Bar Basque

Tonight we had a fabulous meal at Bar Basque, on 6th Ave between 29th and 30th streets. It's restaurant week (yipppeeee!!!!!) and I love getting out of our own way to try new places in new parts of the city. After the 4/5 train had delays of an undetermined timeframe, I jumped on the A train to Penn station. I was trying to get off at 23rd street, but accidentally ended up on an express train to Penn Station. Not so far really, but I had it in my head that this place was on 6th between 19th and 20th, so I walked all the way down there, and realized....hmmmm....I am in the wrong place, and Rick is already there. I hopped in a cab and scurried back up to 29th street, just in time for our reservation.

Bar Basque is on the second floor, and because it was frigidly cold, the Matre 'd was also on the second floor. It was a little confusing as there are no signs. Just a big staircase and a hall. I almost walked into the windowed elevator door as it looked like just a hall way. I was really batting 1000 tonight :)

I had thought this was a different place when I made the reservation, so I was surprised by the second floor local, and the contemporary disco interior. Rick was waiting at the bar, so I took it upon myself to order a specialty cocktail. Perusing the menu, I selected a Kiwi Elderflower martini, made with tequila as the base. It was simply outstanding. I never would have thought the Elderflower liquor would have stood up to the tequila, but it did, and I really enjoyed it a lot :) If you come, don't miss it!

We made our way to the Matre 'd, and were shown to a 2 top in the atrium. It's an interesting room, and they show silent black and white short movies against the wall across the street - not long enough to take your attention away from the conversation, but a little light and motion :)

This is my post martini smile :)

We ordered from the Restaurant Week menu and elected to have the wine taste pairings as well. Rick started with the Crispy Farm Egg, nestled in a bed of potato and cheese sauce, and the yolk still warm dribbled over the serrano ham. Sigh ... this was amazing. It was paired with a light white wine with a light sparkle to it, Oloroso Faraon. 2 of these and you would have an amazing brunch.

I had the roasted beet salad. It arrived chilled, which surprised me, but it was very delicious. The caramelized goat cheese had a crispy topping of baked sugar, which I actually could have done with out, but over all the flavors really enhanced eachother nicely. The wine served with this, Txakoli Ametzoi, was akin perhaps to a cogniac - smokey, smooth and a little warm going down. I never would have selected it on my own, but it went really well with this salad. Nicely done!

For dinner, Rick selected the Paella. The presentation left something to be desired, but the bite I enjoyed was surprisingly flavorful with a nice spice to it. The small sausages and dark meat chicken were perhaps a bit over cooked for my taste, but Rick enjoyed it, and I encouraged him to scrape up the toasty rice bits from the pan, as this is a key part of the dish. His wine was a red - Tempranillo Montebuena unoaked - simple on it's own, but very complimentary to the dish.

Rick's happy sigh knowing I'm having fun, and we'll be home soon so he can play video games :)

My entree was the grilled snapper. It was nicely cooked - not over done, but lacked any kind of seasoning. I was looking for the salt shaker. The wine, also simple, light, and added flavor to the fish.

In retrospect, one of the specialties of the house is the crispy suckling pig. I would love to try that :)

For dessert, I had the chocolate flan. Oh. my.

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmm.

It was rich and not too sweet. There was a sugary candy topping, but I pushed that aside to enjoy the richness of the dark chocolate. I used some to fill the little cookie there. I was planning to try the dried cherries, but I didn't. I'm not really a dried fruit gal. The wine with this dish was also another deep dark one - dark amber in color, and tasted very high in alcohol. I'm not a dessert wine person, and this was not your usual dessert wine - it tasted of chocolate and cherries, but alas, my palete must not be too good at this point because it seems that Nyquill may aspire to be this wine. Ah well - we all have what we like, right?

Rick had the Torta wth the honey iced cream - this was light, lovely, and nice end to a meal. The wine, a late harvest Moscatel, was not syrupy sweet. Just nicely sweet, and it was nice with the torta especially.

On the way out, I had to take a photo of the studio 54 look of the lounge - LOVE IT :) You just don't see places like this anywhere but NYC, so you have to enjoy the over-the-top-ness of it :)

I hope you try Bar Basque - it's normally a Tapas joint - and I'm looking forward to trying some of the Tapas next time. But go during restaurant week - they really have done a nice job with it.

Enjoy!

Scrappy Gen and Ben's Deli

My good friend Jennifer prepared this fabulous post for your reading pleasure - Enjoy!

Two visits two New York City in less than two months is a record for me. We had lunch with Suzee on October 23 and last Saturday I was back again, but I didn’t have time to see my old (as in long time, not age) friend.

