New York Reprise: End of Spring Food Trip

 

What is it with me and New York?  Last year I visited the Big Apple for four short but unforgettable days in the fall.  Eight months later I am back in the city that never sleeps, in its last few days of spring, for another four brief but no less compelling days.  I remember the storyline of "Same Time Next Year" a play by an award winning and very popular Broadway playwright Neil Simon...two individuals meet once a year to carry on an affair for a few short nights...impervious to or inspite of their respective commitments back home.  I get it! I am having an affair with New York City!

And like an illicit affair, so I've been told, the experience seems sensual, surreal, sensitive, literally sensation-al, maybe because the brevity and time limit heighten all awareness and alter the state of consciousness, much like an opiate or narcotic.  So I've been told.

Ayada.  Near East Cuisine on Woodside and 77th.

Take Ayada.  It's an unpretentious eatery on the Eastside owned by a naturalized American originally from Thailand.  Like most Asian flavor restaurants in the US, all the serving staff hail from Thailand too, their soft spoken and gentle manners belied by a distinct American twang when they speak, and an unmistakable sense of urgency in their movements.  And like most Asian eateries in this continent, the portions are enormous...but the taste is authentic, able to transport you back to the other continent with the first mouthful.

From the crunchy spring roll and delectable mussel starters...to the finely shredded catfish salad...to the red hot Tom Yum soup...to the creamy and incomparable duck curry...all paired with glasses of a 2012 Pinot Grigio...it was Sawasdee time for our bellies.

St. Georges...Paris in the New York Springtime

Not to be outdone in the city that's top of the heap, the European continent was well represented in the Southside Avenue of Greenburgh, the town next to Scarsdale in a cozy little bistro called St. Georges.

A gi-normous Plat du Fruit de Mer, or platter of seafood served cocktail style started the meal, followed by a sinful thumbnail of pate de foie gras, enhanced by a bottle of 2010 Alsace Grand Cru Furstentum Reisling Blanc.  

It was an excellent pairing, the crisp white wine playing with the rich textures of fresh catches from the sea and the melts-in-your-mouth smoothness of the foie gras.  A filling bowl of thick onion soup followed the spectacular appetizer and preceded the entrees that can only be whipped up a Frenchman...textbook Entrecôte that was cooked just parfait!... incroyable Grilled Truffled Scallops, and Sole Meunière that was truly 

merveilleuse... the exquisite flavors unveiled by a bottle of full bodied yet woodsy Aleofane Crozes Hermitage 2012.

Pardon my schoolgirl French as I gush. The experience was so filling, there was no room for the phenomenal desserts a la Francaise!

What a fabulous way to start this particular affaire d'amour...this interlude that seems to be my fate with this unbelievable city!