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 I met a friend here for brunch today and was greeted by the hostess who actually recognized my voice from when I called to make the reservation last night. VERY impressive! It’s that kind of attention to detail that I really love and take notice of.
We were seated immediately in a partially indoor/partially outdoor spot. Ice water, bread and butter were served, and I thought I tasted a faint orange flavor to the butter, nice touch! (or maybe the butter is just stored near the orange juice in the fridge and takes on it’s flavor. Either way, I liked it)
I ordered the eggs benedict. (with the hollandaise on the side because I don’t usually like it) As you can see, it was a lovely presentation and included fresh fruit, a small salad, and a piece of sweet potato gratin. The eggs were slightly warm, but definitely not hot. The english muffin and spinach that it sat atop was sort of on the cold side, and the bread tasted stale to me. The sweet potato gratin was close to inedible. I had one bite and then rejected the rest. Slimy, cold and greasy. Definitely NOT worth the carbs this time. I ate the eggs (which were cooked very nicely even though they were cool), the salad and the fruit and picked at the spinach and half of the english muffin a little. The rest remained on my plate. For dessert, I had a taste of my friend’s ‘Berry Avalanche’ and though the berries were fresh and plentiful, and the custard rich and creamy, the filo pastry was definitely stale. Again, not worth it. The service, aside from the hostess, was lacking. Although she was friendly, she was very slow in between courses and even slower to bring the check and have the plates cleared even though we’d been finished eating for a pretty long time. When my friend asked for 1/2 and 1/2 for her coffee, our waitress told her they only had milk. At a French restaurant? What? That was totally impossible to believe knowing how many French foods require cream for their preparation. My friend decided to ask the busboy for some cream and he replied, “Would you like 1/2 and 1/2 or milk”? Ummm, okay. He brought out a small pitcher of 1/2 and 1/2 a minute later for her. Ooooookay. Anyway, though seeing my friend is ALWAYS a complete delight, I thought this restaurant was sub-par. It’s always crowded with a typical Upper East Side clientele though- just another case of diners with little discretion for food as long as it’s a hip place to be seen.

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Soft shell crabs are one of my favorite foods in the world. They have a super short season, and tons of restaurants feature them. It seems like they are always really expensive and never as good as when I make them myself, so I was really excited when I saw that Fresh Direct had them on sale for only $3.99.
My favorite way to prepare them is almondine. That way, the crunch of the almonds makes the crunch of the shell slightly less disturbing. I dredged the crab in a mixture of a little flour and some old bay seafood seasoning, heated up about a tablespoon of light oil and sauteed them for a couple of minutes per side until they turned crispy and golden brown. Next, I toasted some raw almond slivers and topped the crab with them. While it cooled off a little, I made a salad of 5 different types of lettuces, red peppers, radishes, cucumbers, pepperoncinis, carrots and tomatoes. I happen to have some lovely herbs growing in my window box right now, so I made a light dressing out of lemon juice, mustard, cilantro, mint, parsley and a little olive oil. Yum yum yum. For a SUPER fast and easy lunch that’s pretty healthy to boot, this one was a total winner. I’m hoping the crabs are still on sale next week because this one definitely warrants a repeat!

> I met a date here for dinner last night and despite a packed house, a line of people outside waiting, and being told we’d have a 25 minute wait, we were pleasantly surprised to be seated at an outdoor table in the ‘perfect’ corner spot within about 5 minutes.
I’d never had Moroccan food before, but as soon as I started perusing the menu I realized it’s really quite similar to Mediterranean or Middle Eastern, which I am very familiar with.
We started with the hummus appetizer, which was fantastic. The olive oil on top was silky and very high quality, and the texture of the hummus was just right, not too gravely, not too smooth, and extremely rich and creamy. The fresh, hot pita bread was the perfect scooper for it and we polished it off quickly.
I was feeling pretty full already and was glad that I ordered a relatively light dish compared to the heavy meats and grains that the menu consisted mostly of. I was very impressed with my delicious salmon (although it was supposed to be medium rare and was definitely closer to well-done). It had a crispy crust and sat on a bed of beets and crunchy turnips (or maybe parsnips) that added a nice textural element to the fish. The cous cous, which is normally not my favorite grain, was actually really enjoyable, especially with the flavors of the salmon’s sauce mixed in. A taste of my date’s lamb was awesome and extremely tender, and I could see why it’s one of his favorite dishes at a favorite place.
Next time I am asked if I’ve ever had Moroccan food I won’t have to say no!

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Hooray for monthly-Friday-restaurant-adventures-with-Betsy! She picked this deal up on Bloomspot- so we had $60 to spend for $30. Awesome! Glancing over the very reasonable prices, Betsy was a little concerned that we might not be able to even spend all $60, but I assured her that I could easily eat that much worth in oysters alone if need be.
My photo just does not do this lovely garden justice. Even with beautiful Betsy sitting there in vacation-mode, it just can’t capture what an unexpected city oasis this is. There is a coi pond, rock garden, and a small waterfall quietly tink-tink-tink-ing. It happened to be a gorgeous,  70 degree day that was exactly perfect for eating lunch outside.
 Our waiter, Shane, was excellent right from the start. Funny, charismatic, well-informed, polite AND cute. He made some great recommendations for us and gave us plenty of time to decide while Betsy and I caught up. (she also let me have a taste of her delicious strawberry/basil mojito which I loved- but alas refrained from ordering since I had to go work in a little bit)
 I was SO excited for oysters- one of my favorite foods, but Betsy was skeptical. She’d only tried them once before and was not a fan. As my theory goes, it sometimes takes a second try to like things and I was ecstatic that such was the case here. We ordered 6 west coasts and 6 blue points and they arrived promptly with a trio of sauces; horseradish, cocktail and a champagne vinaigrette (that was gulp-able on it’s own). They were outstanding oysters. Not too brine-y, super-fresh and the perfect size. The only thing I didn’t love was that they weren’t loosened from the shell already as some restaurants do, and they required a little manhandling.
Next we had 2 different kinds of mussels, because after all- anyone who comes to the Mussel Pot and DOESN’T get mussels, well frankly, why would you do that? I was laughing the other day as I read a review on Yelp that complained about how bad the fried chicken was. Ummm. Ya. Don’t go to a mussel restaurant for chicken, genius! Oiy. Anyway, I felt a bit like I was cheating on Flex Mussels since that’s one of my fav go-to spots, but WOW, this was worth cheating for. We had the Asian Thai mussels (red curry, lemongrass, cilantro, coconut milk, couscous) which were creamier than I would have expected, with a little spicy kick that was perfect. We also had the ‘Chef’s Best’ mussels (lobster cheese fondue, pancetta, black truffles  ) which were totally rich, indulgent, and luxurious. The two types actually went well together, which was VERY surprising. When the waiter brought us some bread for dipping, we were pretty much in heaven. (especially with the cheesy one)
I wasn’t stuffed enough to refuse dessert and since Betsy doesn’t have a sweet tooth like I do, she let me pick. I asked Shane about the Nutella Flan and he raved so much about it that I knew I’d made a good choice. I am not a big flan person, but this sounded interesting with chocolate ganache, caramel, roasted almonds and berries and I was SO SO SO glad I ordered it. A deep, rich chocolate/hazelnut flavor that somehow tasted dense and light at the same time. I had no problem cleaning the plate- even with Betsy’s singular teaspoonful.
I would strongly recommend a visit to the Mussel Pot if you love mussels and/or oysters and/or dessert. Try to get a spot in the garden and you will feel like you’ve escaped from the hustle and bustle for an hour. Oh, and don’t have to go to work afterwards so that you too can enjoy a beautiful cocktail!