A little bit of this, and a little bit of that
So last night I went out for dinner with a friend of mine. We went to a place on Upper West Side called Metisse, which they advertise as a French bistro. Now, I am not normally a big fan of French restaurants. They tend to be overly pretentious, the food too rich, and the portions ridiculously small. Normally, after eating at one I can't help but feel that the place is full of itself. Not so here. The atmosphere was delightful, the staff were friendly - the Maitre d' reminded me of Carl from Casablanca, a bit portly and very friendly. Even the bathroom's were interesting, designed for early 20th Century french style.
The food itself was wonderful. Not overly rich, and the portions were reasonable - leaving room for desert, but not making one feel as if they had to have a second dinner. I had salmon with mashed potatoes in cucumber/tomato sauce - and enjoyed them. An no, not just because there were mashed potatoes involved. My friend had the couscous - and also enjoyed it. Best of all, were the wine recommendation. I asked for a recommendation not recognizing any of the wines on the list (apparently, they are mostly from small wineries). I was fully expecting the waiter to suggest the most expensive one on the menu. He didn't. Rather he recommended an amazing Bordeaux, which was quite reasonably priced. Easily one of the best wines I've ever had, though not as nice as the Bulgarian Mavrud, but hey, no one is perfect.
All in all, a great experience. The restaurant was a bit crowded, but it being V-day - that was to be expected. I'm looking forward to going back on a reasonably quiet day - and enjoying a nice relaxing, quite dinner - which is affordable. Quite a rarity on the UWS, or so it seems at times.
Shifting gears. My roomate sent me this last night. I think its great. It seems that a group of Israeli cartoonists decided that the proper response to the Iranian president's call for a contest of anti-Semitic cartoons is to outdo them. I love it - it completely trivializes the Iranian president, making him seem a bit like a petulant child (though, given his thirst for nukes, admittedly a dangerous one).
The food itself was wonderful. Not overly rich, and the portions were reasonable - leaving room for desert, but not making one feel as if they had to have a second dinner. I had salmon with mashed potatoes in cucumber/tomato sauce - and enjoyed them. An no, not just because there were mashed potatoes involved. My friend had the couscous - and also enjoyed it. Best of all, were the wine recommendation. I asked for a recommendation not recognizing any of the wines on the list (apparently, they are mostly from small wineries). I was fully expecting the waiter to suggest the most expensive one on the menu. He didn't. Rather he recommended an amazing Bordeaux, which was quite reasonably priced. Easily one of the best wines I've ever had, though not as nice as the Bulgarian Mavrud, but hey, no one is perfect.
All in all, a great experience. The restaurant was a bit crowded, but it being V-day - that was to be expected. I'm looking forward to going back on a reasonably quiet day - and enjoying a nice relaxing, quite dinner - which is affordable. Quite a rarity on the UWS, or so it seems at times.
Shifting gears. My roomate sent me this last night. I think its great. It seems that a group of Israeli cartoonists decided that the proper response to the Iranian president's call for a contest of anti-Semitic cartoons is to outdo them. I love it - it completely trivializes the Iranian president, making him seem a bit like a petulant child (though, given his thirst for nukes, admittedly a dangerous one).
posted by Ilya Ehrenburg at 10:41 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home