September 5th-
My sister flew into town this morning, and after allowing her to catch her breath, we headed to Soho for lunch and shopping. Soho Park, as I've mentioned to everyone who knows me, is my favorite place to go for a cheeseburger. If I'm hungry, and we're in Soho, that is my destination. The place is just cool. It has a hip vibe, a lot of young people are always eating here, and the music is an awesome omage to the eighties. The burgers are juicy and full of flavor..... it isn't the giant eight pound patty of dried up meat that I seem to find all over New York. The bun is soft and moist, and the sauce they put on is a perfect compliment. It is just burger perfection, and the airy, fun atmosphere puts the cherry on top. You don't have to sit amoungst annoying parents and their poiled toddlers like at the Upper West Side Shake Shack, or amoungst tourists at the Shack's Madison Square Park location, and these are just better burgers anyway. After lunch, we managed to shop for hours in Soho....searching for vintage shops while finding others along the way. I managed to fall in love with a handbag, and met my newest Steve Madden obsession......a pair of black patent leather peep toe booties.....to die for. By this time, lunch was way worn off and Kristi, tired from her early morning wake up call, wanted to have a bite and a break. I thought......Balthazar! Of course! We were just barely able to get a table in the bar area, but it was nice to sit down. What did we order? Steak tartare .....and the only acceptable beverage to accompany it.......champagne! Kristi was on vaca after all, and when she told me she had never tried tartare, I insisted we order it. After a few glasses of champagne, I could no longer resist my newest obsession, and we went directly to Steve Madden to acquire them. To celebrate......chocolate! We set out for Vosges. Now, I am not a big fan of chocolate, or of any sweets for that matter, but Vosges makes a curry coconut chocolate truffle that I can never refuse! That was the perfect end to our adventure in Soho.
Showing posts with label Restaurants in Soho. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Restaurants in Soho. Show all posts
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Aqua Grill / Bistro Les Amis
August 15th-
Aqua Grill-
Nathan and I ventured into Soho to the Aqua Grill. We had attempted to eat there before, but it didn't work out, because we didn't make reservations, and there was a long wait. This time we knew better. The place was packed, as always, and we were about to find out why. We were lead to our comfy table dressed in crisp white linens, and handed a menu filled with mouth watering dishes. First, they brought us some delicious bread...cornbread, some very buttery white bread and then crusty French bread. I ate the first two.....the third was just too boring. Then.....the amuse bouche appeared......salmon tartar with avocado on what looked like a long, slender Ruffles potato chip. What a great idea! The menu was filled with so much seafood. There was an amazing amount of different types of oysters. It was overwhelmingly wonderful! We ordered four of them to try.....Blue Point from Connecticut, our old standby, Malpeque from Prince Edward Island, Northumberland from Prince Edward Island and Moonstone from Rhode Island. The Blue Point are always large and buttery. The North Umberlands were also quite sizable. Nathan loved them, but they were my least favorite. I really like the Malpeque, which are a little smaller and less creamy....more concentrated. The appetizer we chose, actually came first....the Roasted Dungeness Crabcake Napoleon with sundried tomato oil. We rarely order crabcakes, because we never seem to like them. They usually have way too much breading, so you can't taste the crab, and are too greasy. We took a chance. Yum! These were very good! Not only was it not greasy, but it had just enough breading to keep it together and that was it. It was a cake made of crab finally- and the crab was tasty! For our entree, we split one of the specials.....the Grouper....one of my favorite types of fish. The grouper was cooked simply and perfectly, and was served on top of croquettes, which I absolutely adore- the outside was crunchy and the instead creamy. What a satisfying dish! I loved it! We skipped desert, but they brought us a small plate of tiny bites of sweetness, which was just the perfect amount. Everything I put in my mouth was sheer pleasure!
Bistro Les Amis-
It was such a lovely night....a hint of coolness in the air...finally giving us a break from the oppressive heat of the summer....and neither one of us really wanted it to be over with yet, so we went for a little walk before heading for home, and stumbled upon a quaint little French bistro on Spring Street called Bistro Les Amis, which was a perfect name for it, because it was so welcoming, like going to an old friend's house. We had to go in, for this was how we found our favorite West Village gem, AOC Bedford. They was hardly anyone in there, it was at least ten thirty or eleven by then, so we sauntered up to the bar for a drink to top off the evening.....Glen Fiddich on the rocks. I don't think I really needed the drink, but the experience was worth the headache the next morning. I plan to come back to this cozy little bistro for dinner sometime.
What an absolutely delightful evening!
Aqua Grill-
Nathan and I ventured into Soho to the Aqua Grill. We had attempted to eat there before, but it didn't work out, because we didn't make reservations, and there was a long wait. This time we knew better. The place was packed, as always, and we were about to find out why. We were lead to our comfy table dressed in crisp white linens, and handed a menu filled with mouth watering dishes. First, they brought us some delicious bread...cornbread, some very buttery white bread and then crusty French bread. I ate the first two.....the third was just too boring. Then.....the amuse bouche appeared......salmon tartar with avocado on what looked like a long, slender Ruffles potato chip. What a great idea! The menu was filled with so much seafood. There was an amazing amount of different types of oysters. It was overwhelmingly wonderful! We ordered four of them to try.....Blue Point from Connecticut, our old standby, Malpeque from Prince Edward Island, Northumberland from Prince Edward Island and Moonstone from Rhode Island. The Blue Point are always large and buttery. The North Umberlands were also quite sizable. Nathan loved them, but they were my least favorite. I really like the Malpeque, which are a little smaller and less creamy....more concentrated. The appetizer we chose, actually came first....the Roasted Dungeness Crabcake Napoleon with sundried tomato oil. We rarely order crabcakes, because we never seem to like them. They usually have way too much breading, so you can't taste the crab, and are too greasy. We took a chance. Yum! These were very good! Not only was it not greasy, but it had just enough breading to keep it together and that was it. It was a cake made of crab finally- and the crab was tasty! For our entree, we split one of the specials.....the Grouper....one of my favorite types of fish. The grouper was cooked simply and perfectly, and was served on top of croquettes, which I absolutely adore- the outside was crunchy and the instead creamy. What a satisfying dish! I loved it! We skipped desert, but they brought us a small plate of tiny bites of sweetness, which was just the perfect amount. Everything I put in my mouth was sheer pleasure!
Bistro Les Amis-
It was such a lovely night....a hint of coolness in the air...finally giving us a break from the oppressive heat of the summer....and neither one of us really wanted it to be over with yet, so we went for a little walk before heading for home, and stumbled upon a quaint little French bistro on Spring Street called Bistro Les Amis, which was a perfect name for it, because it was so welcoming, like going to an old friend's house. We had to go in, for this was how we found our favorite West Village gem, AOC Bedford. They was hardly anyone in there, it was at least ten thirty or eleven by then, so we sauntered up to the bar for a drink to top off the evening.....Glen Fiddich on the rocks. I don't think I really needed the drink, but the experience was worth the headache the next morning. I plan to come back to this cozy little bistro for dinner sometime.
What an absolutely delightful evening!
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