Restaurant Week Guide

Another reason to love NYC is the advent of Restaurant Week. Recently, "Restaurant Week" has become a misnomer, since the restauranteurs behind the event are allowing it to last for almost a month. During the weeks between Jan. 16 and Feb. 10, from Monday to Friday, diners can sample lunch and/or dinner at dozens of Manhattan restaurants that, otherwise, may be too draining for the average paycheck. Tulsi, Gravy, 9, and Hill Country are four participating restaurants.

Tulsi (211 E. 46th St., between Second and Third avenues)
Tulsi is a sleek, classy restaurant serving “New Indian” cuisine. After being seated at a table surrounded by curtains, diners will choose from a menu featuring Indian favorites with a twist. The three-course lunch menu is $24.07 and the three-course dinner menu is $35. Both include a starter, entrée, and dessert. Tomato rasam, which is a puree of lentils, chilies, mustard seed, and curry, is among the starter options at lunch. Lunch entrees include a choice of the roasted pesto portabello mushroom stuffed with paneer, a white cheese, or Bombay chicken curry topped with coconut milk and cucumber salsa. At dinner, the pumpkin green pea croquettes with green chutney aioli should make for an interesting starter. Diners can choose between entrees such as the malai kofta, which are Indian dumplings, and chicken with a pistachio, fennel, and cinnamon sauce. A sweet ending could be cinnamon bread spread with cardamom cream and candied cashews.

Gravy (32 E. 21st St, between Park Avenue South and Broadway)
Gravy is the first of its kind in NYC: a trendy restaurant in the upscale Flatiron district serving “New Southern” fare. The chef takes familiar dishes from the American South and adds a few modern touches. Influenced by the cuisines of New Orleans, Charleston, and Savannah, the $24.07 prix-fixe lunch could include a starter of “Market soup”, an entree of either cornflake-crusted chicken or a grilled vegetable po’ boy, and ice cream for dessert. The $35 dinner features options such as a starter of cauliflower soup with leeks and pecans, an entree of scallops paired with honey grits, toasted corn relish, and lobster barbeque jus, and a selection of pies for dessert. Both lunch and dinner come with Gravy’s “grits three ways”. The sampler includes honey, cheesy, and “porky” grits. Gravy is perfect for those who are tired of run-of-the-mill pork and beans.

9 Restaurant (800 9th Ave., between 53rd and 54th streets)
Having opened last year, 9 is a small and trendy, yet cozy Hell’s Kitchen joint where locals and theatergoers can score a comfort-food fix. For $24.07, customers can munch on a lunch starting with three-cheese macaroni, followed by salmon with brown butter and spinach, and ending with mini ice cream cones. Carnivores can have meatball sliders as an appetizer, while vegetarians can have the tomato-burrata panini as their entree. For $35, diners can enjoy a dinner starting with “lobster pigs-in-a-blanket”, followed by braised short rib, and concluding with maple doughnuts drizzled with white chocolate. It is worth noting that 9’s prix fixe dinner menu does not have any vegetarian entrees.

Hill Country (30 W. 26th St., between Sixth Avenue and Broadway)
Another Flatiron hotspot is the casual, rowdy Hill Country, where diners can chow down on massive BBQ platters at long communal tables. Customers order their meat by the pound and pick it up at a counter—a system that is apparently the norm in central Texas, the inspiration for Hill Country. The only difference between the $24.07 lunch menu and the $35 menu at dinner is dessert, which comes with dinner but not with lunch. Both menus offer a meal of cornbread with ancho honey butter, 1/4 lb. lean brisket, one pork spare rib, one beef rib, quarter all-natural chicken (white or dark meat), two sides, and the diner’s choice of beverage. Side dish options are corn pudding or beer-braised pinto beans. Lemonade, iced tea, and beer are among the choices for drinks. Dinner patrons can enjoy PB&J cupcakes, banana cream pudding, or chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Hill Country has live music on the weekends to make for a well-rounded night on the town.

