My mate, Matt, who's a kick butt jazz pianist also happened to be playing Monday night at Le Cirque Cafe. This is a decent place over on about 59th and they were also participating in NY Restaurant Week. It ended up being a really good night. I asked the waiter to go slow on bringing the food out and kicked back and listened to some really good tunes. Outside of the awesome music the cream brûlée they served up was a really solid effort.
Tuesday I headed back to my roots and down to the West Village. I ended up at a place called Pearl Oyster Bar. This place has been around for awhile although I never managed to get there. It was literally about four or five blocks from where I used to live but that was the epitome of the Village. There was always somewhere new to check out. I was looking forward to getting here as there was some positive chatter online about their lobster rolls. They certainly delivered in the food stakes. Some oyster's to start with were delicious and the lobster bisque was really good. My third lobster roll for the trip came out and it was ok. It was covered in a bit to much mayo and that overpowered the taste of the lobster and butter on the toasted bun. Any lobster roll is better than no lobster roll but this was probably my least favorite of the trip so far.
Wednesday I ended up at Angelo's Pizza on 57th St. This was an old Friday lunch haunt. They do coal fired pizza and they're really good. Their tomato sauce is super rich and the thin coal fired bases have a great texture. Dripping with fat from the pepperoni they were super good. Sorry no pictures of this one. I did take a hike after down to Times Square, something which I quickly regretted. It was about as cold as I'd been on the trip and lasted a solid 10 minutes down there before heading back to the hotel.
Thursday during the day I headed to The Burger Joint for lunch. This is next door to work and was a real favorite. It's on the tourist radar as the spot hidden behind the curtain in the Meridian Hotel on 56th Street. It's pretty simple here. Pick you burger, add some fries and a drink and that's it. The burgers are really good. They'd give Corner Bistro a run for their money for the best burger in NYC but would end up a close second. Always worth a visit though. Thursday night was a right off of two-for-one martinis at Pazza Notte, a sneaky stogie at De La Concha and possibly some Karaoke in the mid town region.
I did want to make one comment at De La Concha. This is a cigar shop on 6th Ave between 56th and 57th Street. You walk in and are immediately greeted by walls of cigars. I'm no connoisseur of the stogie so I normally get one recommended from the guys behind the counter. They're really helpful and don't judge. The highlight though is pulling up a chair in the 'lounge'. The lounge faces towards 6th Ave and has floor to ceiling windows. You've got the hustle and bustle of midtown Manhattan right in front of you as you sit in comfy chairs smoking those vile things. What is truly unique though is listening to the banter of the regulars. I swear some of the guys in there were there the last time I went there just before I left. It's like a real life episode of Seinfeld. It's comical listening to the conversation and observing the random twists and turns that it takes. I never really felt qualified to participate. I'm sure they would have been fine but listening alone was a truly entertaining and interesting experience.
Stay tuned for Friday night. The Mac Daddy of dining on this trip.
It was great to see you caught up with Matt, who is in Oz right now. Seriously love the pics and places. Lobster rolls nothing like it here in Gee town.
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