Excitement abounds! Steph and I headed to One if by Land, Two if by Sea in the West Village for a mid-week treat. In college I had always come across the restaurant in my internet searchings, only to be dismayed by the numerous dollar signs that followed the reviews. Thankfully, my stay in NY encompassed restaurant week/month, so we quickly made reservations at this notable NY place and debated their menu options.
One of the biggest strengths of the restaurants certainly lies in its ambiance. Juewon informed me it was "one of the most romantic restaurants in the city," and I assured him I would try not to leave him for Stephanie as we enjoyed this candlelit dinner. The restaurant is on the unassuming Barrow Street, and upon entry you are greeted with the charming jazz of a baby grand piano player and his petite Asian trumpet counterpart. The bar in front was bustling with friends and dates cozily enjoying plushy seats by the charming fireplace. Our hostess lead us up the stairs, and we noted the multiple chandeliers with stained glass. The hotel was the old carriage house of Aaron Burr, and the window next to me housed the pistols from his and Alexander Hamilton's duel!
The amuse bouche set up us for a much better dinner than we actually experienced. It was some sort of celery root creme topped with a rice cracker-tasting bit, and it was absolutely delicious. The creme was light and airy on top, with a rich but fresh taste of celery juice below. For my starter I tasted the Roasted Bartlett pear accompanied with dried cherries, blue cheese, pistachios, and sliced endives. The blue cheese and pistachios were salty and satisfying, and I'm glad I tried roasted pears, but the endive bits on the side were unnecessary and tasted like chopped raw celery. Steph absolutely adored her chestnut tagliatelle cooked in venison ragout, which was "a good portion and incredibly satisfying. The venison ragout was unexpected and delicious. I would say it was a tad on the oily side, but that certainly didn't hurt my enjoyment of it"
For our main courses, I had the mushroom risotto while Steph finally decided on the braised short rib ("Is it too Asian with the Korean glaze? Would the Hake fillet be satisfying?). Though the risotto was certainly tasty, it was on the dry side with only three mushroom bits scattered at the edges. It was also slightly cool and didn't pack as much buttery goodness as I was expecting. I also felt rather cheated that I had a better mushroom risotto at a pit stop in Richmond, Indiana.
Steph was more disappointed in her short rib, which was "not as tender as one would expect, chewy, and stringy. There were moments when I had a bite with the radish strips and sticky rice where I could understand what they were going for, but overall it was probably 15% of what I hoped it would be."
Our meal concluded with an ice cream popcorn sundae and a fondant cake with cappucino ice cream. Though my ice cream was, how do you say...half melted...the caramel popcorn bits were really tasty and overall, spoons of chocolately cream were not the worst way to end the meal. Steph thoroughly enjoyed her cake and ice cream, and we received some blackberry pastry bites at the end!
Despite the patchy quality of the meal, I'm still really glad I got to try this restaurant out. I am exceedingly glad, however, that I went during restaurant week rather than for the normal prix fixe, as I do not believe it was worth anywhere near $80. Perhaps stop by for a drink, a small plate, and enjoy the old school coziness of the jazz duo before stepping back out into a windy night some time!
Now I understand why it's the most romantic meal in NYC... put me next to the dueling pistols of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, and I'd be in a pretty frisky mood all night!
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