Saturday, July 22, 2006
Delmonico's
Delmonico's is a steak house in the financial district, way downtown. From what i can tell, they cater to the Wall Street crowd for business lunches, and after work drinks. No one else would travel that far south for this place. For the appetizer I got salmon tartar. It was ok, but the whole time I was thinking about the tuna tartar at Payard. Main course was two types of steak, both were very good, over some great veggies. Good, but not enough food. For dessert I got some chocolate cake which sucked! Others got an Apple Betty, which was good, but seemed like it came straight from costco.
Price paid: $35
Regular price: $50
Would pay: $25
Cafe Boulud
Their website says Daniel created Cafe Boulud to be a casual cafe like the type his parents and grandparents had in France. Haha. This has to be the most expensive and fancy cafe ever. First of all, I have to say this place had the *best service* ever. Hands down. Basically I can sum it up in one word, it was invisible. Everything was done without interrupting you in any way. Every time I turned around, my coffee had somehow been refilled. It was incredible. Places like Gramercy have service that's on the ball, but seems to interrupt you every few minutes. Anyway, appetizer was duck pate, which was ok. Main course was veal cooked 2 ways, very good. Dessert was a chocolate hazelnut pastry.
Price paid: $24
Regular price: $65
Would pay: $24
Butter
One of my best meals in New York. Great food and service from start to finish. The restaurant is super hip and trendy, with lots of celebrities, but luckily that doesn't mean they screw you with bad food or drinks. For appetizer I got scallops and shrimp, awesome. Main course was pork tenderloin with lots of garlic, spinach, and roasted potatoes, awesome. Dessert was cococut panna cotta with grilled pineapple on the side, awesome. The Butter Martini was good too :). A great dining experience, and only 2 blocks from my apartment. I will be back.
Price paid: $35
Regular price: $55
Would pay: $45
Roy's New York
I went to Roy's in San Francisco about 6 years ago and I think that's still the most expensive meal i've ever had. I remember we were a bunch of college kids surrounded by people in suits, drinking wine and eating fancy food. Roy's NY is great. It's also in the financial district which makes it hard to get to, but it's worth going. Service was not just good, but very friendly. Appetizer was a Mongolian Barbecue Chicken Salad, great. Main course was short ribs with vegetables and potatoes, very good. Dessert was chocolate souffle with ice cream, great. Overall a cool restaurant with delicious food. Recommended.
Price paid: $35
Regular price: $47
Would pay: $35
That's it! Restaurant week is over. It looks like the secret to having a good restaurant week experience is finding restaurants who serve you the food off their regular menus. Some restaurants prepare special restaurant week menus which have smaller and cheaper dishes. Next time i'll probably call ahead to see what the menus are. Top pics are davidburke, Gramercy Tavern, and Butter. Now it's back to eating cereal and subway sandwiches.
Delmonico's is a steak house in the financial district, way downtown. From what i can tell, they cater to the Wall Street crowd for business lunches, and after work drinks. No one else would travel that far south for this place. For the appetizer I got salmon tartar. It was ok, but the whole time I was thinking about the tuna tartar at Payard. Main course was two types of steak, both were very good, over some great veggies. Good, but not enough food. For dessert I got some chocolate cake which sucked! Others got an Apple Betty, which was good, but seemed like it came straight from costco.
Price paid: $35
Regular price: $50
Would pay: $25
Cafe Boulud
Their website says Daniel created Cafe Boulud to be a casual cafe like the type his parents and grandparents had in France. Haha. This has to be the most expensive and fancy cafe ever. First of all, I have to say this place had the *best service* ever. Hands down. Basically I can sum it up in one word, it was invisible. Everything was done without interrupting you in any way. Every time I turned around, my coffee had somehow been refilled. It was incredible. Places like Gramercy have service that's on the ball, but seems to interrupt you every few minutes. Anyway, appetizer was duck pate, which was ok. Main course was veal cooked 2 ways, very good. Dessert was a chocolate hazelnut pastry.
Price paid: $24
Regular price: $65
Would pay: $24
Butter
One of my best meals in New York. Great food and service from start to finish. The restaurant is super hip and trendy, with lots of celebrities, but luckily that doesn't mean they screw you with bad food or drinks. For appetizer I got scallops and shrimp, awesome. Main course was pork tenderloin with lots of garlic, spinach, and roasted potatoes, awesome. Dessert was cococut panna cotta with grilled pineapple on the side, awesome. The Butter Martini was good too :). A great dining experience, and only 2 blocks from my apartment. I will be back.
Price paid: $35
Regular price: $55
Would pay: $45
Roy's New York
I went to Roy's in San Francisco about 6 years ago and I think that's still the most expensive meal i've ever had. I remember we were a bunch of college kids surrounded by people in suits, drinking wine and eating fancy food. Roy's NY is great. It's also in the financial district which makes it hard to get to, but it's worth going. Service was not just good, but very friendly. Appetizer was a Mongolian Barbecue Chicken Salad, great. Main course was short ribs with vegetables and potatoes, very good. Dessert was chocolate souffle with ice cream, great. Overall a cool restaurant with delicious food. Recommended.
Price paid: $35
Regular price: $47
Would pay: $35
That's it! Restaurant week is over. It looks like the secret to having a good restaurant week experience is finding restaurants who serve you the food off their regular menus. Some restaurants prepare special restaurant week menus which have smaller and cheaper dishes. Next time i'll probably call ahead to see what the menus are. Top pics are davidburke, Gramercy Tavern, and Butter. Now it's back to eating cereal and subway sandwiches.