Part of me is mad at Phil for never mentioning this fabulous stretch of 20th Street between Park and Broadway; with him living only one little block away. But the other part of me is just happy to finally discover this gem. I think I mentioned before that 58th street should be paved over in gold, well this block should be paved over in diamonds. With my lovely sister and cousin in tow, we left Phil's pad determined to find some decent grub. A few mint juleps deep and a few dollars heavier after the Derby I was feeling no pain. We headed south on Park and made a right on 20th. It was like I found the pot of gold at the end a rainbow.
On the south side of the street is the famed Gramercy Tavern. (side note-I have actually been on this street before going to GT but its pretty much on the corner of Park so I didn't get the whole feel.) Its an awesome restaurant with an even more awesome bar up front. I went there once a few years ago with Phil and my friend Tim and had to kill time before getting seated. But no worries with us, we just drank and drank some more. And what I love the most about Danny Meyer restaurants is that they always give you complimentary apps. (Sue found that out the hard way at Union Square Cafe but I'll save that for another post.) The pastas were fantastic and the meatball even better. The best part of the night was that there was no bill. The waiter said everything was taken care of. I did see Tim excuse himself towards the end of the meal to use the "bathroom"...
Immediately across the street from GT is Veritas. I've always wanted to try this place, but unfortunately it was better know for being expensive than the quality of food. With a new chef take over last year and a well deserved three star review from Mr. Sifton I need to try this place. I scanned the menu and immediately knew what I would order. Start with salad surrounded by deviled eggs and bacon followed by their famous suckling pig. Yes please! But Saturday night wasn't the time nor place. I'll save that for a boys night out. And by boys night out I mean Phil and maybe Josh if he's behaving himself. The boys night out can continue next door to Veritas with the restaurant/lounge/club/my heaven, Mari Vanna. Its a Russian spot where you would see Alex Ovechkin hang out after a Rangers game. This place is hard core Moscow. Women in fur tank tops dancing on tables with drooling men in three piece suits buying bottles and bottles of house made vodka. There were three women outside the place, yapping away in Russian, having a smoke. I swear it looked like their legs went on forever. Phil literally ran into a scaffolding pole and and I followed right behind him.
I don't even remember where we ended up for dinner and to be quite honest I don't care. I DO care that I found my pot of gold and will be venturing back down there soon enough. On second thought, maybe I'll call my buddy Tim again to see if he wants to join. Apparently around him my money is no good. Sounds fine with me! "Hey, I'm Retired at 28!"
No comments:
Post a Comment