I don't really get to spend too much time with my DH these days (which is a shame because I really quite like him)...so when we do have hours in the same space we usually tend to set off on some exciting expedition or other.
Today we had planned to go to the Armory on the Upper Eastside of NYC to check out their art exhibition but after a little discussion and figuring out that we did not really enjoy it that much last year, just opted for a stroll up Madison Ave followed by a quick foray into Soho.
We usually drive into the city from Long Island and park at a spot handy to the Midtown Tunnel on 39th St and wend our way to where ever we are going from there.
It does not matter where we end up, there is never a shortage of good pictures to be taken and things to catch the eye.
Oddly, for a female living in this city, I am not that much about the shopping. I don't mind perusing the boutiques and checking out the designer stuff, but somehow it all seems like a lot of work (nevermind the money) to engage the sales people and overcome their snobby attitude. I guess they have so many tourists to deal with that they get complacent about people who might actually be interested in "buying" stuff - I usually just give up and walk out!
So after touring up Madison Ave for a few hours we ended up in Soho. I was on the hunt for some particular paper that I KNOW I have stashed away in my Studio..but can I find it?...nooo...so a new batch was bought...Oh and of course a new slew of NYC Graffiti photos were taken..Soho is just DA BOMB for that kind of thing.
5pm'ish arrives and we have our usual conundrum about what to do for dinner....whether to just drive back home or get something to eat in the City!
By now we have a handful of favourite places we like to eat, but given the wealth of restaurants in New York it seems a shame to eat at the same place all the time.
This time we decided to hop off the subway at Union Square and either get a table at our favourite Tapas restaurant (which I'm embarrassed to say I don't know the name of, but it's around the corner from the ABC store) or see if we can get a table at CRAFTBAR. As I'm a long time afficionado of Top Chef, and Tom Colicchio it seemed like it might be fun to see how the master stood up against his students!
And..welll I have to say I am not that impressed. Craftbar is the sister restaurant to CRAFT (which is a little more upscale and fine dining).
Out of the four dishes that we ordered, two were just plain horrid. The Pecorino-Stuffed Risotto Balls were doughy and salt-less (shame on you) and came with a sauce that was so spicy it hit your palate before anything else - ick!
The Duck Prosciutto Bruschetta, Duck Egg, Mizuna, Orange Purée was so full of fat and lardy tasting that I just took one bite and passed it over and picked instead at the arugula leaves which were green and tasty enough.
The saving grace was the chicken liver pate which was great, however served in the first instance with burnt toast (yeah really) and the second dish that was a winner was a plate of mixed marinated olives - no joke -can you ruin a marinated olive? I guess not!
Nothing on the wine list was under $56 for a bottle and for the most part the mark up on the wines was well above NYC crime prices.
So, all in all, I guess you can say a 6 out of 10 Maybe? and that is only because they made a really good Latte.
Even in New York $150 for a light dinner is pretty pricey.
As I told the 'bubble gum chewing' hostess as I left, I'd be writing a review of their restaurant on my blog and I will be sending dear olde Tom a copy...only fair don't you think, considering the razzing they give some of the contestants.
I will say the Ladies Loo was clean and tidy, even if the taps on the basins needed an architectural degree to make them work, and it only took the guy at the bar 15 mins to find our credit card after we had given it to him to run the bill.......
Loving living in NYC
