12.29.10
Posted in Asian, fusion, Latin, Midtown East, Murray Hill, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 9 to 10 at 04:58 by Dominique
622 3rd Ave. & 40th St., 212-808-8110
Great for: large parties, dates, fusion made wonderful, eating healthy
I didn’t know what to expect from Zengo. When the Pool Champion and I pulled up, though, I realized I’d been to the two restaurants that had been in this space before. This one is definitely the best of the three.
On the recommendations of our terrific, pretty waitress, we got a bunch of starters and one main dish. I honestly cannot tell you which was the best, they were all so good. The rainbow ceviche of tuna, salmon, fluke, vegetables, puffed rice and ponzu was lovely and not too sour. We loved the fresh fish in nice even chunks. I even liked the accompanying plantain chips. The steamed buns al pastor, filled with braised pork belly, pickled pineapple, avocado and chile Fresno were really interesting and delicious.
The wagyu tiradito is also unique and awesome. It basically looks like a scallion and asparagus roll with beef laid on top. It’s spicy with miso mustard and sort of creamy, accompanied by a truffle ponzu sauce which rocks. We also got salted edamame.
We made our one entrée count with the grilled Colorado lamb loin with edamame, corn, cherry tomato and pearl onion in hoisin-adobo sauce. I tasted ginger too. It was so tender, juicy and well-flavored. The only imperfection was that the roasted corn is sometimes a little burnt.
Of course we had to try their tequila snow cones I’d read about in UrbanDaddy. You get three different ones per order – we had strawberry, tamarind and hibiscus. I’m not sure why they put them in flimsy paper, but I guess that is why you have to slurp them fast. The strawberry is best, the hibiscus is fine. Don’t bother with the tamarind.
PC persuaded me to have a cocktail with him. I can heartily recommend the Mekhong pina and the cucumber mojito. They have many more cocktails which I would like to try when I am officially drinking again.
They have this adorable and clever taco-holding contraption that you should check out just for geek points. The décor is Alhambra meets upscale S&M party with a unique chandelier. It’s a cavernous space, sexy and not too dim. Early on it seems to be a corporate after-work spot (we are in midtown, after all) though with a naughty feel, and the crowd gets younger and hipper as the night goes on. The bar looks like a lot of fun too.
Latin-Japanese fusion is a great idea, more restaurants should do it – they both use lots of fresh seafood and spices, it totally matches! I am coming back soon.
Rating: 9 / 10
Our cost: $140 before Blackboard Eats discount (4 small, 1 main, 1 dessert, 3 drinks)
Noise level: Noisy but not too bad. We could hear each other over the table even when leaning back.
Chance of walking in: The place is enormous but on the other hand so popular I would err on the safe side and reserve ahead.
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Posted in French, fusion, Miscellaneous, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5, SoHo at 02:11 by Dominique
558 Broome #D & Varick Sts., 212-226-4399
Great for: crevettes, duck confit eating organic, dates, if you’re stuck in far West SoHo
The Pool Champion and I tried to go to Boqueria in SoHo but they were way too packed. We ended up here instead. It’s a nice spot in rather a barren area.
To start we shared escargots sautéed with Pernod in cayenne-curry sauce. They were unique and pretty good, but needed some salt; I tasted a lot of cayenne. The crevettes, shrimp in rum and cilantro-chili butter, were absolutely lovely. The sauce is addictive.
My three medium sausages of rabbit and ginger in carrot miso cream sauce over couscous were pretty good. There was an awful lot of ginger, and overall it was a bit sweet. The spice combination is inspired, though; I’m glad I tried it, it’s not my usual type of thing. We liked PC’s duck confit in jerk spice and mango marinade on couscous. The enormous leg has nice crispy skin hiding tender juicy meat. The marinade ends up tasting like good barbecue sauce. I didn’t really like the couscous, which was slightly bland and full of raisins.
It’s a tiny, cozy, friendly place with eleven tables for two. At the same time it is dark and sexy with red lighting. Plus, the menu claims to be all organic, so you can feel virtuous about eating here too.
Rating: 7 / 10
Our cost: $70 (2 apps, 2 mains, BYO)
Noise level: very loud because it’s so cramped. It’s fun to talk to the neighbors though.
Chance of walking in: you will probably wait.
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12.26.10
Posted in fusion, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5, SoHo at 22:07 by Dominique
210 Elizabeth near Prince St., 212-343-7011
Great for: anchovies, lamb sirloin, sophisticated dining, brunch
In the spirit of adventure, I reconnected with the Music Exec from last year. We meant to go to Balaboosta, but I stupidly didn’t make reservations and they had a 45-minute wait. So we wandered over to Public and I’m glad I got to try their dinner. I fondly remember brunch here three years ago.
