Wednesday, 5/7/25

 For breakfast we walked to a cute little cafe nearby, Black Star Coffee: I (inexplicably) ordered a chai latte and it was a bit too sweet. Jessica had breakfast sandwich and I went with the avocado toast (be prepared to see these decisions again). The toast was good but too avocado-y and a bit messy.  We had planned a trip to the Met but they are closed on Wednesdays, which I didn't discover until we had gotten off the subway. So we pivoted to a walk across the park and a stop at the New York Historical Society that had an exhibit I wanted to see.  Then we headed over to the Whitney and took a lunch break there. Jessica had a salad with green goddess and avocado; I went with a  chicken salad with cabbage and farro. It was not bad, but waaay too much chicken and not enough farro or cabbage. The desserts looked nice but we were seated thisclose to an annoying couple so we just went back in for more art. Then we walked along the High Line for a bit, as it was a truly gorgeous day.

Dinner was the Big Event,  the tasting menu at the Gramercy Tavern.

We started with ta couple of exceptional cocktails (Aviation for Jessica and a Corpse Reviver #2 for me) and the optional cheese and crackers (Tete de moine and something whose name I didn't catch but it was vaguely goat cheese-like); loved the little pickles and the American ham (as good as prosciutto)

I had citrus cured char with broccolini, Meyer lemon and radish and Jessica had roasted white sweet potato with yogurt, sesame and honey (the winner).

Then we both had:

Sweet pea agnoletti with snap peas, black pepper and spring onions

Roasted asparagus with nettles, potatoes and Jura wine sauce (the best dish of the evening; I could have eaten three of these)

Roasted sirloin with cauliflower, radicchio and pickled shallot (I was just excited to be eating a steak)

Dessert was a caramelized banana custard tart with butterscotch and the crunchiest, tastiest candied walnuts. Plus a tasty little lemon truffle. Beautiful room, great service. AND only a few blocks from the apartment. I feel like the last time we were there we had a lot more courses, plus I had the wine pairing which I am glad I didn't do again. Too much wine!