the whole plate.

I think I need to make an addendum to last Friday’s post.

Did I forget to mention that it is currently restaurant week?  Yet another New York institution that we foodies are so very thankful for.

Due to the expenses of my previous weekend of bridal shower and bachelorette party hosting, I was toying with the idea of skipping restaurant week this summer.  It would come again in January, I told myself.  I had that wonderful meal at Aureole, and I have plenty of dining in Maine to look forward to.  I could wait.

But yesterday, I had plans for a long overdue dinner date with my good friend Katie.  When she suggested restaurant week, it took about .2 seconds for me to decide I did, in fact, need a three-course prix-fixe meal.  We sat down at our chosen destination, Tocqueville, and said, “Well, we have to treat ourselves well.”

It’s true.

if i didn’t go to restaurant week, how would i ever get to try ice wine?  a treat paired with dessert.

I can be thrifty when need be, and I kept my typically excessive going out habits to more of a minimum this week – for instance, taking a free yoga class at schmancy Pure and uncorking some three-buck chuck.

So, the restaurant week excursion began with bread, as all restaurant meals should.

sundried tomato foccacia.  yummy.

First course:

now, you may be thinking, “leslie, what are you doing ordering a salad during restaurant week?  you can eat that any time.

Allow me to deconstruct this plate.

It started with butter lettuce, which I adore but can never seem to find in the grocery aisles.  It included ramps – always a treat, and it was topped with the softest, creamiest, lightest poached egg I have ever eaten.  It included croutons that I proclaimed as “life-changing.”  It was dressed in a perfect vinaigrette.  Sometimes, you have to order a salad at a fancy restaurant, because it reminds you of just how salad should be.

Next up:

summer vegetable bouillabaisse.

This was actually just ok.  I mean, it included some of my favorite things – snap peas, zucchini, fennel, baby potatoes – and they were all cooked well.  Maybe it was simply difficult to follow up those croutons. [I did taste Katie's monkfish with summer beans, and it was delightful.]

Dessert, however, was enchanting.  Yes, enchanting.

pineapple soup with coconut lime sorbet.

When I see something out of the ordinary on a dessert menu, I have to order it.  It’s a requirement in my foodie life. [Hence corn cobbler last Saturday.]  So: soup for dessert it was.

Plus:

quince gelee, pistachio cake, chocolate fudge.

A restaurant will always have my heart when they finish a meal with petit fours.

Tocqueville was a rather romantic spot for we two ladies – very intimate and old-style European.  Thin cupboards were available to check large bags, and the key to each was adorned with a classic tassel.  Salt was served in a miniature pot de creme, and the wine pairings for each of our courses were native to Western European soil.

Stepping out into summer heat by Union Square almost felt jarring after that atmosphere, but somehow our discussion moved quickly from refined food to less refined memories relating to college outings in the area.  That’s how we twentysomethings roll.

I’m so thankful to have friends who appreciate good food as much as I do.  I’m so thankful for my city.  And I’m so thankful that I’ve learned the importance of spoiling myself well and often.

Does your city have a restaurant week?  What’s one way you’ve recently treated yourself well?

Related posts:

1. restaurant recreations, take 2.
2. vegspiration: a week of market goods.
3. restaurant recreations.