Melvyn's Palm Springs

If you have ever wondered what old Palm Springs was like back in the days when Sinatra and Bing were running around, Then you have to experience the very old school restaurant called Melvyn's at the Ingleside Inn. this place is virtually the last hold out of a dying dining art form. Here is a place where waiters wear white tuxedo jackets in the day and black ones at night. The land of crumb combs and exquisitely attentive service. I can't stand going to pseudo trendy eating establishments where the wait staff is more concerned with their "hipster" appearance and the chef is the star. At Melvyn's it's done the right way. The customer is the star and you are truly treated like one. From the time you are greeted at the door to the time you are bade a kind thank you and have a good day. Most trendy eateries today forget that we, the people are the stars and not your wait staff or your tre chic establishment it is we the customer who come to give you money, so we should be treated like stars and not second class citizens. I find it really crass that there are so many eateries around town where you don't even get a "good evening", just a hostess who looks at you and says "how many?" and rarely a "thank you" on your way out. Customer service in the restaurant business today is at its all time low.

The decor of Melvyn's I don't think has changed since the 1970's, it's a time warp of plastic grapes hanging from the ceiling to plaster Roman pillars. But it's just so cool in it's own little dimension a little corner of the culinary universe that time has just forgotten.

The history of Melvyn's or more specifically the Ingleside Inn where Melvyn's resides is that it was once a very exclusive boutique hotel where the owner, Ruth Hardy ran it with a who's who only, iron fist, you didn't call for reservations the hotel virtually would call you. You had to be invited and if you did call and you didn't measure up to Ruth Hardy's standards you were just told that there was "no room at the Inn".
The small restaurant was for guests only and not open to the public. Everyone from Salvador Dali to Howard Hughes stayed at this place. Can you imagine being at the bar having a drink with Dali and Hughes? Hello Dali!

This woman virtually started to change this desert town on her own from a drive through little town to a destination of the stars and power brokers.
Ruth Hardy passed on in 1965 and unfortunately the Inn fell into disrepair. It's glory days behind her now and she would soon be gone if not for the next owner, a Mr. Melvyn Habar, who bought the place in April 1975.
I know I'm drolling on about the history of this place, but I find it fascinating, especially the history of a town like Palm Springs. Where the ghosts of the past still linger on in establishments such as this.
Melvyn Habar was from New York on a vacation out to the area. He made his money and tons of it selling "automobile novelties". From dashboard hula dancers to car fresheners. He was a perfect candidate to rehab the Inn and a true working mans rags to riches story.

He opened it up to the public, both the Inn and the restaurant, naming it of course after himself. The place has impeccable service from the valet, whom, by the way is not a pimply faced 17 year with that "whatever" look on his face. these guys older and were pro's.There is something to be said for those who choose to be professional service people. I mean I find it a refreshing thing of beauty for a man to have an entire career out of being a waiter. In today's world we are inundated with images and opinions of what we should do and be in our lives. The professional waiter is definitely a dying art form. There is true beauty in the movements and customs of a true professional waiter. Like watching a Japanese tea master at work where every move has taken years to perfect. such is the level of discipline the waiters here have achieved. They are never more than 6 feet away from you at any time. waiting for the chance to fill your glass with more wine or water.
This is an art that is truly dead in most cities as the trendy snot nosed 20 somethings with piercings in their ears the size of bus exhaust pipes yawn and look at their Chinese made "nixon" watches waiting for their guaranteed 18% gratuity, while doing nothing. sad state indeed. It's just never a complete restaurant if the foods good and the wait staff sucks.

The menu is pure shagadelic sophisticato. It is old school rich and hasn't changed for years. and that's OK, I mean a place like this should never change. It's a legend and it should remain legendary.

 Celebrity sightings are kitschy yes, But it shows the level of service this place has. and everyone is treated like Ol Blue eyes here. It was Sunday and it was brunch time. I'm not a brunch person at all. I don't care for food in chaffing trays, piled up  under heat lamps. None of that here. all off the menu and of course the champagne flows free-ly as well. The champagne might say Melvyn's on the bottle but at one point I believe it belonged to Andre. Ok, My only complaint.

Now the bloody Mary's on the other hand were perfect.

It had a pickled green bean in it that was just amazing! I have never had a bloody Mary with this garnish. Nice and spicy. The bread basket came next and it was filled with very light and flaky croissant's and and what seemed like a blueberry scone of some sort. but I have to tell you that it was so light and airy more like a biscuit than scone.

