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Restaurant Week at Bella Ciao June14, 2009
1st Course Selections
Chilled Pea Soup garnished with Carrot Créme Fraîche and Crispy Lardons
Garden Salad of Mixed Baby Greens, Cherry Tomatoes, Carrots, English Cucumbers, and Shaved Red Onion with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar
Bruschetta topped with Chicken Liver Pâté
Asparagus and Arugula with Strawberry Champagne Vinaigrette
Suggested Wine: Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, Montesel, NV
2nd Course Selections
Soft Shell Crabs sautéed in Lemon Butter with Spring Herbs and Julienne Vegetables
Zucchini Flower Ravioli with Roasted Pepper Sauce and Basil Oil
Spinach Stuffed Amish Chicken Breast with Fontina Sauce
Marinated and Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Peppercorn Marsala Sauce
Suggested White Wine: Viognier, Qupe “Ibarra-Young” Qupe, Santa Ynez, 2006
Suggested Red Wine: Sangiovese/Colorino “Sassolino,” Pietra Santa, CA, 2005
3rd Course Selections
Ricotta Cheesecake
Espresso Panna Cotta
Fresh Raspberry and Chocolate Ganache Tart
Puff Pastry filled with Strawberries and Rhubarb
Suggested Wine: Moscato d’Asti, Bosio, 2008
Thalassa 179 Franklin St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 941-7661
“A Tribeca hot spot which serves rare seafood and organic produce.”
Comment: the food and wine was great there! I’m bias towards seafood though. All of us enjoyed our meal, the desserts, the service, etc. Probably one of the most underrated places in NYC. Seafood Thalassa main course and the Filet Mignon was great. We ordered like 4-5 desserts and all were good and unique.
(Scallops wrapped in kataifi )
(midtown)
Comment: Hrm I’ve spent more here than girls normally spend on their manolos. WORTH IT? yes. Not every single bite though. While the original one down town is more impressive, the seating leaves you a lot to be desired. You end up in a booth like construction or feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. The one in the trump tower in midtown has a more romantic feeling and also the service is a lot better. The Kobe beef is really good there and also are the tasting menus (okay I haven’t had anything besides the course tasting menus…5-7 courses plus inbtween food). They have suprises such as the egg illusion and also had a “to die for” dessert (chocolate truffle melt in your mouth..shipped in from abroad on a cake..wouldn’t sell it to me..). Make time for a LONG DINNER (midtown due to the food…downtown due to the service). Megu is probably my favorite sushi resturant.
Midtown:
845 United Nations Plz
New York, NY 10017
(212) 964-7777
Downtown: 62 Thomas St, New York, NY 10013
Props to http://chubbychinesegirl.blogspot.com/ for having the pics to my fav dishes there.
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023
at 60th St.
212-299-3900
Comment: The food was amazing there. Best resturant I’ve ever been to (hands down? I’m not so sure). The fish I had was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The scallops were remarkable and def would be recommended to anyone who goes there. The chef also manages to make the vegetables something to look forward to eating. The service was noteworthy (then again what do you expect?). The dessert trios were okay (thats if I want to be super picky)..home made marshmellows not so impressive..but the 4-5 chocolates they brought out managed to please the party I was with.
You can’t talk about sushi and not mention nobu.
40 West 57 Street New York, NY 10019 phone 212.757.3000
Comment: The food was really good. The Salmon Tartar with Caviar is recommended. What else? King Crab Tempura “Amazu” Sweet Ponzu…I’m very fond of crab and so 
Shrimp and Lobster with Spicy Lemon Dressing..the lemon dressing didn’t really do it for me. Black Cod with Miso was not as good as the similar version at Megu. On the side note: we were having dinner before going out to the clubs..thus we were downing beers and asking the servers if we could PLEASEEE do sake bombs (“no”) what if we are really quiet? (NO) YOU won’t NOTICE (NO). The bill ended up being an arm and part of a leg and I don’t remember half the food. sake bombing was the topic that night. As the picture above probably hints at..its a pretty nice after work (if you work in midtown) meet up with friends and such place to go.
