Two lovely meals to recount today: the first was on Friday evening. My dining companion was working late, so we didn't start our journey to find nourishment until around 9:30p. We started at Market Café, where we have frequently eaten brunch, but less than we would have liked due to their incomprehensible operating hours. True to form, upon our entrance we were greeted by a suitably apologetic waitron who reported that they had "just closed the kitched a few minutes ago". We walked up Ninth Avenue in hopes for better treatment.
Striding through the unseasonably cool breeze, a few blocks later we arrived at Hell's Kitchen, where we had been meaning to visit for months but just hadn't gotten to it. It has a very clean design, all full of glass-surfaced red tile. Beautiful. It was quite full well after ten o'clock, which is nice; I sometimes like to eat in crowded restaurants on weekends, and this suited just fine. After sipping on a watermelon martini (rather refreshing) and some sparkling water, the crabmeat appetizer arrived. Piled on top of something like a cornmeal cake, it had a forgettable sauce on top. It was good but a little bland; we hoped that the main courses would satisfy us better.
Out they came: a pork loin served over a sweet corn tamale with chili sauce, and a plate of grilled shrimp over fried plantains with guacamole. The pork loin was overdone but I did enjoy the tamale. Thank goodness it was there, because I was starving and needed sustenance just to keep concious. Now the grilled shrimp: here was a dish that was one of the best entrées that I have eaten in months. The combination of the big, fresh shrimp, with the creamy guac and sweet plantains... unbelievable. Extremely impressive: A+. I think I'd return to this place, but mostly because it's a decent restaurant in an area with few attractive options. And I did like the bathrooms.
Last night, six of us met up to celebrate a friend's wedding. It had originally been planned for August, but due to circumstances related to the "War on Terror", it was brought forward. But I digress; the point was that my friend was now married, and this was the first time that I was meeting his wife. I arranged for everyone to meet at The Bubble Lounge in the early evening.
Let me explain one reason why I love New York City so much. As I grow older and experience more of this great city, I find new things that I really enjoy that I can't seem to find anywhere else. Whether I am looking for a particular kind of music, taking classes, eating a restaurants or finding cultural activities, I am hard pressed to point at some aspect of my New York existence that could be had elsewhere. Certainly, each place has its charms, but having lived in many cities around the world, I do like these charms best. The particular charm in question: drinking champagne to celebrate something, anything. Walking into a lusciously furnished room with 30-foot ceilings, flipping through an inch-thick champagne list, it's hard not to feel like The Most Important Person In The World.
After everyone arrived, we ordered a bottle of Louis Roederer Brut Premier. I like their champagne and wanted a good, clean bottle to start. We all liked it but I must report that it was a little unassuming. Almost boring. Next I ordered a bottle of Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve NV, mis en cave 1996. What a spectacular champagne! It had a bold, nutty flavor, smooth throughout first taste to well after it had left your palate. I was stunned, never having tasted a champagne quite like this one. My friends, not huge champagne fans, uniformly spoke up over the second bottle. The most common comment was, "I didn't know that champagne could taste like this!" Indeed.
After toasting our various achievements (though really, it was just nice to see old friends and make new ones), we headed to The Independent. Set in a two-story building overlooking West Broadway, I had hoped to sit upstairs near the balcony. No luck, as only downstairs was open, but the hostess was friendly. On to the meal: I ordered a tomato and ginger soup to start, and it was tangy and hot (temperature-wise). I really liked how simple the soup was but how exotic it tasted. I will be looking to make this at home as well, and I wonder how it would taste cold; it could be a good summer soup. For a main course, I had a roasted chicked with mashed potatoes and green beans almondine. It was good (but realize that I was really hungry), and I've become accustomed to much better presentation because I frequent a Venezuelan restaurant in Boston with world-class chicked. My friend ordered a steak rare, which we had to send back, but they were graceful and the second attempt hit the mark.
Looking back, it was a great dinner, but I think that was due to having close friends together after a long absence. The food was good, but I think my many memories of long dinners at the same place clouds my judgement a bit. Perhaps we won't return there so quickly, but it was enjoyable.
6:31:55 PM 
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