We started with a random appetizer of marinated white anchovies, which turned out to be really good. I liked the combination of greens, onions and fish. Anchovies are unfairly maligned – they needn’t be horrid and brown and canned. They can be lovely just like anything else.
I loved my roast lamb sirloin on crispy goat cheese polenta with saffron-braised baby vegetables and harissa aïoli. It’s a good thing it’s quite a small dish, since the lamb is very rich. The flavors went together well, the sauce was perfect, and the polenta was interesting and delicious. His grilled swordfish with wheatberry couscous, baba ghanoush & minted courgettes (eggplant) was surprisingly good considering how much I dislike most of those things. Swordfish tends to be tough, but here it was fairly tender and its flavor really came through.
I was trying to stick to my ascetic diet but when he saw my eyes light up at the description, ME persuaded me to get the sticky toffee pudding with Armagnac ice cream and hot caramel sauce. I’m so glad – I’ve loved sticky toffee pudding since I discovered it at Schiller’s. It is ridiculously decadent despite being a sort of fruitcake (it’s made of figs, go figure). And totally worth it. They do it really well here; it was desirable from first to last bite.
Service is as fitting as the décor. The place is what I think of as classic New York, with a clean minimalist look, bright enough to see but dim enough to be romantic. It definitely stays on my list.
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $165 (3 glasses wine, 1.5 bottles water, 1 app, 2 mains, 1 dessert)
Noise level: convivial hum
Chance of walking in: it’s really big so you have an okay chance.
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11.04.08
Posted in American, fusion, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5, West Village at 02:47 by Dominique
522 Hudson St. & 10th St., 212-807-7357
Great for: pho, airy design enthusiasts, resting after West Village wandering
I did a long photo shoot one Saturday afternoon with my friend Tom (who is amazing, by the way, and looking for more subjects) and we went out for a well-earned brunch afterward. I didn’t have the energy to think of a place but he wanted to try this one and fortunately it was on my list.
We both got the signature pho with shredded brisket, noodles, broccoli, carrots, scallions, shallots and cilantro. You can also get it with chicken, though that would never be my choice. It’s rich and flavorful yet not too heavy. There are tons of veg so it’s actually pretty healthy as well. It could have been more spicy for my taste but they’re happy to bring you sriracha sauce. Overall, I was delighted after a hard day’s work. (Yes, modeling is real work.)
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $40 (one diet Coke)
Noise level: quiet, but it was around 3 or 4 on a Saturday. Probably a convivial hum at peak times.
Chance of walking in: it’s a pretty restaurant near Magnolia. Don’t be silly, make a reservation.
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10.30.08
Posted in Asian, East Village, fusion, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5, small plates at 17:03 by Dominique
224 E.10th St. & 1st Ave., 212-677-0695
Great for: dumplings, pork buns when the Momofukus are too busy, cheap wine, birdlike eaters
E and I had heard a lot about this little place, and were happy to take the opportunity to try it one cold summer night. I’m glad we did. Though not amazing, it was consistently good, and when you’ve had several mediocre resto experiences in a row, that is something to be prized.
The simple menu broken down by price – $7, $12 and $15 dishes – was paradoxically difficult to choose from. Everything looked so good! We finally settled on six things. The fantastic prosecco lychee martini is included in the $7 section and comes with lychee sorbet, a brilliant twist on the usual splash of juice and a lone lychee drowned at the bottom of the martini glass. Not that I haven’t enjoyed tons of those, but this one is special.
The six (or was it eight) chili pork dumplings with grapefruit confit and chickpea semolina shredded on top were also great. The hint of fruit contrasts nicely with the spice, and somehow everything blends subtly together. We also liked the seaweed duck roll with onion confit, sesame seeds and a touch of Korean chili. I didn’t care for the seaweed (I only like it dried) but the duck was roasted perfectly, with an almost beef-like texture. The onions on the side were a bit spicy, while the sauce was not. The dish was basically six delicious little bites of art.
The braised pork bun with apricot chutney was a salty, spicy, flavor orgy. Before I tried the Momofuku version I thought these were heaven. They still come pretty close. The buns also had crunchy puffed corn, puffed rice and peanuts inside. The chutney, traditionally Persian-style with pits, was heavy, sweet and surprisingly good. Both things were hedonistic in their own ways. Be sure to have some water on hand, as the bun portion will set your mouth on fire.
