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

 

To the Junoon and Back!

Restaurant Week Round 2!

After my first Restaurant Week meal at The Marrow, I headed to Junoon (http://junoonnyc.com/) with Scott. I had heard rave reviews about this Michelin-rated Indian spot in Flatiron but couldn't convince myself to go due to the price of the entrees (most protein entrees are $25+) and the size (not very large!). I'm a hole-in-the-wall Indian cuisine gal, but for Restaurant Week I enjoy living on the wild side and indulging! This place opened in 2011 and received one star from Michelin JUST ten months after it opened! Very Impressive.

The restaurant was running behind so we each ordered a cocktail at The Patiala Lounge (the bar). I went with the Blood Orange Sour, made with Kentucky Bourbon, Homemade Blood Orange and Lemon Puree, Clove-Campari Reduction with Egg White for Texture.

Beautiful Color and Delicious Taste!

My cocktail was yummy - I love the taste of Blood Orange Juice, it is like the adult version of OJ! Scott went with the Tandoori Tequila, a spicy cocktail made with silver tequila, lime, muddled Tandoori pineapple, curry leaf and pippali pepper.  

Blurred Lines

I sipped his drink and it did have a certain KICK to it! Scott sometimes feels that I don't give him the star power he deserves on my blog, so I took a photo of him. Of course it came out terribly - it is the thought that counts, right?

The lounge area is pretty swanky. You feel like you're on the set of a high-budget Bollywood movie.

Patiala Lounge

Scott and I have similar taste preferences, so we ordered different appetizers, entrees and desserts and shared everything.

As we waited for our appetizers, we were each served an Amuse-Bouche, or complementary tasting from the chef. It was something or other with butternut squash and quite delicious! The sizing was a preview of what was to come...tiny dishes!

Amuse-Bouche of Butternut Squash from the Chef

To start, we got the Lahsooni Gobi (crispy cauliflower with chili flakes and garlic tomato chutney) and Chipotle Chicken Tikka (chipotle marinated chicken with crispy potatoes and lime aioli).

Lahsooni Gobi

Chipotle Chicken Tikka

Both were delicious but VERY SMALL! If I came here and paid the menu price I would be very disappointed. 3 pieces of cauliflower is a bit lame!

For the entrees, we ordered the Kerala Shrimp Curry (seared shrimp with coconut milk, curry leaves, mustard seeds, green chiles and smoked kodampuli) and the Lalmas (Rajasthani lamb curry with black cardamom, clove and chili)

Kerala Shrimp Curry

Lalmas

I absolutely loved the Shrimp Curry BUT THERE WERE ONLY 3 SHRIMP! WHAT GIVES!!! I felt super cheated. The lamb had more chunks in it but wasn't bountiful by any standards.

We also got one order of Pulao Rice and Naan to split.

NAAN NOM

Pulao Rice

I would have preferred Garlic Naan but we weren't able to upcharge to that which I thought was annoying - you may be sensing a trend!

For dessert, we ordered one Rice Pudding served with candied almonds, cinnamon and golden raisons and one Passion Fruit Mousse.

HEY PUDDIN

Get that PASSIONfruit!

I loved the rice pudding but hardly got to taste it - it was about 3 spoonfuls. This is the unfortunate downside of Restaurant Week - going to fancy places and leaving feeling like you want to eat an entire pizza! I'm glad we went because the food was phenomenal it just left me wanting more...FOOD!

Cheers,

Liz

 

I Love You Down to The Marrow

Restaurant Week Begins!

In New York City (and in cities across the country), Restaurant Week is a magical time. Not only do you get to visit many restaurants that may be outside of your price range for $25 for lunch and $38 for dinner, the week breaks rules of the universe. The "week" lasts from February 17th to March 7th - amazing! Also, if you have an American Express card and register it to save $5 for EACH Restaurant Week transaction (https://enroll.amexnetwork.com/US/en/winternycrw2014/).

I'm a big fan of the Top Chef franchise and winner of the first season, Harold Dieterle - this is his third venture in NYC (also owns Perilla and Kin Shop). The Marrow has German and Italian influences. The menu for Restaurant Week is key - even if the spot you're going to is well-known for certain dishes, make sure some of them are on the reduced-price menu! Otherwise, what is the point of visiting it?

We arrived a bit earlier and each ordered a cocktail at the bar. I got the Eye of the Tiger, made with Cognac, 7 year old rum, vanilla and cinnamon.

Eye of the Tiger

The cocktail had a wonderful profile; I loved the touch of the single massive ice cube too! Aish ordered the Miss Roberts' Cobbler, made with Owney's Rum, Pear Jam, Lavender and Thyme.

Miss Roberts' Cobbler

She loved it so I had to try a sip - it was tasty! Once our table was ready, we were seated and given the menu. We already looked it over before we came so we knew exactly what to order!

We did noticed that the menu featured three bottles of wine for $38! We ordered the Red, the Pittnaur Velvet 2008 from Burgenland, Austria.

Lovely Red Wine!

I'm glad we split this - for about 2.5 glasses each, that is a great bargain. While we waited for our entrees, we were served a freshly baked (and HOT!) pretzel style roll with mustard and oil.

I think I could have eaten 10 of these...

Spicy mustard and olive oil complement the bread!

Just as we were finishing up our rolls, we were served our first course. We both ordered the Roasted Sunchoke Soup topped with toasted sunflower seeds and snipped chives.

A Bowl Full of Warm Deliciousness

The soup came out PIPING HOT! After it cooled down for a hot second (no pun intended), we enjoyed each and every spoonful. The soup had a velvety texture and was utter perfection.

For my entrée, I ordered the Sautéed Skate Wing, served with Black Forest Ham, Cabbage and Warm Mustard Sauce. I'm a huge fan of Skate, so I was excited to try it.  

Skate into my mouth please

The German-style prep on the Skate was different and incredibly tasty. I was very happy with my order! Aish, the vegetarian that she is, ordered the Housemade Pappardelle served with braised forest mushrooms, lemon thyme and pecorino.

Who's Your Pappardelle?

She really liked it, or at least I assume she did, since she inhaled it. This is why we're such good friends!

For the desserts, I ordered the Spiced Streusel Kuchen, served with roasted apples and caramel ice cream.

Spiced Streusel Kuchen

This dessert was delicious!! Aish wanted no part of it since she isn't a big fan of apples - weirdo! Just kidding. She went with the other option, the Milk Chocolate Panna Cotta, served with grape jam and peanut biscotti.  

Milk Chocolate Panna Cotta

I much prefer dark chocolate to milk, but Aish loved it. I was happy for her. She avoided the apples, so she was a happy camper.

When we were given the check, we were presented with MORE food. Two gingersnap style cookies - so great.

COOKIES NOM NOM NOM

I was very happy with the overall experience. I look forward to coming back here to order some other menu items, especially the Pan-Fried Duck Schnitzel!

Happy Restaurant (Three) Week(s)!

Cheers,

Liz