I'm not a sweet guy in the morning, in more ways than one, but this blueberry thingy was perfect. I could have eaten ten of them like a blueberry scone chipper shredder.

I spied on the menu Pate Masion $9.50. I love Pate  and this was house made. So we had to order it. It was probably one of the finest Pate's I have ever had. My compliments to the chef. It was so satiny and smooth. With a perfect texture and slight gameness with what seemed like a splash of sherry in it as well. The perfect breakfast next time will be just this dish and the free champagne and you are set for the day and will be very happy.

On the plate were various fruits, cornichons and capers. Some house made mayonnaise and a dollop of house made Jalapeno jelly. OMG. I could have heated a spoonful of this jelly up, tied a napkin around my arm tapped a vein and mainlined it right there in the dining room. It was perfect and went exquisitely with the sublime Pate.

Served with toast points. Heaven. I can assure you that the picture below was unintentional. But it turned out to be very funny. Goofy sculpture in Pate.

 

I could have just eaten this and been very happy. Next we ordered the Steak Venetian $21.00. It's a take off of the classic Eggs Benedict. This one comes with medallions of filet Mignon poached eggs and Bearnaise sauce on toasted English muffins.

Sometimes it's tough for a restaurant to get poached eggs right. these were perfect 3 minute eggs. The steak was grilled and cut like butter. when you poked the egg the dish came together as the creamy egg yolks mixed with the Bearnaise and was soaked up by the various nooks and crannies of the English muffin.

I ordered the Melvyn's Famous Cobb Salad $19.50. Now the Cobb salad was introduced at the legendary Brown Derby in Los Angeles in 1937, And made by the owner Robert Cobb, Cousin of Ty Cobb. And has a similar story on how it came to be, like the Buffalo Wing. on a whim as a late night snack for a customer. Only this one was made for Sid Grauman, who owned Grauman's Chinese Theater. It was a hit. And after that night it became a staple at the Brown Derby and caught on at every sophisticated hot spot. It was made and served table side. Virtually no one serves it table side anymore. Like the Caesar Salad and Fettuccine Alfredo. the table side service of these classics has gone the way of the dodo long ago. All were made at your table. But in the land of Chili's and Applebee's. They have become as dull and sad as Maury saying Moisha he is not the father.

But wait! Can it be that Melvyn's being that old school tuxedo wearing eatery of the glitterati would uphold the pomp and pageantry of this dish? Why yes of course. I was so pleasantly surprised when the waiter strolled up with his Cobb salad making cart and started to make it for us.

It was like watching an artist in his prime. it was pure theater. it was so elegant and perfect.

Every step choreographed and honed the way only a professional doing it for years of dedicated service can  attain.

There are many variations for the dressings used to bind this salad together. The original used a concoction of red wine vinegar and dried mustard. The one at Melvyn's seemed to have a very light and tangy Blue cheese dressing. it was very good. I think I would have said it was very good even if it was bad. Just because of the way it was made. It's the way dining used to be when the stars were everywhere in Palm Springs. this is a place that makes you feel like you are truly the guest of honor, even if your a nobody, like me. just a schmo looking for a snack on a Sunday morning to begin the day.

The dress is always casual in Palm Springs so no worries on what to wear, even here. At night if your under dressed for the festivities, no one will whisper a word and you will be treated like a star all night. This is the twilight zone of eateries in the area. And it's a must if you go to Palm Springs. Even just for the Pate Maison and a bloody marry, you'll be fine.

I love the Palm Springs area and this place is pure palm Springs. From the fountain out front to the OG pool and ammenities. it's a treasure in the desert.

