Park Avenue Summer (Again?Again)

with all the restaurants available in NY, whenever i do destination dining i tend not to pick the same place twice, unless i'm in a pinch e.g. dietary/ budget/cuisine restrictions, location restrictions, etc.

however, with Summer Restaurant Week rolling around, it was the first time i started to get a little bit weary.it's a lot of work to research every restaurant and their menu then to cross-check your choices with Yelp and blogs to get the best sense of where to spend your hard-earned cash (so as not to have a repeat of the Oak Room). and, as i started to notice last year, since the participating restaurants tend to always be the same cast of characters, i've started to have less and less enticing options if i stick to my "no repeats" rule.

which is how i found myself with reservations for dinner at Park Avenue Summer and Brasserie 8 1/2. after having been to Park Avenue Winter and Park Avenue Summer for restaurant week, i never really thought i would go back to try it again. because although they tout themselves as a seasonal restaurant, their menu options remain the same every season. so while the options may the be the freshest ingredients for that season, when it's the same options, it's not really that innovative or impressive.

however, this summer, they came out with a slightly varied menu so when Bubby choice Park Avenue Summer from my list of vetted and approved restaurants, i happily made the reservation.

getting there slightly early for our 8:30 reservation, i grabbed a seat at the bar. i hadn't paid much attention the last time Kiddo and i were there, but the summer decor is far less impressive than the winter decor and borders a little on kitschy. but then again, how much decor do you need to emphasize summer when it's still slightly light outside even though it's past 8 pm? maybe summer's the kind of season that just speaks for itself.

in contrast to the last time, the restaurant felt much more packed and trendy. the crowd consisted of young 20-and-30-somethings dressed in the casual-chic NYC uniform that everyone is seen wearing at these types of places: it screams while-i-may-not-be-wearing-a-suit-i-can-still-afford-to-eat-here-jealous?

as we sat down to our table, i was informed of a nice extra that wasn't available on the on-line menu: the restaurant is also doing a promotional wine offer of $6 for a glass of red or white as well as some suggested bottles of wine. we opted for the most economical bottle of white ($31) since we intended to order predominantly seafood for our appetizers and entrees.

all the appetizers we ordered were amazing. there wasn't a bad one out of the bunch.  we ordered:

Roasted Baby Beets with Lemon Poppy and Kunik Goat Cheese: the most "summer" of all the appetizer offerings. although i never opt for beets in a self-serve salad, nor do i ever prepare or purchase beets from the supermarket, i've always liked them when prepared in restaurant salads (the 2 times i've ordered them). and these were exquisite in a sweet and tangy flavor that was given a summer feeling through the citrus sauce. so good and most representative of "summer."

Mussels and Squid Ink Pasta with Red Curry Fra Diavolo: if you love seafood, this appetizer will pay off in spades. there was a serious amount of mussels in this dish to the point of overshadowing the pasta. you really have to dig through a trove of mussels before you get to the pasta at the bottom of the bowl. but when you do, you find a great al dente pasta that's been flavored with the juice from the mussels and the spicy sweet curry/diavolo sauce.

Crispy Soft Shell Crab with Avocado, Strawberry & Passion Fruit ($5 supplement): great portion and very well done soft shell crab although slightly salty. however, when eaten together with the sweet and softly textured accompaniments, it made for a perfect bite.

honestly, the appetizers were the highlight of the meal. for entrees we ordered:

Grilled Rainbow Trout with Kale, Lemon Aioli, White Anchovies: the trout was well cooked with a crispy skin and moist flesh. again the flavors remained fresh and not heavy most likely due to the lemon aioli and the kale is fried and retains its crisp.

Organic Scottish Salmon with Crispy Taro and Cucumber Salad: a well cooked fish, if a little bland. i also sometimes forget how much meat is in a salmon filet, which i categorize with cooked tuna as "steaks of the sea." due to the accompaniments, it was once again the most "summer" of the entrees, including the slightly bland salmon meat.

Potato Gnocchi with Sweet Corn and Summer Truffles: i've actually already had this dish since it was offered as an appetizer for last summer's Restaurant Week. but it was still great to watch Bubby and Kik's "ecstasy" face when they got a bite of this super rich, super buttery dish. aside from the "sweet corn" and the "summer truffles" this dish is pretty heavy since it's laden with what tastes like a whole bar of butter. but it is SO good.

no surprise that we were pretty full by this time dessert rolled around. but that never really stops us. we ordered:

Chilled Praline Parfait with Chocolate Crumbs and Caramel: you really can't go wrong with this dish if you like traditional chocolate or sweet desserts.

Creme Fraiche Cheese Cake Mousse with Blueberries and Lemon Semolina Cake: i just realized as i copied this item from the Park Avenue Summer Restaurant Week menu why this dessert tasted slightly bland to me. it hadn't registered that the "cake" in this dessert was a lemon semolina cake. i had just assumed it would be a cheese cake since i saw the words "creme fraiche cheese cake." oops. this was a good light dessert that will satisfy those that don't have a strong sweet tooth.
2 scoops of ice cream (Summer Corn and Basil): having learned my lesson from my last venture with Kiddo, i made sure we ordered ice cream instead of the panna cotta being offered. i'm a big fan of the summer corn which is sweet like corn in ice cream form. the basil wasn't my favorite as it kind of reminded me like mint but Kiks loved it.

as always, the bi-annual restaurant week dinner with my girls was a great experience and an opportunity for all 3 of us to get together and catch up (which doesn't happen as often as i would like).

nobody nobody but you

my new favorite outdoor destination for chatting and relaxing is the High Line. i know, i'm a johnny-come-lately to the High Line party, but better late than never, right?

