12.31.08
Review of HK, Tuesday October 2008
523 9th Ave. & 39th St., 212-947-4208
Great for: bar scene (gay and straight), decent food in what would otherwise be something of a wasteland
A little Zagat research turned up basically only this place near the 8pm show my friend S and I were going to. Thank goodness! Although I suppose the Metro Marché at Penn Station wouldn’t have been too awful. I was surprised at how busy the bar was even when we got there at 6; it looks like a lot of fun for after-work drinks if you’re anywhere nearby.
My Caesar salad with roasted garlic dressing, smoked bacon and herb foccacia croutons could have had more dressing but I liked it and its generous size. We Americans are accustomed to too much dressing anyway. S enjoyed her veggie burger, and I got lucky again with the grilled salmon filet accompanied by saffron couscous, ratatouille and what I thought was dill butter. (The current online menu says citrus curry butter – I’m pretty sure that’s a change.) This one was bigger than Sonia Rose‘s and a decent competitor. I ate the squash in the ratatouille, though I drew the line at mushrooms. The couscous was surprisingly firm and came in big clumps. All mixed together it was quite good.
We had very efficient, nice service. The waitress made sure we didn’t feel rushed but had us out in plenty of time for the show, which I appreciate even more considering this isn’t technically in the theatre district. The décor is kind of sexy comfy spaceship with neon accents and the bar is definitely where you want to be if you are in within a ten-block radius. I added it to my list immediately.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Our cost: $60 (1 app, large $9 Voss)
Noise level: quite
Chance of walking in: not terrible, and the bar is very nice so you won’t mind waiting anyway.
