New York Dining
Last month, my husband and I went to New York for the weekend. It was my little niece’s baptism on Sunday and we were there for less than 48 hours; however, we did manage to squeeze in as many culinary delights as possible.
The minute we landed, we hopped in a cab and met my brother and his wife at Orsay; an adorable little upper east side French Bistro. Sitting there on a beautiful May afternoon, sipping a wonderful Sancerre, while enjoying a delcious Croque Monsieur, I did forget for a moment that I was in NY.
After lunch it was straight to our hotel, The London NYC in midtown. We chose this hotel because Gordon Ramsay is behind all of the food. He has two restaurants in the hotel and they handle room service as well.
We had reservations at the more formal Gordon Ramsay at the London for that evening. I was very excited. I am sometimes wary of these expensive, multi-course meals because they often leave me disappointed. But, being Gordon Ramsay fans, my husband and I decided to give it a try, despite the hefty price tag. I also had the opportunity to wear a gorgeous Philip Lim dress that i had been saving for the occasion.
We both chose to have the five-course tasting menu with the cheese supplement (why not?) and wine pairing. We began our meal with a glass of champagne, chosen from the lovely champagne cart that was wheeled over by a member of our wait staff team and then the meal began…..
Each course was paired with a delicious wine that was explained and poured by the sommelier. Even after four courses and as many glasses of wine, we did manage to polish off most of the wonderful cheese course.
Despite being unbelievable full and a tad bit drunk, we were delighted when the bon bon cart was brought over, as a prelude to our real dessert. . Each course was exquisitely presented and the restaurant was formal without being intimidating. It was truly a remarkable dining experience that my husband and I will never forget.
The next day, we woke up and you would think that we would be sick of food after a five-course+ meal, but no, not us!! We are in NY for two days and we were going to eat as much good food as possible. You can not come to NY without getting real NY pizza. (It is just not the same in Florida). We grabbed an early lunch, (late breakfast or just a pre-lunch snack maybe?) at the famous Ray’s pizza and then did some shopping along Madison Ave. We did have to work off some of the food we had been consuming.
That afternoon was my niece’s baptism and yes, we ate again. My brother and sister-in-law had a lovely lunch for family and friends at Centolire, a upper east trattoria that specializes in traditional Italian-American cusine.
Sunday evening, we had reservations at the infamous Waverly Inn with my good friend and her husband. The concierge at our hotel managed to get us reservations at the still apparently hard to get in celeb favorite in the Village. I am not really into restaurants that are famous just because they are impossible to get in, but The Waverly is different. The food is really good. The truffle mac and cheese is one of the best I have ever had and let me tell you….I am the truffle mac and cheese aficionado. It is one of my favorite dishes and I ordered it anytime it is on the menu. The Waverly’s is one of the best! I also recommend the hamburger, shorts ribs, and the tuna tartare. They are all delicious.
I could not ask for more than spending time with family and friends, while experiencing great cuisine. It was a perfect weekend!
