Public

For Valentine's Day Weekend, Robert surprised me and took me to Public, a Michelin star awarded restaurant in SoHo. As I walked into the restaurant, I thought it looked familiar and confused it with Fig and Olive, another favorite of mine. The decor and ambience of both are very similar: modern and classy with a hip feel.

In addition to its coveted Michelin Star, Public's chef Brad Farmerie has been named as one of the Top 50 Chefs to Watch. Needless to say, I was very eager to try the food here. 

We started off with a bottle of Syrah from New Zealand. I would highly recommend this bottle; it's rich and fruity and reasonably priced. 

Syrah, Gunn Estate, 2007, New Zealand

For appetizers, we began with the grilled kangaroo. We ordered this because it's different: you don't encounter kangaroo on the menu at that many restaurants in the US. To those who have never had kangaroo before - the Public version tasted like chicken but a bit juicier.

Grilled kangaroo on a coriander falafel with lemon tahini sauce and green pepper relish

For our main courses, Robert ordered the New Zealand venison loin and I had the herb crusted cod. Both were extremely delicious. You cannot go wrong with either.

New Zealand venison loin, Cabrales dumplings, oyster mushrooms and salsa verde

Next time that I eat here, I'm going to order a side of the brussel sprouts, which our waiter recommended. The couple beside us ordered a side of this and the smell made my mouth water. I had a taste from my cod dish as you can see from the green specs below, but next time I want the entire thing!

Herb crusted cod with a barley squash risotto, Brussels sprout leaves and squid ink sauce

Elegant yet hip, impressive but not too fancy ... this place would be perfect for a first or second date ... getting to know someone that you like, but not wanting to send the wrong message of being too serious. (Not trying to imply you shouldn't go here if you are in a serious relationship either! It's just a great first date idea!)