A Fancy Birthday Dinner At Morimoto

Location: Meatpacking (btn 16th St. and 10th Ave.)

On Robert's actual birthday, he and I were flying to Atlanta for a wedding, so he celebrated the weekend after at Morimoto. I normally don't like Asian-inspired restaurants, unless it is cheap and in Chinatown, but Morimoto is an exception. It was so amazing that I don't even know where to begin. Everything surpassed expectations from the unique, trendy decor to the strong, yet delicious drinks to the savory Asian-themed food. 

Me and the birthday boy in front of the clearly lit wall of plastic water bottles

My fav drink of the night: lotus blossom (I think that's the name). It tasted like alcoholic ice cream! And don't forget to eat the lychee.

By the end of the night, we probably had all of the cocktails on the menu. The cocktail menu is a bit small, but each cocktail recipe was very creative and totally worth it. 

Shriya & Runie. And there's my fav drink of the night again! 

Me & Jocelyn in front of the infamous wall

Appetizers:

Toro tartare

Japanese lobster fritters

Oyster foie gras

Entrees:

Sea Bass with Japanese Eggplant - highly, highly recommend, even though it looks plain!!

ishi yaki buri bop - the waiter cooks it tableside

Braised black cod

duck, duck, duck - foie gras croissant, roast duck & soft duck egg

birthday surprise!

Arianne & Peter

Feroz, Ed & Robert

My only complaint is that when we sat down, the waitress casually asked us if we wanted edamame. I thought that edamame would be like bread & olive oil at Italian restaurants, so I was a bit surprised when the bill came and we were charged for it. 

Overall, I loved Morimoto! Next time, I want to sit at the sushi bar and watch the chefs at work. 

Oh, and before you leave, you must stop by the bathroom, even if you don't need to. There's a surprise!

craftbar

Location: Flatiron (btn 20th St. and Broadway)

A few weeks ago, I had dinner at Chef Tom Colicchio's restaurant - Craftbar. For those who need an introduction, Tom Colicchio is the judge on Top Chef (I'm addicted to the current All Stars series!), and he also owns Craft, Craftsteak, and 'wichcraft. Craft is his upscale restaurant in NY, Dallas, and LA. Craftsteak is, clearly as the name states, his steakhouse with locations in Las Vegas, NY, and Foxwoods. And 'wichcraft is his sandwich shop around NY (one in Bryant Park and another near KTown). 

We had a group of 8 people at dinner, and we loved it! It has a very chill, relaxing, yet elegant feeling to the place. And needless to say, the food was delicious!! 

We started off the night with a bottle of the Vernaccia Nera "Collequanto" from Italy. It was so good that we ordered additional bottle refills after we finished the first one!

Appetizers: white anchovy & soft cooked egg bruschetta and pecorino risotto balls.

Entree: Red Snapper. Yum!! It's already half-eaten!!!

Entree: One of the specials of the night. Duck?

The crew at Craftbar

After dinner, we had drinks at 230 5th - a rooftop lounge that offers a beautiful view of Manhattan. Since it was still cold outside, they offered us red robes to keep us warm!

 
Can't wait to try Craft next!! Which Craft restaurant is your favorite?? 

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!)