Monday, January 4, 2016

Gramercy Tavern - New York, NY

5/5 stars


I've been wantingwantingwanting to dine at Gramercy Tavern for 5 years and one of my dearest friends made my foodie dreams come true last Monday. We dined in the tavern area and I ADORED it. There are no faults.

What does a NY restaurant look like in your head? Because in mine, it looks and tastes like Gramercy Tavern. Dark wood. A gorgeous bar. Waiters in suits. Women in cocktail dresses. Mirrors. Dried flowers. New American cuisine.

My friend and I decided to create our own tasting menu and it.was.magical.

I can't recommend the raw & roasted vegetables enough. It was served with 3 dipping sauces: grenada pepper, cauliflower caper, and walnut miso. I'm not one to order raw vegetables (are you?) but I was just so curious about this plate. It. Was. Amazing. First of all, it was a feast for your eyes. The colors just popped. But most of all, it was just sooo fun meticulously sampling the vegetables, comparing raw to roasted, and trying all the sauces.

Then we shared the sea bass with pole beans, cucumber, and lobster and the grilled pork shoulder, fingerling potatoes, cabbage, and scallions. Everything was cooked and seasoned perfectly and did you know that pole beans + cucumber + lobster go together? I think it was the dill that tied the three together. It tasted like a lobster salad. Everything was impeccably fresh. Gramercy Tavern is a fine example of farm-to-table.


I'm not quite how sure we managed it, but we didn't say no to dessert. My friend knows I can't say no to pumpkin anything so we got the pumpkin spice sundae with walnuts, specullos cookie butter, and cinnamon MASHMALLOW FLUFF. Honestly, I would've ordered the whole dessert menu if given the chance.


Oh, and finally, the cocktails. If I hadn't been so sleepy from taking the red-eye from CA to NY, I would've ordered something stronger than the Orange Blossom (sparkling wine, elderflower, orange bitters), but it was a lovely, light drink. I stole sips from my friend's Concord Crush (Tito's vodka, concord grapes, and lime) and it was one of the best cocktails I've ever had. It's a dangerous, thick, grape juice.


This may be one of my favorite restaurants in the world.

(2015)

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