NYC: Day 2

I mentioned in my first post that I was trying to step out of old habits and visit some new restaurants, try things I wouldn't ordinarily try. Well, mostly. Lunch was at Gramercy Tavern, my, and perhaps more importantly, my wife's, favorite restaurant in NYC. I've never had a disappointing meal here, and it consistently displays the hallmark of Danny Meyer's restaurants in giving the diner a complete experience: the room is beautiful and comfortable, the service is fantastic, both in terms of timing and knowledge, and the food is deceptively simple, but beautifully prepared and executed.

I started with a warm vegetable salad with lentils, my wife with a crab crepe. My salad was a great example of something simple, done well, that was just completely satisfying. Baby turnips, butter braised radishes, baby carrots, potatoes, asparagus, and some things I couldn't identify . Just really, really tasty. Wife's crepe was very good too. Entrees: for me, braised lamb shoulder with olives on potato puree with arugula. The arugula was a nice touch. Never thought to put that green in a hot dish, but it really added a nice dimension to the richness of the lamb and the potatoes. Wife had a pork crocquette on ramp greens and pureed potatoes. Hers was very tasty, and given her affinity for seafood and vegetables I was surprised she ordered it. It was a bit much. The pork was pulled, smoked shoulder, shaped and fried. It would have been great in appetizer portion, but was too much as an entree. Dessert was a brown butter cherry cake with cherry chocolate chip ice cream. The cake was served warm, really dense and rich with a crispy exterior. Just fantastic. In my opinion, this place is everything a restaurant should be.

Dinner was at Aldea, a Portuguese restaurant in Chelsea. Again, I started with sea urchin toast. Okay, that's two nights in a row,and I'm done with sea urchin toast. This version was different from Marea in that it was served with cauliflower cream and wasabi. Great contrast of textures with the crispy toast, creamy urchin roe, and the bite from the wasabi. Flavor was reminiscent of the smell of a northern California tide pool. Well, that's what it reminded me of anyway. Next was poached egg, peas, lardons and shaved black truffle. I love poached eggs served this way and I ate this with a spoon. Awesome. For my entree, I ordered the house specialty: arroz con pato, rice with duck. Think Portuguese jambalaya. Rice, duck confit, duck breast, chorizo and some other stuff. Just really, really tasty and simple. I could have eaten a bowl of this stuff. Wait, I did. Wife had foie gras terrine with brioche, coco nibs, pureed pears, and carmelized pears, with maple syrup. Entree was an appetizer portion (wuss!) of a shrimp dish that was basically shrimp, garlic, pimenton, and some other stuff. She loves shrimp and thought this dish was a winnner. It sure smelled good.

I liked Aldea, the food was very well done and none of the dishes were duds. My only complaint is about the service. The server just seemed kind of dense relative to the professionalism you typically experience at good restaurants in NYC. But all in all, I left very satisfied.

Now, off to the museums. No set plans for lunch, and dinner is at Eleven Madison Park tonight.