Birthday Deliciousness

This year, Restaurant Week was still in effect for my birthday, so ABF asked if I wanted to go anywhere in particular. He named a few favorites, but I said I was definitely open to something new, so surprise me! He was a great sport and did just that, not even hinting as we walked together that warm Thursday night to our destination-- Delmonico's! I love the history of this place--started in 1837, it's touted as the first fine dining restaurant in the US, and the origin of many food classics: Chicken a La King (originally a la Keene), Lobster Newburg, Eggs Benedict, Baked Alaska and more! Great stories behind them all.

Restaurant Week is your chance to dine for a set price from a set menu. Delmonico's Restaurant Week menu is by far one of the best I've seen in a while. ABF made a good choice! The hardest part was narrowing down my choices. He picked a corn soup with peeky-toed crab, but when he went to order it, the server told us that soup was actually a cauliflower puree. Apparently they get so many repeat customers during RW that they change up some of their offerings. We were both bummed to hear this, but he went with the cauliflower anyway. It was just okay--not worth photographing or ordering again. :)

I saw 'poached egg' in my salad description and was sold. It's made of frisee, aka that Stuff I Normally Pick out of my Salad, but holy cow was this a solid hit. A bed of fresh, crunchy frisee tossed lightly in a truffle oil vinaigrette and bordered with citrus supremes. This was so scrumptious, I nearly licked the plate. For once, ABF had order envy of one of MY dishes!!

I ordered the filet mignon, one of my all-time favorite cuts of meat. Delmonico's is known for their steak, so I wasn't about to order fish tonight! It came with sauteed veggies and potatoes. The potatoes were just okay, but the veggies were crispy, crunchy, and tasted so fresh. The meat was buttery, soft, perfectly seasoned--I gave ABF two bites! He had steak frites, not-pictured, which he enjoyed. He gave me a few fries, and they were outstanding (and I'm not a 'fry' gal).

They had a special that night on wine: a bottle of Lindeman's Cabernet Sauvignon for 28.00. I saw ABF's interest piqued with this one, and was totally on the same page. This was delicious and a perfect match for our meat.

I knew exactly what I was getting for dessert: the Meyer Lemon tart! Meyer Lemons are almost lime-like in their citrusy awesomeness. This was beautiful, and dotted with microbasil oil that was so perfectlyn pungent. ABF loved this, too.

ABF ordered the Baked Alaska, which he'd never had before (it's basically ice cream cake covered by a meringue dome). I still remember how cool I thought my mom was for making this when I was eight or so. This was pretty delicious--the meringue was light and glossy inside, perfectly browned outside. The banana gelato inside was out of this world--I'd go back just for that (and the frisee salad). YUM.

Restaurant Week or not, this is a must try--but it's an exceptionally good deal during RW! Thanks, ABF, for another delicious and memorable birthday dinnner!