and put it back in the oven. I was a little worried that they weren't sure it was fully cooked, but I didn't get sick from it. Besides these few annoyances, the food was pretty good, but overpriced for the quality. I also thought the decor could have been far more elaborate for a place that is based around being inspired by a theme. Most of the walls were plain black, and besides a pink and blue awning created from cloth, there was little else that seemed special about the decoration.

Dress

Smart casual - jeans and a nice shirt are fine

Cost

Dinner is a fixed price meal for $58

Service

Besides the annoyances described above, the service was attentive yet relaxed. Dinner lasted approx. 90 minutes, although we didn't feel rushed.

Reservations

Reservations are highly recommended and should be made a couple of days in advance if you want to go at peak dining times on a weekday.

Items Ordered

Prix Fixe

Amuse Bouche

The amuse bouche was beautifully presented as three items on a plate to be eaten from right to left. A garlic gazpacho, a swiss chard omelette, and a lemon balm gelee. On the side were olive garlic knots. The gazpacho was very fresh and garlicy tasting, but not spicy or offensive. The omlette by comparison was mild tasting, with a hint of flavor from the dap of sour cream on top. The lemon balm gelee was a mouthful of mixed flavors of sweet, citrus, salt, and herbs. The amuse bouche was a mix of many pleasant flavors. The olive garlic knots were very buttery.

Artichoke salad

haricots verts, aioli, saucisson sec

The artichoke salad consisted of a pickled artichoke heart cut into four pieces. Each piece was filled with what appeared to be couscous, a thin slice of deli meat, thin slices of cheese, and a mix of sauces. With all these different ingredients, I was disappointed that the predominant flavor that overpowered everything was the artichoke heart. It almost felt like it could have been the only item on the plate and it would have tasted the same.

Rabbit in filo

yogurt, dates, fresh garbanzo beans

This was the winning appetizer. Unlike the artichoke salad, there was a mix of many flavors that went well together. The slightly sour taste from the yogurt complimented the sweet taste from the dates, and the soft and buttery texture from the rabbit in the filo pastry.

Poulet

petits vegetables farcis, pommes duchesse

The chicken was a bit disappointing. There was a sauce on it that mostly just tasted like salt. The chicken was a very thick cut and was moist, but also kind of rubbery. When I questioned the waiter whether it was suppose to be like that, they returned it to the kitchen to cook it longer worrying that it was undercooked.

I'm not sure what the baby zucchini and baby squash were stuffed with, but they were delicious - the best tasting thing on the plate. The potato florettes were pretty tasteless and dry.

Veal braise

peas, panisses, herbs de provence

The veal dish had a boring presentation. The veal was very fatty and the peas were mushy which gave the dish an overall mushy feel. The panisses were interesting, and the flavor of the dish from the sauce was alright. The huge quantities of fat were what bothered me most about this dish - they were difficult to eat around, as I don't enjoy the texture of just plain fat.

Pre-dessert

The pre-dessert was a small cup of raspberry jam topped with a bit of cream. It was simple yet delicious.

Sour cream tart

pistachios, lavendar, feuilletage

Although this dessert sounded like it might be flowery tasting with the lavendar, it wasn't. The sour cream tart was like a soft cheese cake with a crumble on the bottom. The pistachio paste on the plate tasted bitter and wasn't sweet.

Milk chocolate tart

espresso, orange

The chocolate tart was surprisingly flowery tasting. Perhaps it was the orange taste that just didn't mix well. The tart was very rich and filling. The espresso cream on the plate was delicious and improved the taste of the tart.

Macaroons

After the dessert we were served two French macaroons with our bill.