06.25.09
I’m Seamless Webber of the Week!
I submitted myself a few weeks ago & they picked me. I don’t know how many people read their blog, but I’m pretty excited about it. :)
06.20.09
Review of Allegretti, Tuesday April 2009
46 W.22nd St. & 5th/6th Aves., 212-206-0555
Great for: taking the parents, a grown-up and quiet night out
I met some guys at a snowboarders’ meetup and this one asked me out for a proper date. Not really my type, but I figured I’ve got to try people out or I’ll never like anyone. He was kind of boring, but dinner was quite good.
I actually ate some of the starter bread. It was like an olive brioche; salty with lots of olives, and very enjoyable. I loved my terrific special app of tagliolini with king crab, crab jus, snow peas, scallions and pea shoots. It had nice thin noodles steeped in crab flavor and peas that were a crunchy contrast to the just-chewy-enough noodles. It looked small in the plate but was actually a nice amount. The sweetbreads app is great too. The snow pea sauce is delicious, while the nuttiness of the sweetbreads was amplified by the pine nuts sprinkled on top. All that went very well with yummy vegetables scattered around the plate. I was glad I had some bread left over to mop up more of the sauce.
I liked my rascasse with shrimp, fish and a little calamari in gravy with vegetables. It was a nice big dish, kind of like crab cake in the way it’s held together except in a pretty star design. I didn’t even mind the calamari, as it was only barely rubbery. His sea bass with a triangle of latke and artichokes was also good. The potato was my favorite part, since the fish was not as tender as mine.
The baba dessert was good, the cake a tad dry but the fruit a gooey, scrumptious mess. Even though I was totally full, I kept pecking at the rhubarb and strawberries. The service is lovely, almost as much as the décor. There’s a small fireplace that looks as though it may have been a pizza oven once, nice big bathrooms and a very friendly waitstaff. The place itself is also quite large, with a bar area that would be great for a rainy day or a heart-to-heart.
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $145
Noise level: loud conversations
Chance of walking in: it’s quite new, you should call ahead.
06.04.09
Review of Planet Thailand 212, Saturday April 2009
30 W.24th & 5th/6th Aves., 212-727-7026
Great for: very hungry people, specials, large groups
This was the second (main) dinner of the night for my date with the Marketer. It’s an offshoot of the same restaurant in Williamsburg – I can see why they were successful enough to have two places. The menu is huge, but I stuck with the specials and wasn’t disappointed. I was, however, with him. Plus he said something really offensive and racist a few weeks later, giving me an excuse to stop talking to him entirely.
M got the special app of clams in Thai chili vinaigrette. The sauce was way too vinegary. Fortunately, my special of spicy tataki with tuna, mango, tobiko, eel and avocado made up for it. It looked lovely with tri-color tobiko on top and was fun texturally with crunchies inside. Everything was all chopped together and just the right level of spicy. (It might be too much for most people though, as I generally prefer my food on the blistering side.)
M had 15 pieces of sashimi and sushi which he said were good. My special entrée of pan-seared tuna with soba noodles was very spicy and great. The tuna steak was huge and there were lots of vegetables too. I loved the combination of spicy mayo and teriyaki on the tuna, though some of it had that chewy gristle. Actually, the dish overall may have been a tad too spicy, even for me. It was somehow less so the next day when I had the leftovers.
I liked the cool square pot in which my green tea was served. The waitresses were friendly but dopey. The place is crazy-looking, with a big, warm, aqua blue kitchen (yeah, I don’t know how blue can look warm either) and enough Ghost chairs to populate a haunted Starck mansion. There is an enormous thing above the bar that can best be described as a candy mountain made of colored lightbulbs. I liked the music. I wasn’t drinking that night, but they have a very long cocktail list with lots of fancy drinks that I’d definitely try another time.
The resto is huge. People started coming in around 8:30, and M said usually it’s packed. It seems to be popular for groups. I’d probably come again if I were nearby.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $60 + $40 tip
Noise level: it echoes
Chance of walking in: good.
