Monthly Archives: February 2012

Park Avenue Winter is unique and special because it changes its menu and interior decor each season. Currently, the design is an elegant interpretation of winter: Silver and white, lights, stark tree branches, and warm brown accents.

It is also one of the many restaurants that I’ve been dying to try and this Restaurant Week, they only participated for weekday lunches. I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it, but Friday is my half day and I managed to find someone who wanted to try it as well and we made it there on the very last day of Restaurant Week.

The waiter started us off with bread: Winter Brown Bread and Fresh Chive Brioche. Both were very different from one another, and very tasty. The Winter bread was filled with golden raisins, sunflower seeds, oats and walnuts. The flavors were a bit much, while the Chive Brioche was more salty and tasted strongly of onion. The only criticism is that we only received one piece of each bread.

For the appetizer I chose the soup which came with coconut-chicken dumplings which were served alone and the waiter poured the warm soup over it at the table. That was an interesting and engaging way of presenting the dish, but the soup was just okay. There were strong lime and Asian flavors but didn’t pleasure my taste buds as much as I hoped.

As for the main course, I was having trouble deciding between the pork chop, salmon or chicken. I finally decided on the salmon since I hadn’t had it in awhile. The salmon was beautifully presented but the Berkshire Pork Chop that my friend ordered was definitely the larger and more hearty meal. Thankfully, my friend let me try some of the pork chop which was delicious. The sauce of maple cider syrup was delightful.

My Organic Scottish Salmon was also made quite well, despite the disparity of size. In fact, I would say it was exquisite. It came with a maple brown butter that worked well with it and the salmon flaked off easily. Also with the salmon were sunchokes- it was my first time trying them and they are reminiscent of potatoes. The sunchokes tasted great with the salmon and they were perfectly crisped and slightly brown.

I was considering the ice cream and sorbets for dessert. The Chocolate-Tea, Brown Butter, Tangerine and Bartlett flavors looked enticing, but I decided on the Frozen Banana Parfait after I learned it was a special treat only for Restaurant Week. Though I was a little apprehensive about ordering something with banana, which is not my favorite fruit, I needn’t have worried. The chilled banana had an almost ice cream-like consistency and there were chocolate crumbs underneath, as well as creamy, sticky sweet butterscotch at the bottom. The parfait came with a chocolate-y biscuit as well and everything blended together sweetly and deliciously.

The Park Avenue experience was great, and I would definitely come back to try other seasons- Both to taste what new menu items they have cooked up in the kitchen and see how they have changed the interior to match the season.

Address: 100 East 63rd Street.

TAO, this hip and happening Asian Fusion restaurant that celebrities such as Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, Robert DeNiro, Madonna, Beyonce and Jay-Z frequent, sure was packed so luckily I went with someone who knew the secret of getting a seat right away. Otherwise, we would be waiting an hour, at least (even with reservations). We made our way upstairs, and headed all the way to the back where there were a couple of seats available at the intimate sushi bar (where you can order from the regular menu).

Tao is spacious and beautiful, made to look like a majestic Asian temple. There is a huge 16-foot Buddha on the lower level that “floats” above a virtual reflecting pool and artifacts from China, Japan and Thailand accenting the entire space.

We shared our starter of salted edamame which was delightfully addicting, until we were served our customized smoked salmon roll. Normally I wouldn’t touch sushi (you will learn I am not an adventurous foodie and I do not do raw fish) but since I was famished, decided to try it. Now if you aren’t a sushi fan, Tao New York is definitely the place to have it. Inside the roll was caviar, avocado, crispy onion with this amazing sweet and spicy sesame sauce. I actually enjoyed the roll and the flavors came together nicely, and could tell that everything was fresh.

Our main course was the Peking Duck which I’ve had numerous times in China, but never in New York City so I was very excited to finally try it here. There was plenty to go around for the both of us and the duck skin was extremely crispy, the way it should be. I wrapped the skin, a couple of pieces of duck, cucumber and onion strips, along with hoisin sauce which was a little salty but utterly delicious. The flavors came together nicely, however the pancake itself was a little too thick and the vegetables didn’t have enough crunch to them. Also, the duck meat was hidden underneath the skin and there wasn’t enough of it… For the price of $36 a person, they could’ve been more generous with the duck meat.

Though I enjoyed the experience of Tao, to be perfectly honest, I would only go if I knew my bill would be taken care of (and it was this night). The service, quality, and taste of the dishes were not high enough to qualify the expensive costs. However, it would be worth it to try during special deals such as Restaurant Week.

Address: 42 E 58th Street.