Yet Another Disappointing Restaurant Week Meal At Arlington Club

Arlington Club - Upper East Side
1032 Lexington Ave (Between 73rd and 74th)
New York, NY 10022

• Food: Sadly below expectations.
• Service: Prompt and friendly.
• Ambiance: Dim, quiet, with a Gentleman's club flare (minus the cigar smell). 
• Value: Ironically low, given Restaurant Week deals. 

Restaurant Week, the twice yearly New York celebration that brings high-class (high cost) food to the masses, makes me tingle with anticipation. I look forward to these few weeks a year when I can justify dining at some of the city's finest restaurants. Yet, it seems to let me down more often than not. There were a few superb meals--Circo, Perry Street, and Brasserie among them--but other restaurants seem to have a reduction in quality that surpasses the reduction in price. Arlington Club, a mix between a Good 'Ol Boys club and a pub, won the first spot on our Restaurant Week list.

The restaurant mustered the creativity to serve not table bread but rather popovers the size of pomelos. Breaking through the crusty exterior to the doughy bread beneath became more rewarding still when we were able to slather whipped butter over each bite. What was hard to swallow was that I grew up eating lighter yet richer popovers in the tiny town of Rutland, Vermont. Was it that a Zagat-rated restaurant in America's culinary epicenter couldn't top Rutland's popovers--or was it that even the popovers get a downgrade during Restaurant Week?

Appetizers of french onion soup and a tuna tartare arrived promptly. With cheese seared to a golden brown and bread that still had some crunch despite being drowned in soup, the former was a hit. However, the tuna tartare--while good--reminded me of the tuna avocado salad I'd had for lunch that day at Kobeyaki, the Japanese fast-food chain my colleagues frequent. 

The main meal consisted salmon atop a pool of puréed peas and asparagus. The deep green color was the most impressive aspect of this culinary slight. I really don't know how the simple act of blending can remove all flavor from a food. However, the salmon passed muster--I just wouldn't pay top dollar for it.

The most impressive aspect of the meal arrived in the form of a slender cake topped with three candied pieces of popcorn. This peanut butter chocolate bar almost washed away the disappointing meal. With a bit of crunch and a hint of salt, the chocolate cake and ice cream combo threw the curve, bringing up the meal's overall average. Sadly, however, I wouldn't call this restaurant top-grade. I wonder if it's any better outside of Restaurant Week. 

Levain Bakery Cookies Are Not Cookie Cutter Perfect--They're Better

Levain Bakery - Upper West Side (Also in Harlem and the Hampton's)

167 West 74th Street

New York, NY 10023

My cousin goes down in the in Hall of Foodie Fame for this recommendation.

As though it were no big deal, she slipped in the name Levain Bakery over lunch the other day. Despite her lack of fanfare, I knew the bakery must be good for her to have mentioned it. I just didn't know just how good.

Having no prior knowledge of the Levain Bakery's cookies, my expectations were moderate, which is unusual in a city where every "hot" foodie trend spreads like a pandemic through Buzzfeed, Twitter, and casual conversation. But when I sidled into the line crowding to the door, I realized maybe this was a hot trend I had missed.

As a grab-and-go basement bakery, the queue moved quickly, ushering in the stalwart patrons who had been patiently waiting through wind and spitting rain. With the chocolate chip brioche out of stock, I opted for the double chocolate chocolate chip cookie, which arrived not warm but hot. Levain defies the flat, cookie cutter feel of chain stores (Think Mrs. Fields, if you dare make the comparison.) As with any fine work, the imperfections contribute to, rather than detract from, the brilliance. In the case of Levain Bakery, what you receive is a mildly misshapen, mountainous cookie that gets your hands messy and melts in your mouth--but I guarantee you wouldn't want it any other way.

After also trying the walnut chocolate chip (also delicious), I would recommend the double chocolate instead. The walnut cookie's sugar content carried a zealously sweet imprint of blanched sugar. Left unchecked, this sweetness becomes too overpowering to continue eating after just a few bites. In contrast, the bitter cocoa in the double chocolate chocolate chip enriches the dough and eliminates any trace of processed taste. Nevertheless, the cookie is rich enough that halfway through my chocolate cravings were satiated. In a moment of unexpected self control, I saved the rest for later.

And I am so glad I did. After a night in the refrigerator, a Levain Bakery cookie is still soft enough to sink your teeth into--like a block of fudge. It is the breakfast of champions.

Sake Bar Hagi Is A Thumbs Up Despite Times Square Locale

Sake Bar Hagi - Times Square

152 W. 49th Street, New York, NY 10019

I work in Times Square, which is immeasurably convenient when it comes to transportation (almost all the subway lines converge in that area), but inconvenient in almost every other regard. Once in a while I smile when I see Times Square as the backdrop to a Hollywood movie, which reminds me that my daily doldrums are other people's fantasies. However, most of the time the mess of tourists and overwhelming advertisements makes me curse Times Square (sometimes aloud). The mix of indecently high prices and blatant tourist traps also makes me steer clear of dining in that area; even after taking in a show I try to dine 5-10 blocks from the epicenter.

However, Sake Bar Hagi surprised me. Neither a tourist trap nor price gauge, this restaurant was mildly decorated and highly affordable. We settled in at the sushi bar with hope.

We had been lured there under false pretenses. As we were choosing a restaurant, my dining mate had seen a picture of salmon rice balls on yelp and became fixated. Yet one glance at the menu confirmed that this was an all-ramen joint with far fewer options than Yelp pictures promised.

Nevertheless, we each ordered a bowl of ~$10 ramen, which came with a more traditional wooden spoon and chopsticks, and began to slurp. Uneasy about the quality of the meat from the unconvincing menu photos, I had ordered vegetarian. Seeing the sliced pork in person quieted my qualms, but I was still happy with my choice. Hot, flavorful broth backed a medley of Asian add-ins--bok chou, seaweed, and a boiled egg in particular--which warmed my belly from the inside out.

In the Hell's Kitchen area there are two or three trendy ramen restaurants that almost always have a wait of an hour or more--no reservations or take out allowed. Sake Bar Hagi is no four star restaurant. These are not magic noodles. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised to find this little gem in proximity to Times Square. And, there was no wait to dine.