Mouthgasm

This morning we got up and went out for a decent breakfast as we were catching the train back to NYC later. We opted for a place just down the road from our hotel that we had walked past yesterday morning and the place was full and there had been a line of people waiting to get in. We figured it must have been an excellent breakfast spot. As we were up a little earlier today, we got a table straight away, but not long after we were seated there was a string of people waiting.

I love sweet things for breakfast and so I ordered the pancakes, and Ros had scrambled eggs. The food was ok, but nothing to write home about and I am still perplexed as to why so many people would line up to get into this place and just not go somewhere else.

On the train back to New York (which we nearly missed because we were looking for the train heading to NYC, but should have been looking for the Washington DC train), we bagged seats right at the front on the first carriage because we were in business class...nice right? Wrong! It was so fucking cold that I had a jumper on my legs (over jeans), a jumper around my neck, a jumper on my feet, AND my brand new leather jacket, AND I WAS STILL FUCKING COLD! It wasn't until 20 mins out of NYC that I realised that half way down the back of the carriage was a darn sight balmier! I don't know if you've ever felt that sort of cold where you wanted to jump out of train, but that's what I wanted to do today.

Back in New York, I insisted to Ros that we would be better off catching the subway back to the hotel rather than a cab (despite us having to cart all our luggage around), and besides the fact that I feel like I dislocated my shoulder dragging 20+ kilos across stations...I do believe we got to the hotel a hell of a lot quicker and cheaper.

Back at the hotel and we debated for some time what we were going to do for the evening. In the end we decided on getting the list of restaurant recommendations that was given to us the other night when we were at the Riverpark restaurant. We opted for something that was NOT near us, 'Griffiti' on the lower east side. I rang them and made a booking, they said they could fit us in, but we would need to leave by 9.15. I told them we eat fast.

When I had looked up the address on the web, I saw that the chef had been a winner on "Iron Chef". Are you impressed Mark Woolston and Graham Dudley? I need to go back and research some more, I don't know whether it was the American show or the Japanese one. And the site also mentioned something about Martha Stewart. Am I supposed to be impressed? Didn't she go to jail?

To get to this restaurant by train, I had to study the subway map for a bit. The journey would have to involve three different lines, but I was pretty confident we would manage just fine. And we did. And once again, I got asked by a stranger for assistance and I was able to help the good looking, shy, young lad from the UK.

When we got to the restaurant, Ros and I were seated side-by-side, not opposite each other, at a square table, set for four other people. The dining area itself was tiny, as the restaurant was in a renovated lower floor of an apartment. It would not have sat more than 18 people, and NOT comfortably either! Later on in the evening I went to use the bathroom for the sole purpose of seeing how small the kitchen was. I had to wait for one of the staff to close the dish washer door before I could squeeze past. There were three staff in the kitchen and I had to sidle past all three to get to the loo. It was smaller than my kitchen at home, which is a small kitchen for a standard three bedroom home in Oz. Probably, if you think of a standard sized bathroom in a home in Australia, then chop it in half lengthways, you will have the size of this kitchen.

Anyhow, we were given a menu, and it all looked unusual, so I just picked the shrimp, and Ros chose the burger. We ordered, and as we were waiting for the food, four people came in and were seated with us. Christi immediately introduced herself and her friends (given that we would be dining together). Her partner's name I didn't catch, and her partner's friend from college, Keith, and his partner Tiffany. The friends were visiting from Chicago.

Our meal arrived and well, I think I have just had the meal of my life!

Don't ask me what we ordered exactly, don't ask me what it tasted like (I wouldn't be able to describe it) or what the flavours were (besides it being fusion I could taste Middle Eastern, Vietnamese, Indian), or what the theme was. But every bite was sensational!

Christi and her partner were able to tell us a bit more about the chef/restaurant - the chef is Egyptian, and worked as a pastry chef for one of the best chefs in France. They also mentioned the Iron Chef and Martha Stewart connections.

The food was so good, on a whim we decided to order another main as recommended by Christi, it was a pork dish, in a type of bun/flat bread with cornflakes on top! It was AMAZING!

As per the night at the Riverpark restaurant our new found friends said that they couldn't believe foreigners had found the place. Christie said she was shocked when she first heard our accents. I had to admit that I couldn't take the credit for this one, that the recommendation had been from a local.

After the main had been served, we decided to see the dessert menu, and whilst I was leaning towards the strawberries with truffle, and pepper ice-cream...we actually decided on the chocolate caviar cupcake with something something ice-cream (sorry, I just can't remember).

MOUTHGASM!

Just give me a moment.


Seriously, when I took the first bite, not only was I speechless, but my eyes welled up with tears of joy. I am not lying to you. And I barely said a word as I devoured the rest of my plate. This guy knew his desserts!

For me, this has been my favorite evening in New York, and the US so far. The meal was excellent, and once again I have been pleasantly surprised by the generosity and friendliness of the people. Tonight I was especially surprised at how similar our sense of humour is, we had a barrell of laughs tonight.

This night will be etched in my memory for a very very long time.

So happy.



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