If you want to eat in a good restaurant in New York, you have to make reservations. Rob made numerous suggestions but after doing some research on Trip Advisor and www.chow.com, I found a few I liked. Unfortunately, the Gramercy Tavern was booked at normal eating times (we could have had dinner there at 4PM or midnight). So our second choice for Friday night was
Alcalá. It was sort of in the neighbourhood where we were staying but, because of the weather, we decided to take a cab. Unfortunately, there were none to be found so our doorman ran up the street to find an unmarked taxi who charged us $20 to go about 10 blocks. At this stage of the game (15 minutes prior to our reservation at 8PM), we weren't in any position to argue with the man. I was uncertain at first whether he was going to hold us hostage or take us to our destination but he proved to be a most admirable fellow (as were all the taxi drivers we encountered) and dropped us on the corner.
The restaurant itself was warm and intimate. We counted 36 seats and we got the last two at our reserved time. The couple sitting next to us were finishing a dinner of seafood paella so we decided then and there, that's what we were having. Our appetizers were a fabulous start -- mushrooms in garlic (lots and lots of garlic!) and a green mesclun salad. The bread was warm and freshly baked, served with creamy butter. We ordered a bottle Martinez Lacuesta Tempranillo Rioja 1999 for $48 but they soon informed us that they were out of that particular wine. Instead, they offered us the 1998 for same price! It was a wonderful companion to our meal. Most of the waiters were Spanish-speaking and Mexican so it was nice to be able to talk to them in their native language. No dessert for us after this fabulous meal but we decided to walk home since the rain had stopped.
On our second night, we had reservations at
Basso56. I had again found this on the internet and was intrigued by their Italian menu and their self-depricating description of being "chic but unpretentious". We took a taxi and were there a few minutes before our 8PM reservation time. Although the restaurant was packed, we were shown to a table for four in the corner. My thoughtful companion had called ahead to request a "special table for a special evening". As is our habit, we ordered two appetizers to share -- grilled eggplant stuffed with goat cheese and pan-seared scallops with sauteed wild mushrooms. The bread was fantastic and they gave us fresh olives as well. We don't know a lot about Italian wine, preferring Spanish or South American wine, so we ordered something reasonably priced, at the waiter's recommendation and were not disappointed. My pasta selection was a little bit underwhelming with there being more pasta than shrimp and asparagus but Rob really enjoyed his meal and the coffee served afterwards. Again, we walked home from the restaurant to aid in our digestion of this wonderful meal.
On Sunday, we had brunch reservations at
The View in the Marriott Marquis Times Square hotel. This place is huge and the elevator ride to the top of the hotel was terrifying for me! I'm not great with heights and have horrible motion-sickness on an empty stomach. Once there, I was still a little bit wobbly and then realized that the restaurant was revolving! So it wasn't just me ... LOL Sunday was actually a beautiful, sunny day so the view from The View was incredible. The food wasn't bad either although we spun by the dessert table far too early and when I saw the chocolate fountain for the first time, I was very excited. I didn't eat any "breakfast" foods other than a croissant. I had a small chicken breast, potatoes au gratin, basmati rice, ravioli with broccoli and fresh tomatoes. We had cheese and fruit and shrimp and salads and half a bagel each with cream cheese and delicious smoked salmon. I also sucked back a couple of mimosas (champagne and orange juice) before tackling the dessert table. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the chocolate fountain and every woman around me voiced her disappointment when we saw the various pieces of it being dismantled. Thankfully, it was fixed right before we left so we tasted a small sample with strawberries.
Brunch was great and VERY expensive at $70 per person!!! We had reservations that evening for a swanky French restaurant but opted out of that and settled for something smaller and simpler after our rather large, opulent brunch. And I almost forgot to mention this authentic French brasserie we found in Lower Manhattan on Sunday afternoon. It was one of the few places open in this construction-laden area of the city. It was called
Brasserie Les Halles and it was a delight! I felt like we were in Paris again except with better food! LOL I had a thirst for some beer so we started with
un pression (draught beer) and then ordered lunch. Rob had salad and a soup of black bean puree and pico de gallo. I had a chicken sandwich with
frites and a small salad. The food was really, really tasty and perfect for a cold, windy day downtown.