Promises, Promises, playing at the Broadway Theatre, was the destination for my parents, my aunt, my sister and me. My Aunt is a big fan of Burt Bacharach, the music composer, and this was her last chance to see the musical, which closes on January 2. Sean Hayes was hysterical in the leading role and Kristin Chenoweth has a beautiful voice. The original movie, The Apartment, was a fairly serious one, but this show is fun and highly enjoyable.



We took the train to Grand Central Station from New Haven and arrived with a couple of hours during which to eat lunch. My Aunt’s friend had recommended that we try Ben’s Kosher Deli on 38th Street, a short ten or fifteen minute walk from the train station.

We were there early for lunch at 11:45 and quickly got a table. Before we had our coats off, we had been served big bowls of coleslaw and pickles, both dill and half sour. All three were crunchy and delicious.

The menu has a very large selection, but a couple of items appealed to our whole group; the famous Ben’s stuffed cabbage, the matzah ball soup, the hot pastrami on rye and the potato pancakes.

We all declared the stuffed cabbage a winner. The sauce tasted slightly sweet. The appetizer serving of one cabbage is enough for a lunch meal. Of course, we didn’t stop there and also had a half a pastrami on rye. The pastrami was tasty, but could have been better with a little less fat. My Dad had the matzah ball soup. I tasted the matzah ball and it was light and well peppered. The only item none of us loved was the potato pancake. Maybe it was New York style. We were hoping for a lighter, crisper pancake.

The service was good and quick, particularly considering it was the height of the shopping season. Would we make a return trip to Ben’s? Yes. In fact, I don’t have a choice as my husband, MJ, is not very happy that he missed out on the meal and has vowed that we will return. Perhaps to attend Boychick’s Bar Mitzvah.

Before we left New York to return to New Haven, my Mom and Aunt wanted to see the tree at Rockefeller Center. Doing this on a Saturday evening in late December is not something that I recommend, unless you are really good with crowds. It was absolutely crazy, but we did glimpse the tree.

My favorite part of our trip though was seeing these talented fellows:

The Salvation Army employees were singing and dancing their hearts out with microphones and karaoke. They gathered big crowds as they worked their magic and people dusted off their hearts and dug deep into their pockets to show their appreciation. It was a neat thing to see.

All in all, we had a great trip to New York and loved Ben’s Kosher Deli. The only thing missing from the trip was seeing Suzee.

Suzee,

How about Ben’s and shopping in January?

Love,

Scrappy Gen

Suzee's Tortelini Salad

I don't often make pasta salad. It's one of those white things "they" say you should stay away from. I was thinking about my cousin Ginny's Tortelini salad that she used to make for family picnics, and figured I'd whip it up. I was even going to call it Ginny's salad, but then I started adding things, and before I knew it, I'd lost the simplicity I'd been craving.
I wasn't going to post this one, but surprisingly enough, Rick really liked it. So, here you go.

1 lb frozen tortelini, cooked to package directions
1 European cucumber, diced
1 pint grape tomatos, diced
1 bulb fennel, diced
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 T good olive oil
1/4 c light newman's own balsamic vinegrette

Dice all the veggies while the tortelini is cooking. Once you drain the pasta, toss it in the olive oil to prevent it from getting gummy and sticking together while you finish chopping.

Dump all the veggies in the bowl with the pasta and dress with Newman's Own dressing, and toss.

Voila - chopped veggie pasta salad!

Crispo and Comix

I got tickets from Theater Extras to see the writers from SNL, HBO and the Comedy Channel at Comix - we hadn't been to a comedy show in forever, and I was looking forward to it :)

I got a res at Crispo - yes another Italian place :D It looked very rustic and cool, and it was just down the street from the club. The reviews were fabulous, and the house specialty is carbonara!

We got there around 6 as the show was at 7:30. I started with a lemoncello martini rimmed with a sweet sanding sugar, and Rick had the reliable grey goose on the rocks. We sipped and enjoyed the locale - it very much reminded us of Portsmouth with the long thin dining room, the brick walls and hewn beams. Our server was fabulous and personable. In a place that is so casual in appearance, you don't expect this professionalism, and it's such a treat! We started with the Fontina & Prosciutto Crostini - oh the little toasts of heaven! I need to make these oh so much more often!

For dinner there was a spaghetti and meatballs special - this isn't usually on the menu. Rick had been craving just this dish! I ordered the carbonara - it is the house specialty of course. The server tipped me off to expect it to come with a very soft poached egg and cheese which I would mix in at the table. It came as described and I mixed the strands of spaghetti with the cheese and egg, and voila! I see exactly how easily carbonara is made, and damn, it's really not that bad for you! One small egg and a handful of cheese with the bacon and pasta. I always thought they also put in butter and cream. A pleasant surprise! And of course it was magic in my mouth.

We made our way over to Comix, and it's really a nice little club! A word of advice though. Do not trust their servers when they say the strawberry daiquiris are good. They are not! Comics were funny though :)