SD26 at Madison Sq Park

Monday night we took advantage of Restaurant week at SD26. It has a contemporary decor, with a fun looking cocktail lounge as you enter. Walking past the bar, the dining room opens up with a cathedral ceiling, and open kitchens. There is actually a salumi and artisan cheese station as well - I think if I find myself here again, I may have to take advantage of that!

When we sat, we ordered cocktails from the specialty menu. Our server had an iPad which showed the cocktails and wines. It was a novelty, and perhaps they do have a direct link to inventory, but really kind of kludgy in practice.

I ordered the SD26 Negroni cocktail - a vodka martini with Aperol (what is that??) cucumber and lemon. Well - you know how I love me a good cucumber martini :) The first sip was acidic, sour and cucumbery, which I didn't care for. The second sip, the flavors seemed to meld together nicely. It was an enjoyable cocktail, garnished with a lemon slice attached to a cucumber slice with a toothpick - the 2 wheels looked like a double button as the toothpick threaded the wheels. Rick ordered La Verita, a rye whiskey with maple syrup, bitters and black pepper. It was fabulous! Garnished with a lemon wheel, it had a light fragrance, and a smooth finish.

When we sat at our 2 top table in the middle of the room, long home made grissini were laid in a silver basket. They were at least 18" long, and delicious! Nice breads were served, including a fresh focaccia, and a light poufy roll. This beautiful bottle of olive oil was seriously the best olive oil I've ever tasted. Beyond fruity, beyond peppery...I hope sometime I find a bottle of this lovely stuff to take home!

My appetizer was the Uovo Raviolo with truffle butter. As I sliced into the beautiful pillow of pasta, the lovely yolk ran, and the warm cheese oozed...Happy sigh! So delicious!

Rick ordered the spinach and pear salad. It was light and fresh, just what he was looking for.

My entree was the guinea hen - it is boneless, with a rich sauce including chestnuts and the poultry rested on a bed of julienned brussel sprouts. It was savory, tender and very filling! I took home about half for later.

Rick ordered the beef cheeks for dinner, and I did get a taste! Rich, thick sauce derived from the borolo broth, tender beef - it just melted in my mouth. Divine!

For dessert, I had the tiramisu - it was the classic, and very tasty. Rick had the panacotta, and it was light, fresh, and a wonderful ending to the meal.

Overall, SD26 has fabulous food. The flavors are fantastic, preparation perfect, and service efficient. The only thing that would keep me away from SD26 is the loud atmosphere. With the hard contemporary decor, there is nothing to prevent you from having your thoughts interrupted by the conversation a few tables away. Well, and the tables right next to you as well. There were lots of business deals "going down" and after work cocktails and dinner while debriefing the day. I am glad we got a chance to try the excellent cuisine, but I'm not sure we'll be back.

Spice Market - Wowie Kazowie!

Last Thursday night we went to Spice Market for dinner - it's Restaurant week :) And Spice Market is a TREAT! We started by sitting with a cocktail - I tried the Peach Saketini - made with my current absolute favorite spirit, Belvedere Pink Grapefruit vodka and then plum saki and blended peach. It was lovely. Rick had the Whiskey Fizz - whisky with stuff I can't remember now, but was really tasty :) I think his was better :)

We were brought a gorgeous dish of  lentil chips (so delicate and gorgeously flavored) and a tomato relish as described by our server - it was absolutely delish! A sweet and very spicy dip.

We so enjoyed our appetizers - first was the salmon tartar with avocado. Is there any way to serve fresh avocado and not have it be amazing?? I don't think so. Rick even liked this one. I was surprised and amazed. Next were chicken samosas with a cilantro yogurt sauce - the samosas were made with dark meat chicken - moist and flavorful, and the sauce started with a fresh hit of parsley and cilantro on the tongue, and exploded with spice. Simply fabulous!

I asked for beer recommendations at this point - something to go with all this spicey deliciousness. The waitress made pointed out a couple of white ales. Rick had the Coney Island Albino, and I had the Hitachino from Japan. It was the first time I paid $12 for a bottle of beer. But, it was tasty :)

This was the spicy thai slaw with asian pear, crispy shallots and mint. Sweet and spicy, a large serving of freshness, reminiscent of my Thai Chicken Salad, but much much spicier! And the sweet asian pear was just enough to put the fire out :)

The beef skewers were interesting - a mixture of ground beef and spices formed over the bamboo stick, and cooked. The cumin and chili was interesting, and there was definitely something in there that made us go "hmmmmmmm....what is that?".

