The River(park) Runs Deep

Depth of Flavors Delight the Senses

Ah! Restaurant Week, you are amazing! Not only do you deliver delicious food to my mouth at a huge discount, you last for WEEKS! Melissa and I hit up one of her favorite spots, Riverpark (http://www.riverparknyc.com/), for dinner. As an aside, Melissa already came here 3 times (!!!) for Restaurant Week. I knew this was going to be a delicious meal!

A unique feature of this Tom Colicchio is that the entire menu is featured for Restaurant Week. Naturally, some of the menu items have an upcharge due to the ingredients featured. I forgot to snap a picture, but we started our meal with a delicious piece of fresh baked bread. The bread is made on site and so yummy!! We were offered another piece but I said no because I already stuffed a slice of pizza in my mouth at Beer Blast (the Happy Hour at Stern). See, I have self-control! ha

We both ordered the same pasta as an appetizer. It featured cocoa spaccatelli, pork ragu, Honeycrisp apples and sage.

Beautiful Pasta!

The pasta was tasty! The cocoa was likely added for color as I couldn't taste it directly. Though, the overall profile of the dish was very complex, so I'm sure it added to the taste.

After looking at the menu, we found two entrees we both wanted to try. So, we ordered one of each! We got the Whole Roasted Dorade with baby artichokes, capers, fennel and olives and the Cocoa Spiced Pekin Duck with blood orange, fennel, pearl onions, red cabbages and chiles.

Whole Roasted Dorade

Cocoa Spiced Pekin Duck

It is hard to pick which of this dishes was my favorite! The fish was moist, light and flaky. You can't really tell from the photo, but once you lift it from the middle, the fish was completely deboned and ready to NOM! It is nice to not have to pick out the bones. The assortment of vegetables and spices was lovely and not overwhelming to the fish. The duck was tender and tasted great with the blood orange.

For dessert, we ordered "Cereal & Milk" - the restaurant's signature dessert. Melissa assured me that it was worth the $3 upcharge! The dessert is composed of a chocolate ganache cake, caramelized rice puffs, and vanilla malt (hidden within the chocolate shell). We also got the Beignets that were served vanilla custard and spiced chocolate sauce.

Cereal & Milk

Beignets

We totally messed up and should have ordered TWO Cereal & Milk desserts!!! The beignets were ok but could not stand a chance compared to this delicious dessert. You break the chocolate shell and the vanilla malt inside covers the entire dessert. I should have taken a photo of it after we broke the shell but we were too busy eating it!

This is an incredible restaurant with phenomenal food! It is a much better value to come here during Restaurant Week but worth a visit regardless JUST FOR THE DESSERT!

Cheers,

Liz

 

A Return to the Hill (and Bay)

Divine Short Ribs

I first visited Hill and Bay a couple of weeks ago for drinks and planned to return for a meal. The opportunity struck when I wanted to grab dinner with a date before a movie at Kips Bay Theater. Side Note: We saw Dallas Buyer's Club and it was great.

I looked at the wine list and decided to order a glass of red wine. I can't recall which varietal I ordered - all glasses are price between $9 to $12. I knew I wanted to order the Braised Short Ribs, served with creamy polenta and crispy shallots ($23). Based on Yelp! reviews, this seemed like a safe bet and I do love cooking this dish at home!

Braised Short Ribs

The meat was absolutely tender. The wine I ordered really complemented the sauce. I was so happy with what I ordered!

When I looked at the dessert menu, I knew exactly what I was going to order! I love bread pudding, so naturally I ordered the Brown Butter Chocolate Bread Pudding, made with dark chocolate and served with ice cream ($8).

Brown Butter Chocolate Bread Pudding

This is my favorite type of dessert: the juxtaposition of the hot (bread pudding) and the cold (ice cream) rocks my world. So yummy!

I'm glad I came back to this spot. Solid entrees and desserts!

Cheers,

Liz

 

(Murray)Hill and (Kips)Bay

New Spot Makes Murray Hill Less Awful!

Before our dinner at another spot in Murray Hill (2x in one night, I should be ashamed!), my friend, Courtney, and I wanted to grab a drink. We had just finished a movie at the Kips Bay theater and I saw Hill and Bay (http://www.hillandbay.com/). I'm in this area frequently since my brother lives up the street and I never saw this spot. It looked cool and I knew I had to check it out. So check it out we did!

We each ordered a cocktail. I'm all about trying new drinks and the Hill and Bay Spicy Martini, made with chipotle vodka, pickle brine and blue cheese stuffed olives, caught my eye.

Hill and Bay Spicy Martini

I requested extra olives so I could drink it. The drink was a bit zesty with the spicy vodka, so I sort of chased it with the olives. I am a cocktail Macgyver. Courtney ordered the CB6, made with Gin, Amaro, Marmalade, Regan's Bitters, Lemon Juice and Zest.

CB6

Although she drank it, she commented that the drink was very lemony! Overall, I love the vibe of this place and feel that the cocktails will get better over time. It is a new restaurant, so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.

Check it out before/after the movies!

Liz