Melvyn's at the Ingleside Inn

200 West Ramon Road
Palm Springs, CA 92264-7333
(760) 325-2323

Chow

Michael

Capo's Italian Steakhouse

Vegas... I'm still only in Vegas...  I'm gonna be here a week ... waiting for a mission... getting softer. Every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker, and every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger. Each time I look around the walls move in a little tighter. My apologies to John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola, but that's what it feels like when you stay in LasVegas for a week. It's too long man. you lose your inner compass, your verve for life. It deadens you and weakens you. you become one of the walking dead, never venturing outside during the day. Breathing fake air through vents in buildings called casinos that have been lightly scented with vanilla to keep the masses happy and content. Stepford wives Hell! this is Stepford wives meets Westworld,where everyone on the strip is in on the game except the zombies who roam through it on "vacations".
Staying at the Paris Hotel in a room where you couldn't tell it from the Clarion up the street. most Vegas hotels are like this. no frills. The object is to get you out of the room to roam with the zombies and drop your coin into the vats of Vegas. Although I have been known to don a 007 dinner jacket and head to the craps tables, I'm not a gambler. Life is a gamble enough for me, Hell, just driving here is a gamble. 6 1/2 hours it took this time. My God, I have made this trip more times than I care to remember on wheels. This time I drove straight through, not stopping at Peggy Sue's or Mad Greek's, No Alien Jerky for me this trip. I wanted to get there fast and get out quicker.
There was an Avon convention at the Hotel as well. Nothing like seeing overly made up Avon ladies with one to many cosmopolitans in them, cruising through the jungle looking for prey. It was quite a sight to see every night. the continual parade of drunken cougars in there finest Avon make up looking for 20 somethings and their male counter parts, "Manthers" looking for the same. never noticing each other. For me. I'm content on my bar stool with my favorite bar tender "Big D", sipping my double Crown Royal with a twist and watching the game play out before me. This is life. Like watching ants parade in front of you.
Hunger set in hard as we had worked all day long for 12 hours straight. An associate suggested we go to Bally's Steakhouse. it was close by, So off we went. I had never been to this place before, but can assure you I won't be back. was in the mood for a nice cut of Prime rib. You know that wonder of the buffet line. the cut of meat that has been downgraded to $4.99 specials at low brow casino billboards all over Vegas. I wanted to see what "fine dinning" / "Steakhouse" could do with it. This is a great cut of meat. a roasted whole rib eye. It was absolutely horrid. I actually felt that the animal was so defiled by this I could have become a vegan on the spot. $36.00 for it a la Carte and it was tougher than Rosie O'Donnell in a fight with Oprah Winfrey over a canned ham. The service atrocious.
Next evening after another long day we decided to go to one of my favorite steakhouses in Vegas. Mon Ami Gabi, which of course is in the Paris Hotel. they have the best aged rib eye steak I have had in the area. When the Europeans come to the US. they all order the beef. In Europe they don't "age" beef as we do. It's OK in Europe. But US beef is still king. aging breaks down the fibers and makes the flesh turn to butter. truly worth the price. But not this time. I was shocked that my beloved dry aged rib eye that I order every time was of the same quality as the prime rib at Bally's! Tough, tough tough and I ordered it rare. Not black and blue, but rare.Oh the humanity. Too tired to complain, Hell it would have taken another 45 minutes at least for a replacement to arrive. I opted instead to focus on the Escargot. Now these are perfect, succulent little garden pests swimming in a sea of garlic, parsley and olive oil. slathered on a piece of bread. oh my, these go down quicker than a Clinton intern.
Which leads us to Capo's Italian Steakhouse. Tired of the fare on the strip and looking for something else, maybe even a place that was worth the money. I don't mind paying top dollar, but I want more to my meal than a busting out everywhere server.
Located a few miles off the strip in a rather nondescript shopping mall is the Capo's. It doesn't look like anything special at all from the outside.

Opened in 2004 by two brothers, Dominic and Nico Santucci. Who moved the families eatery that had been established since1964, from Chicago to Las Vegas.Serving Southern Italian food and themed after a 1920's "speak easy". OK I wanted out of Vegas and was tired of the themes. and here I was in a world  that looked like it was put together by Disney imagineer's. It worked though. definitely Vegas over the top. They say that things are bigger in Texas? Pffft. No way. maybe pork and beer bellies. but Vegas is king of over the top huge! You enter the place via the front door, which really isn't the door. you walk inside and have to knock. and from behind you slides a door where the "guy" looks you over and asks what you want.

Your eyes are not prepared upon entering. it's dark. I mean really dark. no lights. candles on tables light the way. the bar has a slight back light to it. You literally have to be guided and told where steps are. Like Frau Blucher guiding Doctor Frankenstein up the star well from Young Frankenstein.
We are sat and left in the dark. just the candle light glowing dimly in front of us I can't see my dinner companions faces. I can make their figures out in the dark but that's it.

After being in the light all week. I find the darkness soothing, comforting maybe. I don't have to smile and play Vanna White. It hides me and I can breath for the first time in a week.

 Your eyes start to adjust as the waitress approaches, She's genuine, real. Not like the zombie wranglers that work the strip.  

