Oh New York City. So many great places to eat, how does one choose? Luckily for me I have J who is kind and tolerant enough to be my NYC restaurant concierge. She always chooses great places. Two weekends ago when I was in New York City was no exception. To start my weekend J made a reservation for us at The Sea Grill who was participating in restaurant week. Not only was the food there delicious, but The Sea Grill was also a fun place to eat at because it looks out onto Rockerfeller Center's ice rink. On Friday night we got lucky, getting a table next to the window giving us a front row view to the ice skating people watching entertainment. In fact we joked that this would be a great date place because if there were any awkward silences you could just direct your attention out the window to be amused by the skaters. Just be forewarned that just as you can watch the people skate, the skaters can stop by and watch you eat. And ate we did. In fact instead of sticking to the normal 3 course restaurant meal most of us splurged and opted to add in a "middle course" making it a 4 course meal.
For my first course I had the house cured smoked salmon, of which I do not have a picture of because it wasn't until after I cleaned my plate did I remember that I wanted to take a picture. Although I did clean my plate because the dish was tasty, my friends who choose the other appetizer option of the sweet potato bisque were the "winners" the first round because the sweet potato soup was delectable. I meant to only have a taste of it but it was so good that ended up sneaking a few more "tastes" because I didn't want to stop. Sweet potato bisque. I'll have to try to look up a recipe for that sometime and see if I can find one that comes anywhere near in taste.
For our extra course, the middle course, our options were a seared tuna tempura roll and the Sea Grill's signature crab cake both of which sounded good. While trying to decide if I should even get a middle course I was informed by my dining mates that Sea Grill's crab cake has received many good reviews on Yelp, which enticed me even more to add the extra course, and to choose the crab cake. In this second round the crab cake won hands down. I found the tuna only okay. It didn't have much flavor or composition to it. The crab cakes on the other hand were very well seasoned and textured beautifully. Although the mustard sauce that they were served over was good, I preferred to eat the crab cake without it (but I do tend to favor enjoying the taste of great foods on their own without adding condiments to them).
Round 3 the main course. The seafood lineup that night was striped bass vs trout. I ordered the striped bass which I believe was the victor. It was DELICIOUS. I actually almost didn't order this dish because I was worried about the cockle brodetto that the striped bass was served with (which I found out by asking the waiter, is a broth made with a type of clam, the cockle). I am generally not a fan of the category of shellfish that can open and close their shells (clams, mussels, oysters), but lately I have been trying to give mussels a second chance (oysters might be a lost cause for me). I've even had them a few times when they are not terrible, so I decided I could give this a chance as well as it was not the main portion of the dish. I am quite glad I did as I found this dish was much better balanced than the trout dish was. The cockle brodetto even turned out to be really enjoyable!
Dessert. Final Round. In the left corner, with a whipped caramel ganache and a granola streusel, you have Caramelized Apple Tart... And its opponent, in the right corner, with a mint chantilly creme and chocolate pearls, you have Valrhona Chocolate Pot de Creme.... And the winner?! ... You will have to go yourself to find out. I actually was distracted enough by my caramelized apple tart (particularly enjoying the caramel ganache which was light and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness) and by my fullness to try the Chocolate Pot de Creme. It does look awesome though.
Featured meals two and three from NYC coming up next...
For my first course I had the house cured smoked salmon, of which I do not have a picture of because it wasn't until after I cleaned my plate did I remember that I wanted to take a picture. Although I did clean my plate because the dish was tasty, my friends who choose the other appetizer option of the sweet potato bisque were the "winners" the first round because the sweet potato soup was delectable. I meant to only have a taste of it but it was so good that ended up sneaking a few more "tastes" because I didn't want to stop. Sweet potato bisque. I'll have to try to look up a recipe for that sometime and see if I can find one that comes anywhere near in taste.
For our extra course, the middle course, our options were a seared tuna tempura roll and the Sea Grill's signature crab cake both of which sounded good. While trying to decide if I should even get a middle course I was informed by my dining mates that Sea Grill's crab cake has received many good reviews on Yelp, which enticed me even more to add the extra course, and to choose the crab cake. In this second round the crab cake won hands down. I found the tuna only okay. It didn't have much flavor or composition to it. The crab cakes on the other hand were very well seasoned and textured beautifully. Although the mustard sauce that they were served over was good, I preferred to eat the crab cake without it (but I do tend to favor enjoying the taste of great foods on their own without adding condiments to them).
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Round 3 the main course. The seafood lineup that night was striped bass vs trout. I ordered the striped bass which I believe was the victor. It was DELICIOUS. I actually almost didn't order this dish because I was worried about the cockle brodetto that the striped bass was served with (which I found out by asking the waiter, is a broth made with a type of clam, the cockle). I am generally not a fan of the category of shellfish that can open and close their shells (clams, mussels, oysters), but lately I have been trying to give mussels a second chance (oysters might be a lost cause for me). I've even had them a few times when they are not terrible, so I decided I could give this a chance as well as it was not the main portion of the dish. I am quite glad I did as I found this dish was much better balanced than the trout dish was. The cockle brodetto even turned out to be really enjoyable!
Dessert. Final Round. In the left corner, with a whipped caramel ganache and a granola streusel, you have Caramelized Apple Tart... And its opponent, in the right corner, with a mint chantilly creme and chocolate pearls, you have Valrhona Chocolate Pot de Creme.... And the winner?! ... You will have to go yourself to find out. I actually was distracted enough by my caramelized apple tart (particularly enjoying the caramel ganache which was light and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness) and by my fullness to try the Chocolate Pot de Creme. It does look awesome though.
Featured meals two and three from NYC coming up next...
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