01.03.10
Posted in Asian, Chinese, Midtown West, Murray Hill, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5 at 21:30 by Dominique
30 W. 32nd St. & Broadway/5th Ave., 212-629-6450
Great for: noodles, eating non-Korean late in Koreatown
This was a really big day for me. I shot my first feature film (I play a gangster who stabs a girl after helping kill her fiancé) and had my first date with the New Boyfriend!
He got spicy noodles with chicken substituted for seafood, and it was quite tasty. The lovely round noodles were silky and slightly chewy. The sauce was a bit sweet, but pleasantly so. My Szechuan chicken was an absolutely giant dish. It was only medium spicy, with far too many mushrooms. The sauce was also on the sugary side without being annoying.
It’s a decent Chinese restaurant, and certainly a better bet than some of the Korean joints on the street. I love barbecue and regular Korean food, but it’s so easy to walk into a random place and end up spending $60 on maybe two plates of raw meat and wondering why we’re still hungry. (True story, at Won Jo.) Plus, this place seems to stay open forever – we left around 5am and there were still people coming in – and you won’t smell like barbecue when you leave. (Though personally I am always delighted by that smell.)
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Our cost: $30
Noise level: it’s pretty large so I imagine it’s not quiet when full
Chance of walking in: not bad.
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05.14.08
Posted in American, Midtown East, Murray Hill, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Steak, rated 9 to 10 at 17:35 by Dominique
155 E.42nd & Lexington/3rd Ave., 212-953-2000
Great for: business meals, wine, seafood, meat gluttony, padding yourself with fat
I’ve been hearing about this place for years and never managed to go. One random Wednesday we just decided to pay a visit. I’m so glad we did. It’s fantastic. I probably gained 5 pounds, but it was worth it.
We only had to wait about 15 minutes for a table, during which time I enjoyed a delicious Stoli Doly pineapple martini (not as girly as it sounds). They sat us close to the absolutely lovely glass atrium. The food certainly lived up to the beauty of the surroundings. My lobster and crab cakes were great, with huge chunks of lobster and hardly any filler, accompanied by lovely peppery corn salsa to counteract the near-sweetness of the seafood. The tangy horseradish sauce on the sauce rounded out the dish nicely. The Boyfriend’s shrimp cocktail was terrific too.
At our waiter’s suggestion, I got sirloin Oscar, which is steak covered in crab, asparagus and béarnaise sauce. (I’d had very little for lunch.) He had suggested the sirloin as a nice balance between the flavor of ribeye and the tenderness of filet mignon. It was juicy and fantastic. Everything else was incredibly well done, too; the crab was tender and the asparagus crispy without those nasty stringy bits I sometimes find. B’s porcini-rubbed Delmonico with 12-year-old balsamic vinaigrette was a perfectly cooked medium rare. It doesn’t actually have mushrooms in the final dish, and I couldn’t taste them anyway. It was just wonderful.
We tried not to go overboard with the sides, as is so easy to do at steakhouses – we got half portions of two things. The creamed spinach was great, not too creamy; Sam’s mashed potatoes was creamy but with lumps and skin so it still had the texture of potatoes. B said they were his favorite version ever, and he is a mashed potato fanatic.
Finally we couldn’t stuff any more food in, and had time to look around. There were lots of fat old white men and business clientele. Oddly enough, there were deer heads gracing the bar area. The rest of the decor was good though; very corporate but nice. I was impressed by the enormous wine cellar, and also liked the old-fashioned menus as giant as the restaurant. We had a great, attentive, knowledgeable waiter, too. I can’t wait to go back.
Rating: 9/10
Our cost: $168 (a cocktail each) + 40 (waiter was great)
Noise level: civilized hum
Chance of walking in: low.
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02.09.08
Posted in Asian, French, Midtown East, Murray Hill, New York City Neighborhoods, New York City Reviews, Southeast Asian, fusion, rated 8 to 8.5 at 17:40 by Dominique
200 E. 54th St. & 3rd Ave., 212-486-9592 (now closed, sadly)
Great for: small intimate parties, converting people who think Asian fusion is over, wallet-friendlier Jean-Georges
The Boyfriend and I went snowboarding in the Poconos one weekend, and after much exertion (and aprés-ski drinking), felt that we’d earned a nice dinner out. Vong has been on my list for a while, and we were in the mood for a nice, grown-up, sophisticated place, so uptown we went.
It was pouring outside, so the restaurant wasn’t that busy and we were lucky enough to get one of the little alcoves. They’re upholstered in leather and very romantic. I liked the tables as well, which seemed to be topped with granite. I wasn’t much a fan of the sesame rice cakes with spicy peanut sauce, but then I don’t like sesame or peanut sauce. The Boyfriend does, and says they were very good.
We opted for the tasting plate to start. It comes with four yummy dipping sauces of lemon ginger rosemary, tamarind, ginger garlic and sweet chili, and two each of five appetizers. We thought the lobster daikon roll and the tuna, avocado, carrot and cucumber roll were not bad, light and refreshing. The lobster roll is very gingery though. The breaded and fried shrimp satay was pretty good. We especially liked the crab spring roll, and the spiced quail on watercress salad was definitely our favorite. The meat was delicately and perfectly flavored, while the greens were tart and delicious.
For entrées, I had the duck and Boyfriend had the sea bass. My Muscovy duck breast came medium rare in tamarind sauce with baby bok choy and a spring roll of duck confit. It was so good. The duck slices were succulent and tender, the vegetables were too and the spring roll was scrumptious. I’ve never tasted duck in that form, but I hope I will again soon. I love the way it was presented too, like two fans; the top half of the plate a fan of duck slices, while the bottom half a fan of bok choy. The Boyfriend’s black sea bass was a white island in a shallow lake of coconut lime juice with sandbars of parsnip purée. I’m not sure either of us had ever had parsnips before – I just had a vague idea that they were nasty root vegetables – and I almost don’t want to eat them again, except at Vong, because they could only be worse. What an interesting and unique pairing, too. The purée was very light, which was perfect for the lovely texture and taste of the fish. Boyfriend’s only quibble was with the sauce, which was good initially but got a bit sweet after he had a lot of it.
They brought us jade tea while we waited for our fantastic passion fruit soufflé. We had a mini-joust with our spoons over every bite, it was that good. It was a fluffy wonder. The complimentary chocolate petit-fours with mint sorbet at the center were also yummy.
The service at this place is as good as the food. Our waiter never rushed us, but kept a keen eye on whatever we might want. He was unobtrusive yet attentive. The whole place feels welcoming without being overbearing. Everyone is helpful and very friendly, but only when you need them. I love that kind of service. The decor is very stereotypically Asian, done so tastefully it still brought a smile to my face. I like the funny red temple door or whatever that they have close to the entrance. Everything just feels sophisticated and zen, without being precious or pretentious. It’s great. We love it, and are definitely going back once we’ve crossed a few more places off my list.
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $165 (no drinks)
Noise level: nicely quiet
Chance of walking in: medium (the NYC location is now closed, though there is one in Chicago).
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