My Birthday Gift from Em

My dear friend Emily gave me the best birthday gift. A morning/afternoon in NYC so we can have a just girls lunch at a trendy NYC restaurant. We had decided to go to the ever-so-hip meatpacking district where there is plenty of choice. We spent time drooling over various menus and looking at all the options. We settled on Spice Market, a restaurant owned by Jean-George Vongerichten.


I love Asian food…my husband can leave it. I could not wait to have a quiet, delicious lunch. It was so exciting.

We arrived in NYC on a warm clear day. The sky was blue & we enjoyed our ride down the Henry Hudson Parkway as we made our way from the George Washington Bridge downtown. Traffic around the Holland Tunnel was terrible & after an illegal turn and not obeying the GPS we made it to our intended destination. We spent time browsing & exploring, (and coveting) many items in Anthropologie.  We walked the few blocks to the restaurant and were immediately enchanted by the hardwood decor and the staff uniforms. We were seated near the open kitchen and loved being in a quiet corner.

We read over the menu options trying to decide what to eat. It was quite the task trying to decide which of these delicious things we would sample today. In the end we decided on the following items to share.

Appetizers:

Spiced Chicken Samosas, Cilantro Yogurt.

Salmon Tartare, Soy Ginger Dressing, Avocado & Radish.

Main Course:

Halibut Cha Ca La Vong, Herbed Salad, Coconut Sticky Rice Steamed in Banana Leaf.

Dessert:

Thai Jewels & Fruits with Crushed Coconut Ice

Ovaltine Kulfi, Caramelized Banana and Spiced Milk Chocolate Sauce.

Everything was delicious. Em is not a big fan of raw fish but was a good sport and tried the tartare. She ended up liking it. We lunched for over 2 hours. It is a beautiful restaurant. Their website offers beautiful pictures and descriptions of the interior. It was a pleasure to eat there! I would go back in a heartbeat. Thank again Em for my great b-day gift.