This is an extra order of fried rice, suggested as an addition to the restaurant week menu. I was glad to try it, though the egg was a little over done, it was a tasty addition. In retrospect, it was gilding the lily, and we already had too much food,

The Vietnamese Chicken Curry was my favorite dish. It was creamy, crispy, tender, spicy and smooth. 2 well cooked chicken drumsticks with the favorful sauce - so nice.

The roasted cod was my least favorite - the fish was fresh, but the spicy lentils really overpowered the dish - We didn't finish it.

The 2 desserts for restaurant week were lovely. The kulfa was a lightly chocolatey caramelly candy. The caramelized banana rested on top with whipped cream and caramel popcorn. Sweet, an occasional spark of salt, and the perfectly ripe banana were a nice treat at the end of a yummy meal.

The ginger ice cream was also very tasty - uniquely flavored, but I won't be leaving my favorite chocolate behind :)

Everything at Spice Market is served family style, so I'd imagine it's a great place to take friends or visitors. The restaurant is very large for NYC standards - 2 very large floors of happy satisfied diners, and many well trained servers. The waitress uniforms are quite unique as well - entirely backless. Any where else it would be incredibly cheezy, but here it adds to the mystery of the decor and of course the lovely food.

I am looking forward to going again soon, so hopefully I will have a visitor sometime soon so I can have an excuse :)

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!

Asia de Cuba - an NYC delight!

Last night Rick and I made our way over to Madison between 37th and 38th, and found the secret entrance to Asia de Cuba. OK, it's not really a secret, but you could easily walk by if you didn't know it was there. When you walk in the door, floor to ceiling sheer curtains blow around you as you approach the maitre 'd. It's very dramatic! We checked our coats and headed to the bar for a pre-dinner cocktail. We sat on these high bar chairs which allow you to look down over the whole dining room. Last night the sheers were back lit with red lights rather than the white in these photos I snagged from their web site. We ordered a couple of red sangrias ($8) which were delicious!

Next we moved to the dining room, and we sat at a table from the perspective of this photo, where we could see the light box mural of the waterfall. We came for restaurant week, and the waiter explained that for 2 people, the restaurant week menu includes 2 appetizers and 1 entree. There was some kind of climbing scale as you add people to your table. You can find this on the web site I'm sure - do take a look if you are planning to go. Our first appetizer was a dish of beautifully seared sea scallops. Rick even ate one :) The were fresh and light, and very very large, with 4 on a plate. The next appetizer was an order of beef dumplings. We love steamed pork dumplings and always order them for take out. This order had 3 fried and 3 steamed - I liked the fried ones. The were crisp all over and filled with a beefy mixture that still had tiny chunks of beef in it. There was a nice sweet sauce, and it was a nice combination. The steamed dumplings I didn't care for - the filling was mushy, without a nice flavor and they fell apart. The presentation was beautiful - I wish I'd remembered my camera.

For the entree, we ordered the bbq chicken. It. Was. Amazing. This was a true fusion dish - the sauce was just great - spicy, sweet, salty, sour - all that ying/yang stuff. I wish there had been enough to take home, because I would love some for lunch today! (sniff...)

After the entree, the waiter said that a dessert was included with our restaurant week meal. He suggested the coconut cake, and it was good. The cake layers were essentially macaroons, and it was served with a delicious ice cream. The serving was very large - there must have been 3000 calories in that cake alone. Thankfully we were able to exercise some restraint and only ate a small part. The remaining hunk of cake was whisked away - I'm kind of surprised they didn't ask us if we wanted to take it home, but we dodged the rest of that calorie bullet!

When the bill came, we had a bit of a surprise. I knew there was a $10 surcharge on the scallops as it was noted on the menu. What it didn't say was it per person. So the scallop appetizer costed us $20 more. If I had known, I wouldn't have ordered it. The other thing was we asked the waiter about the pitcher of sangria, and whether it was a better deal than the glasses. He indicated it was, but infact, sangria is actually cheaper by the glass.

Even though the charges were a sour end to the meal, I would go back (and not order the scallops or a pitcher of sangria). The drama of the atmosphere and quality of food was good. Plus it's a quick walk from the apartment :)

21 Club - Tuesday Night Date Night :)

We had a drink in the bar - I ordered a cosmo and Rick had a gray goose on the rocks. I ended up sending my drink back as it had way too much lime. I ordered a Pinot Grigio instead. Not sure what they brought me since there was no Pinot Grigio on the menu, but it was light and crisp and I enjoyed it.
In the bar there was a cool selection of snacks - mixed salted nuts, wasabi peas and a smoky bbq corn snacks. Nice to have snacks with drinks :) The bar has big easy chairs in front of the fireplace, and cozy banquettes. A nice place to stop if you are out shopping.

