Park Avenue Summer RW Lunch

I have always wanted to try Park Avenue (any season all seasons) but it always seemed so pricey. So when I noticed it on the Restaurant Week List this year I jumped on the reservation.

Unfortunately they only offer a lunch so I had to take a half day of work. Luckily Mr. T's office is nearby so he was able to meet me for lunch and still bring home the bacon:)

I walked inside about 20 minutes early and was greeted warmly by the maître d' and receptionist. Since Mr. T wasn't there yet I grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered a beer from their summer beer list.

This is the first "summer" thing I noticed. They had 3 beers, all wheat, listed for summer beer enjoyment.

I thought this was kind of neat- wheat beer is great in the summer because it has that lemony thirst quenching ability- so why not highlight it?

They also had a very nice white wine sangria special which many people were drinking. It came with some blueberries and raspberries floating in the bottom. It looked so nice, even though I hate sangria I thought about ordering one.

Mr. T showed up and although we were 15 minutes early, we were shown to our seats and scored a great table for two right by the bar. This table was nice because we only had one couple to the left so we weren't very cramped.

I looked at the RW menu and have to say the options were so nice it was quite difficult to decide on what to order.

Eventually we decided and the waiter brought us over a basket of warm toasty bread.



This being Park Avenue summer and all- what kind of bread do you think they served us?

Well corn bread of course!! Two different kinds.



The first was almost like a mini loaf that had an excellent crunchy exterior with some red pepper and paprika throughout the middle for flavor- very nice.

I thought the second roll was simply a piece of white bread until Mr. T opened it up and revealed the pieces of corn inside.

Very clever and quite tasty!!

Next up our drinks arrived.

Mr. T was working so he ordered a glass of iced tea. And it was truly the best iced tea he has ever had.

Okay- let's start with the glass of tea itself. It came in a large plastic glass with one of the most beautiful thick slices of lemon I have ever seen. And that huge brown straw? Not a straw- a sugar cane!

Summer in a glass!



Then came the iced tea condiments for making it really good!!!

Out came a little tray with granulated sugar packets, a vile of mint leaves and a vile of sugar water.



Once Mr. T swirled these all together I tasted one of the boldest and brightest iced teas I have ever tasted!

When he had finally finished mixing his tea our first course was ready to come out.

Mr. T ordered the salmon tartar.



Mr. T loved the crusty bread, pesto and huge chunks of fresh salmon. He didn't really care for the olive oil but gave the rest of the dish a huge thumbs up.

I went a little safe with mine I guess...I had heard Park Avenue got best caesar salad in NY mag so I had to try it out.



Well I have to say it was pretty fantastic!! I immediately took off the anchovies (can't eat those salty buggers) and amidst the shaved Parmesan cheese there were pieces of lemon zest that really brightened up the flavor of the crunchy romaine.

It all sat atop a cheesy piece of bread that was so thin and crisp it was almost like a cracker.

This was a seriously good Cesar Salad. Both of our appetizers were also huge! When Mr. T finished his salmon he was already pretty full. I knew we had a lot more food coming so I somehow willed myself to stop eating about halfway through my salad so I could enjoy my entree once it arrived.

And here it is! The sliced Filet Mignon sandwich with horseradish cream and cherry tomatoes.



This sandwich was pretty good. It wasn't the best meat I have ever had but the horseradish cream sauce and caramelized onions underneath gave it a great flavor.

I have to say Mr. T's was the winner of the entrees. He got the Herb Grilled Chicken with cherry tomatoes and zucchini.



Wow- this chicken was packed with herby goodness. The chicken was spiced up on the grill and then covered in pasta and some sort of pesto Parmesan sauce that was creamy and delicious.

The green and yellow zucchini were crisp and brought some great summery colors to the plate.

We were so stuffed from all of the food I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do dessert.

But hey- I always find room for dessert!!

Now if Mr. T was the winner of the entrees, I at least was the winner of the desserts. I got the dark cherry parfait.



The parfait had four parts to it. The bottom was crushed and slightly caramelized cherries, the second layer was chocolate crunchies, the third layer was half whipped cream and half cherry mousse and the top was some kind of cherry chocolate cookie.

It was so good I ate the whole damn thing.

Mr. T got the Strawberry Watermelon Panna Cotta.



While this dish was light and refreshing- it was a little boring. The Panna Cotta was almost too light and the berries, while good, were simply berries.

The watermelon was covered in graham cracker crumbs and was probably the best part of the whole thing. It wasn't bad by any means but probably the most disappointing dish in our other wise fantastic meal.

Before leaving I stopped in the restroom and was greeted by such a wonderful scent of fresh flowers and a spankingly clean restroom, I just had to take a picture.



After all- these things are important! I have sworn off certain places where the ladies rooms were too dirty.

So overall- this was the best restaurant week meal to date. The food was excellent, the portions were more than ample (we both brought home leftovers, which we never do), the service was friendly and efficient and the place itself was just beautiful.

I loved how they really seemed to pay attention to making sure the summer theme was in almost every dish and I will definitely be back to see what they cook up in Autumn, Winter and Spring.

The total cost of our meal with 2 glasses of wine, a Hitachino White Ale and the Iced Tea was $84.00. This is one place that is doing Restaurant Week right.

Park Avenue Summer