We quite liked the green chili shrimp with mirin, daikon and mung bean salsa, bean sprouts and green papaya over pickled radish salad. The shrimp was so tender it verged on raw. I wasn’t totally on board with that. For a wonder, I liked the salad too, which was hot in a refreshing way. The chickpea-crusted skate in mint yogurt sauce, accompanied by beet greens and hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, was delicious. Crispy outside (the chickpea used as breading), soft within, the fish was perfect. The greens were spinach-like and I even enjoyed the minty stuff.
Tipplers without trust funds, take note: every glass of wine is $8 and every bottle is $25. I had a lovely large glass of bold cava, and E’s Chardonnay grenache and Matthias Dostert rosé were yummy too, though the afore-mentioned lychee martini in an interestingly sexy glass was definitely the star of the drinks. Our waiter was very self-assured and helpful, about the wine especially.
The cozy space has a few large communal tables and a pair of chairs at a side area. Try not to carry any bags as you will either have to sit on or rest your feet on them. Despite its small size, the restaurant’s darling, thoughtful décor makes the whole space feel inviting. And though each dish was fairly small, we felt like we got good value for our money while trying a good representation of what the kitchen can do. I hope I can come back soon.
Rating: 8 / 10
Our cost: $130 (2 drinks each)
Noise level: pretty good, unless a giant party sits behind you
Chance of walking in: low except at early times.
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09.25.08
Posted in Alphabet City, Asian, East Village, fusion, Japanese, Latin, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 6 to 6.5, seafood at 17:50 by Dominique
509 6th St. & Ave. A, 212-529-5200
Great for: chupe, lazy people who want to go clubbing after dinner
This is another ceviche place, but fortunately it’s not as bad as Rayuela. Midtown Hedge Funder and I started with the grande ceviche tasting. What that entails isn’t listed on the menu – plus I bet it’s not always the same – so all I can say is that there was lots of tuna, some crab, fried oysters and other assorted raw fish covered in a ton of sauce, all a bit sour but passable.
My favorite thing was the chupe, a shrimp bisque with corn, edamame and egg in creamy panca-oregano broth. The corn actually came on its cob in the soup so it was a bit difficult to eat. Despite tomato halves, the soup was delicious; a savory, not too creamy, very umami delight. I almost forgot to share.
The volcano roll with shrimp, octopus, fluke, hamachi, crab, avocado, cucumber and spicy tobiko mayo was just ok. It had lots of sauce-laden stuff in the middle, didn’t taste that spicy, and seemed similar to a California roll. The rainbow roll, ambitiously loaded with hamachi, salmon, tuna, fluke and crab ceviche, was also soggy, and maybe had too much avocado. Personally I would prefer no avocado in anything ever. I mean, except guacamole. I think even if you like avocado you would consider this too much, though. We also had an interesting construction called causa. It’s a napoleon that looks like a big biscuit of shrimp, crabmeat ceviche, avocado, spicy potato layers and spicy mayo. It was the best of our main dishes. There was too much potato but the inside was pretty good.
Kion’s flirtini with Stoli Razberi and champagne is tasty, as is the Plymouth gin martini. MHF had a Gougenheim malbec that he liked as well. The service was extremely slow for a while, partially made up for by the waiters’ considerateness. I enjoyed the decor. It’s kind of eccentric but I think all the textured, colored glass is pretty. It’s a nice place to have a few cocktails or a birthday party – if you must eat something, get the chupe.
Rating: 6.5
Our cost: $130 (2 cocktails, 1 glass of wine)
Noise level: quiet, but downstairs turns into a club/party space (only weekends I think)
Chance of walking in: pretty good.
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05.16.08
Posted in fusion, Gramercy, Indian, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5 at 18:31 by Dominique
11 Madison Ave. & 25th St., 212-889-0667 (now closed, sadly)
Great for: Goan sausage and poached egg, outdoor seating, vegetarians
I’ve always heard great things about Tabla, but never got to try it. So I was happy that we managed to get a reservation for seven one Friday night when we wanted to catch up with some friends. There’s ample outdoor seating as well, which will be nice when the weather finally improves. They serve food as well as drinks out there.
I noticed that half the things on the market tasting menu (amuse plus 6 courses, $89) were not available on the regular menu, which I thought a bit odd. Maybe they do that to encourage more people to order it. And I wonder why they have prix fixe for the rest of the menu as well – three courses for $64 – when the dishes are all so different. It must makes things difficult financially. Also, what if people want to order a bunch of appetizers?
To start, we all had a tasty amuse-bouche of salty broth that may have been beef and tomatoes. We found the fluffy naan and thick papadums with green and red sauces addictive. The appetizer of Goan sausage and poached egg over bucatini, heart of celery, fava beans and botarga (like lettuce) was spicy, with crumbly delicious pork, a lovely soft egg and perfectly-made bucatini. The sauce gave me an excuse to have more naan so I could scoop it up. The Rawa crisped soft shell crab with snow pea salad, Thai basil and mango-maple coulis was similarly good, with a nice crunchy salad.
