Staycation Eats

There are so many great restaurants in NYC, it's inevitable that some of them will be out-of-the-way. Faced with the expense and hassle of a last minute trip somewhere or enjoying my beautiful city, I chose to eat my way through the holiday week.

Thanks to a tip from Chowhound, on Monday I joined my parents at Gotham Bar & Grill for one of the most elegant lunches I've ever had. The roasted beet and mango salad was a line of colorful cut pieces on a long plate: delicious and tasty as well as a visual treat. I rarely order steak in restaurants, but their hanger steak was perfectly cooked. In addition to their $31 prix fixe for lunch, they also have a selection of $31 bottles of wine; we had a bottle from the unfamiliar region of France called Saint-Chinian. The chocolate marquise was the perfect end to the meal.

I'll mention in passing that I had supper at Tia Pol, mostly to note I'd forgotten just how incredible the food is. Also, it was the first time I'd EVER been seated - possibly because we got there 30mins before the kitchen closed :-P

I'd planned to go to L'Impero the very first time I was free on a business day, but then they closed. Fortunately for me, Scott Conant re-opened it as Convivio. I started with the sgombro, which was a delicious ceviche-like tuna dish; my gracious companion split her fegatini with me, which were incredible. I exclaimed to her that if things continued like this, the meal would be one of the top 10 best in my life. The chicken liver was dark and rich.

I must confess, when we first sat down, I didn't expect much from our waitress, but she turned out to be one of the best I've ever had. When I asked her opinion on the pasta, she unhesitatingly told me to get the fusilli with pork shoulder ragu. I'm not a big fan of pasta, but this was delicious. She was also fantastic in guiding us with multiple wines: I hate when waiters call over a sommelier for everything.

I was disappointed with my tuna: it was fine, but not outstanding. The grilled lamb chops were better, but still not as remarkable as the pastas. When I come back - because I must find a way to make this happen - I will probably skip the entree course altogether. The dessert on the other hand, wow. Caramel is my favorite sweet, so it was a no-brainer to get the tartalletta di caramelle. Convivio's caramel was exemplary and sandwiching it between chocolate and tart highlighted its intense flavor.

My new dining table was delivered yesterday, which precluded lunch reservations, so the big meal of the day was joining my siblings and uncle at Cipriani downtown. Although I greatly enjoyed a corporate event I attended at their midtown location, I had no expectations. I was horrified by the prices and annoyed that they served their bread without olive oil. Yes, I know it's a chintzy American-esque thing to serve bread with olive oil but I still like it. Then they brought it to the table with the caprese and the olive oil turned out to be incredibly good.

My aunt was delighted by the waiter's Italian accent. Me, I was delighted by his unhesitating advice to order the tagliardi (as well as his patience as I rattled off the dishes I was considering). He picked well - I tried everyone else's dish and the veal ragu set off the homemade pasta far better than the bolognese or sausage. Again, I'm not a pasta fan, but if I keep eating this sort of stuff, I might reconsider.

We'd watched the merengue cake go back and forth several times, so it was no surprise we ordered that. The nice thing about eating with 7 other people is that someone joked, "Why don't we just get one of each [cake]?" and we could. I also like the white cake whose name escaped me, as well as the tirimisu-like one.

May the new year be as full of good eating as the past three days. Read More......

On the advice of my friends

As I think I mentioned, I have such a horror of "mediocre middle" restaurants - places with mediocre food for too much money - that when I first moved to the Upper West Side, I learned to cook rather than risk boring meals. Fortunately for me, I have friends in the neighborhood who've taken me to local watering holes, so that I have options.

Friday night, I went to Cafe Ronda for dinner with a friend. I pass that place regularly, but never even looked at the menu, or I'd've known they serve tapas. We had the sauteed shrimp, with a brilliant sauce, and a mixed tomato salad to start. I'd come back just to try some of the other tapas. Our skirt steak was delicious: I'm a sucker for flavorful, grilled beef.

I've similarly been past Patsy's a gazillion times, but never went in because I usually eat NYC pizza by the slice. I had guests in town however, so I took them there. The pizza was far better than I expected. Usually I suffer the crust - I'm not a bread fan - but this crust had such a perfect consistency, I snagged it off the plate of my young companion. Admittedly, this was partly because I was so disappointed with the pasta, I'd rather eat the sausage and broccoli with her crust ends than the pasta. oops. Read More......