Not the best meal, but an incredible burger nonetheless
Day 2: Best restaurant experience?
Carrying on the theme from yesterday, my best restaurant experience of this year (and probably ever) was Spice Market, in New York. It was, in a word, sensational. The restaurant serves what is, essentially, posh Asian street food but every single bite was like a little piece of heaven. I'm not even exaggerating. Even more incredible than the food though was the service. Unobtrusive yet ridiculously efficient. And I can't even describe the decor so I shall simply quote from a review I read.... "The restaurant’s vast space is immediately disorienting yet instantly welcoming, energized and undeniably dazzling... going vertical instead of horizontal, shadowy rather than bright, utilizing no glass, all wood, with nary a right angle or unadorned square inch... The result is a carved and tiered temple to hedonism with great sight lines, bordello lighting, and terrific traffic flow." Basically it's like having dinner inside a giant carved wooden pagoda. Which is always fun.
We ate:
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Spicy Thai Fried Chicken Wings with Mango and Mint
Crispy Salt and Pepper Skate
Onion and Chili Crusted Short Ribs with Egg Noodles and Pea Shoots
Jasmine Rice
We drank:
The most expensive bottle of red wine of my entire life.
We felt:
Like movie stars. Sad fact: I felt like I was in an episode of Sex and the City. Walking out onto the streets of the Meatpacking District, with the light from neighbouring bars bouncing off the cobbles was an experience I'll never ever forget. An expensive experience (that's what you do for the birthday of someone special though, isn't it?) but worth every single penny.
I've made myself hungry now. Darn it.
