The High Line is a very long awaited elevated park that runs along the West side of Manhattan. The story of The High Line goes back over a decade when people saw beauty in a very old elevated railway that was about to be demolished. It took a lot of education, economic rationalization, and celebrity support to open up a beautiful esplanade-type park west of 10th Ave. Now anyone that doesn’t know that area, it was a place no one went many years ago. It has since turned into the very trendy Meat Packing District and South Chelsea with some of the best designers and famous chefs opening in the neighborhood. I heard a rumor that they couldn’t sell an apartment for $300K (yes, that’s cheap in NYC) on 10th Ave and 13th Street and now they are selling in the millions with access directly to the High Line.
I’d heard that it was so popular that at times they were only allowing people to walk from South to North (currently Gansevort Street to 20th Street, extending to 30th Street in 2010) and today was one of those days. Not only could you only walk in one direction, but there was a line to enter. Normally I only do lines in Disney World, and only for the good attractions, but I was willing to wait for this NYC novelty on such a beautiful day and it wound up taking less than 15 minutes. The park was everything I heard it would be, a beautiful architectural combination of the old rail yard with “wildflowers” overlooking an evolving part of the city. They did an amazing job of blending the old with the new and I really enjoyed it.
Upon our exit at 20th Street, I immediately remembered hearing good things about Cookshop (on the corner of 20th Street and 10th Ave) but they weren’t supplying their dinner menu until 5:30 (we were in the market for an early, 4:45 dinner since we hadn’t eaten yet all day). We walked down the street and stumbled upon The Park and were immediately impressed by the outdoor yet indoor patio, huge expanse of a restaurant, and the menu selection. I especially like the gnomes we were sat next to.
The bread we were immediately served, with our red sangria, was moist and delicious with a really nice olive oil. The sangria at first tasted so-so, but it quickly did the trick and was quite refreshing on a warm day.
As a voracious artichoke lover, I went for the steamed artichoke app. It could have been cooked a little more, and a bit bigger since I can make these babies at home, but the sauce was really great. It was a Lemon Beurre Blanc and went perfectly with the artichoke.
Mike ordered the Yellow Fin Tuna with Eggplant Couscous and Miso Ginger Vinaigrette. The tuna was cooked well and the couscous decent, but the Miso Ginger Vinaigrete was especially delicious.
I went with the center cut pork chops marinated in molasses in a fresh peach sauce with grilled plums. The plums were very good (though a little tart, so they needed the peach sauce) and the pork chop itself was cooked well and good, though nothing show stopping. The sauce, however, WOW! (Noticing a theme yet?) I actually wound up eating the remainder of the sauce with my fork, it was just that good. I wanted to drink it with a straw.
As for a “Stumble Upon,” Mike and I are still very lucky. Overall it was a very good meal, but the sauces pushed it over the top. Bonus 1/2 Nom Point for the sauces.
Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10
