Last Lunch of Restaurant Week (Extended)
I took a vacation day last week to enjoy one of the last days of summer and as usual a fancy solo lunch was in order. I had been planning to do RW lunch at The Water Club when much to my dismay I realized it was closed on Mondays! How could I have missed that? Not to be deterred I quickly made a reservation at Porter House- another place I’ve been meaning to try.
I left the apartment around 1:30 and the day couldn’t be more beautiful. The sun was shining bright on my back, there was a nice warm breeze blowing through the streets and I’m sure the birds were chirping somewhere. All of a sudden the thought of sitting tucked away inside the dark massive Time Warner Center seemed so unappealing. I wanted to be outside enjoying life! I quickly cancelled my reservation and turned heel down into Union Square.
The decision had been so rash I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. All I know was that outdoors was essential. Suddenly I found myself in front of Blue Water Grill. I took a look at their Restaurant Week menu outside and it sounded wonderful. I walked inside and was able to get a seat right way outside on their veranda. I was so happy with the way things were going until I looked at the menu. The RW menu being offered was very different from the one advertised outside. Especially the dessert! Both options sounded horrible. I was beginning to panic. Should I get up and leave? That wouldn’t be very nice. But dessert is so important to me.
Right then my waiter came out, the same waiter I had last time I enjoyed lunch here and I knew everything would be okay. I explained to him my RW menu switcheroo dilemma and he assured me that when dessert time came we would be able to switch it to something different. Yay!! He’s wonderful! I ordered the rest of my RW lunch and settled into the sunlight with a nice cold Chelsea Brewery Checker Cab.
My appetizer choice that day was a Watermelon Gazpacho with Maryland Crab Salad. They actually brought out the bowl filled with crab first and then poured the gazpacho over top tableside.
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I’m not a big gazpacho fan but I was surprised how refreshing this was. I enjoyed the crisp watermelon flavor intermingling with the sweet crab. I had requested a table in the sun and was beginning to regret my choice. The sun was strong that sweat started to run down my back and the butter for my bread completely melted in its bowl. I even had to ask for another set of silverware because mine had become to hot to even pick up! Luckily the cold gazpacho completely cooled me down and really livened for the next course.
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My entree was the Grilled Mahi Mahi with Chorizo Corn Bread Hash, Jersey Collard Greens and Chipotle BBQ Sauce. I had no idea what to expect from this crazy sounding dish but I have to say I ended up being absolutely thrilled. The fish was flaky and moist with perfect little grill marks on both sides. However the winner of the dish were the accompaniments. The chorizo corn bread hash with collard greens was awesome! There was a ton of chorizo that gave a nice spice to the dish while the bitter greens and nutty bread really added some texture. I have to say this was a very manly fish dish. Mr. T doesn’t often order fish but he would love something like this. The only part I didn’t really touch was the BBQ sauce. I found the sweet stuff unnecessary. The dish was perfect enough on its own.
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Now for dessert. My waiter was nice enough to give me several alternate options and I ended up choosing the Warm Molten Chocolate Cake. This cake really seemed more like a brownie to me because of its’ dense fudgy texture. I wasn’t a huge fan of that but I did love the topping of malted crunch ice cream. Yum! This was so good! Thank goodness I was dining alone so no one could see me shoveling this into my face. The sun was acting fast and I wanted to get every last drop before it completely melted away.
By the end of my meal I was stuffed, happy and slightly sunburned. I relaxed on the patio for a bit, enjoying some last minute people watching and sips of beer, then paid my check and left. The food, service and table had Blue Water Grill were exactly what I needed that day.
Blue Water Grill
I left the apartment around 1:30 and the day couldn’t be more beautiful. The sun was shining bright on my back, there was a nice warm breeze blowing through the streets and I’m sure the birds were chirping somewhere. All of a sudden the thought of sitting tucked away inside the dark massive Time Warner Center seemed so unappealing. I wanted to be outside enjoying life! I quickly cancelled my reservation and turned heel down into Union Square.
The decision had been so rash I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. All I know was that outdoors was essential. Suddenly I found myself in front of Blue Water Grill. I took a look at their Restaurant Week menu outside and it sounded wonderful. I walked inside and was able to get a seat right way outside on their veranda. I was so happy with the way things were going until I looked at the menu. The RW menu being offered was very different from the one advertised outside. Especially the dessert! Both options sounded horrible. I was beginning to panic. Should I get up and leave? That wouldn’t be very nice. But dessert is so important to me.
Right then my waiter came out, the same waiter I had last time I enjoyed lunch here and I knew everything would be okay. I explained to him my RW menu switcheroo dilemma and he assured me that when dessert time came we would be able to switch it to something different. Yay!! He’s wonderful! I ordered the rest of my RW lunch and settled into the sunlight with a nice cold Chelsea Brewery Checker Cab.
My appetizer choice that day was a Watermelon Gazpacho with Maryland Crab Salad. They actually brought out the bowl filled with crab first and then poured the gazpacho over top tableside.
.JPG)
I’m not a big gazpacho fan but I was surprised how refreshing this was. I enjoyed the crisp watermelon flavor intermingling with the sweet crab. I had requested a table in the sun and was beginning to regret my choice. The sun was strong that sweat started to run down my back and the butter for my bread completely melted in its bowl. I even had to ask for another set of silverware because mine had become to hot to even pick up! Luckily the cold gazpacho completely cooled me down and really livened for the next course.
.JPG)
My entree was the Grilled Mahi Mahi with Chorizo Corn Bread Hash, Jersey Collard Greens and Chipotle BBQ Sauce. I had no idea what to expect from this crazy sounding dish but I have to say I ended up being absolutely thrilled. The fish was flaky and moist with perfect little grill marks on both sides. However the winner of the dish were the accompaniments. The chorizo corn bread hash with collard greens was awesome! There was a ton of chorizo that gave a nice spice to the dish while the bitter greens and nutty bread really added some texture. I have to say this was a very manly fish dish. Mr. T doesn’t often order fish but he would love something like this. The only part I didn’t really touch was the BBQ sauce. I found the sweet stuff unnecessary. The dish was perfect enough on its own.
.JPG)
Now for dessert. My waiter was nice enough to give me several alternate options and I ended up choosing the Warm Molten Chocolate Cake. This cake really seemed more like a brownie to me because of its’ dense fudgy texture. I wasn’t a huge fan of that but I did love the topping of malted crunch ice cream. Yum! This was so good! Thank goodness I was dining alone so no one could see me shoveling this into my face. The sun was acting fast and I wanted to get every last drop before it completely melted away.
By the end of my meal I was stuffed, happy and slightly sunburned. I relaxed on the patio for a bit, enjoying some last minute people watching and sips of beer, then paid my check and left. The food, service and table had Blue Water Grill were exactly what I needed that day.
Blue Water Grill
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