I didn’t know where we were going to celebrate my 40th birthday, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to disappoint. T told me to dress nice but not uncomfortably so, and to make sure and wear comfy shoes. We were also going to stay the night in the city since we wouldn’t finish up until later, meaning a trip back to NJ would be too much. I was intrigued.
When we arrived into Penn, we dropped off our luggage and took a brisk stroll up to Columbus Circle, where I learned we were headed for dinner. Of course it wouldn’t be a proper trip into the city without hitting an unexpected street fair all along 8th Avenue. I joked we should stop for some fried Oreos, but alas, we did not.
We made our way to the Mandarin Oriental where we went up to the 35th floor to get to our destination, The Aviary. We haven’t been to a more experimental restaurant (that I can recall) since our trip to wd-50 back in February 2012. I was excited to give this new spot a try!
They took us to our table, a perfect one situated by the window. We were able to watch the sunset over Central Park as we made our way through the eight courses, giving the restaurant a different vibe throughout the course of the evening.
We started with the Aviary martini — chilled and distilled with a bit of olive. A straight classic martini like this is not really my thing but it worked great with the first dish — a chilled onion sous vid pana cotta. Served cold, it packed so many interesting levels of flavor. Definitely one of my favorite courses of the night.
The next course was a crab meat salad topped with scallions and yellow taro. The cocktail to accompany was their take on a Harvey Wallbanger — vodka and champagne with orange juice cubes.
The third course was an all-around win, both for flavor and for its uniqueness. The cocktail was a gin infused cocktail in a round canister of sorts. It was designed for you to do small pours so you could experience different combinations and strengths of the various ingredients, which included beets, matcha and amaro. The food dish was a tuna crudo with tomyum foam and rose compressed radishes.
Next was one of my favorite courses, one focused entirely on carrots — foam, angnoloti, etc. We talked about how it made us think of another time we loved a veggie dish this much – again with carrots at Black Barn.
Then we had a small foie gras course, where they paired foie with a dill chip. I’ve mentioned before that foie isn’t my thing but I will say, the foie here was excellent and the dill chip made the dish for me. That briney salt flavor was spot on.
This course was served with their “In the Rocks” — Old Tom gin, vermouth and cherry blossom, all unlocked by your own hands with a slingshot.
The next up was their signature dish, the “Truffle explosion.” It was a single raviolo filled with a truffle liquid. Since I couldn’t have the truffles (which meant all aspects of this dish was off limits) they did a completely alternate course for me. I had sea urchin with a chip on top. The sea urchin was creamy and the chip a perfect touch of crunch.
Our next cocktail arrived shortly thereafter – “Loaded to the Gunwells,” which is mace, pineapple, a hazelnut spray and batavia arrack. So much went into creating this one, down to it being in this intricate glass container. When they brought it out and the candle, I knew this was going to be entertaining!
Then our final savory dish arrived – Miyazaki Wagyu, with yuzu kosho mustard and tofu misozuke. This was absolutely amazing. The meat melted in your mouth and was only more flavorful with the cocktail that would arrive next.
I’d noticed earlier a number of tables with a cocktail that looked like a curious science experiment, with smoke bubbling over. The was next for us! “Boom Goes the Dynamite” has served hot and featuring “two types of rums, vanilla bean infused rooibos tea (the delightful tea I had often while I was in South Africa years ago), violet sugar and vanilla liqueur. The preparation is quite involved requiring they sous vide certain ingredients and it’s served with dry ice.
I’d be remiss to not sing the praise for their chicharron, which was not included in our tasting menu but is an absolute must! We joked our return visit will be for cocktails and chicharron. It’s massive (the picture above captures the scale pretty well) and so flavorful, and paired with this polenta and chili oil dipping sauce. Definitely get it. It looks like a work of art and tasted even better than it looks.
There were two dessert courses. Before they arrived, the final cocktail did – the “Breakfast to Go.” It was waffle Japanese whiskey, amaro and coffee. Strong and bold, which would nicely balance the sweet dishes that would follow. In keeping with its name, it arrived in a paper bag. Clever.
The actual dessert courses were so unexpected. There was a ricotta cheesecake with a green tomato jam. There was also a granita and fresh sorbet combo, topped by edible flowers. This was a clean and fresh note to end on. Very light! Each bite quickly dissolved on the tongue. And then there were two squares of their take on Almond Joy with a lone lit candle for my birthday!
The food was amazing, the view superb and experience top notch. What a treat.
For the final stop of the evening, we made a return visit to Sleep No More. It marked our sixth time together seeing the show!
This time since we were staying in the city, we hung out afterwards at the Manderlay Bar and enjoyed the live band. And then, in proper late night NYC fashion, we grabbed a snack at the deli before calling the night a wrap. Perfect night to mark a new decade.
The Aviary – 80 Columbus Circle – 212.805.8800; Reservations required
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