NYC - day 2
Friday, March 14, 2008
First of all, thank you for all the quiche tips and recipes. It was resoundingly unanimous that none of you make your own crust. I am now determined to do a taste test and see if a homemade crust really and truly does make a difference. But I decided that if my grandmother could make crusts from scratch until she was about 82, well then, I better learn sometime so that I could start making her world famous (or at least Massachusetts famous) apple pies.
So on Wednesday evening, I made my first crust. I don't know what the hell I was so scared of...it was new and unfamiliar, so I wasn't certain that I was doing it correctly, but it turned out fabulously and it has inspired me to try to try a few different recipes for Sunday. I will let you all know how they turn out.
In the meantime, I've only discussed a small fraction of my New York extravaganza and the rest of it is in need of discussion...
We woke up on Saturday morning around 9 and headed out to Scarsdale to spend the day with my brother and sister in law (How do you say that? They're both my in-laws. Do i have to say my brother-in-law and sister-in-law? That's a lot of freaking words. Anyhow, you now know what I mean. In fact, I don't have a brother so it could ONLY be my brother-in-law.) It was a perfect day to leave the city given that it was pouring rain and I can't think of anything worse than feeling trapped inside on 1 of the 4 days that you are visiting NYC. We lounged with the kids, who never cease to amaze me with their gorgeous faces and how funny they are. It was nice and relaxing and by the time we got back in the car to come back to the city, the rain had stopped.
That night we walked down to another friend's restaurant in Greenwich Village. Smith's is on Macdougal between Bleecker and Houston and it is FABULOUS. It's warm and cozy and sexy at the same time. Now y0u have to understand something about me. I love food. LOVE. That's a whole other post, but my friends can not believe that after eating a meal that I love, I can effectively repeat back the entire menu that we ate. And not just like "Oh yeah, we had tuna tartare and a salad and steak." I list back all the details of every dish, sometimes in more detail than the menu has given. My husband is starting to get used to the fact that when we sit down to dinner I don't just say, "Oooooooh - deviled eggs!" Instead, I read to him from the menu, "Oh. My. God. Deviled Eggs with marscapone, parmesan, and truffle oil!?!??!" I proceed this way with EVERY SINGLE ITEM on the menu that sounds incredible to me.
So it's a big deal for me to hand over the ordering to someone else because it's often either a joint venture, or it's someone else handing the task of ordering over to me. But when you're dealing with the owners of the restaurant, how could you possibly order better than they could? And so, for the second night in a row (Nizza being the first), I put the ordering into someone else's hands. After excited hugs and hello's (and by the way, AP is one of the best huggers I know. AP and SK hug you like they mean it - like they aren't going to let go until you know how much they love you. I love getting hugs from them) we slid into the black booth, and were greeted immediately by a perfect glass of Sauvignon Blanc. The air outside was still warm and a little damp and a nice cold glass of crisp white wine was the perfect start to the evening.
Shortly after, a plate of Smith's famous deviled eggs (which are now available in the dining room as well as the bar) was placed on the table. And they lived up to every expectation I had. A perfectly smooth salty sweet and savory center topped by an eensy parmesan crsip...I could have eaten these all night and been happy. (But that's only because I wasn't yet aware of all the other things to come.)
The restaurant definitely has a buzz but it's remarkably intimate at the same time. I could hear every word that was spoken and I loved that we were next to a huge window looking into a courtyard (I think...it was night so I couldn't really see.) The white and black decor feels clean and crisp, and the intimate size and din of diners lends a sexiness to the atmosphere. The bar i the back looked like a perfect place to perch myself (especially since the bar menu differs from the dining room, and while you can order anything from the dining room at the bar, the bar menu can only be ordered there. Next time...)
Being one of the people in charge, CC took it upon himself to pair wines with our next 3 courses. Ummm...heaven on earth. He brought us another sauvignon blanc - this one from Bel Air - who knew!? We drank and indulged in an arugala salad with apples and parmesan and a light vinaigrette that was slightly sweet, beets simply roasted matched perfectly with a horseradish creme, and a steamed egg with polenta and gorgonzola foam which was unlike anything I'd ever had before but something I would DEFINITELY want to have again.
The chef sent out a mid-course of a seared sea scallop with celery root risotto and another foam (sorry, the kind is slipping me given that we were now tasting our THIRD kind of wine - a fantastic Pinot Gris from Alsace). Once again, divine.
Meanwhile, I got some amazing time with AP. Matt's never really had an opportunity to spend more than an hour with her and the same is true of me with her husband. Even though CC was running the show, I was amazed and thrilled by the amount of time we got to spend with him at our table. It's been a long time since I've had real time with my friends in NYC. Last year, almost every single trip was about wedding stuff and while I got glimpses of their faces, this was the first trip in a really long time that I was able to truly relax and soak my friends in. That's how I felt at this dinner - as relaxed as though I were soaking in a tub with the grandest glass of wine you've ever seen. The booths swallowed us up and sucked us into a world where we could indulge and feel as though we had days together when in fact it was only a few hours. And when you're visiting old friends, time is the greatest luxury of all.
Our main course consisted of brussel sprouts sauteed with almonds - but they were pulled apart almost like you'd pull apart a head of lettuce - retaining all of the flavor but making them extra crunchy and light. The cauliflower gratin was doused with tallegio and was among the best I've ever had. We also shared the dourade with a lemon vinaigrette (and forgive me for forgetting the accompaniments but it was one of my favorite fish dishes I've had in a while and at the end of the meal, there wasn't a drop of anything left on that plate). All of this accompanied by a perfect pinot noir.
We had no room for dessert but who needs room for dessert? My first bite of the meyer lemon tart made my mouth sing. Often places don't get it right...the lemon is too sweet with not enough tart. There's too much crust...etc. etc. But this was a perfectly smooth and creamy lemon filling with just enough freshly whipped cream to compliment. And I think I may have had a glass of port with dessert...
Over dinner we decided that the 4 of us would vacation fabulously together. This is not true with everyone that you love. Just because you like each other, it does NOT mean that you will have a great time on vacation together. Given that vacations are supposed to be RELAXING, it is IMPERATIVE that you feel that you are able to be yourself completely, that your vacation partners have similar tastes and vacation styles. It is not possible to go away with just anyone. But we were in resounding agreement that the four of us were a good match and we're planning a long weekend in Napa this summer. Can you think of anything better than going to Napa with a wine expert and restauranteur (besides going with the person you love OBVIOUSLY)?
Feeling fully satiated both in my belly and my heart, we said our goodbyes with excitement for our future trip. I'm going back to Smith's again because the filet at the table next to us looked perfect and I'm dying to taste the homemade corzetti (which is a pasta.) Perhaps I'll sit at the bar...
Despite gale force winds, we hopped in a cab after dinner and headed up to Chelsea to SK's apartment for dessert. Yes, I know we'd already had dessert but they hadn't. So I suppose you could say we went up for a night cap. Does anyone really use that word anymore? It's a great word. I think I'll use it more often. "Do you want to come over for a night cap?" Love it. I don't know how long we were there but as always, it was amazingly fun and I've gotten to spend so much time with SK in the past 6 months between her visits out to LA and mine to NY that it's not like visiting at all anymore. Perfect.
We finally dragged ourselves home (although I'm quite convinced that I might have been able to stay up all night, high on the sheer joy of being with my best friends) and went to bed. I did need a few hours of sleep so that I could get up the next day and do it all over again.
Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 10:22 AM
Labels: food and drink, NYC, travels
