We recently spent a week in NYC and, rather than do a post on all restaurants we went to, I've decided to write only about the 3 that really stood out to me.
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The first is Cookshop. After a stroll along the High Line in very cool temperatures (I can only imagine how beautiful this must be in the summertime though), this lunch stop was a massive treat. The menu had me torn between garlic sausage with baked beans and pickle relish, crispy fish tacos with jalapeno-cabbage slaw, or the cookshop mezze salad. I must admit, at this point I hadn't had much in the way of vegetables for quite a few days, so I opted for a parsnip soup with rye croutons and walnut butter to start (and warm me up), and the salad. But this was not your boring old salad. A massive plate arrived filled with garlicky escarole, marinated beets, spiced carrots, farro salad and sauteed kale, braised green cabbage and apples. Oh, and toasted to perfection whole grain naan. I got my veggies for the rest of the week! Service impeccable, portions much bigger than you would imagine, and oh-so-yummy. They're lunch cocktail list is pretty impressive too.
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The second on my list is Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill. Let's just say, we ate, and ate, and ate. Wakame – seaweeed salad with sesame dressing, Ebi Shumai – amazing homemade shrimp dumplings, vegetable tempura (the onions were to-die-for), Sake Kawa maki – salmon skin rolls, Karai Kaibashira maki – spicy scallop and smelt roe rolls, spicy tuna and tempura flakes rolls and spicy crab roll. Everything super fresh and delicious. Service was also fantastic.
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And last but certainly not least, Gramercy Tavern. I'm still in awe about my meal. I began eating before taking a photo. This is one I took trying to piece it back together after devouring my first few bites. I started off with mussels, red beans and chorizo in a delectable cilantro broth. Then came my main, bass (it's normally flounder but they were out of flounder) over yummy spaghetti squash and topped with a sinful walnut and sherry sauce. This heavenly dish still pops into my head now and then. I just want to have it all over again! My wine pairing was also perfect – Txakoli, Txomin Etxaniz, 2009, Pais Vasco, Spain. I even got to share some desserts at the end – pumpkin butterscotch pudding with cinnamon whipped cream and the warm chocolate bread pudding with cacao nib ice cream – wow. With desserts like these, there's always room for dessert. Once again, outstanding service.
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2 comments:
Thanks for the post. Heading to NYC in a couple of weeks and will definitely try to check out the 3 that you've mentioned.
Loved CookShop and Gramercy Tavern! So much fun guys.
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