dining in NYC

I've been trying to think back (my memory is decrepit, a sieve) to past trips to NYC and recall memorable meals. Sadly for me, perhaps, I've not had anything in that most amazing of food cities.

No, not true. I do recall a meal of pork hocks and black eye peas and greens at The Pink Teacup on a class trip there in 2000 (when I also saw Christopher Walken in a musical version of The Dead on Broadway). I also have a recollection of enjoyable tapas at El Cid (now closed) that is most notable for having spent much of our evening talking with a regular who turned out to be something of a burden for the staff there, with the result that Conrad and I were given some nice extra treats. And then there was the dinner at Fleur de Sel, my treat to Conrad when he was made a Fellow of the ACI. Fine but unmemorable food, but oh gosh do I recall how obnoxiously loud the tables we were sandwiched between were.

This past weekend, though, I think we broke the curse with two dinners. I hope that at least certain elements of each stick with me a while.

Aureole was our choice for the Friday night. Conrad found it, and we had hopes of enjoying the late night bar menu. We ended up having a rather quick and on-time bit of travel, though, and arrived too early at the restaurant to do the bar menu. Ah well. The food was good. Hmmm. I may say that I will forget it over time - it was fine, and I thought my chicken with jalapeno and pistachio was ultimately reminiscent of the best taco salad you can imagine. I mean that as praise. And they give out a deliriously rich yet light chicken pate as their bread and butter? Whoa. No, what I took away from that meal were two things:

1. service in a city like NYC really is good. The sommelier was excellent.
2. they had a Seresin Pinot Noir. Bliss.

The second night was kind of better if only because we weren't pressed to eat so late. Following from my enthusiasm for Top Chef, we dined at a Tom Colicchio restaurant, Craftbar.

I liked it. I liked it a lot. So did Conrad. Pork for two for dinner? Yes please. Shoulder and skin and belly and kielbasa. Yum! Conrad and I shared a simple salad as well as some olives and almonds, had a surprisingly chilled (but very good, if too peppery for Conrad's preference) Oregon Pinot Noir, and lingered over brown sugar cake for dessert. Say it with me: brown sugar cake. Oh yes.

Look, I know that NYC has a super-abundance of amazing, great, good, and decent places. Maybe I need to go back and find more. For one weekend, though, I felt like finally I'd cracked it a little, and good food was my reward.