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These are the ongoing chronicles of a Sommelier-in-training, embarking on an adventure into the alluring and sometimes philosophical land of cocktails, food & wine...

Friday, 28 September 2012

Great Expectations... (Part 3- Conclusion) - Beauty & Essex




We were led to the perfect table and settled in.  Amidst the great chaos of the past few days, in this strange, new chaos, I felt I could finally breathe. 

Our server was awesome, (I wish I could remember her name.)  She helped us to navigate the cocktail list by suggesting one of their signature drinks, Earl the Pearl - a very grown up iced tea.  Perfect.  With each sip, I slipped further into my reverie, so pleased that, for once, everything looked exactly like it had in my head. 

The room was packed, the sounds of clinking cocktails were in the air, and at the same time, it didn’t feel at all pretentious.  Tables of stylish girls on their Thursday night out made me miss my ladies enormously.  (I decided then and there, that another trip was in order… and soon.) 

It was a tapas-like menu, small plates meant to be ordered and shared and everything looked so fun we had a hard time deciding.  We narrowed it down to the Thai Lobster Salad (which I adored), the Chicken Fried Oysters (I could have eaten 10) and the amazingly adorable Grilled Cheese, Smoked Bacon and Tomato Soup Dumplings... yes, read that again, I had to... Grilled Cheese, Smoked Bacon and Tomato Soup Dumplings.

What, you might ask, are those?  Exactly. I had to find out. Well, they were about the cutest, tastiest little treats- served in an amuse-bouche spoon, they were both cozy and classy, and I am still thinking about them.  To be honest, I don’t even want to describe them to you... I want you to go to New York and order them! (Let’s hope he doesn’t take them off the menu!)

We quickly added the Chile Relleno Empanadas and General Tso’s Monkfish to our smorgasbord of tapas, finished it all off with several more cocktails, mini, sparkly cupcakes and the black-bottomed, butterscotch pot-de-crème with coconut Chantilly... and it was almost over the top.  No, let me rephrase that- it was totally over the top.

Thanks Chris Santos.

You have exceeded my ‘great’ expectations.  This was the New York I had wanted. 
There was no sex in this city… just two tired friends, enjoying the little jewels that were clearly made just for us. 

It really was a perfect end to a not-so-perfect day.
This, as they say, was my New York minute.


http://www.beautyandessex.com

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