She handed us the menus and we grabbed for them fumbling and grasping for them in the dark. The menu's had miniature flashlights attached to them. It was the only way to read them other than if they were printed in Braile.

Classic Italian food. more upscale than the normal red and white checkered tablecloth places. Themed menu, yes. But quality stuff. I had the Makers Mark 100% certified Angus Beef with whiskey peppercorn sauce. Not really a sauce on steak guy. but wanted to try it out. It was good. My God, after a week in the jungle I found a good steak at last. It had to much sauce on it for me. I just pushed most off. but the beef had flavor to it. creamy and buttery. melted in your mouth. for $36.00 it was worth it. I had to use a quick flash to snap a picture of it. The flash lit up the place like someone threw a shock grenade through the front door. no one could see for at least 15 seconds.

Soon as our dinner had arrived, so did the stereotypical crooner. He started to belt out really classic Sinatra tunes that no one hears anymore. his voice circled the room in a low pitch adding to the place and not taking away from the experience. He wasn't the show. he was the ambient music and it worked. When you dine in the dark your senses are heightened. your smell, your hearing. I felt rather fine doing so. I was able to relax and felt free and ready to tackle the rest of the week.

Capo's Italian Steakhouse
5675 W. Sahara Ave
Las Vegas, NV 




Chow


Michael


 

SKYY Ginger Infused Vodka

Recently at the palatial Foodopolis estate we held our annual Tiki-tini party to benefit the Salvation Army's work. Such a great cause and one of the truly great charities out there. We had the opportunity to try out the latest infused concoction from SKYY Vodka. It's infused with the essence of one of my favorite little roots. The ever so humble and yet so powerful, ginger root. Just a a few slivers will change the complexity of any dish from bland to exotic. A little to much of it and it will take over, overpowering everything in its sight. So I approached this bottle of enticingly infused spirits with some trepidations. Visions of overpowering "Monster" type "power" drinks danced in my head.

Prior to the event we made up or changed is more like it, drink recipes that we thought would match this ginger vodka concoction. The menu, of course, was purely 50's Trader Vic's "Polynesian". And the Hawaiian shirt dress code was strictly adhered to. Guests entering without proper attire, were quickly whisked to a rack with assorted thrift shop Hawaiian attire and held at drink point, (no drink,until changed) until they relented and changed into one of them.

 OK, so back to the SKYY Ginger Infused Vodka. So, I sat back prior to mixing anything with it and after making sure it had a nice stay in the freezer. I lined up a few Snifter glasses of the stuff so we could try it out. Most of my friends are into very exotic brands of Vodka, that I won't mention here, But I find most to be just average at any cost. So this was going to be interesting.We lined up a finger of this ginger vodka in a few glasses and studied it at first like those apes from 2001, poking sticks at a monolith. we smelled, talked, smelled some more, talked, took the lightest of whisper vapor amount into our mouths and finally tasted the stuff. I was shocked. It was good! It was light and the ginger was a note in the vodka and not the star. the ginger was infused to the right level. it hung in the background without overpowering. To say the least we were pleased and delighted with this Vodka, which now will become a staple at our bar.

We came up with a few variations of those classic Tiki drinks and here are a few.


BLUE HAWAIIAN
An Island, Delight with Hues of the Ocean. Made with SKYY Ginger Infused Vodka, Blue Curaco and Pineapple juice.
The blue Hawaiian, we just throw copious amounts into a shaker and let the requester shake it up on the dance floor. Grass skirt is required.

RED-HEADED ZOMBIE

• 1 oz. Matusalem Gran Reserve
• 1 oz. Appleton V/X
• 1 oz. Mount Gay XO
• 1/2 oz. 151
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1.5 oz. SKYY Ginger Infused Vodka
• 1 oz. orgeat
• .5 oz. cranberry juice
• .5 oz. pineapple juice

We can go on and on. It will mix very easily into your favorite Polynesian drink and we even substituted it for rum on a few occasions. As I'm not a fan of rum. I know, I know, 90% of all Tiki drinks are made with rum. but I would rather have Vodka in them.

You know the best way I like this vodka is just plain, chilled and straight from the freezer and substituted for Saki with a nice plate of sashimi. I find she can be a party girl but she can also be an elegant dinner guest. It is the perfect compliment for classic Japanese. And like a good dinner date it doesn't over power you with talking about itself all night, but brings something to the table and makes you want to spend the whole evening with her.

