Restaurant week started as a one-time promotional event in the summer of 1992. Back then, it was one week long and participating restaurants offered a three-course lunch only for $19.92. The next year, the price was $19.93 etc. I first heard about it from Ben Eakeley, a fellow intern during the summer of 1998, when I was working at Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler. I will always remember our elegant restaurant week lunch together that summer at Lutèce, one of NYC's most celebrated French restaurants, which subsequently closed in 2004. And what I'll remember most about it was that the kir royale (also introduced to me by Ben) I ordered with my $19.98 lunch was $18. But I didn't care, because I was only 19 and had just gotten served a fancy cocktail at a very fancy french place with my new and sophisticated friend (who lives on the Upper West Side, and whom I've recently run into at Fairway!).
I can't remember when dinner came into the picture, or when the price changed such that it no longer mirrors the year, or when a winter week was added. But over the last twelve years, I have gone to dozens of restaurants during these annual restaurant weeks. And there were definitely hits and misses. The hands-down best places to go are any restaurants owned by Danny Meyer. Specifically, I recommend Grammercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe, Tabla, Eleven Madison Park, and the Modern, where you'll need to reserve a table exactly one month in advance, at around 9:30 in the morning.
This year, since I work in lower Manhattan (a.k.a. dining Siberia), I did not have a single restaurant week lunch. But I did enjoy three dinners at places I'd never tried before, which I will now tell you about.
Tuesday: Telepan on West 69th Street. This was a fairly unusual menu since it had two savory first courses instead of a dessert course. The meal started with three amuse bouches: a tiny mug of winter squash soup, a single gougère, and a crostini with some kind of tuna topping, which I gave to Steph, my dinner date, as I do not like cooked tuna. Next, I ordered "egg in a hole" - a poached egg nestled in a piece of perfectly-toasted garlicky bread with raw spinach leaves and hen of the woods mushrooms. The egg was underdone and I don't like raw spinach, but the mushrooms were fantastic! Next: braised beef brisket perogies with a beet sauce and grated horseradish, which were excellent and the highlight of our meal. Finally, I had sea scallops -- which was actually only one scallop sliced in half -- with manilla clams, house-made chorizo, roasted fennel and risotto. The flavors were great, but one measly scallop does not a dinner make. Bottom line: pretty good, but not great. And Steph got food poisoning later that night.
Wednesday: Tribeca Grill on the corner of Franklin and Greenwich Streets, co-owned by Robert DeNiro (yes, the actor) and Drew Nieporent (restauranteur behind Nobu - where I actually had my worst restaurant week experience ever back in 2000). I had honestly forgotten this place was still around. Actually, I hadn't heard much about it in years and figured it must have closed. So you can imagine my surprise when I walked in to an enormous and completely packed restaurant to have dinner with two of my lovely coworkers. And, after a fantastic dinner, I know why Tribeca Grill is still around after opening in 1990 - the food is really good! To start, I had a baby beet and goat cheese salad with pine nuts, apple-raisin chutney, and a hazelnut vinaigrette. Next, a giant red-wine-braised beef short rib with Brussels sprouts, pancetta, and chanterelle mushrooms. It was so rich and delicious! I want to eat it again right now. Last up was a New York style cheesecake with a vanilla-berry compote. Verdict: fantastic.
Thursday: Delmonico's on Beaver Street in the financial district, a very old-school steakhouse, and America's first fine-dining restaurant. They have been in business since 1837 and claim to have invented baked alaska and eggs benedict. I believe it. To start, I had a baby iceberg wedge with bacon and blue cheese -- it's a steakhouse, after all. Then, a perfectly cooked 10 ounce filet mignon with potato hash and brussels sprouts. For a $15, my mom upgraded to a New York strip steak which she really enjoyed. We also decided to share a side of creamed spinach which is really a must for any steakhouse meal, even if it wasn't part of the restaurant week deal. For dessert, I went traditional and ordered cheesecake again. Delmonico's was kind of stuffy inside -- think Palm Court at the Plaza -- but my steak was yummy. And they had some reasonably priced restaurant week wines by the glass, too, which was a nice touch.
It was a great winter restaurant week and I look forward to checking out some more new places this summer.
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