Finally a blog update! It took a week to recover from the birthday celebrating (well not really, but that sounds good, no?)
My birthday last week was filled with fabulous presents and a great birthday dinner.
Michael secured dinner reservations at the ever popular Gotham Bar and Grill.
http://www.gothambarandgrill.com/
The meal was truly outstanding, definitely one of the best I have eaten. It was nice to see the restaurant live up to its reputation.
The decor reminded me of a supper club; it was elegant but not stuffy. The service was pleasantly attentive, but not pushy. We had a nice corner table for two with a good view of the other diners (no one I recognized).
We started with an oyster selection. 3 West Coast and 3 East Coast. The oysters were fresh and delicious.
For starters Michael had the grilled octopus. It was a cold salad with grilled octopus, roasted cherry tomatoes, chick peas, and grilled red onion served with an olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing. The octopus was so tender - usually octopus is chewier seafood, but this was cooked to perfection and the dressing enhanced the smoky flavor from the grill. I wasn't expecting the salad to be served cold, but it was a really nice combination of flavors that worked together chilled. I started with the Alaskan king crab risotto. It was full of big chunks of fresh crab meat, butternut squash, prosciutto di Parma, wilted greens and a splash of Meyer lemon. The risotto was smooth and creamy - my mouth was happy with every bite.
For dinner Michael enjoyed the grilled New York steak served with mustard custard, Vidalia onion rings, and a rich Bordelaise sauce. The mustard custard was semi-soft, creamy, and mustard flavored. Michael used it as a dipping sauce for the steak. Not sure if this is how you were supposed to enjoy the mustard custard but it is fun to say and was a tasty with the steak. Of course I had an onion ring (or two) they were big slices of beer battered onions fried to a crispy golden brown. I splurged and feasted on the roasted Maine lobster. The lobster was a generous tail portion that was covered in butter foam (yes I had a dish with foam, my first!). The butter foam gave the hint of butter flavor to the lobster without covering up the tasty of the sweet lobster meat. The sides were small but well sized portions. The tail was sitting on top of sides of spaghetti squash, Brussels sprouts, and potato puree, and a red wine lobster reduction. The sauce was heavy and rich, I didn't dip my lobster in the sauce but it was perfect with the potato puree (perfectly mashed potatoes that were very smooth).
For dessert we shared (OK I ate 99% of it) the S'more. It was really their interpretation of a s'more - a warm chocolate tart with a graham cracker crust and topped with a homemade toasted marshmallow. On the side was a scoop of chicory ice cream topped with white chocolate swirls. Their coffee was so good I had two cups.
Writing this makes me want to go back, it was an outstanding meal and an excellent birthday splurge.