So if you are in the mood for a slight change of the regular. This is good stuff.

Chow


Michael

Chuckbox!

Ahhh, the Chuck Box. Located in Tempe Arizona just outside of the gates of ASU. One of my favorite burger joints. Ya know sometimes I really get fed up and tired of going to restaurants that have mini novels for each item on their respective menus. naming everything from the grass the cow ate to it's name and what was its favorite color.Come on now. There's a few places and one in particular in San Diego that even have a cast of credits on the front of it's menu detailing every vendor they have. Ridiculous. I guess it's why I love Asian cuisine and it's eateries. They usually have extensive menu items and family owned with recipes handed down for generations. You would never go into an Asian eatery and have a novel written about each item. It would be an hysterical SNL skit though. I can see it now. Menu item #1. Frog legs in curry. Made with farm raised  hand fed frogs from the Ohio valley, where farmer Gustov massages each frogs legs everyday under the glow of a natural environmentally ecco green lamp prior to lopping off their meaty little legs.The curry made of 43 distinct ingredients of which we will breakdown now.....Anyway, you get the point. I find these establisments extremely pretensous at best. When you go out to eat you should expect the best the place has to offer and not a constant reminder of where, when, how, who, whatever.
But the Chuck Box is in a league all to itself. It's as unrefined and unpretentious as it gets.  None of that pseudo intellectual tripe here. Just good burgers. I was amazed to see this place run by just two college students on the night I went there. from cooking to cashier to busing tables. 
The place has a sign out front that says over 278 sold! hilarious place, but with serious food.

 The burgers are cooked over a mesquite charcoal grill and you step right up to "Juan" as he's grilling and tell him what you juan, and he slaps it on the grill in front of you and you move down the line and get your beer or soda. Just like they do at Pinks hot dogs in LA. Then you travel back around and wait for your burger to be done.

I love fries, but I love onion rings more. The rings at Chuck Box are not the best item on the menu. maybe because I like my rings with Panko crumbs and not a batter base, which the ones here are.

They were cooked to perfection though and very crispy with a nice fresh onion underneath. great beer drinking companions. Next up, the famous Chuckbox burger. For some reason my pix all came out very, very bad. so it's not your eyes. it's mine.

They cooked my burger to exactly how I wanted it. a nice red line through the middle. The taste of the charcoal mixed with the freshness of the beef was outstanding. The mesquite adds just enough smoke to give it that little something extra. The bun had just enough texture and give to it without really adding any flavor at all to the mix. Which was a good thing I thought as you really want to focus on that big beefy mesquitee charcoaly thing.

 Ok so it's by a major college campus and it has a funny spokesman. but it really works and is a very good little dive of a place.

So if you are ever in Tempe Arizona and are in need of a great burger with no frills attached, then the Chuckbox is worth searching out.

 And if you want to volunteer to take pictures. I will buy ya a beer....or two.

Chow

Michael




The Chuckbox
202 E. University Dr.
Tempe, AZ

Grand Marnier

It's been a tradition at the Foodopolis kitchen to make homemade hootch around the holidays and give bottles of them out to family and friends who still have livers left. Or who's eye's have stopped twitching since the last time we gave them out.
After years of trial and error. This is my favorite way to make that orange liquor called Grand Marnier. you can also make Limoncello in this fashion too. At the end I will explain how to very this recipe to make it.

We have both Lemon and Orange trees here, So we try to pick the fruit at it's peak. Although we have Meyer Lemon's, which are not the classic fruit to use for Limoncello. It still works well. I would recommend for the lemon based version that you use the more classic "Sunkist" variety found at the store.Gives it a more traditional flavor.

GRAND MARNIER

12  Fresh Oranges.
12  Orange tree leaves
1  750ml bottle of Napolean Brandy
1 750ml of good 80 proof Vodka 
1 750ml EverClear
3 Cups sugar
2 Cups Water

 

Using a kitchen grater. Remove the zest of all the oranges. Being careful to get only the orange zest and not the  white pith. The zest is where all the essential oils are of the fruit.

Take the Orange leaves and crush them in your hand. make sure you bruise them well as it releases there essential oils. The oil from the leaves is very bitter and works with the recipe.

Put the zest and the leaves in  a large glass vessel that has a secure lid to it. Do not use an aluminum container as it reacts with the acid of the oranges and will destroy the batch.

