i'll cook if you clean up: New York Weekend - An Assortment of Assorted Foods

Thursday, September 9, 2010

New York Weekend - An Assortment of Assorted Foods

We ate a lot last weekend. A lot. And I didn't even get to everything I wanted to eat - I never made it to Grandaisy Bakery for cauliflower pizza, or Levain Bakery for cookies, or Russ & Daughters for bagels and lox. Sigh. But we did make it some of my favorite spots.

We went to Landmarc (Tribeca) for dinner on Saturday. At risk of making it sound boring, Landmarc is really reliable. I always know I'll get a great meal there. I don't want to say it's a steak place because they have so many other options, but it is a focus of the menu. They have several seafood dishes as well, a daily pasta special, and their menu changes a bit seasonally. I've been so many times I already knew what I wanted before seeing the menu - a filet with green peppercorn sauce. Steaks come with green salad and fries.

And...a milk chocolate ice cream cone.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect all weekend, and Sunday we decided to have lunch outdoors at Fig & Olive (Meatpacking District). The real reason we decided to eat there was because my sister couldn't stop thinking about their chicken salad, and once she mentioned it my mom and I couldn't stop thinking about it either. I'm actually just realizing that the three of us discovered this salad after a day of wedding dress shopping, because they have another location next to the place I got my dress. Anyway...we started with crostini. Two of the manchengo, fig spread, and almond, two of the prosciutto, ricotta, fig, olive, and walnut, and two of the mushroom, artichoke, and truffle parmesan.

I'm pretty sure the chicken salad has changed a little bit since the last time I had it, but it was just as good. Here's the description on the menu - "Provencal Vegetable Chicken Salad: free range rotisserie chicken marinated with Herbs de Provence, lemon, garlic, grilled zucchini, eggplant, tomato, asparagus, red onion, avocado, arugula, parmesan, pine nut, 18 year balsamic vinegar - Picholine Olive Oil".

And now, the crown jewel of the weekend. Scarpetta spaghetti.

I knew as soon as I made the reservation a few weeks ago that I would order this dish. It's so good, I don't even know what to say. It's just simple perfection. I've tried to replicate it a couple times, but nothing compares to the real thing.

The last meal of the weekend was breakfast at Bubby's. Blueberry pancakes. Wow.