Saturday, February 12, 2011

Cornbread, Grits and Collard Greens

*burp* I'm FULL!!!!!!!!!

The most wonderful time of the year has arrived. No, not Christmas, I've blogged about that. Not my birthday,  I will blog about that, I don't care how long ago it was. It's Restaurant Week in NYC. This is a time where some of NYC's best restaurants open their doors to eager people, like myself, to get a feel of their restaurant, the service and food they offer, for the low, low prices of $24.07 (lunch) or $35 (dinner) *tax, tip & drinks not included -- Saturday's not included*

As soon as I found out Restaurant Week was approaching, I put the word out to a few people and dates were scheduled with either team members, good friends and family or for celebratory reasons. I love trying new foods and restaurants; if no one wanted to come with me, I'd happily go by myself. I went to a total of seven restaurants and I had a great time. What type of person would I be if I didn't pass along my own opinions and recommendations about the places I visited. Take a gander.

1. Capital Grille: 155 E. 42nd Street between Lex & 3rd.
If I had to choose one word for this restaurant, it'd be classy. Before stepping in, you are blown away by the sheer architecture of the restaurant. The hostess, smiling brightly, asking if you had a reservation and if you'd like to check your coat, distracts you from the dim, mood setting lighting in the restaurant. While being escorted to our cozy table, tucked away by the windows, we pass the open kitchen, as the chefs prepare the food for the evening. If I remember correctly, I had the Caesar Salad, with fresh cracked pepper as an appetizer, the salmon as my entree and for dessert -- creme brulee.  Seeing creme brulee already sold me on the restaurant, but their crisp Caesar, perfectly cooked Salmon, and good to the last drop dessert, makes this restaurant an easy go-to place. Yes, it is quite expensive, but go with a few folks and order some appetizers, you'll be just as pleased. I give this restaurant 4.5 stars.

2. Chinatown Brasserie: 380 Lafayette Street between E. 4th & 5th
This restaurant definitely had the look and offered a wonderfully delicious lobster dish. Give me a few sentences just to talk about the lobster. It was broken up in pieces and covered in this marvelous, slightly creamy sauce and when I say it melted in your MOUTH!? I hope I don't sound like a blob, but food just gets me excited. This restaurant offered two small dishes before the appetizer and dessert. I went with my sisters and we tasted each others food. The filet mignon was just as succulent as the lobster, and the ribs, although laced with fat, where YUMMM. I didn't quite like the dumplings. Textures are big to me and the dough tasted too filmy, probably because it was so thin and the steaming was intense; I wasn't a fan. I also wasn't happy that the restaurant didn't have the first two drinks we ordered -_-. I know things happen, but I wouldn't want it to happen during Restaurant Week. Lastly, before I forget, I had a quasi warm donut dessert and thought small, packed a huge amount of flavor and happiness. When greeted with our damages for the night, we were served chocolate fortune cookies. I'm not sure if I'd go here to kick it with the girls, or as a first date option, but it is definitely a good enough restaurant to venture to. The ambiance is nice and there is a nice lounge off to the side as you walk in. Pretty crampy, so pack light. I give this restaurant 4 stars.

3. Shelley's Big City: 41st W. 57th Street between 5th & 6th
This was probably the coziest restaurant I went to. I expected it to be much more upscale and look the part of a top NYC restaurant, but it looked more like a quaint get together spot. Although I wasn't thoroughly impressed with the looks of the restaurant, all of my fears were swept away when they placed the basket of bread goodness in front of me. It was a focaccia bread topped with caramelized onions and glazed with olive oil and a pinch of salt; the epitome of bread heaven! If I could get away with sitting there eating bread and drinking water -- don't tempt me. I opted for the caesar salad as my appetizer and even though you can't really mess up a caesar, it wasn't the best one I've ever had. I went for the salmon as an entree, with a potato basil puree which was quite tasty and colorful -- presentation is always a plus for me. This was followed by their gelato for dessert, which was yummy. Outside of the bread, nothing really stood out to me about this restaurant. Overall the food was good and the service was quite pleasant, I'd probably go here if I were in the area with a few friends and we wanted to catch up over coffee and bread -- hold the coffee. I give this restaurant 3.5 stars.