And now the good stuff. I use EverClear to get the alcohol content to where it needs to be in the end. this stuff is deadly that's for sure. You can get it at BevMo. It's not out on the shelves, you have to ask for it. They keep it under lock and key. It's 151 proof grain alcohol. they have a 190 proof version as well, but that one one is illegal to sell in California. I have never seen so many waring labels on a bottle before.

 

This stuff is Hillbilly jet fuel, the legal cousin of moonshine and this one has all it's teeth.

 

OK, So now you pour all of the alcohol into the glass vessel with the orange zest and leaves. I like to place some plastic wrap over the top prior to placing the lid on it. Just to make sure we have a nice tight seal. It helps to eliminate alcohol evaporation. Remember in the end, this is sipping stuff. And it will definitely warm your cockles.

  

After pouring all of the liquids into the vessel. and sealing the lid on tight. It's time to let it rest in a cool dark place for up to 30 days. I have done some with jut 7 days. What you are trying to do is infuse the alcohol by extracting the essential oils from the Orange zest and leaves. So the longer you let it set, the more profound and complex your hootch will be.

  

Above is a shot of the "mix" after sitting for 30 days.

After the infusion  time is over. You will need to strain the mixture. I use a clean kitchen towel to do this. First I make sure that i run the clean towel under hot water, while continually squeezing the water from it to make sure any soap residue is gone. You can also use Cheese cloth instead of a towel.

 Now that you have succeeded in pouring all of the liquid through your strainer device. Grab that towel or cheese cloth and wring it out. You want to extract every ounce of essence from the zest and leaves.

Final step is to combine the 3 cups sugar with the 2 cups water in a pan and place it over a medium heat on the stove. Let it come right up to the point of boiling and then shut the heat off. stir until all sugar crystal have evaporated. This simple syrup concoction will be used to sweeten the Orange liqueur. This part is trail by error. as everybodies tastes are different. I like mine not so sweet. You might like it sweeter. So, You will have to taste after every scoop of simple syrup. you will be nice and warm after this.

Take the simple syrup and over to where your container of orange liqueur is and ladle a scoop of it and pour it into the liquor. Stir taste. repeat until you get the desired sweetness that feels right to you. let your palette be your guide here. But I warn you to take small tastes, because this batch with top out at around 100 proof when it's said and done.

After you get the mixture to the right level you want it to be. you will need at least 6-750ml bottles to pour the stuff into.

I like to use Crown Royal bottles, which I collect through the year. hehehe. Or better bet is to order some bottles with rubber stoppers online. You need a tight seal. Ya don't want anymore evaporation of alcohol to happen. 

Here is the recipe for Limoncello:

12 Lemons

4 Lemon  leaves

1 1.75ML good 80 proof vodka

1 750ML Everclear

3 cups sugar

2 cups water.

it's basically the same without the addition of the Napolean brandy.

Now sit back grab a cordial glass. place one ice cube in it. Pour 1 ounce of your Grand Marnier into it. swirl it around, light a fire (place glass down first) pop on some Barry White and you are good to go for the night.

Chow

Michael

New York - The View

I was crying, Man was I crying. The tears rolled down my face like water over Niagara. It was 20 degrees on the streets of New York city with the wind at 40mph. We had no choice but to run into the wind and rain. And for two blocks we felt the sting of 10,000 shards of glass pierce our faces at 40mph. The rain came at us sideways and straight at our faces. I gasped, I couldn't catch my breath and then it hit me, My God, I was being water boarded  from heaven! I actually thought this as I stumbled and ran with my friends gasping for breath through the street as people were running the other direction and staring at us as only New Yorkers can. I was being water boarded from God. I saw the face of God and it was Dick Cheney staring down at me. I cried out "what do you want from me?" no one heard, thank God. Or maybe someone did? We finally made it the two blocks and hid behind a building to catch our breathes. I was so sure that I would have thousands of pinpoint black and blue marks on my face that I would look like Kenny Rogers after his last botched face lift or at best Susan Boyle in the morning. Some of my friends lit cigarettes as they tried to calm themselves. Even though it was way below 20 degrees with the wind chill factor. the wind was no longer able to smack us around. I needed the break, as cigarettes were choked down and addicts had there fill of nicotine.
One more block to run to make it to our destination. It was like running through the streets of Mogadishu. we laid our plan down on how to attack the building and where the front door might be.The last cigarette was crushed on the sidewalk and we were off and running again, this time dodging taxis and bewildered tourists from Ohio who just wanted to take pictures of the 40 foot tall Judge Judy billboards in Time Square. We ran through them, taxis and all. And it was worth it. Although I felt like I was just airlifted out of a jungle war, fighting for my life the whole way, it was surreal to come upon this place of valets wearing top hats and overcoats. Doors were opened for us and I felt vastly out of place, wet and still reeling from the pain with tears still streaming down my face. I kept thinking in the voice of Dennis Hopper, "Dude, do you have any F-ing idea of what we have just gone through man?".
We were directed to the coat check on the 3rd floor. Our destination was slightly higher.

