A bit of magic was left for Saturday; we woke up to clear blue skies. With our raincoats and umbrellas left behind still drying, we walked in glorious sunshine to Columbus Circle for our brunch reservation at Asiate.
Asiate resides on the thirty-fifth floor of the Mandarin Hotel, overlooking the city below through floor-to-ceiling windows. We discovered their unique brunch several years ago, and we keep coming back. The Asiate brunch menu includes tasting portions of four first courses and two desserts, plus two second courses selected from offerings ranging from breakfast-like to lunch-like. We each ordered a Bloody Mary, selected our two second courses, and enjoyed the view.
Our four starters arrived, beautifully presented in their individual vessels; we began our tasting.
Ahi tuna, Chinese long beans, lemon
reduction The sweet corn bisque was wonderful; it tasted fresh and wasn't too sweet. The tuna was high quality and nicely complimented by the lemon reduction. The edamame dumpling was a bit doughy and dry. The beef carpaccio was excellent and nicely spiced. We were presented a mango sorbet palette cleanser and we ordered glasses of Sancerre.
We each chose the same second courses, both leaning towards the breakfast-side of the menu.
Jumbo lump crab "BLT" fried green
tomato, soft poached egg, watercress, smoked bacon aioli The lump crab "BLT" was one of the best dishes we had had all week; it was incredible. The fried green tomato sopped-up the runny egg yolk to perfection. The pancakes were addictive; they could have and should have been our dessert. But the pancakes were not dessert; there were two on the way. The panna cotta was our favorite.
Chocolate cake, green tea mousse When we make our Asiate brunch reservation, we wonder if this will be the time we'll tire of it and need a break. It hasn't happened; we'll return our next visit. We needed to walk. We had tickets for another matinee and set out for the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre to see Richard Greenberg's "Assembled Parties."
Greenberg's big Broadway hit was his 2002 play "Take Me Out." It was wonderful; we saw it in New York and again in St. Louis. We looked forward to his 2003 play "The Violet Hour," but left at intermission. "Assembled Parties" had received rave reviews; it was nominated for three Tony Awards, including best play. While we didn't walk out at intermission, we didn't love it. The acting was very good, but the "family saga" was contorted and Greenberg's writing was not on the same level as Christopher Durang's "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike." We had reservations that evening at Brushstroke, a new Japanese restaurant in TriBeCa. But with brunch still digesting, we weren't up for their eight course tasting menu, so we shifted gears to a "neighborhood" restaurant which had received good reviews.
Park Avenue Summer is a "seasonal" restaurant "down the street" on 63rd at Park Avenue. Four times a year it changes its menu, changes its decor, and changes its name — to Park Avenue Autumn, Park Avenue Winter, etc. It sounds gimmicky, but many restaurants change their menu in a similar fashion; Park Avenue uniquely markets this change. We were surprised we were able to get a last minute reservation; the restaurant was bustling with an Upper East Side crowd. We ordered a nice Pinot Noir and enjoyed the watermelon amuse-bouche.
We both started with the soft shell crab. It was meaty, but a bit too heavily fried for our taste.
Soft shell crab, avocado & strawberry, passion fruit, white soy I followed with the pork chop and Marlene with the halibut; we shared an order of crispy artichokes.
Grilled Berkshire pork chop, "sausage & hot peppers"
Halibut, summer truffles,
brioche-crusted poached egg My pork chop was tender and delicious; the spicy topping was a unique compliment. We were told the halibut was Park Avenue's signature dish; Marlene enjoyed it but said it was similar to the halibut she prepares at home. The crispy artichokes were very good, the lighter breading more to our liking. Rumor has it that Park Avenue Summer is moving. When it reopens as another season, we'll see if it's still a neighborhood last-minute option or if it moves to another neighborhood and becomes a less attractive venue. Copyright © 2012 TwoForTheTable.com |
