we arrived late afternoon on Wednesday and found that our upgrade request had come through and for 35 bucks a night we had a balcony overlooking the Empire State building and a sea of water towers (LOL)
our dinner the first night was scheduled for NoMad (a step child kind of restaurant to 11 Madison Park) the food was excellent, the service exemplary and I doubt we would ever go back again- the place was tragically hip... the music so incredibly loud in the main room that we asked to be moved to the side room (the parlor)...
they won't mind us not returning because we definitely did not fit the age cohort of their target market. but as I said the meal was really great and the wine excellent- the sommelier was a lovely and thoughtful young woman, all the staff were friendly and welcoming... lots of positives
so I will stop and post a few photos- the room- itself was nothing fancy- not even a chair or couch, except for the one at the desk
it did have a kitchen area but only a frig and micro- no glass ware or plates or anything to eat with or out of...
but this was what the upgrade really gave us- our own NYC terrace!
with a view of the Empire State building-
sunset over the Hudson-
the ESB bathed in sunset pink light!
on to NoMad- selected for the reviews and the convenience of being just blocks away from our hotel-
we had the seafood platter/tower (Fruits De Mer "le grand plateau") which I artfully removed from the tower so you could see all the items- the best one was the king crab leg in the middle it was stuffed with an incredible custard crab concoction that was so full of flavor but so creamy that it basically melted in your mouth... the oyster had mignonette foam and the scallop a citrus butter- the caviar was served in a panna cotta was amazing as was the lobster meal on the slice of a claw- an all around winner!
then the waiter brought our chicken to the table to show us before the carving- this is THE dish to order and is four two people so our meals were identical (easy to remember- LOL) "Chicken whole-roasted for two: foie gras, black truffle, brioche"
the chicken was served two ways - the roasted breast with a hint of creamy mashed potatoes and then a casserole with chunks of chicken in a delicious slightly sour preparation with the crispy skin chopped up and folded into the mixture- I really liked this prep but Phil wasn't crazy about it so I traded him my roasted breast prep for his casserole style and we both were happy!
our wine could have used some aeration as it got more and more delicious as the meal went on and it had time to open up- an excellent match with the rich chicken preparations.
we both chose the same dessert- Chocolate malted ganache with chocolate fondant & malt ice cream
so while we agreed the place was far too hip and chic for us- the food was excellent and the service spot on... if you go definitely ask for a table in the parlor and save yourself a move- we saw several others (even the young people) move into the quiet space as it was the only place you could carry on conversation... but overall- a thumbs up on the food and service and a slight thumbs down on the atmosphere....
back to our room- oh I forgot to mention that in the first hour of our arrival I sent Phil out to Burgundy Wine Company around the corner to buy some provisions for enjoying our terrace- so we had opened a bottle of white in the room before leaving for dinner...our 9:30 reservation meant that by the time we were done with dinner and the short walk "home" we had called it a day both in terms of the calendar (after midnight) and our activities of to and from airports and all that entails....
but before we end the first day I will add one more hilarious photo from the room- which mind you was simply a hotel room except for the terrace with the stupendous view- here is the "legal rate sign" from the back of the door-
I wouldn't pay 1/10th of this rate but maybe some idiot would actually spend that amount on a room at a mid-level Doubletree in Chelsea--- LOL
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