The View Restaurant resides on the 48th floor and has one of the most spectacular views of New York city. The entire place revolves 360 degrees while you dine. The New York skyline and especially Times Square at night and definitely from 48 floors up, looks like you are in the film Blade Runner. Cool blues of the buildings mixed with shocking reds of the video screens, some hung at 20 to 30 floors high.

Ok, so you are in the Marriott Hotel on the 48th floor. But from this view it really didn't matter what the food was like. it was breath taking, even more than being water boarded from Mother nature. this took my breath away.

A cocktail of course was in order as we were all seated. a round of really poofy champagne cocktails was delivered, I would have preferred a Double Crown royal on the rocks after that storm, but the champagne cocktail was smooth and fruity, like Nathan Lane on Broadway.

 

Appetizer.

Foie Gras Duo
Foie Gras Terrine / Foie Gras Espuma / Toasted Brioche

I love this stuff and this was an interesting take on the culinary treat that is on the top 10 hit list from PETA. It came with two versions of Foie Gras, One was a traditional terrine formed cold slice. It was very creamy but extremely mild. Not really alot of flavor here. I was surprised.

 The other was Foie Gras Espuma. Espuma is basically whipped goose liver. Oh man, was this amazing. it was as light as fresh whipped cream but with a taste that was out of this world. Very goosey and gamey and when smeared on a lightly toasted piece of brioche became one with the universe.
I really have to say that it is very true that the bread in New York is the best in the country. Some say it's the water. I don't believe that. I have seen bakers make bread with Dasani bottled water in a couple of New York bakeries. All I know is that it's rich and chewy.

 Appetizer Part II

Jumbo Lump Crab cake
Marinated Cucumber/ Remoulade

Made with jumbo lump Maryland crab meat. Made with at least 80% crab. it was so sweet and not at all on the heavy side.

Main course.

ROASTED RACK OF LAMB
Merguez and White Bean Cassoulet / Harissa Lamb Jus

OK, First let's dissect the Cassoulet. Cassoulet is the soul food of France, the chicken soup for the soul. It's on virtually every menu in the country.And this was very good, mixed with the Merguez, which is a red spicy Moroccan sausage.It came in this little copper pan by itself.

A roasted slice of eggplant sat on a nice sauteed bunch of Broccolini. You could tell that someone took the time to think this dish out. Nice Morocan infuence from the copper pan to the Merguez sausage to the Harissa lamb jus. Harissa is Morocan chili sauce a lighter sriracha sauce. The lamb is domestic and was perfectly cooked. with a great fresh lamb flavor.

Entree Part II

Sauteed Scallops 
Butternut Squash / Forbidden Rice Risotto / Bacon Maple Glaze

This one just didn't work at all. I mean it didn't make sense to me. too many contrasting flavors going on. First off you have sweet briny scallops that should be the star of the show. But you place them on a bed of "Forbidden rice Risotto". Which is risotto made with squid ink and it takes over, then you glaze the scallops with maple syrup and top it all with sweet sticky sauteed butternut squash.

beautiful in presentation, but disgusting on the palette.Crazy combination of conflicting flavors here.

Desert.

New York Cheese cake.

Comon, it's New York right?  when you go to New York, you have to have two things, first a hot dog from a push cart and the other New York Cheese cake right? absolutely.
This was heaven. light and creamy. with a dense soury lemony tang on the palette. covered with crunchy meringue straws and fresh strawberries with baby sprigs of mint. Perfect to balance out the richness of the lamb and cassoulet.

 So Just like the TV show the view. Somethings work and some don't. But the view from this place is better than any food they could possibly serve. Was it worth the literally blinding weather to get here. Yea, with images of political figures throwing rain daggers at me. It was still worth it.

Chow

Michael

 The View
45th Street and Broadway
Times Square.