We caught an early morning non-stop Virgin America flight, arriving late afternoon local time. We had just discovered the iPhone game Tiny Wings, and spent nearly the entire flight perfecting our swooping technique. I couldn't go eight hours without eating, so had brunch on the plane:
turkey sandwich (comes with mini-Toblerone chocolate!)
The sandwich was okay, as you can see. Mark ate nothing on the plane, so he was pretty hungry by the time we got to NYC.We checked into the W Times Square, which held sentimental value for us because that is where we stayed our first time in NYC together almost a decade ago. It was starting to show some age, but was still stylish with nice views. I particularly liked the sink/faucet fixtures:
You stop up the sink by pulling up that little silver knob on the table!
Mark was focused on food, even though our Jean-Georges reservations were only a few hours away. The casual food venue on my list closest to our hotel was Totto Ramen, and a bowl of hot noodle soup sounded ideal, so that's where we went for our "snack."
At 5:45pm, there was already an hour wait!
We finally sat down an hour later. Totto specializes in Paitan chicken broth, which was almost as rich as the best tonkotsu broth I've had, and yet makes you feel good the way only chicken broth can. The noodles are thick and firm, which I enjoyed. Despite the chicken broth, the clear star of the bowl was the pork char siu! Their secret: blow torches!
The blow torch essentially caramelizes the fat on the pork. Our dining experience from sitting down at the bar, to ordering, to eating and paying, lasted 20 minutes.
Less than an hour later, we left our hotel room dressed for dinner at Jean-Georges. You didn't think we were going to skip Jean-Georges just because we each had a bowl of ramen an hour earlier, did ya? Here were the highlights:
We were unimpressed with the rest of the menu, including the fish and meat courses. It started well and ended well, but the in between was pretty forgettable. Again, we think Michelin has gotten it wrong. We did see Chef Vongerichten himself being very attentive to a table just outside of our booth ...
faucet = shelf
You stop up the sink by pulling up that little silver knob on the table!
Mark was focused on food, even though our Jean-Georges reservations were only a few hours away. The casual food venue on my list closest to our hotel was Totto Ramen, and a bowl of hot noodle soup sounded ideal, so that's where we went for our "snack."
At 5:45pm, there was already an hour wait!
We finally sat down an hour later. Totto specializes in Paitan chicken broth, which was almost as rich as the best tonkotsu broth I've had, and yet makes you feel good the way only chicken broth can. The noodles are thick and firm, which I enjoyed. Despite the chicken broth, the clear star of the bowl was the pork char siu! Their secret: blow torches!
The star: char siu
The blow torch essentially caramelizes the fat on the pork. Our dining experience from sitting down at the bar, to ordering, to eating and paying, lasted 20 minutes.
Less than an hour later, we left our hotel room dressed for dinner at Jean-Georges. You didn't think we were going to skip Jean-Georges just because we each had a bowl of ramen an hour earlier, did ya? Here were the highlights:
egg caviar
citrus gelee, caviar, creme fraiche
sea scallops, caramelized cauliflower
frog legs
lobster
chocolate dessert tasting
spring dessert tasting
We were unimpressed with the rest of the menu, including the fish and meat courses. It started well and ended well, but the in between was pretty forgettable. Again, we think Michelin has gotten it wrong. We did see Chef Vongerichten himself being very attentive to a table just outside of our booth ...That was day 1. More to come soon.
