Christmas Luncheon at Tipsy Parson

Friday, Cynthia and I met for a holiday "luncheon" at Tipsy Parson--my "new favorite place"...

After allowing Cynthia to select a window table, we decided to start with two (off the menu) bloody Marys and from the "snacks & sides" menu, hush puppies with warm pimento cheese and fried pickles with spicy buttermilk dressing.

a 'healthy' start

The hush puppies were as good as they were on my last visit, but the fried pickles, with batter that seemed to be nearly falling off, left a bit too much to be desired. Next time, I'll try ordering the deviled eggs. Slowly moving on ("I think we're going to 'course out' our ordering"), we selected bourbon chicken liver toast with grilled potato bread, upland cress and a fig compote.

bourbon chicken liver toast

Dressed accordingly, it was a most delightfully-flawless treat!

hands-down goodness

Moving on (still), we selected another dish: Tuscan kale salad with kabocha squash, dried cherries, mushrooms, almonds, crispy shallots and a sherry brown-butter vinaigrette.

tasty Tuscan kale salad

It was--perhaps--my first time eating kale and I must say, it was love at first bite! The kabocha squash, which tasted (and looked) similar to yams was flavorful and tender. And what looked like it could have been an 'overdone' salad (with too many ingredients) was, on the contrary, just right. Each ingredient played its role and married nicely with the others. Most definitely the best salad I've had in Chelsea...

chocolate Guinness cake

After checking with Cynthia, that we were done ordering savory dishes, I selected for us the chocolate Guinness cake with chocolate ganache frosting and whipped cream. At first bite, I was interested in the ganache frosting which I found to be "fine" and not "sugary sweet" like some frostings can be. It reminded me of a chocolate frosting David makes with eggs, which has to be kept refrigerated. The chocolate Guinness cake certainly did taste homemade and fresh enough, but could have done without the side of whipped cream... or a little more of it.

Tipsy Parson, 156 Ninth Avenue, West Chelsea