Siddity In The City

Brushes with Celebrity, Pt. II

Forget that Ruivivar cat. I met The Black New Yorker! Jealous? You should be. I should say I met TBNY blogging entity, including Heavenly Diva, 'cause I did. We all had dinner at Park Avalon (225 Park Ave S. between 18th and 19th, take the L, N, Q, R, W, 4, 5 or 6, or hell, get thee to 14th St./Union Square, however you can), and it was good. First, let me say, that both TBNY and HD are lovely ladies, and all kinds of fun. I cannot believe more people have not signed up for their Meet Up. What's wrong with y'all? Anyway, I can attest that neither TBNY nor HD are this person, so if that was what kept you away, you can come to the next one (notice I didn't say this person wasn't me....mwahahaha! Okay, I'm playin'. I can't even pretend that's me.) Now let me tell you what you missed at this one. I had read some bad things about Park Avalon while I was deciding whether or not to attend this little shindig, but in the spirit of adventure, I went anyway. I'm so glad I did, because now I will have the memory of this meal to look back on when my current cushy gig is up and I'm back to being unable to afford anything more decadent than ramen and baked beans. (Hey, throw some scrambled eggs and frozen veg up in your ramen, et voila! Gourmet pan-Asian. Toss some fried egg and stewed tomato on your baked beans and presto! English pub food. See? You can be poor and siddity at the same time. It's all a state of mind....) Anyway, I started my meal off with PA's signature Hot and Dirty Martini (which must be the official drink of NYC commuters in the summer)--a dirty martini (that's with olive juice for the novice drinker) made with olives steeped in jalapeno juice! Yummy. But only for the adventurous martini master, I should say. Not a "my first martini" martini, Sorry, TBNY. As I nursed my martini, I followed with the lobster and shrimp dumpling appetizer. The four dumplings, garnished with mushrooms and a tangy red sauce, were very good--delicately flavored and well dressed. I couldn't say they left anything to be desired--a little dim sum on Park. Not at all bad, when tasted with that in mind. Entree time. I had read somewhere that PA served swordfish dusted with porcini mushrooms. Maybe it did once, but it didn't tonight, alas, so I had to settle for the wasabi crusted big eye tuna with black forbidden rice and yuzu vinaigrette. Did I say settle? I meant Oh. My. God. Get me more. The tuna, prepared medium according to my specification, was crusted with a very mild wasabi mixture and topped with fresh herbs, on a bed of, well, black forbidden rice (Why the forbidden rice gotta be black? That's not right! Oh, you know you were thinking it, too). The tuna practically melted in my mouth, and the wasabi was just strong enough to lend flavor, not enough to overwhelm. The rice was amazing. Truly. Delicious, slightly tart, and the perfect backdrop for the tuna. It is my new favorite tuna dish. For dessert, I wanted the cheesecake that I'd read about, but that was not to be either, so I opted for creme brulee, instead. The menu claimed it would be dressed with fresh berries and biscotti. It came with biscotti alright, but it was a bit soft, and there was just one sad little strawberry. I don't know what that was about. Did they run out? Did they think putting "soft biscotti with berry" on the menu would be triflin'? Who knows. The point is, the dessert did not live up to the entree. Still, the portions were generous, the entree was perfection, and my whole meal, with drinks, dessert and tip, set me back $60, which was precisely what I had expected to spend. TBNY, who is a fan of the $40 date, chastised me for going overbudget, but I felt it was worth every penny. Now I'm exhausted, and ready to roll into bed sated, with a smile. Mostly sated, anyway. ;p

posted by Sid @ 9/17/2004 11:31:00 PM