Asiate Restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental - Only if You Wanna Say it with Your Chest!

Asiate - Mandarin Oriental - 80 Columbus Circle at 60th Street

After a long and hard three years of starts and stop, I finally got the GMAT score that I needed earlier this summer.  I am excited to apply to business school this fall and I've worked hard.  Given it coincided with the birthday of a friend, I decided to celebrate and hit this place up.  What ensued was, perhaps, the most lavish dinner I've ever been experienced (well Philippe Chao back in 2006 was probably the most lavish), but it was worth every penny.  I mean, I didn't even do this during my days on the Street. I was shook to even take pictures because the place was so classy.  Since it happened so long ago, I don't really remember what I ate.  All I know is that it was 7-course pre-fixe meal with 7 different wine pairings.  I ain't care. I'd do it again, but not for another 5 years. Don't judge me :)  You gotta live your life, always.

The following are just a few pics from what I ate.  I missed like half of the meals before I mustered up the confidence to snap the rest.




Different types of seared tuna






I wanna say this lobster mashed potatoes and shitake mushrooms






Chilled Soba Noodles and a Soft Boiled Quail Egg 

 





That good 'ol Wagyu Beef







Dessert looked like art!






Birthday chocolate dish was mad tasty.







Chocolate-covered strawberries in something like crystallized coconut shavings






We shut the place down. 


Total cost? Let's just say that I pop food to celebrate while people of my generation pop bottles.  Only go here if you have reason to celebrate - like being done with the GMAT and a birthday - and ONLY if you really wanna say it witch Yo CHEST!

Maven Out!

Gravy NYC - A Southern Restaurant in New York City's Gramery Area

Gravy - 32 E. 21st bet Broadway and Park

Gravy is a new southern spot that opened up on April 30th of this year.  It draws its inspiration from  New Orleans culture.  My foodie best friend, Jean, suggested we hit this spot up. Naturally, I was  down.  The place was pretty damned good.

We copped a table in the back of the restaurant

Gravy is mad chill. You'll find people who just want good food and don't care about being seen (I wish I got a photo shot of the bar, but I forgot).  I came in here and was able to relax.  It's a perfect spot for friends to catch up and a great ice breaker spot to take a girl out to.  Jean and I spent 3 hours talking about leveraged buyouts, grad school, friends, gold, debt crises, and how we want to take care of our parents. We literally felt mad comfortable in that place.  Oh yeah, Jean is in fashion and I'm in nonprofit.  Conversation was mad random.


Jean and I both wanted the same things, so we split 'em.  If you're looking to be filled, I would recommend getting your own entree and sharing, but I was just fine with was decision.

Spinach Crab Dip made with Pecorino Romano and cucumber, served with Baguette chips.  Slammin'.

The spinach crab dip did not disappoint.  A welcome surprise was the fact that the crab was actually the star of the show rather than the cheese.  As Jean, pointed out, "there's a lot of crab meat in there!"  At other places, they usually skimp on the meat in dips.

Mmh mmh mmh! A scoop of the dip! The Canon 95s (in vivid setting) represents, yet again!

Fried Green Tomatoes Salad with shaved fennel and goat cheese.  Educational.

We also started out with the fried green tomatoes.  I have to admit, I've never had fried green tomatoes before today, and this was an enlightening experience.  The tomatoes were battered, and this really messed with mind.  I'm used to bitting into battered fried chicken (hey, I'm black), so upon mastication, I kept waiting for the that sinewy chicken texture to hit my taste buds. But then the dish was  like, "Nope it's tomatoes, biyatch! Sak Pase!!!"  And just when I had processed the tomato, the goat cheese came in at the end like, "Whazzup? Goat up in this mug!!" In short, this dish was a journey through the complexity of the dish.  I will be ordering it again.

The Star of the Evening: Scallops & Honey Grits - toasted corn relish with barbecue jus

You gotta get the scallops & honey grits.  TRUST ME.  In my culture, our people normally have chicken with their barbecue sauce; in other words, we usually have more barbecue sauce than meat.  This was not the case with this dish.  Gravy uses just enough bbq sauce so as to not distract from the fact that you are eating a scallop.  The scallop tastes comes out just nicely through the different flavors.  Think of the scallop taste as diver returning to the surface of a pool after diving off a platform baord.  Grits were really good: not over cooked so they still had some of that grainy taste.  And the honey was merely a nice accent, not overpowering.

Crispy Mac and Cheese, lol.

Mac and cheese was cool. I don't think I've ever had fried mac and cheese before.  It even had a little spicy kick to it, although I wish they had used cheddar instead.  The jack cheese left me wanting more. I forgot what kind of oil made up the green stuff. The word is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't remember now for the life of me.

Jean got the blueberry pie.  I don't mess with pie.  She liked this joint.  Vanilla ice cream on top.

I made a makeshift affogato with a scoop of vanilla and black coffee. Jean totally called me out on what I was trying to do, and I was touched that she knew my eating habits so well :)

Dessert was cool.


In short, I recommend this place.  If you're looking for a change of pace from the likes of Justin Timberlake's Southern Hospitality, B. Smiths, or maybe even Red Rooster, then try this spot.  It's definitely a slower speed and a well thought-out concept.

Food Mave Out!