Manhattan 2009 October 11
Oct. 13th, 2009 05:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teddywolfThis Sunday we were in Manhattan to enjoy a rare child-free day, thanks to my in-laws watching our kids and giving us some money for a nice dinner out. We spent the day exploring and eating and just wandering about. We had food at several places and I'd like to share them with you.
First up was brunch at Paris Commune, a local trendy eatery with a wine bar in the cellar. We did have a short wait for a table - the place was pretty packed and the available table when we arrived would have had us, not the most slender of people at the current time, knocking elbows with our neighbors.
We started our off with their fresh gingerbread with homemade whipped cream. The gingerbread was warm, flavorful without trying to explode ginger, and a wonderful start to a meal. TL ordered Eggs Benedict, the smoked salmon version; I ordered their brunch special with steak frites, poached eggs on toasted English muffins and a mimosa. Both plates had lightly dressed tossed greens and French fries. Her dish was an excellent example of the genre; clearly I need to get more smoked salmon for home.
It was my first time drinking a mimosa, which there was perhaps 1/4 orange juice and 3/4 sparkling white wine. I would have preferred more juice or perhaps a sweeter wine, but it was likely a very good sample otherwise. My steak was, unfortunately, of an uneven thickness. About 2/3rds of it was medium, the way I wanted it; the thin part was medium well. It was still tasty but I would have preferred an even cut. The steak was cooked with garlic but lacked in pepper and salt - I feel a touch of each would have enhanced the steak. Special mention goes to their poached eggs: they were done perfectly, with runny yolks and firmed whites. Aside from my slight reservations about the steak, which I admit I did not talk with them about, it was a very good meal and I would be happy to eat there again. Prices were slightly higher than, say, Outback, but well worth it. Service was quite good.
We did some shopping, wandering around the Village, and then went to Veselka on TLs recommendation. She mentioned that they had excellent perogi. As I am partial to perogi, well... it was worth checking out in my opinion. We only had a snack there. TL ordered a bowl of vegetarian beet borscht, served warm. I ordered perogi, a plate of eight assorted, fried. Their cheese perogi were filled with more of a blintz cheese filling, sweet as opposed to savory, but good enough that I will at some point perhaps nibble on a decent cheese blintz. The sweet potato perogi had spices I normally associate with pumpkin pie. Again, good but unexpected. The seasonal special of cheddar, broccoli and potato was excellent. They were all properly fried and went well with sour cream. They were a bit pricy for a regular snack for me at our current finances but I'd be happy to go back. Service was a bit slow, possibly because they were quite crowded and our waitress had people both inside and out.
At this point it was long past time for some dessert. TL mentioned a little place her sister used to frequent when she was still married and living near the village called Veniero. I hoped they'd have rum-soaked chocolate balls. They didn't alas, but they had a very large variety of Italian pastries at some very reasonable prices. We each got Napoleons - her regular,me chocolate - and gelato - her coffee, me chocolate. It was a very good dessert, though the pastry in the Napoleon was a bit tough at the end of a long day and required a knife. That's my worst complaint about the place. service was good but not exceptional. I am reminded of an S. J. Perelman story from the collection The Last Laugh where he talks about going to a temple of desserts, a place where people had been known to spend their days and money just enjoying the atmosphere in a caloric stupor bordering on the pleasantly comatose. Some year I would like to spend a day doing that there, in company of somebody who would not worry about the calories - sorry TL. I'd even contemplate it on our current budget, the prices are that reasonable.
While wandering around Madison Square Park, right near the Flatiron Building of comics fame, we bumped into Jeffrey Steingarten, noted food critic and occasional Iron Chef America judge. I was pretty sure it was him from his face; I knew it was him when I heard him talk to the vendor. We didn't initially interrupt to say hi; we did so on the way back. He and his wife are nice people. We mentioned that we like his judging on Iron Chef America. Apparently there are some people who don't agree and want him permanently off the judges roster. I feel this would be a huge shame.
As we left he mentioned we should consider a shake at the Shake Shack, most of the way across the park. We thanked him, walked over and beheld a line I would normally expect for a Broadway musical that just won the Tony Awards. While I would have loved to try a shake TL was mentioning a need for Necessary Facilities that precluded a prolonged wait in line.
As a result we went over to a local Starbucks. We didn't have the netbook with us and were unable to take advantage of the free wifi. The coffee TL got was about the usual for Starbucks; my hot chocolate was a bit more bitter than most for about 3/4 of the cup. It at least beats McDonalds and the servers were friendly. While we were there we waited for TL's sister![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
playspace, enjoying a rare day off from her children, and spent some more time chatting.
After a while it was time for supper, so PS suggested we go to the Upper West Side and go to a good Italian place she knew of, with family style dining - Carmine's. However, the line was 30-45 minutes and PS had a deadline, so we ended up wandering and looking for another good place. We ended up at Telio's, a nice litte restaurant with decent prices and food. They started us off with some small slices of focacchia drizzled with olive oil and spices. I ordered grilled salmon with capers with ziti in a tomato cream sauce. TL got a gyro plate without dairy, served with Greek-style lemon potatoes. PS got a plate of linguini with clams in a wine sauce. All was tasty although TL mentioned being a bit spoiled by my potatoes generally being crispy (these weren't), and the service was zippy.
