Dinner following Courthouse Wedding

[mascarpone]

I am getting married!!!!

I am planning an evening meal for five following a civil ceremony at the NYC courthouse. The event will take place the first Friday in August. In a years time there will be a larger, more inclusive religious ceremony. My parents are flying in and we are interested in Western Cuisine (New American, New or classic French, Italian . . . .). If possible, we would like to spend no more than $60 per person including wine.

The location of the restaurant does not need to be in the vicinity of the courthouse; however, we would prefer not to have to schlep to one of the outer boros or Long Island. My father had an idea of a place: The Wall Street Inn; however, he is not a foodie and, although he insists on picking up the check, he is very parsimonious.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edited July 9, 2006 by mascarpone (log)

[Bond Girl]

Congrats!!! May you be forever happy in domestic bliss. Giving the price gudeline, and where you are, I would try Landmarc or Azafrans, both not very intimate or romantic but then again, wedding parties are usually more festive than romantic. If you want to trek a bit further, you might want to try Hearth, which would fall more or less in the $60-$75 range as well. There's also The Orchard, which is BYOB and good solid Italian/American Food-definitely worth checking out. If you are going to be a party or six or more, try giving Alex at Tia Pol a call, there is a private room in the back you can take over, or the booth that seats up to 6 in the main dining room that you can reserve.

Hope it helps.

[Jason Perlow]

I'd totally go with the Hearth rec.

[mascarpone]

Thanks very much for the suggestions.

[mascarpone]

As luck would have it, a great suggestion landed me a reservation at Tocqueville .

[mascarpone]

The dinner at Tocqueville was splendid. The décor reminded me of a concert hall or theatre and there were curtains drawn at the far end of the space which led to the kitchen (it is fitting as the kitchen is the stage in this restaurant). Service was impeccable.

We started with a Gravlox Amuse. The appetizers were excellent: I had the California Sea Urchin and Angel Hair Carbonara. Both my wife and my sister chose the chilled Green and White Asparagus with black truffle vinaigrette and herb salad. My mother had the chilled Spring Pea Soup (served over crabmeat, lavender, and mint), and my father had the special appetizer: oysters with a very interesting dressing. ]

For the main course my mother had the salmon and my father and sister had the 60 second seared aged seared steak and 24 hour short rib. I tasted the steak which was delicious in taste and texture (sort of a steak lovers black and white). This was a very interesting concept of opposites and contrast.

My wife had the black sesame cod that was aesthetically (Asian theme) pleasing to see as to taste. I had the Grilled lamb T-bone that was perfectly cooked and the T-bone was propped up so when the plate was initially set down, I was starring at the “T.” The red pepper was actually a delicious whipped red pepper spread across the plate that the lamb was placed on top of. The eggplant roulade was delicious and a wonderful contrast to the lamb and red pepper. The entire dish had a middle-eastern flavor to it, and was very effective.

My mother chose the wine; she got a small bottle of white Burgundy that had a very strong oak flavor that was a bit off putting when she drank it by itself (it almost tasted like a sherry), but went extremely well with her salmon. My wife had an Alsatian wine that she liked very much and my sister, father and I had a bottle of Chateau Nuf du Pape that was very nice with the steak, short rib and lamb.

For dessert my father had the roasted Polenta Cake and my sister had the Valhrona chocolate soufflé, my wife and mother opted for tea. I had the Selected Homemade Sorbets and Ice Creams (Chocolate, yogurt, and lime were outstanding).

My heartfelt thanks to Jo-Ann Makovitsky, the Manager, Chef Marco Moreira, Chef de Cuisine George Mendes, and Bond Girl for her great recommendation that made a very memorable meal for a very, very memorable occasion.

[Sneakeater]

Isn't it great that you can now refer to that person as "my wife"?

Edited August 10, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[mascarpone]

Isn't it great that you can now refer to that person as "my wife"?

←

Yes, naturally.