Great location -- across from Carnegie Hall in midtown. Pretty funky, garish decor on the inside, what with it's gi-normous, rotating shrimp sculptures, but there's certainly a lot to look at. The roasted halibut was prepared perfectly with a nice crust on the outside, yet still moist and flaky inside. And couldn't resist the siren call of their Banana Cream Pie for dessert. Lots of chunks of banana in the filling and a generous heaping of cream on top set it apart from a more traditional pie of it's ilk, and the graham cracker crust was a nice touch, too. In line with it's slightly eccentric vibe, the waiters come around to deliver a big, pink swirl of cotton candy as a surprise! Also spotted waiters delivering fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies right on the baking sheet for the choosing...
Next night was Abbocatto, an Italian eatery from the Livanos family, whose specialty and success has been more in the seafood realm (see: Oceana Restaurant).
This was not an overwhelmingly sensational meal, but the Veal Scallopini was a winner for me. Crispy breading, thin-sliced prosciutto, piomentese cheese melted inside, along with marsala sauce, wild mushrooms, and arugula gave it a different twist than the mere traditional version, and it didn't go unnoticed. Unfortunately, the rest of my dining partners' choices were about average...
Now, this may sound a bit lame for those NYC denizens who have been completely berated by the (almost Shark-jumping) cupcake frenzy, but the food highlight of my weekend was my unexpected jaunt to Crumbs in the Theater District. Their motto is "Delivering Happiness," and man, did they make me happy! I went for the Elvis, which had banana filling inside the cupcake, and a whipped swirl of peanut butter and banana frosting on top. Outrageous! Perfect texture and flavor combinations: dense, fluffy, sweet, creamy... YUM!
The "former New Yorker" in me got a kick out of the fact that there were cupcakes named after Baba Booey and Artie Lange, and they had such a mouth-watering selection of creative confections. Bought the Caramel Apple for my niece -- excellent choice, too. I must go back to try (in no specific order): the Red Velvet, Coffee Toffee, Fluffernutter, Half Baked, and Vanilla Coconut)...
It's these experiences that really makes me miss New York. But I know I will be back for another visit soon....
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