TL wrote her own review of the day over here, with some other details about places we went. It's a pity the Stonewall Cafe wasn't open; I would have liked to go in for the history. The parks were nice, the streets generally well-kept, and the people were friendly. Next time we might get to hit a museum or five, but I have no regrets about the day. Except, perhaps, that it was too short.
First up was brunch at Paris Commune, a local trendy eatery with a wine bar in the cellar. We did have a short wait for a table - the place was pretty packed and the available table when we arrived would have had us, not the most slender of people at the current time, knocking elbows with our neighbors.
We started our off with their fresh gingerbread with homemade whipped cream. The gingerbread was warm, flavorful without trying to explode ginger, and a wonderful start to a meal. TL ordered Eggs Benedict, the smoked salmon version; I ordered their brunch special with steak frites, poached eggs on toasted English muffins and a mimosa. Both plates had lightly dressed tossed greens and French fries. Her dish was an excellent example of the genre; clearly I need to get more smoked salmon for home.
It was my first time drinking a mimosa, which there was perhaps 1/4 orange juice and 3/4 sparkling white wine. I would have preferred more juice or perhaps a sweeter wine, but it was likely a very good sample otherwise. My steak was, unfortunately, of an uneven thickness. About 2/3rds of it was medium, the way I wanted it; the thin part was medium well. It was still tasty but I would have preferred an even cut. The steak was cooked with garlic but lacked in pepper and salt - I feel a touch of each would have enhanced the steak. Special mention goes to their poached eggs: they were done perfectly, with runny yolks and firmed whites. Aside from my slight reservations about the steak, which I admit I did not talk with them about, it was a very good meal and I would be happy to eat there again. Prices were slightly higher than, say, Outback, but well worth it. Service was quite good.
We did some shopping, wandering around the Village, and then went to Veselka on TLs recommendation. She mentioned that they had excellent perogi. As I am partial to perogi, well... it was worth checking out in my opinion. We only had a snack there. TL ordered a bowl of vegetarian beet borscht, served warm. I ordered perogi, a plate of eight assorted, fried. Their cheese perogi were filled with more of a blintz cheese filling, sweet as opposed to savory, but good enough that I will at some point perhaps nibble on a decent cheese blintz. The sweet potato perogi had spices I normally associate with pumpkin pie. Again, good but unexpected. The seasonal special of cheddar, broccoli and potato was excellent. They were all properly fried and went well with sour cream. They were a bit pricy for a regular snack for me at our current finances but I'd be happy to go back. Service was a bit slow, possibly because they were quite crowded and our waitress had people both inside and out.
At this point it was long past time for some dessert. TL mentioned a little place her sister used to frequent when she was still married and living near the village called Veniero. I hoped they'd have rum-soaked chocolate balls. They didn't alas, but they had a very large variety of Italian pastries at some very reasonable prices. We each got Napoleons - her regular,me chocolate - and gelato - her coffee, me chocolate. It was a very good dessert, though the pastry in the Napoleon was a bit tough at the end of a long day and required a knife. That's my worst complaint about the place. service was good but not exceptional. I am reminded of an S. J. Perelman story from the collection The Last Laugh where he talks about going to a temple of desserts, a place where people had been known to spend their days and money just enjoying the atmosphere in a caloric stupor bordering on the pleasantly comatose. Some year I would like to spend a day doing that there, in company of somebody who would not worry about the calories - sorry TL. I'd even contemplate it on our current budget, the prices are that reasonable.
While wandering around Madison Square Park, right near the Flatiron Building of comics fame, we bumped into Jeffrey Steingarten, noted food critic and occasional Iron Chef America judge. I was pretty sure it was him from his face; I knew it was him when I heard him talk to the vendor. We didn't initially interrupt to say hi; we did so on the way back. He and his wife are nice people. We mentioned that we like his judging on Iron Chef America. Apparently there are some people who don't agree and want him permanently off the judges roster. I feel this would be a huge shame.
As we left he mentioned we should consider a shake at the Shake Shack, most of the way across the park. We thanked him, walked over and beheld a line I would normally expect for a Broadway musical that just won the Tony Awards. While I would have loved to try a shake TL was mentioning a need for Necessary Facilities that precluded a prolonged wait in line.
As a result we went over to a local Starbucks. We didn't have the netbook with us and were unable to take advantage of the free wifi. The coffee TL got was about the usual for Starbucks; my hot chocolate was a bit more bitter than most for about 3/4 of the cup. It at least beats McDonalds and the servers were friendly. While we were there we waited for TL's sister
playspace, enjoying a rare day off from her children, and spent some more time chatting. After a while it was time for supper, so PS suggested we go to the Upper West Side and go to a good Italian place she knew of, with family style dining - Carmine's. However, the line was 30-45 minutes and PS had a deadline, so we ended up wandering and looking for another good place. We ended up at Telio's, a nice litte restaurant with decent prices and food. They started us off with some small slices of focacchia drizzled with olive oil and spices. I ordered grilled salmon with capers with ziti in a tomato cream sauce. TL got a gyro plate without dairy, served with Greek-style lemon potatoes. PS got a plate of linguini with clams in a wine sauce. All was tasty although TL mentioned being a bit spoiled by my potatoes generally being crispy (these weren't), and the service was zippy.
TL wrote her own review of the day over here, with some other details about places we went. It's a pity the Stonewall Cafe wasn't open; I would have liked to go in for the history. The parks were nice, the streets generally well-kept, and the people were friendly. Next time we might get to hit a museum or five, but I have no regrets about the day. Except, perhaps, that it was too short.
