It was overcast on Thursday and a bit cooler, but rain wasn't forecast until evening, so we left our umbrellas at the apartment and walked to lunch at Minetta Tavern on MacDougal Street in the Village.
The Minetta Tavern website describes the restaurant as "Parisian steakhouse meets classic New York City tavern." Over its long history, it was frequented by various writers, poets, and pugilists, including Eugene O'Neill. One of its signature dishes is its Black Label Burger, which Marlene had read about in great detail. Our waiter recommended the chilled Beaujolais by the glass, which was drinkable and refreshing. Marlene had heard that the roasted bone marrow was the starter of choice, so we ordered the marrow to share and each ordered the famed burger, which came with pommes frites. Before long, a platter of scorching-hot halved bones arrived at our table, filled with buttery marrow. Burning our fingers, we transferred the bones to our plates and spread the marrow on the "baguette soldiers." Marlene enjoyed it all; I thought it was OK.
Roasted bone barrow with baguette soldiers and shallot confit And then came our Black Label Burgers, on a plate with piping hot fries. It didn't look special, but looks can be deceiving.
Black Label Burger; We took our first bites and experienced the sweet taste of caramelized onions. And that's all we experienced; the meat was tasteless. It was like eating a burger with a bad cold on a Wonder Bread bun. I doubt that Eugene O'Neill enjoyed the Black Label Burger and I doubt we'll return to Minetta Tavern anytime soon. We walked to the nearby Leica store where I traded in my D-Lux 5 for a new D-Lux 6. Its faster lens and improved light capturing ability would enhance my flashless photos of food in dark restaurants. And then we headed back to our apartment to recharge. The rain finally arrived. We walked to the John Golden Theatre in a steady drizzle to the 7:00 performance of "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike."
Christopher Durang's comedy was nominated for six Tony Awards, including best play. Charles Isherwood loved it in the Times, Marlene loved it — and I loved it. It was fast paced, witty and hilarious. The ensemble cast, including David Hyde Pierce and Sigourney Weaver, were fantastic. It was a wonderful evening of theatre. Our dinner reservation was a short walk in the rain to Sushi of Gari 46 on 46th between 8th and 9th. We started at a table, but after ordering the recommended omakase menu, we were moved with our Sapporos to the sushi bar, where we were promptly served a trio of starters.
The omakase menu was open ended; the sushi chefs would keep making and serving until asked to stop. The sushi was priced by the piece. We started with an excellent sashimi assortment.
We were then served piece after piece of sushi — black snapper, marinated cuttlefish, tuna with tofu and spicy sesame, baked oyster, salmon with sautéed tomatoes and onion sauce, marinated sardines, snow crab with sea urchin sauce, barbecued toro, sea urchin — until Marlene said we were finished. The fish was high quality; the preparations were inventive and delicious.
We needed something sweet to finish, so we split the tempura green tea ice cream, which was appropriately refreshing.
We enjoyed Sushi of Gari 46; it was very good, albeit very expensive. And as the rice expanded in our stomachs, we went out into the rain and headed back to our apartment. Copyright © 2012 TwoForTheTable.com |