For the main course I had roasted Yorkshire pork three ways with French lentils, spring garlic, local carrots and sour yet tasty chickpea ramp velouté. The sausage was tender and yummy; the loin slices were a bit tough around the edges but not bad; and the crackling was chewy with an inch of fat and a half inch of meat which was salty wrong goodness. The Boyfriend’s pan-roasted sea scallops with roasted cauliflower, coconut-taro purée, roasted bok choy and citrus glaze was slightly too sweet, otherwise decent. We liked the crunchy bits too.
The flourless chocolate cake with cassis coulis, yogurt sorbet and chocolate tuile was fine, not great. Three of the four sorbets in the selection offered – pineapple, lychee and passionfruit – were good. The pineapple was super sour and no one could eat more than a bite of it. I preferred the free chocolates afterward.
They have a lot of tasty cocktails here. We tried the Thai basil bliss, Hang Thyme, Tablatini, and Lots o’ Passion. The last two were the best. When the waiter knocked over some of my cocktail, he said he would come with a refill for what he spilled – he didn’t, but it was nice of him to try anyway. Despite slowness with drinks, I found the service very polite in general. The ambience and decoration are lovely. I liked the judicious use of mosaic in narrow bands along the walls and as art. The whole place is rather regal looking in an understated way.
We had fun with our friends, and the food was pretty good, but we felt it was a bit overpriced for the quality. It’s also less Indian than I expected – definitely more of an Indian-American fusion. From our experience, it was yet another place with better appetizers than anything else.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost (for just us two): $230 (4 cocktails)
Noise level: low hum
Chance of walking in: medium. It was a victim of the 2009 Great Recession and is now closed.
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02.21.08
Posted in Asian, fusion, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 7 to 7.5, SoHo, Southeast Asian at 20:43 by Dominique
60 Thompson St. & Spring/Broome St., 212-219-2000
Great for: large parties, romantic trysts, lovely drinks, a great introduction to Thai food
Our friend decided to do her birthday dinner here, and got a special prix fixe deal for the 14 of us. They gave us 3 appetizers; 2 fish, 2 meat and a vegetarian entrée; and 2 desserts to share. It was a really generous menu, I was surprised that they’d give us so much. Especially since they brought 4 plates of everything.
The first course was Kittichai fish cakes with cucumber and red onion chutney; Grade A “Meing” tuna tartare, limestone tartlets, peanut, ginger and lime; and Northern Thai beef salad, Chinese long beans and roasted sticky rice powder. The Boyfriend didn’t love the fish cakes, but he generally hates all fish-type things that aren’t actually fish – I liked them a lot. The tuna tartare was great and so was the beef salad, all of which we wished there was more of. The limestone tartlets just seemed to be little chips, not rocks, and they were quite yummy.
The next course was crispy whole fish in lesser ginger curry; pan-roasted line-caught fish fillet, holy basil, wild ginger and green peppercorn; and sautéed gai-lan with garlic and ginger. We were in raptures over the whole fish, which was something white, fresh and fork-flakable. The odd-sounding sauce was also fantastic and not too gingery. I remember my Chinese mother forcing me to eat gai-lan, aka Chinese broccoli, when I was younger, and hating it because it was always giant, bitter and hard to chew. At Kittichai, they make it so crisp and flavorful that I loved it. Luckily for me, everyone else was a bit puzzled by what the hell it was, so I got to eat most of it. The pan-roasted fish and its spicy sauce were pretty good but a bit disappointing next to the excellent whole fish.
Next, we had the lemongrass chicken hot pot with kabocha and black mushroom in black pepper sauce and pineapple braised short ribs in green curry, Thai eggplant and sweet basil accompanied by steamed jasmine rice. The short ribs were all right, a bit sweet for my taste, not really anything special. The chicken, on the other hand, was great – tender, tasty, it made a chicken-hater like me tempted to steal the last piece. (I usually only like chicken in fried or wing form.)
We were stuffed full of yummy food at this point, but when they brought dessert we ended up finishing both the flourless Valrhona chocolate cake with fresh cream and the banana spring rolls with burnt honey ice cream. I detest bananas, so didn’t try the “spring rolls”, but the other people told me they were ok. The chocolate cake completely made up for it though; it was really good. I liked the way they presented it as well.
