Tang Pavilion
65 West 55th Street
www.tangpavilionnyc.com
Katie's dad's restaurant! The food is very good, and I also thought the presentation was fantastic, especially for a Chinese restaurant! We ate soups, dumplings, soup dumplings, duck wraps, shrimps, scallion pancakes and all sorts of deliciousness. And to top it off, fried ice cream for dessert! Fabulous way to spend a dinner date with the girls :)
Photos (click for more!):
Cornelia Street Cafe
29 Cornelia St
A cute little restaurant in the West Village. I had a salad that I barely remember, but the sesame-crusted salmon was nicely prepared, and my chocolate bread pudding was deliciously rich, although too heavy after the huge meal. I'd say it's a great spot for an intimate date, and it's also good for groups seeing as they accommodated around 16 of us, and let us design a custom 3-course prix fixe menu with 2-3 selections per course. Nothing out of this world, but I think I'd go again. It came out to be $45 per person, including tax and tip.
Garage Restaurant & Cafe
99 7th Ave. South
www.garagerest.com
My favorite thing about this restaurant: live jazz at every meal. The ambiance is kind of interesting, it's sort of cozy in a way, and the layout of the place and really organic.
The food is good, nothing to brag about, but certainly nothing to complain about. We went for Sunday Brunch, Yvette had eggs benedict and I had french toast with apple compote. For $16 you can get an entree and a choice of mimosa/bloody mary/etc. Only alphabet city can beat a deal like that! Plus we got profiteroles for dessert!
Brasserie 44
44 West 44th St. (Royalton Hotel)
http://www.brasseriefortyfour.com
One disappointment was that we had already tried most of the food on the menu at the reception a few weeks ago. Unfortunately walking out on a reservation isn't really...classy. I also was expecting a 3-course meal but it was more like a $35 prix fixe appetizer sampling. It was supposed to be the grand opening of the "backdoor at 44" which was advertised as a disco-dance party...overall severely anti-climactic. They had a disco DJ and a live electric violinist performing, sometimes the music was too loud for conversation though. The food was good overall, but it came out to $45 each with the tax and 20% gratuity that we were charged...for two people, really? And the service was poor; the place was empty, but we hardly got any attention from the staff. Okay, I'm done complaining now, here's a rundown of the food we ended up ordering:
Mesclun greens with Apples, Boursin Cheese, and Walnuts
Boursin cheese is my new favorite cheese. The apples and walnuts are a great complement. Definitely a really great salad.
Tuna Roll
The sushi is average, not the best I've had, but it's pretty edible.
Shrimp Cocktail
Huge Shrimp. Good cocktail sauce. Can't really go wrong there...
Bruschetta with tomatoes, olives, and mozzarella
It is very salty. It's pretty yummy, but I've had better.
Croque Monseur with Truffled Bechamel
The sauce is amazing. Truffle is a type of fungus. The sauce itself is white and creamy and just savory and delicious overall. The croque is on brioche and is toasted quite perfectly. This is one of my faves.
Mini Short Rib Sandwiches with Balsamic Red Onions
I don't like Bleu Cheese. But everything else is good. Good buns, sweet and soft. Ribs are delish, they're prepared in a sort of brisket-esque way. The onions are a good complement to the ribs.