105 Hudson Street New York, NY 10013 phone 212.219.0500
Ccomment: Once again we were basically sitting on and intruding all the romantic dates in the area due to the seating (WAY TO CLOSE). You end up people watching and watching the person next to you (2 feet away) eat their meal while waiting for your own. On to the food: Lobster Salad with Shiitake Mushroom and Nobu Spicy Lemon Dressing..THAT MADE MY NIGHT. Yes, it was not the best experience but..that was just amazing. We had a few rolls too (cucumber wrapped on the outside) but nothing really that stood out from the rolls. The dessert was veryyy sweet (good but sweet) maple syrup, sugar, chocolate..yum.
Yellowtail tartar
David Burke & Donatella, a New American Restaurant located in the Upper East Side, serves provocative cuisine that will make you want to plate watch.
133 E 61st St
New York, NY 10021
(212) 813-2121
Comment: The food was good….nothing special at all. Meat we well cooked, wine selection was good, & bill was what was expected. The tables were way too close to each other. The SERVICE? THE SERVICE WAS HORRIBLE. When asked what to recommend the server recommended 2 dishes. We chose one of them..and the other one was prepared and brought out. When this was mentioned they apologized switched the dishes and then took my food back to keep it warm. Dinner took a while. By the time we got the bill we just want to leave, then I told M to check the bill and sure enough he had been charged for both dishes (which was like 40 for the dish plus tax tip etc…). Once again we needed to point it out and they apologized. Repeat from before. It made me want to PLATE WATCH..since it took so long to get the food. Enough whining..I’m not recommending this place.
419 W Superior St (between Hudson Ave & Sedgwick St)
Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 475-9112
Comment: Beautiful food here and restaurant to match it. It was very serene and romantic (perfect anniversary dinner). 5 of us girls had a 5 course meal during the summer there. The drinks and bartender were great! The owner came over talked to us for a while, recommended us lounges since owns another lounge in the city and VIP passes there. He commented how soundbar is for thugs and we needed nicer guys (HA!) and yet the night we planned on going we ended up at The Underground (look for that entry too). The veal and the duck were amazing there. The best dining experience we had all summer in the city. First place I’ll go eat next time I’m out to dinner in Chicago.
“Moving his pots and pans from Elmhurst to the city, chef-owner Michael Taus set out to make a fine-dining statement in Chicago and he succeeded. The restaurant is a work of art and, in most instances, so is the food. Options include a five-course or vegetarian menu, seven-course chef’s menu and a spontaneous seven-course extravaganza. Expect dishes to walk the line between all-out formal and comforting—the crispy Amish chicken breast with roasted beet pierogi and pearl onions a case in point. Any of those options can be served with wine pairings. Speaking of wine, Zealous’ cellar, which is actually a glass-enclosed room visible to diners, sports some 5,000 bottles. Taus loves to tinker, so the offerings change frequently. The minimalist restaurant is gorgeous in every respect. Service is attentive. If you can deal with a tab that can easily go over $125 a person, then this is your kind of place. Don’t miss passion fruit donut holes when they’re available; we’re still haunted by their memory. We should add that this is definitely a restaurant for grown-ups. “
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Japonais 111 E 18th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 260-2020Comment: Girls night out for this one!! We waiting 15 mins for our party to show up even though we had RSVP. It probably was the best 15 min wait ever. The people coming in were as good looking as it comes…seriously it ended up being a “oh our table is ready? are you sure?”
We went downstairs for drinks and the decorations and lounge area was packed but seemed like a lot of fun. Oh yes and the food. YUMMY drinks, great speciality SUSHI ROLLS (yes ROLLS!) Service and setting. Rolls we want to recommend: Special Salmon: panko breaded shrimp roll topped with sashimi marinated salmon and wasabi tobiko sauce, Spicy Mono: spicy octopus roll topped with spicy tuna tartare in sweet unagi sauce, and we tried the other too but those two were our favs.
Best strawberry daiquiris around…yum..we went back again and again.
875 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