The drinks here are well-mixed. I had or tried the muddled grapes, strawberry pear margarita, gin saketini, pear-almond martini and blackberry cognac. They were all quite good, although I did not like the cucumber slices in the saketini. The muddled grapes and the strawberry pear margarita were the most popular at our table.
The decor of the place is lovely. It looks kind of pan-Asian/New York downtown sexy, and I told Boyfriend I’d love to come back for a date. The waiters are quite hot and much friendlier than you’d expect them to be. They took good care of us. Sometimes I’ve found that service when I’m in a big party is inattentive, which I think is because they know big mixed parties tend to be bad tippers. The waiters made sure we all had drinks and cleared our small individual plates whenever they were too dirty. Overall it was a great experience, and definitely a good choice for large parties so you can try lots of different dishes.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $115 per 14 people with about 3 cocktails for prix fixe large party menu
Noise level: good, we didn’t have trouble hearing each other
Chance of walking in: medium.
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02.09.08
Posted in Asian, French, fusion, Midtown East, Murray Hill, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 8 to 8.5, Southeast Asian 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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01.31.08
Posted in Asian, fusion, Gramercy, Latin, Midtown East, New York City, New York City Reviews, rated 9 to 10 at 17:03 by Dominique
237 Madison Ave. and 37th St., 212-726-7755
Great for: romantic trysts, delicious cocktails, sophisticated debauchery, incredible food
I’d wanted to try Asia de Cuba for ages, but somehow never got around to it. The Boyfriend and I decided to have a hedonistic night in Murray Hill and this seemed like the perfect place. When I pulled up in the cab, even though I’d been there before for drinks, I almost couldn’t find it, the door is so low-key. Inside I was greeted by three hot hostesses who fussed over me in a most welcoming manner. One of them led me upstairs to where Boyfriend was waiting. There’s something very naughty about the open-plan top floor, where you can look down on the larger tables in the middle of the first floor. It almost felt like I was meeting a lover for a secret rendezvous.
After a preliminary drink at the bar, we started with seared scallops on habanera corn crema with sweet and sour plantains and raisins. Despite my usual hatred of fruits and sweets in savory food (and specific dislike of plantains and raisins) I thought it was great. The Boyfriend and I looked at each other after our first bites – we could tell this was the start of something special. Restaurants seem to frequently mess up scallops by overcooking or not getting the freshest ones. A scallop that is even slightly not tip-top tastes very clearly fishy. These were perfect. Even the plantains were an interesting yummy texture. Our other appetizer was Asian pesto grilled shrimp atop wok-charred mango and pineapple and fried lotus root. The pesto is made of chives and garlic and is absolutely delicious, as are all the other parts of the dish. At this point we were so happy with the food, we couldn’t wait to see how amazing the entree would be.
We weren’t disappointed in the least. The waiter told us that the entrees were family style, and definitely large enough to share. So we just got the char sui short ribs with chili orange mojito-flavored rice and black beans on congre tostones (fried plantain discs), and couldn’t resist adding a side of lobster-boniato mash to that. Every bite we took was accompanied by an “Mmmmm!” It was amazing in every way. I was again pleasantly surprised at how well sweet things can add to a savory dish, even when I would normally hate them. Boniato is a tropical sweet potato that tastes much better than ordinary sweet potato, which I detest, or maybe it’s just that they have a magical way in the kitchen here. The mash was addictive; even when we were full and really couldn’t eat any more, we kept nibbling at it. Actually we kept nibbling at everything within reach until finally I told the waiter to please take away the temptation.
We couldn’t possibly fit any more food in, so we had to skip dessert. The cocktails more than satisfied my sweet tooth though (the Boyfriend stuck to vodka sodas). I had the mambo king, dragonfly, and coconut club martini – they’re all good, but the best is definitely the lovely, pink and delicious mambo king. It’s Champagne and Stoli Razberi in a very tall stemless flute with grenadine anchoring sugar to the rim.
As if the amazing food and drink weren’t enough, we also had one of the best waiters ever. He was attentive without crowding us, made sure we had enough drinks and generally made us feel extremely welcome and looked-after. He did a great job explaining the menu and what we would want to order. I love the ambience of the place as well – it feels very sexy and sophisticated, but not pretentious. It’s the kind of place you could go in designer jeans & a slutty top before hitting the club, or wear an evening gown and not feel out of place (I went the dress route). The lighting is dim enough to make it romantic without requiring glasses and flashlights to read the menu, and the music is appropriate and unobtrusive. We had one of the best meals ever and we can’t wait to go back.
Rating: 9.5 / 10
Our cost: $180 + $50 tip because of awesome service
Noise Level: not loud
Chance of walking in: medium, seems pretty reasonable.
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