4. The Hurricane Club: 360 Park Ave S. between 25th & 26th
Zoom! Bang! Wow! This restaurant is definitely the cats meow! It hurts my heart to share this gem of a restaurant because I want to keep it to myself and the person I went with, but I must do my civic duty and share it with the world. I will confess that I didn't catch the restaurant week menu, so I didn't get the appetizer, entree, dessert fix, but I am completely ok with that. I ordered the Fred Flintstone Rib. That isn't the actual name, however, it was gigantic, like the food Fred Flintstone ate and it as big enough to share with two, although I said rib, singular. My friend order the golden chicken with a mango dipping sauce and it actually glowed golden. We shared a side of chicken pad thai, which was actually rice instead of the noodles but I didn't care because it was so good -- every forkful. The ambiance, the impeccable service and the breath of knowledge they offered their guest about the menu, their chef and the food, was impressing. I would come here on a date, afterwork for drinks, catching up with the girls or to treat myself after a long week; I don't really need a reason. I give this restaurant 5 stars!

5. Fireside: 21 E. 52nd Street between Madison & 5th
The only thing the restaurant was missing was a piano in the background of the conversation. Located inside of a hotel, the restaurant was very modern. The service was good and I loved the seating: a comfy, cozy chair that I could potentially put in my living. We shared the tacos and french onion soup dumplings for the appetizer, the pesto chicken and steak for the entree and molten chocolate cake and warm apple tart for dessert. I don't know if my stomach was revolting at this point but nothing about the food jumped out at me. I loved my dessert, then again, I'm a big dessert person, and the chicken wasn't bad, but it didn't knock it out of the park. The person I went with enjoyed the food so this is just my humble opinion. The ambiance was very relaxing and there was just something about it that made me always remember, yea, we're in a hotel. Not horrible, but not great. I give this restaurant 3 stars.

6. The Sea Grill:
Very swanky, but the food I had, not worth it. The food sounded appetizing: sweet potato bisque with lobster and coconut royale, rigatoni pasta with lamb bolognese, a world renowned crab cake, and an apple tart of sorts - Yum. What I received, not so much. My friend liked the soup, but it wasn't what I expected, which was lumps of crab meat in a sweet creamy sweet potato puree with hints of coconut in the background ( Maybe I'll just make that myself ). The crab cake, yes one, for the low, low additional price of $12, was a juicy, lumpy, no fillers, golden brown breaded deliciousness. The pasta was tasty as well, but I could hardly tell what was what in the bowl besides the pasta and lamb. While I am a big fan of dessert and you can't really go wrong with an apple tart, I just think my overall lack luster for the restaurant as a whole, made me feel blah about dessert as well. If you like watching people skate and falling during your meal, fancy ambiance, delicious crab cakes and strange items in your lobster bisque, this is the place for you. Unfortunately, it doesn't top my list of favorite restaurants. I give this restaurant 3 stars.

7. Nuela:
Sorry folks and Nuela if you choose to take my review to heart, but I am not a fan. I came in with high expectations: Well seasoned, huge portioned, Latin American food. We even agreed to go on Saturday, knowing that we wouldn't get the Restaurant Week deal. We ordered the oxtail and pork and rock shrimp empanadas as an appetizer. It was good but thank the heavens there were only 3 of us, because there were only 3 of each. The meat was well seasoned, but it was slightly dry. For an entree, we ordered the brown sugar crusted salmon and my cousin had the strip steak. -_____________-. My cousin's steak looked like a beef, chicken tender and our salmon looked like a taste testing. Check please! No dessert menu, coffee or tea, just hand me the check. The little bit of food I had was tasty, but I couldn't get used to the flavor because it was gone in the blink of an eye and I couldn't fully enjoy the ambiance because we were in and out in 30 minutes flat. I wasn't too pleased with this restaurant, partially because I had such high expectations and partially because we had to pick up food on the way home to get rid of the hunger pains. They did have a pretty good Columbian white wine and the taste testings of an entree were flavorful. I give this restaurant 2.5 stars.

What makes for a good restaurant week is having an open mind. Don't just go to the steak houses because you're used to the food nor do you just go to the places in your area. Open up the list of restaurants, browse the menus, and check the reviews. It's almost a full time job and it's fun.

I just gave my personal opinions on these restaurants, however, the choice is yours and yours alone. Restaurant Week has been extended to February 27th, so get out there! Eat, drink & be merry -- On a budget :-)

Smoochis :-*

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