Friday, April 3, 2009

Caviar Russe




Here it is! My first blog post I am dedicating post numero uno to my personal favorite category: restaurants.

After having worked at Madison and 56th this past summer, I grew tired of meeting friends at the same drab Café Europa for lunch everyday. Mixing up the lunch hour should not consist of venturing to Cosi rather than to Café Europa. I had walked down Madison about a hundred times that summer, yet I never noticed the navy blue awing of the seafood restaurant, Caviar Russe. It wasn’t until my sister, who also works in midtown, chose the restaurant as the location of our lunch date that I realized Caviar Russe was one of the best deals in town! As a frequent reader of the Zagat Guide, this was one restaurant I hadn’t recalled.
After ringing the buzzer on Madison, you are buzzed up the marble staircase to a dining room that overlooks the lunch hour crowd rushing back to their desks. The tuxedo-clad wait staff sits you down and passes out the large menu consisting of one of the largest selections of caviar in the United States. Amidst the pricey menu, the prix-fixe $19.99 two course menu seems to rise to the top. Obviously, we choose the latter. Soon enough my spicy tuna tartare appetizer arrived at our table, elegantly plated, followed by my Chef’s choice sashimi selection meticulously placed on ice. Two pieces of salmon, tuna, octopus, eel, and yellowtail sashimi stared back at me, but all was missing was the fisherman who had just minutes ago reeled them in. This was assuredly the freshest fish I had in New York at such a price. To finish off the meal, although not included, a trip to Caviar Russe would not be the same without an order of their signature Walnut Tart with espresso ice cream—a must have. At a Zagat Rated 25 for food, I did not understand why this deal had not already been exploited. All I can say is…it was a lot harder to go back to Café Europa the next day. The pressata just did not taste the same while sitting near the window glancing up at the diners savoring their tartare. ::sigh:: If only the menu was $16.99 could I perhaps justify dining in such extravagance every day. Until then, pass over the stale ciabbata roll.


Caviar Russe
538 Madison Avenue
between 54th and 55th Streets
New York, NY 10022
Reservations: (212) 980-5908

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