NYC Restaurants

New York is definitely one of the culinary capitals or the world. We enjoyed several good meals during the week, but to be honest I don't think New York restaurants have anything on San Francisco other than sheer number of establishments. I guess I just like the fresher tastes of California cuisine. Here's a list of the major places we dined:

Balthazar: (Rated #15 most popular NY restaurant by Zagat voters) This was my favorite dinner (pictured above). I had the goat cheese tart, steak frite, and pineapple upside down cake with coconut ice cream. The atmosphere was really exciting and the food was really delicious. Bay Area equivalent - Bouchon

Cafe Grey: (Rated #39 most popular NY restaurant by Zagat voters) I thought this place was okay, but nothing to write home about. I had the gnocchi soup and steamed spring vegetables with citrus vinaigrette. The menu was pretty pretentious and it was definitely overpriced. The restaurant did have a pretty design and a great view of the park though. Bay Area equivalent - I had a hard time picking an equivalent, but maybe Postrio, although I'd rather eat at Postrio and for about 2/3 the price.

Norma's: (Zagat food rating = 25) This is the best breakfast I've ever had in my entire life! I had the banana macadamia nut flapjacks with whipped brown sugar butter. Bay Area equivalent - Zazie

Gramercy Tavern: (Rated #1 most popular NY restaurant by Zagat voters) I had the lobster salad, flank steak and short rib, and apple tart. I really enjoyed this restaurant. There were beautiful fresh flowers everywhere and the service was really good. The short rib was cooked to perfection. Bay Area equivalent - Boulevard

Other notable New York food moments:

The Doughnut Plant: We walked forever to get to this place and it's definitely not in a neighborhood you want to stand out in as a tourist. We got there just in time to get the last two doughnuts - Meyer lemon and hazelnut cake doughnuts and the last two cinnamon rolls which had unnaturally large plump raisins. They were pretty good! They sell them at the Soho Dean & Deluca too.

Serendiptiy: The first time we tried to go here the wait was 2 hours so we went somewhere else. Later in the week when Katie and I were looking for somewhere that was open late we went back at 11:00 PM and got right in. The food was nothing special and it's way overpriced so I wouldn't go here to eat again, but I would go back for the frozen hot chocolate which is what they are known for anyway. I would probably only be willing to wait for 30-45 minutes maximum.

Sarabeth's: We tried but never made it here for the famous breakfast. We did eat dinner here once. The food was okay, but I would only go back to try breakfast which is what everyone raves about.

The Cafeteria at the Met: Kim and I loved it! I guess we were pretty hungry because we were struggling to balance all the plates of food from the different bars on our two trays. Pretty good for a humble basement cafeteria!

Tea at the St. Regis: See my post here. I loved this experience!!

Dylan's Candy Bar: Heide got the peanut butter hot chocolate. The toppings were delicious, but the hot chocolate itself was too sweet and not chocolaty enough. Definitely a fun retail space though.