Hello Guys, what are the plans for long weekend
Mine are a bit complicated.
There are weekends when I want to just laze around watching the telly and then there are most of them when I want to dine like a queen.
The problem with the latter is searching for a restaurant which satisfies the hunger of this criminal stomach. In times of need, Zomato is the Yellow Pages of restaurants. “It happened in New York” was one of the latest updates on the app and a rooftop dining experience with food inspired by the Big Apple enthralled me.
“It happened in New York” opened recently on Chapel road, Bandra, opposite Starbucks. Sprawled over three floors the restaurant pays homage to the city of New York. As we entered the lower floor, we were left amazed by the Statement wall on a backdrop of Ink Blue tiles, the decorative carpets and a large communal table.
The upper level of the restaurant offers further dining space with large windows and subtle lights.
The top most or terrace area offers an Al Fresco dining experience. The terrace is bordered with plants and ambushed by ample sunlight during the day replaced by small table lamps post sunset. Stepping into ”IHINY” was like stepping into a retro American diner with its red couches, metal chairs, bar stools and wide lamps strung from atop the ceiling.
Even though it was the middle of the week, the place seemed relatively occupied. We were ushered to a table on the terrace area. Before the menus were handed to us, we were welcomed with a pair of rainbow bagels, on the house. I had only seen these on Instagram accounts of New Yorkers before and I wasn’t going to miss a chance to snap these.
The ever attentive staff was well versed with the dishes and we relied heavily on them for recommendations.
Our culinary ride to NYC began with Chicken Popcorn, Beef Nachos and Old Bay Crab Cake;
Chicken Popcorn was served with kimchi mayo and soft cheese dip. These crunchy little dynamite spheres were mildly spiced and are a lovely side snack to munch on during those endless conversations or just waiting for your next order to arrive.
Beef Nachos were lined up on a bed of refried beans and minced beef with sour cream, Pico de gallo & guacamole. The nachos lacked the tingling taste and the overall dish was a little dry. Nevertheless, it left a rather pleasant aftertaste with the tiny scrapings of beef rolled around the beans.
Old Bay Crab Cake: Medium sized crab cakes rested on sage biscuits with a spread of red pepper jam top and arugula leaves, can-dried apricot, oranges and cherry tomatoes. The soft, juicy cake crowned atop the crunchy biscuit was a complete treat to the drooling taste buds. This one was the best among the starters.
For mains, we called for Korean Fried Chicken Waffle: It is my love for waffles which keeps pushing me to try them at every café/ restaurant I visit. Waffles are one of the few things that make me weak in the knees.
Twice fried chicken in Korean spice served with hot sauce drizzled waffles was absolutely scrumptious. I just found another not-to-be-missed waffle place on my food map.
And we also had “Rack of Lamb”: New Zealand Lamb rack, arugula & apricot salad served with sweet potato fries and merlot jus. The meat was dry and tasted average. This one could afford a skip.
Every meal should end on a sweet note. No points for guessing, we did try the exemplary NY Cheesecake.
Tall, thick& intensely rich creamy dessert with seasonal berries compote, the stuff cheesecake dreams are made of. The classic cheesecake was the delicious sweet conclusion this meal deserved.
Overall the service and attention to detail in the dishes was excellent. Each dish has its own distinct flavor making it scrumptious. The price for a dinner here may seem expensive but the quality of food, the taste, the ambiance and the commendable service justifies the price.
You can get more details of the restaurant here;
Until then,
Gr8 post Ashfina…keep it up..
Visited there last weekend with a group of friends, and had all the fun we could handle. I really like the ambiance at event venues Chicago. There's a decent draft beer selection at a reasonable price and the bartenders are good at what they do.