vacation…

This past week I went on vacation with my father, stepmother, brother and grandparents. I didn’t have much time to cook, which was unfortunate, but I got to do something even better as a replacement: eat. Eat in NYC restaurants. You see, vacations to us are great meals connected by activities such as researching other restaurants to go to, napping, or perhaps even a little shopping to walk off all of those big meals. Although I have no recipes to offer with this post, I hope that these restaurant tips are equally–if not more–satisfying.

 

Every time we journey to the city, my family eats at a Serafina restaurant at least once. Originally “Sofia Fabulous Pizza,” the updated Serafina mini-chain is deserving of its Zagat rating of 19. Serafina has multiple locations across the city and keeps expanding, although we have found the locations on East 61st street and Madison Ave. between 78-79th Sts to be the best. Stay far away from the 49th St location in the Time Warner Hotel; service is horrible and the food isn’t any good either. You also have to take an elevator (AN ELEVATOR!) in order to access the rest-rooms. On the whole, though, Serafina has a distinct European flair that is genuine rather than contrived, and is both family-friendly and a great scene for late-night dining. Best of all, the service is consistently fast and the food is consistently delicious. Serafina has a wide selection of thin-crust pizzas that are quite good and available in whole-wheat crusts, but those are not our mainstay. The tuna sashimi (really tuna carpaccio) is a light and refreshing appetizer, a fusion of Italian and Asian flavors. There is spicy watercress, an unusual but delicious julienned pickled red ginger, creamy avocado, and a fantastic Asian-inspired sauce to drizzle over the top. Penne Arrabbiata is a perennial favorite, a plate of chewy semolina pasta with a spicy tomato sauce and parsley. The fancier (and more expensive) entrees are not particularly risky; filet mignon was perfectly cooked and served with an appealing mound of creamy mashed potatoes. Chicken milanese, however, was slightly overcooked and a bit dry. For dessert, stick with vanilla ice cream, strawberries and Nutella sauce. It’s not on the menu, but they’ll know what you mean. Generally speaking, the portions are generous, although be sure to ask for your soft drinks served in a water glass. When you see the tiny vessels filled with ice that they try to pawn off on other customers, you’ll see what I mean.

 

Geisha is also a must-visit when we’re in the city. It’s a hip Japanese restaurant tucked into a downstairs location on East 61st St, right next to Serafina. In fact, both restaurants are owned by the infamous Fabio. But we discovered Geisha long before we knew it was affiliated with Serafina in any way. In fact, after visiting the two restaurants, you’d never guess they were under the same management. Geisha has a great bar area with comfortable tables and banquettes, where you can order multi-colored drinks served in icy martini glasses and a selection of dishes. Nattily-dressed people tend to populate this area, sipping their cocktails and munching on salted edamame. There are two floors of the main restaurant; request to be on the bottom floor. That’s where all the action is: you can watch the chefs at the sushi bar at work, and for some inexplicable reason, a projector is always playing Japanese anime on one of the walls. There is also a roaring fireplace, which you may be lucky enough to sit in front of if you have a party large enough to fill that table. The food at Geisha is fabulous. I have yet to try something that I didn’t like, but I offer you my suggestions of what to order. For appetizers, order enough of the following for the table to share: tartare trio, chicken salad, and “eggs benedict.” The tartare trio consists of three types of fish (tuna, salmon and mackerel) prepared in different ways and served with delicate rounds of crunchy toast. The chicken salad is the best I’ve ever had, light and refreshing with crunchy lettuce, a miso-sesame dressing, and a delicious fried sesame-flavored “bowl”. Ladies that lunch will appreciate this dish, whether it be as an appetizer or as an entree. It’s certainly big enough to feed one. The “eggs benedict” is really not to be missed. Under any circumstances. Those of you that are squeamish: get over it, open your mouth, and don’t ask questions. I’ll leave it at that. For entrees for the table, I recommend ordering a selection of sushi rolls. The white tuna crunch roll is, quite simply, the best singe piece of maki I’ve ever put in my mouth. The white tuna and avocado are creamy, the asparagus is light and fresh, and the lacy potato shreds give it a satisfying crunch. It’s served with dollops of spicy mayonnaise–take the plunge and dip it. The crispy almond roll seems like a basic roll for the basic sushi eaters among us, and yet it manages to deliver maximum punch with minimalist ingredients. It’s crispy and nutty on the outside, creamy and delicious with ruby-red tuna and bright green avocado on the inside. The wasabi hamachi roll is soft and spicy, served with mounds of green roe that give it a texture akin to a “crunch” in your mouth. And the black truffle tuna sandwich. It’s playful, it’s rich. It’s fabulous. My dad nicknamed it the “miniature truffle club sandwich,” and couldn’t stop talking about it for two days afterwards. If you’re after entrees rather than sushi, the skate and udon are very good, the filet is excellent, and the snapper is superior. Really. I didn’t know that a piece of fish could taste as light as a souffle until I had Geisha’s snapper. Skip dessert at Geisha; despite the quality of the food, desserts are consistently highly mediocre. Have a cup of their selection of teas, or a coffee, or go next door for the ice cream, strawberries and Nutella sauce.

 

On this trip, we also incorporated a new restaurant into our repertoire: Union Square Cafe. Danny Meyer’s Union Square Cafe is a New York landmark, consistently at the top of the list of the city’s most popular restaurants. Although I expected such a well-known restaurant to be loud and bustling on a Saturday night, I was pleasantly surprised: the atmosphere was a cross between an updated country farmhouse and a hip NYC lounge, both comforting and invigorating. It was quiet enough to carry on a normal conversation, and converse we did; the service was so smooth, we barely had to ask for anything throughout the entire meal. The food was a mixture of revelations and disappointments. Appetizers were uniformly good, but the bacon, apple and sage risotto that my stepmother ordered was transcendent. The risotto was tender and creamy, without any of the cement-like heaviness that characterizes risottos in lesser restaurants. There were sweet surprises of tender apple and balsamic, wrapped in the smoky, salty flavor of bacon. Entrees were more of a mixed bag. Stay away from the scallops. While they were perfectly cooked, the roasted vegetables underneath them were so unbearable salty that I was unable to finish my entree. The duck confit, however, was delicious, as was a tender shell steak served with light and fluffy mashed potatoes. A side of roasted brussels sprouts with bacon and red onion was a perfect wintry side dish. The dessert was nothing short of amazing: a warm cinnamon roll with caramelized apples and sour cream ice cream. Don’t be afraid of sour cream ice cream. It’s still sweet, but very tangy, a really nice contrast to the warm, sugary flavors of the cinnamon roll and apple. This dish was one of the best desserts I’ve ever had–and I am not a dessert aficionado.

 

And that was my weekend in food. Some disappointments, but overall a very tasty success.