Gramercy Tavern

Although located super close to NYUMC and one of the restaurants that I've wanted to try through-out most of med school, it's taken over 5 years for me to finally make it into Gramercy Tavern.

We decided to go all-out and have the seasonal tasting menu, but unfortunately the tasting menu didn't include the one dish that Yu was most excited to try - the duck confit. Simple solution: we added it as an additional entree to our tasting menu, for a total of 7 items


Gramercy Tavern's amuse bouche of the night was a raw scallop with cherry tomato (not visualized in the picture because it's resting below the scallop): I thought it was delicious - especially since I actually enjoy raw scallops more than seared

For a first appetizer, we had the fluke sashimi: with sunchoke, Shiitake mushroom, and smoked jalapeno (one of my favorite dishes of the night)

Next came the lobster dish - prepared on a bed of corn, sucrine lettuce, and pickled green tomato: lobster in general is not as sweet as crab, so the sweetness of the corn was a nice pairing in this course

The first entree of the night was a halibut dish - pan seared and served with a zucchini, black olive, and lobster sauce. While there was no single particular thing I could criticize about it, somehow this dish was not particularly stand-out to me

Entree #2 was squab on a bed of potato puree served with artichoke hearts and tomato (Jenn was a fan of this course, since squab is a popular bird used in Asian cooking - especially for events like weddings or other celebrations. My guess is that it probably reminded her of home)

Our third entree was our requested addition to the tasting menu: duck confit. At this point we were all starting to get pretty full, but the duck was very well prepared and delicious - another of my favorites that night

The final entree was roasted and braised beef with peppers, black garlic, farro, and topped with a fried onion ring

We had a dessert amuse bouche as well: raspberries and cream with a butter biscuit

Dessert itself was a chocolate gelato with strawberries

Unlike most fine-dining restaurants of it's caliber, Gramercy Tavern was pleasantly casual (don't let the "dress code" fool you). The decor and atmosphere were not at all stuffy, and service there had just the right amount of attentiveness.

At one point in the middle of dinner when Dave had to visit the men's room, the next course was served before he returned and the staff brought a silver cover for his food to preserve the heat:

 To close out the evening, Dave and Jenn elected to have a cappuchino, whereas I was so deep in food-coma that I can barely remember how I got back home: I call that a gigantic win

Overall rating: 9/10


42 East 20th Street
New York, NY 10003

Lady M Cake Boutique in the Plaza Hotel

About 2 years ago the Plaza Hotel opened up a European-inspired "food hall" in collaboration with chef Todd English. I had never gotten a chance to visit prior to my move away from NYC - and in fact I didn't even know it existed until Jenn suggested a field trip there.

 We dropped in right after our lunch at Marea, so obviously none of us were hungry, but as we were browsing the shops, we noticed the Lady M Cake Boutique and their crepe cake.

I've been aching to try a crepe cake for a pretty long time, but have yet to find any bakeries in my area that offer it (let's face it - the food scene in Boston may be adequate, but it can't compare to NYC). The three of us shared a slice, and yes - it's as yummy as it's reputation would have you believe. Made of many, many layers of thin crepes and whipped cream, it was incredibly light and almost melt-in-your-mouth. I could probably eat an entire cake on my own

This was definitely one of the best cakes I've ever had - and for those of you who have already checked out and loved Eataly (Mario Batali's brain-child that is also inspired by the European-style food halls), the Plaza's other shops are worth a visit too

Jenn wanted this Plaza Hotel teddy bear, but as I reminded her: she's no longer 5...

Overall rating: 9.5/10


1 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019

Marea

Marea - known for it's delicious Italian-seafood dishes - is normally one of those restaurants that a surgical resident's salary can't support on a regular basis.

Luckily, they offer a "business lunch" that's a pretty decent deal: $45 for an appetizer and entree - similar to a prix fix but minus the dessert.

Jenn, Dave, and I headed over to Central Park South on day 2 of our NYC vacation, prior to their planned romp in the park.

For appetizers, Dave got a mix from the raw bar:
Tonno: bigeye tuna, oyster crema, and crispy artichoke garnish

Dentice: pacific snapper, mandarin orange, pistachio, and carrot vinaigrette

Seppia: cuttlefish tagliatelle, soffrito crudo (minced raw vegetables), bottarga di muggine (roe pouch of tuna or grey mullet = also known at poor man's cavaiar)

Jenn ordered the Sgombro: Pacific jack mackerel, wild mushroom vinaigrette, and parsley

My appetizer was the bigeye tuna tartare with watercress and potato crisp. Not the best tartare I've ever had - a bit too salty - and the potato crisp had an odd bitter after-taste

For entree Jenn opted for the Fusilli: durum wheat pasta, red wine braised octopus, and bone marrow. The pasta literally had large cubes of delicious bone marrow mixed in with the octopus, and by far she had the most decadent dish

Dave ordered the Spaghetti: with crab, Santa Barbara sea urchin, and garnished with basil

I made the choice of Garganelli: squid ink pasta quills, seppia ragu, butternut squash, and pecorino. Although mildly grotesque-looking, my dish was actually pretty good. As compared to what the others ordered, my pasta was quite light and mild in flavor

In the end Dave and Jenn enjoyed their lunch more than I did - probably because they made better selections from the menu, but I could also appreciate that the pasta was well prepared and with high-quality ingredients. Definitely worth another visit

Overall rating: 7.5/10

240 Central Park South
New York, NY 10019