I had no idea what kind of restaurant I was going to. Gramercy Tavern was a place that the waiter from Per Se suggested, and since I had no dinner plans, checking this place out felt like a good idea since good old Google said they served American fare.

There’s some interesting decor here, including this star!

Bread and butter came first here, and this was a cool piece of bread that actually broke really cleanly across, making it easy and neat to pile on some butter.

I chose a mocktail here because of the name. This was the N/A-groni, a play on the negroni. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavour here – it was not all that sweet, and had a nice bitterness to it. So this is what negronis taste like, and why people like it! I think non-sweet mocktails are so much easier to drink with food, and it reminded me of how complementary good non-alcoholic drinks are with food, like the time I had the Clamato juice at Waku Ghin.

Yum, clams to start off with! I think these might have also been top neck clams, the same ones from Wildair. I love all the clams I’m eating here!

Since it’s been a while, I’m not sure exactly what this was, but using their website as a memory aid, this was probably the hamachi dish, which was really enjoyable with apple and kohl rabi.

Scallops with salsify, potato and mussels. I actually got the order wrong in my blog, I ate the salsify here before the one at Contra but I can’t be bothered going back and changing the words around to fit. These scallops went so well with the broth!

Halibut and white beans. Woah, this halibut. Is it a crime to say I liked this one better than EMPs? The texture of this one was better, it felt more like “just cooked” and that made it so much more delicious. The service here was awesome too! Throughout my meal, I felt that I was really looked after, and that was really nice. I don’t know exactly why it stood out at the time, but I just felt that I noticed it for some reason.

Ugly delicious time!!! Squid ink spaccatelle, langoustine and whelk! Yeeah that’s a seafood bonanza that I love, with punchy flavours (and the slightest hint of spice) and really nicely cooked pasta. That pasta. Also, getting to eat whelk was a bonus too! Definitely the highlight of the night.

What a cool looking knife. Knife’s about to say hello to some delicious red meat!

Beef with ramps. Yeah, another restaurant featuring ramps! I don’t know why I get so excited about these oniony-garlicky flavoured spring greens, but possibly because I never see them in Aus. The beef was quite nice too!

After that, there was an optional cheese course. I wasn’t sure if I wanted one or not, but the waitstaff said that the servings were quite small… so I ended up agreeing to have some. Here’s some bread to accompany the cheese!

It was also time to have another drink, and when I asked what paired well with cheese that was non alcoholic, she recommended some cider! Remember that cider here is non alcoholic. I can’t remember if it was pear or apple, but either way, I quite enjoyed this with the cheese!

The waiter was right, the servings were small, great as a taster for this all American line up. It was some soft cheese, washed rind, and a blue cheese. The blue cheese was quite tasty, and the washed rind had an interesting funk to it.

A cute little palate cleanser, but I don’t remember what this was. Possibly some apple granita or the likes?

Dessert was a vanilla mousse with pomegranates. I haven’t had a mousse for dessert in ages! This was heavier than I expected, but the flavour and texture were pretty good, and the richness was offset by the sauce,

And to end the night, some petit fours. What a lovely dinner!

Wow a morning after choc banana muffin care package! How nice! It tasted good too! I didn’t realise heaps of restaurants offer care packages these days, since Vue de Monde was the only one that’s done so before my trip to New York. What a nice place this was, I’m so glad I came here after the waiter recommended it.

I actually can’t believe how nice it was since I hadn’t heard about it before. The service was just so nice! And then I realised afterwards, oh, this has a Michelin Star. Oooh. That’s why! I think I’m probably the only person who’d go to a restaurant without knowing its reputation hahaha. I love unexpected surprises so this was really fun! Would definitely come here again to try the cafe/bar seating too!