May set a record for the least amount of rainfall in the NYC area. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was trying to make up for it at our expense. We had a 12:30 lunch reservation at Lupa, but as we walked around the corner to 2nd Avenue to hail a taxi, the skies opened up, there were no taxis to be found and, despite umbrellas and raincoats, we were soaked in five minutes. So in desperation, we ducked into bröd, the carryout that had replaced the Hot & Crusty, and ordered lunch to go, which we ate in our apartment as we dried out.
Split pea soup
Roasted turkey on whole grain It certainly wasn't the perfect pasta we had envisioned, but luckily we had a dinner reservation at Lupa later in the week. And with rain forecast for much of the week, we decided no more standing in the street hunting for taxis. At Marlene's urging, I signed up for Uber. Uber is a transportation service that enlists an army of private drivers, all for hire via a cell phone app. The app shows the closest Uber driver and, once hired, shows his name, his photo, the make, model and color of his car, and his license number. It also gives his estimated time of arrival and his progress can be followed on a graphical map. Both parties can communicate by text or by phone. So we tried it. We ordered an Uber driver to take us Uptown to The Jewish Museum. He arrived within five minutes, and politely took us to our destination. And upon arrival, we stepped out of the car and were finished; no fumbling with credit cards, no cash and no tipping. Upon signing up, you enter a credit card into Uber's system and your card is charged automatically. An emailed receipt details each trip.
We used Uber to get us back to our apartment from the museum, and to take us to and from dinner that night, all without a hitch. I activated the app as we stepped out of the elevator on our way to dinner, and the Uber driver was waiting for us as we stepped out onto the street. Pretty slick. Our dinner reservation was at Perilla, the "seasonal American" West Village restaurant opened in 2007 by first year "Top Chef" winner Harold Dieterle.
Perilla is a small neighborhood restaurant, with just 18 tables and 10 seats at the bar. After the neighborhood friendly staff seated us, we ordered wine and quickly navigated the menu, settling on a starters and entrées.
Marlene started with the softshell crab and I started with one of Dieterle's signature dishes, his spicy duck meatballs.
Spicy Duck Meatballs, mint cavatelli, water spinach & quail egg
Crispy Jumbo Softshell Crab, wild rice, pistachio, lovage & stewed rhubarb The meatballs were sensational. The fatty ground duck was mixed with panko and seasoned with licorice-flavored Thai basil and tongue-titillating Sriracha. The finished dish was crowned with a decadent raw quail egg, giving the meatballs and the cavatelli dumplings a satiny richness. The softshell crab did not rise to the same level; the breading was too heavy. The best part of the dish was the mixture of rice, pistachio and lovage. But the two crabs were indeed jumbo, and Marlene decided to transition them as her entrée, canceling her grilled salmon and opting for dessert. She also shared my entrée, the pork schnitzel.
Sky Ridge Farms Pork Schnitzel, 30 cucumber dill salad, lemon wedge & lingonberry compote The schnitzel was airy and tender. It was much better than the chicken schnitzel we had ordered at Bâtard on our last visit. The cucumber salad was also good. Our dessert was a decadent dark chocolate soufflé with a coffee sauce. It had received rave reviews, so we decided to order it and each take a taste. We ate every bite.
We enjoyed our meal at Perilla, the highlights the duck meatballs to start and the chocolate soufflé to finish. But with so many restaurants in NYC, we're not sure if we'll go back. However, we certainly recommend it for a casual neighborhood meal in the Village. Copyright © 2015 TwoForTheTable.com |
