Late Lunch at The Food Hall

Last night, I met up with my good friend, Danny for a "late lunch" at The Plaza Food Hall (by Todd English). I had some errands to run in the neighborhood and decided to ask Danny, who was getting off work in midtown at 4 o'clock, to meet me at The Food Hall at 4:30. I arrived no later than 4:45 and found Danny, just ahead of me, on the escalator downwards.

ikura for two

Having had the day off, I'd called in a reservation for two, "at the corner of ocean," (there are seven different stations at which they seat you) at 4:30; we were immediately ushered to the corner for which I'd hoped for. As is usually the case, I had pre-ordained what I was going to order and had decided upon a "roe-themed" meal. I began with two pieces of ikura (salmon roe) sushi--one for Danny and one for me. The seaweed wrapping the sushi rice was the "freshest"-tasting, most flavorful nori I'd ever had--considering the fact that it's dried...

boquerones "for the table"

Unsure of what else to start with, I decided to order boquerones (Spanish anchovies) for the table. It was as delicious as it was the time before...

a good start

We also ordered a bottle of Moët & Chandon, which I’d imagined would pair nicely with the ikura and my next dish.

I'D confessed to our server that I had the idea of a caviar pizza (I previously had the idea of a clam pizza, which has now seemed to catch on with the main stream) and that I was interested in trying the classic (roasted tomato sauce, bufala mozzarella, basil) pizza topped with caviar. "… but I don't know if they'd put [the caviar] on before they put it in the oven, or after."

"Let me ask the chef."

I always go with the chef's recommendation.

What Chef Michael Suppa (Food Hall’s executive chef) recommended was the golden potato (yukon potato, fontina, crème fraiche) topped with caviar. "I'll go with that then."

creamy "golden potato"

I must say, the potatoes were (as I'd imagined) a bit too "al dente" for my taste. (if you like scalloped potatoes, you'd probably enjoy this pizza) But I did like the fact that the chef seriously pondered my request. Near the end of our meal, Danny and I ordered a single, quarter bottle of Moët, followed by the check. I recommended macaroons from Payard, but being so late in the day, they were out of all the "good" flavors. We decided to instead go for a walk, but by the time we reached Sixth Avenue, "I could go for another drink."

I decided to take Danny to one of my (new) favorite midtown haunts, Robert, nine floors above the Museum of Arts & Design at Columbus Circle.

our "dessert substitute"

We decided, simply, upon a bottle of Vincenzo Toffoli prosecco as we enjoyed the quiet of the restaurant. (it’s the Hamptons time of year) Our server was pleasant, as was the view and I must say: it was an enjoyable Saturday off.