After a cocktail, we moved to the dining room. It was more rustic than I imagined, but comfortable. We sat at a table that used to be a cartoonist's favorite spot (I forget his name now...). We talked about how we never had that "one haunt" where we would have a regular table with a brass plate declaring it so. Well, except the bar at the 99 in Portsmouth.

We ordered from the Restaurant Week menu, and noted that at Club 21 Restaurant Week lasts until July 31st. Good to know! For appetizers, I had the Mahi Mahi citrus ceviche with a neat fennel salad - together they tasted quite fabulous - Rick had a green salad.

For dinner, Rick had the chicken pot pie. He wasn't pleased. It tasted like old people food to me. I would have loved to have had more chickeny flavor, and I love tarragon - that would have been nice. I suppose, though there are lots of people who appreciate simply flavored fare. Rick really missed the traditional pastry pie crust.

I had the mushroom and butternut squash risotto - it was creamy and delish with lots of mushroom flavor. The butternut squash was in a small dice, and added color to the dish. It was just what I was looking for - some warm carb-y and cheesey goodness on a cold evening.

For dessert, I had the pear tart - the crust was very firm, but tasty, and the pears were delicate and delicious. There was just the right amount of cherry sauce on the side - any more would have over whelmed the pears, and it was just enought to add some dimention to the dish.

Rick had the creme brulee - and yes, creme brulee is not a difficult dish, but this was perfectly executed. The crisp sugar coating was light and sweet, and the custard was just cooked enough to be silky and sensuous. I almost wished I had ordered this instead. Almost.

Water Club - The NYC Exerience!

I had the most wonderful dining experience tonight! I made reservations for tonight a couple weeks ago when I found out this was restaurant week. In NYC restaurant week means anybody can go for a wonderful 3 course dinner for $35 per person. Time to be on the look out!
I logged into Open Table to find out which restaurants were participating, and which were close to us.
I looked at the menu and made the reservation, and promptly forgot what was on the menu. I like a surprise - so sue me!
Rick took a cab from Grand Central and picked me up at 36th and Lex. We went over to the Water Club - the cabbie knew exactly where it was. There was a coat check at the entrance, and we went in to the bar. There were a couple of easy chairs and an a couch near the fireplace (if you have a choice, face toward the bar - the chairs with their backs to the bar have a lot of traffic and cold air behind them). The fireplace was warm and romantic, even if the bar was  a little too light. We enjoyed cocktails by the fire and chatted about our day. Next we moved to the dining room - a gorgeous spot with a beautiful view over the east river of Long Island City and the Queensboro Bridge. We had a table facing the river and had a glass of wine while we perused the menu.
We looked over everything, and decided to stick with the prix fixe menu - and why wouldn't we? The Appetizers were Lobster Bisque, Chopped Green Salad or Lobster Salad. Entrees were either 1.25 lb steamed or boiled lobster, Beef Short Rib or  Broiled Salmon. And dessert was key lime pie, chocolate layer cake or creme caramel. Hello??? What a fabulous menu!!!
Rick and I both ordered the lobster salad appetizer - it was served on thin slices of tomato and cucumber, and surrounded with sprouts. It was De Lish! It was probably a day old lobster used in the salad, but serving it on the tomato and cucumber slices made it taste fresh as an hour ago. It was excellent.
For dinner I ordered the lobster. I was surprised and pleased when the waiter cracked my lobster tableside. Rick ordered the beef shortrib - a large hunk of meat - braised with some fat, which he enjoyed more than the fish entrees. I tasted it, and it was much tastier than the wine bar dinner he had not too long ago. My entree came with O'Keefe mashed potatoes - the perfect amount for 2. For dessert Rick chose the key lime pie - it was very lime-y. I ordered the creme caramel, and it was just a fabulous, creamy sweet wonderous end to the meal ;) Guess which one I liked better :)
I'd never heard of the Water Club prior to visiting. It has a summer deck that I'm looking forward to trying. We spent $25 on taxis, and the total dinner, drinks (plus the pre-dinner drink in the bar) came up to about $175. Cheaper than the Steakhouses within walking distance to the apartment, but not as cheap as the southern food place around the corner (Dukes) with spotty service.
Bottom line - I felt like a real NY'er at the water club - the view was gorgeous, and the bar was comfy. I'm looking forward to going again!!