To wrap up my trip to the states, I decided on a three-day foodie tour of Manhattan. (Really, it was a three day trip to visit some of my oldest friends, but let's focus on the food right now).
First stop on the tour was unexpected. Because we could not check in to our hotel when we arrived in Manhattan, my best friend and I decided to take the subway uptown and go to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) which was hosting an exhibit I wanted to see. After wandering around for about an hour, our stomachs began growling and we headed for the cafe.
The cafe boasted a special: the "Italian Picnic." This was a complete lunch of 5 meats & cheese, flatbread, and two sides (we chose asparagus and calamari). It was tasty and delicious; and relatively cheap for NYC.
Later that evening, before meeting up with some spectacular friends at a rooftop venue, we headed to Tom Colicchio's restaurant that was near our hotel called CraftBar. In a departure from the ordinary, I ordered skate wing, which came with fingerling potatoes and a creamy dipping sauce. The skate wing had an amazing texture, if slightly salty flavor (which I loved). Our server was fun and friendly and the atmosphere was casual, comfortable, and included a great use of space. Overall, I found this to be one of my favorite dining experiences of the trip - as much for the company and atmosphere as the food.
Twice on the trip I visited my favorite NYC lunch spot Republic - a Vietnamese noodle restaurant on Union Square. Republic was the site of my first ever meal out in New York as a grown-up (way back in 2000) and it stands up as a consistently delicious and affordable place to grab lunch and people watch. As always, I ordered the beef skewers on rice noodles with daikon radish slaw (both times) with was spicy and the perfect high-protein / low carb lunch to keep one fueled for an afternoon of walking and shopping around lower Manhattan. In a departure from the norm, however, my friend ordered the Black Sesame Ice Cream; it was a great flavor to end the meal with, but I could not have eaten the whole bowl and was glad we shared.
My final "big foodie" outing was to Chef Wiley Dufresne's WD-50 restaurant. I'm a big fan of Chef-Celebrity Dufresne from his appearances on Top Chef over the years, so I had high expectations: I was not disappointed.
The flavors for each plate, from the amuse to the post-dessert treat were surprising and amazing. The amuse included Octopus, Lily Bulb, Tahina and Mulberries...now, if you know me you know that since I moved to Egypt I put Tahina on just about everything - so this dish was a home run from the start. But the beautiful presentation, combined with the unexpected element of lily bulb made this the perfect amuse and a great little palate preparer.
My next plate was corned duck with horseradish cream and purple mustard on a little cracker...BEST THING I ATE ALL NIGHT. I love the bite of horseradish and I savored this dish that made me smile with each bite.
Moving on to my entree, the lamb shoulder was not the star of the plate - instead the headliner was a "pine-nut baked beans" concoction that was out of this world! Ham! Pine Nuts! Super Flavors! Play on a classic! This dish was spectacular and, again, savored greatly.
Finally I ordered the 3 dessert tasting menu (why not?) and was not disappointed. Rather than go through each dessert in excruciating detail (which you will be forced to hear if you see me in person any time in the next YEAR) I will lay these two caveats:
1) Vanilla Ice Cream + Balsamic Vinegar = awesome
2) I dislike pistachios greatly,WITH A PASSION, and the flavor of melon leaves me cold. However, the pistachio cake with melon ice cream was so good that there wasn't even a trace of Chartreuse foam left on the plate when I was done with it.
Besides all the eating, I did have an amazing time hanging out with some very dear old friends in some very unusual "only in New York" type of situations ...
but for now I hope I've left your taste buds a tingling for something new and different.
