Artisanal

So this is the last and much delayed post about Restaurant Week. It is also the last dinner I had during this year’s winter restaurant week and turned out to actually be a year around deal that they have. They have a wine pairing for a $14 supplement, but the wines are not actually matched with the specific course. Rather, its 3 different wines for each course that may or may not actually go with the meal that you choose. I really hate when they do that. Its clearly not a real wine pairing if the same wine goes with parmesan ghnocchi w/ pork belly, salmon, and soup. I still opted for the pairing because it gave me a chance to try 3 kinds of wines for $14.

I started with the parmesan gnocchi w/ pork belly. It was okay, but not entirely impressive. I have had much better gnocchi at other places in the city before. They do get points for the parmesan & pork belly components which added a bit more flavor to the dish had it been served with a different sauce.

For my main course I chose the chicken cooked under a brick because its one of the signature main courses. The chicken itself was fantastic. Very moist and well cooked. The skin was nice, crispy, and flavorful. No complaints at all about this one.

I actually forgot what I ordered for dessert, but I do remember that the table favorite was definitely the baked apple tarte tatin. It was baked apple slices in a puff pastry shell of some sort that was subtly flavored with chedder cheese. I am a sucker for unique desserts that actually work and this is no exception.

Not sure if this is really worth a return trip, but if I am stuck in midtown east and need to entertain someone that doesn’t want to stray too far from their hotel this wouldn’t be a bad option at all. It might also be a bit more comfortable for out of towners that are used to restaurants that are larger and have more space.

Artisanal
2 Park Ave
New York, NY 10016
(212) 725-8585