On Wednesday morning the sun was shining, so we left our umbrellas and raincoats behind and walked to lunch at Salvation Taco. We had enjoyed April Bloomfield's Murray Hill taco joint the past October, plus it was somewhere to get a quick lunch before the theatre; Marlene had tickets to a 2:00 matinée.
We didn't order nearly as ambitiously this time around; we ordered chips and guacamole, but individual margaritas, instead of a pitcher, and two orders of tacos, instead of three plus a tamale.
Carne asada with pickled peppers & onions
Fried fish with Mayan mayo & pickled red onions The unobtrusive flour tortillas housed tangy marinated beef and lightly fried fish; both varieties were very good. And we had no problem finishing our individual margaritas — or walking Marlene to the theatre.
Marlene's matinée was "Beautiful" at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. In the spirit of "Jersey Boys," the musical delivers Carole King's greatest hits. Marlene felt it was a lovely portrayal of the songwriter, but lacked the depth and power of our first two plays.
Our dinner reservation that evening was at Gotham Bar and Grill in the Village, our Halloween treat the past October. Over the years, this restaurant has never tricked us, so we keep going back.
We were seated at the end of the long hall, with a view of the entire restaurant. We ordered a nice Barolo from the extensive wine menu, and then first and second courses from Chef Alfred Portale's classic American menu.
We started with the seafood salad and the soft shell crab. The salad of scallops, squid, octopus, sweet lobster and avocado is one of Portale's signature dishes. Dressed in a lemon vinaigrette, it was fresh and delicious.
Seafood Salad - scallops, squid, Spanish octopus, lobster, sweet shrimp, avocado, lemon vinaigrette The soft shell crab was an off-the-menu special that evening. It was inconspicuously breaded in rice flour and surrounded by a deconstructed succotash consisting of a light corn sauce, with cherry tomatoes and green beans. It was an outstanding preparation. The meaty crab was delicious.
Soft Shell Crab - cherry tomatoes, green beans, corn We chose the duck and the New York strip as our second courses. The duck was an Asian preparation, served in a rich plum sauce. It was tender and flavorful, with just the right amount of fat.
Five Spice Duck - Chinese broccoli, forbidden rice, enoki mushroom, snow pea, damson plum ginger emulsion The strip steak was perfect medium rare and excellent quality, in a rich bordelaise sauce. The yummy stacked onion rings reminded us of the beer battered ones we'd ordered for lunch at Judson Grill, a midtown fixture which closed in 2004.
28 Day Dry Aged New York Steak - Dijon mustard custard and Vidalia onion rings, bordelaise sauce From start to finish, a great meal, as always. And since we were stuffed, Marlene changed her shoes and we walked the three miles back to our apartment. Copyright © 2015 TwoForTheTable.com |
