A fair day for Picnic

We were doing a little apartment hunting on the UWS and decided to use our Diner's Deck. A French pistro called Picnic piqued our interest, so off we went. To my surprise and delight there was a sign outside advertising a Beatles Brunch!

We walk in to a sweet bistro filled with light, but sadly there are no Beatles to be heard. About half way into the meal (and toward the end of the advertised time frame) the musicians arrive and start setting up. Oh boy, there are a lot of them, they have to clear the back half of the restaurant. We wound up hearing 2-3 songs at the end of our meal, but this group really wasn't my style, so we didn't stick around for more.

As for the food? The Mr's Croque Madame was good, but I was disappointed in my Salade Nicoise. For $15 I really hope for fresher greens (these looked suspiciously bagged lettuce-like). The wait staff was great though and it was a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon.

Bread & Coffee

Salade Nicoise

Croque Madame

Pretty fresh for City Crab

Wanted to cap off our weekend with a dinner out so busted out the old Diner's Deck. City Crab is nearby and we were in the mood for seafood so City Crab was an easy decision. We were seated upstairs across from this dude:

Attack of the Giant City Crab

Oyster Sampler

Steak & Crab

Angry Dungeness Crab

We started with the Oyster sampler- 4 of each Fisher's Island, Fanny Bay, and the James River. Fresh & delicious. The Mr ordered the Steak & Crab and was very satisfied. As for me? My eye spied a crab dish starred as "very, very spicy" including jalapeno, serrano, and habanero peppers, so you better believe that's what I ordered. It was spicy and delicious, but incredibly, incredibly messy. I mean, think how messy eating crab is by itself- now add in tomato sauce. Yep. There you go. Thank goodness for the bib and that they sat us upstairs because I was a hot, crabby mess. In the end it was just far too much work & embarrassment to be worth it, would love to see this sauce used for something slightly less hands on.

Overall the food was good, but pretty pricey. Next time we are looking to spend this much money on a meal I see us choosing a fancier outing.

 

We Try Braai

We were headed to midtown for the evening so pulled out the Hell's Kitchen cards from our new Diner's Deck. I've been wanting to try a new cuisine lately so I chose Braai an African restaurant. Had mixed feelings when we walked in because on one hand I was loving the thatched arched ceiling mixed with contemporary place settings, but it also had a bit of an off smell.

Ribbetjies (Pork Ribs) char-grilled pork baby back ribs with soft spinach, truffle-coconut polenta pap & rooibos-chocolate glaze

Chicken Bobotie ground chicken, baked in Malay curried chutney with an egg topping

Malva Pudding traditional soft sponge pudding, caramelized banana & vanilla ice cream on a bed of granadilla-amarula custard

The food was good and we enjoyed the experience- new cuisine, great ambiance, sweet and authentically South African wait staff, but I don't see us coming back (perhaps my experience was a bit tainted by the slight sour mop-ish smell). The pudding was without question the best part, if you are headed there be sure to order it.

The PUREest of Them All

Received a complimentary Diner's Deck card to Pure Food & Wine and we went over right away to try it out. We were immediately inspired by the ambiance: incredibly elegant, but in a reserved, contemporary, non-pretentious way, so we chose to stay a while and enjoy the evening with the Chef's Tasting Menu.

Amuse Bouche: fennel with pomegranate, capers, & tarragon

Saffron Haricot Vert Soup with Almond

Hazelnut Crostinis with Crimini Mushrooms and Caper Bearnaise; caraway sauerkraut, local apple cider reduction

King Oyster Mushroom Scallops in a Lemongrass Coconut Broth;

Avocado in a Sunflower Seed Sundried Tomato Tortilla with Coconut Cashew Sour Cream

Heirloom Tomato Pizette with Macadamia Mozzarella and Cashew Cheese

Sweet Corn and Cashew Tamales with Chili Spiced Portabella; salsa verde, cashew coconut sour cream, avocado, raw cacao mole

Pad Thai with Kelp Noodles and Baby Bok Choy; snow peas, king oyster mushrooms, tamarind sauce, sesame salted cashews, cilantro oil

Frozen Coconut Mousse; pineapple sorbet, pineapple coulis and rosewater

Mexican Cinnamon Mousse; guajillo chili pepper chocolate cake, pear relish and sorbet

We could not believe how incredible every single bite was. I mentioned to the Mr. at some point 'Can you believe this is all Vegan?' and it literally did not even register, because then, much later on in the meal the waiter said something and he goes 'Wait, hold on, everything we have eaten tonight has been Vegan??'. This place will change ANYone's mind about raw vegan cuisine. Impress your vegan friends or baffle your steak & potato chums with a meal at Pure. But don't misunderstand, it's not a 'Wow, this is good for raw food' type of great, this food can hold its own against fully cooked, animal product-full food any day of the week.