Paradou

Madison Avenue’s prim store windows are flooded with SALE signs, neighborhood cafes are closing faster than we can blink, and restaurant recession specials are popping up everywhere from McDonalds to Per Se. It’s overwhelming! So, we are going to help you sift through some of these amazing restaurant deals. Who knows how long they’ll last! Today’s Tuesday Tidbit: Paradou.
Paradou is a quaint Parisian restaurant in the chic Meatpacking district that has come up with a whole lineup of hard-to-beat recession specials featured each week. It’s not a HUGE meatpacking haute spot like Buddah Bar, but that’s what makes it so special and relaxing, especially as the weather gets nicer and you can enjoy the garden in the back. Two of my favorite deals: Free Wine Mondays and their famous Unlimited Champagne Cocktail brunch, which has now been extended to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Make a reservation on Monday’s and you get a FREE bottle of wine! They are offering this promotion to lift our spirits in the dreadful economy, which they will continue until the DOW hits 12,000. Honestly, what is better than that? Then head back on Sunday for the Unlimited Champagne Cocktail brunch for $29 (with your entrée included)! After a few Kir Royale’s you’ll feel like your livin’ the life as you enjoy the breathtaking view of the Tour Eiffel….or not. But, nonetheless, your wallet will feel the love.

Paradou

8 Little West 12th Street

Between 9th and Washington Ave

NY, NY 10014

212.463.8345
http://www.paradounyc.com

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

http://www.caviarrusse.com/