Atlantic Grill East (1341 Third Ave., at 76th Street)
This Upper East Side seafood specialty is a member of the “BR Guest” family of restaurants. It attracts a polished and subdued crowd in a comfortable ambiance. For restaurant week, Atlantic Grill East offers lunch and dinner appetizers of winter vegetable minestrone with white bean truffle crostini, Scottish salmon creviche in a yuzu-jalapeno sauce, or a Camembert and apple salad complete with spiced walnuts, dried sour cherries, and aged sherry. For lunch, diners can choose between entrees of Casco Bay cod, a gulf shrimp burger, or a chicken BLT salad. For dinner, Atlantic Grill East offers the cod, wild striped bass, or braised short rib. And for dessert? Double chocolate espresso bar, citrus panna cotta tart, or a selection of house made ice cream and sorbet. The menu is diverse and exquisite, all for the wrapped up price of $24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner.

Ajna Bar (25 Little W. 12th St., at Washington Street)
This Asian fusion hotspot is a blend of bold Asian cuisine and décor, infused with a subtle French influence. Appetizer selections include mini-chirashi, spicy chicken and coconut soup, or a field green salad with roasted beets and sesame goat cheese in a tangerine vinaigrette. Entrees include crispy Alaskan black cod, roasted lemongrass chicken, and, for the vegetarian, vegetable curry. To sweeten one’s palate at the end of the night, diners can choose between a salted caramel molten chocolate cake and passion fruit mousse. In addition to the $24.07 and $35 prix fixe meals, the lounge’s nightlife features music spun by DJ Timka to create a bustling evening.

Bar Basque (839 Avenue of the Americas, at 29th Street)
Bar Basque is a Spanish-reminiscent sanctuary that houses the finest Spanish wines, grilled meats, and small plates. The futuristic building was designed by concept artist Syd Mead, and provides a unique ambiance. Chef Yuhi Fujinaga celebrates Restaurant Week with appetizers of roasted local beets, wild mushroom soup, and mixed sautéed chorizo. Entree selections are the golden snapper, slow braised shortrib of beef, wood oven roasted chicken breast, or seared yellowfin tuna. Dessert includes the choice of a bittersweet chocolate ganache or banana mousse. This Basque cuisine comes at the same prix fixe as the others and offers an exotic atmosphere.

Butter (NoHo) (415 Lafayette St. between Astor Place and East Fourth Street)
Better known as a nightclub than a restaurant, Butter attracts the city’s starlets and sports stars. Butter opened in 2002 as a new breed of American restaurants. It features both rooms with formal atmospheres and lounges for the casual diner. All wood-filled, low-glow rooms complement Chef Alex Guarnaschelli’s gourmet meals. Appetizers vary from a wintergreens salad to cavatappi pasta with spicy lamb sausage or braised octopus. Entrees include roasted Hudson Valley duck confit, housemade ravioli, pork chop, or fish of the day. Diners enjoy the choice of sticky toffee pudding, dark chocolate pound cake with buttermilk ice cream, or lime sorbet with toasted sesame sables and kumquat marmalade. With entrées alone costing around $20, the fixed price is a great deal for a night out.

Kefi (505 Columbus Ave between 84th and 85th streets)
Kefi, a Greek “taverna-style” restaurant in the West 80s, is split-level as well as split-atmosphere. Upon walking in, customers will either be seated on the ground level, where tables are packed close together and the chatter is loud, or beneath the street, a great place for meeting dates or friends, with all the ambience of a tavern in Santorini.
This place is a true gem. Everything on the $35 Restaurant Week dinner menu was a culinary marvel. Diners are presented with a circular platter of pita triangles and four types of spreadable goodness. The hummus was earthy and creamy—just the way hummus should be. The eggplant purée had a pleasantly sweet undertone and the Greek yogurt was light and savory. The favorite was definitely the caviar spread, who’s richness was offset by a subtle smokiness.

The bowl of three meatballs that arrived next would have made Mario Batali cry with joy. Stewed with garlic, tomatoes, and olives, they end up bursting with juicy, meaty flavor and slicing like butter, and are followed by a platter of two grilled branzino filets layered on a bed of herbed potatoes, chopped olives, and stewed tomatoes. My dining companion’s braised lamb shank was succulent and fall-off-the-bone tender. It is paired with a tomato-inflected orzo to create a meal ideally suited to arm diners against the brutal NYC winter.

Every dinner should be concluded with a frothy cappuccino and a nutty, triangular piece of walnut cake. The crumbly, lightly sweetened confection is enhanced by an accompanying scoop of walnut ice cream.