Kiddo and i had dinner plans at Park Avenue Summer and since the weather was hot and sunny, i decided to spend some time with ArrangedMarriage and kill 2 birds with 1 stone by arranging to go to the High Line together. coincidentally, AM's apartment is very close to the High Line so it all worked out well.

the High Line is a great park to walk along with a friend/date and enjoy the tall views and interesting architecture and design of the park itself. there's also various spots to lay down and sunbathe, rest, or grab a seat to talk/eat. the key point is that while the park itself is interesting conversation fodder for about 10-15 mins, you'd best go there with someone you can hold a conversation with.

otherwise it's just........awkward.......silence.......

where you're acutely aware that there's an uncomfortable lull in conversation and now you're just walking with someone beside you looking at stuff and not talking. if i'd wanted to do that i could've just gone to the High Line myself. at least then i could've stopped and sat to observe the views and contemplate lofty thoughts instead of frantically trying to think of something to talk about with AM. he seriously doesn't like to make my life easy.

luckily, at the end of High Line is a new space called the Lot. we purchased some drink tickets and beer at the Lot on Tap and grabbed a seat on the long bench tables placed throughout the outdoor space. and we sat directly in front of the Korilla BBQ truck. it was one of the hardest temptations i've had to endure. i knew i was going to eat a 3-course dinner with Kiddo so i didn't want to spoil my appetite but the truck kept taunting me with yummy deliciousness. one day, Korilla, one day you WILL be mine.

a return trip on the High Line led us to Chelsea Market, which i haven't been to in years since i rarely find myself on the west side anymore.  since i love all things food, it's no surprise i liked Chelsea Market. the trip also yielded gelate from L'Arte del Gelato, which, while pricey, gelato is always a treat.

i booked it uptown to meet Kiddo for our dinner reservation at Park Avenue Summer, which i was totally looking forward to. the last time i ate at Park Avenue was during the winter, and every winter Restaurant Week following that 1 time has had the same menu. come on now, really?! for a restaurant that's supposed to change with the seasons to serve the best food for that season, you'd think they'd also have a more innovative menu with each season. so you can imagine how amped i was to finally get to partake in a completely different tasting menu for the summer season.

i'm glad Kiddo is a seasoned RW eater like me so we know not to order the same foods if at all possible. that way we can get a wider range of options to sample. the meal was off to refreshing start when we were served with an amuse bouche of watermelon topped with goat cheese/creme fraiche foam. while the amuse itself was good, i wasn't overly impressed by the culinary prowess (aside from the foam part-i mean, i can cut watermelon too, but i admittedly cannot make flavored foam). but the presentation was adorable as little watermelon lollipops sprouting from a box of grass. 

we ordered the Salmon Tartar and Potato Gnocchi with Summer Corn and Truffles as appetizers. the tartar was a nice and light option to counteract the creamy potato gnocchi which was laden with butter and cream. i could seriously taste the insane amount of butter that  must've gone into that dish. but in that salty, buttery good way. i'm sure it's completely degenerate and unhealthy of me to say that, but i did it anyway.

as entrees Kiddo chose the Dr. Pepper Baby Back Ribs and i opted for the Scottish Salmon. the ribs were cooked to tender so you didn't really need a knife to eat it. and while it was good, i thought it was a bit sweet, but then again, that's why they're Dr. Pepper right? i was actually a bigger fan of the accompanying peach coleslaw it was served with which seemed a perfect summer side. and i love all things peach right now. the salmon was perfectly cooked so it was crispy on the outside but still moist and tender on the inside. i liked the accompanying cold cucumber side that came with it to help balance out the slight saltiness of the fish.

for dessert Kiddo smartly opted for the selection of sorbets, and there is quite a selection and you get to pick 2! i ordered the Peach Panna Cotta with Basil Foam which was pretty dense for a panna cotta but maybe what i think panna cotta is is not what it actually is. it was good, but Kiddo's dessert was clearly the winner, particularly on such a hot summer night.

afterwards, Kiddo had some time to kill before meeting up with (what would be) a very good date (wink wink, nudge nudge), so we went for drinks at K-town in K-town. this place has a seedy underbelly feel to it because it's downstairs with no natural light. but then you notice the giant projector screens are blasting kpop. i'm actually a big fan of this place because they do amazing soju happy hours everday. twice a day. Kiddo and i killed a bottle of soju and then parted ways.


speaking of kpop, as i was rushing towards my Park Avenue Summer reservation, i passed a slightly surly-looking but cute korean girl and did a double take. who to my surprise did i just walk past? Sohee of Wonder Girls! since she did not look happy and i was running late for my reservation, i didn't stop to gawk (too long), but i was super stoked and immediately had to Facebook the sighting for Stitch and GMW.