Archive | January, 2011

Beacon

26 Jan

Mike and I had an itch for brunch, so we made a reservation at Beacon on West 56th Street between 5th and 6th Aves.  I had heard great things about their burger.

The space was beautiful.  Very open with nice decorations without being overdone.

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Lots of vertical lines in a lofty space.  And I really dug the lamp shade chandeliers.

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We were starving by the time we arrived and were thrilled to see that brunch came with a basket of breads and muffins.  Unfortunately, it took a LOOOOONG time for our items to arrive (the table next to us had similar service problems, even though the place was nearly empty).  Luckily they were worth waiting for.

Mike, of course, got the burger.

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It was perfectly good and perfectly scrumptious.

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I went with the steak and eggs, which was a filet mignon and “shirred” eggs.  I still have no idea what shirred means, but it seemed to mean fried.

The steak was in a delicious red wine sauce that I wanted to lick off the plate.  Very tasty.  The steak itself was nothing special.

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For all the buzz I heard about this place, I was expecting more.  But it was satisfying and delicious, even if the service was lackluster throughout.

Total Nom Points: 6 out of 10


Delta Grill

24 Jan

I had a long overdue dinner planned with a friend of mine and she suggested we try Delta Grill, which is on 9th Ave at 48th Street.  It’s a New Orleans themed restaurant that can just as easily be a tavern as it can be a sports bar.

Iris got the pork chops, and she was nice enough to give me a bite. These were quite good and the portion was about 4 times of any pork chop I’ve ever cooked.  They DO NOT skimp!

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We also split a side of the mac and cheese.  This looked great, but I wanted it to be better.

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I was trying to be a little healthy, so I went with the shrimp etouffe.  It was delicious!  The sauce was perfect and the shrimp had great flavor.  Even the rice was perfectly fluffy.  I really enjoyed this.

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This was a very enjoyable meal and I will definitely be back.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10


Gigino Wagner Park

21 Jan

My great aunt is one of the most fabulous people you could ever meet.  She is well over 90, has an impressive shoe collection, could out-bake anyone I’ve ever met, and tells stories in a way that makes you feel like you lived them.  She is loved by every single person that meets her.  And then she got even cooler… she joined a dance class.  I was honored and overjoyed to see her perform with her troupe in Battery Park City with the family one weekday night.  After the show and our long Jewish goodbye, we tromped through a torrential rain storm down the block to the first restaurant we saw: Gigino Wagner Park (20 Battery Park… pretty much at the bottom tip of Manhattan).

It’s in a beautiful space on the water with a view of the Statue of Liberty, however, you’ll have to take my word for it since the rain was so dreadful that a picture was impossible.

We all ordered some delicious sounding Italian food, including gnocchi with a simple tomato sauce (their usual sauce was pepper ridden).

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The gnocchi was pretty good… but I’ve definitely had better.

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I had the same sauce (due to the same problem) over pappardelle.  Again… good… but not great.

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The rest of the family ordered items like the mushroom risotto…

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And the pasta primavera.

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Honestly, everything was just average.  The space could have lent itself to being a gem in Manhattan, but it wasn’t really anything special.  The pastas were all priced between $15 to $20, which seemed pretty over priced for food I’ve had at any run of the mill Italian restaurant for half the price.  I’m curious what their brunch is like, but I wouldn’t return for dinner.

Total Nom Points: 5 out of 10