Archives for December 1, 2009

Suggestions for a Neat Night in the West Village

Last Saturday night, seven of us went to the West Village to celebrate a friend’s 30th birthday.  We wanted an affordable dinner, then to visit a few bars as a group.  Yes, we’re drinkers.  No, we can’t/don’t want to drink like we’re still 20 years old.  We wanted to go to places that could accommodate seven of us to a decent level of comfort while still being fun.  Here are the places we visited that I know some of you looking for a great night out with friends would also enjoy:

Agave

Agave

Agave: 140 7th Avenue South (Charles & 10th Streets.):  This casual, buzzing southwestern restaurant offers creative Mexican food that is straight-forward enough for your entire party to enjoy.  Agave, as the name suggests, offers a great variety of margaritas, including the tasty prickly pear margarita that a couple of us loved.  Winning appetizers are the freshly made guacamole, the blue crab chipotle spinach dip and the pork carnitas.  Some of the entrees we opted for are the skirt steak and mushroom quesadillas, the squash blossom tacos, the slow braised beef enchiladas and the Santa Fe Sheppard’s pie.  Overall, the food is good, the space is inviting and the crowd is varied and fun (tequila helps).

Riviera Café & Sports Bar:  225 W. 4th Street (at 7th Avenue South):  Sport bar with tons of TVs and perfect to catch a game…ANY game…ALL games.  Fun wait staff, cold beer and not over-crowded.  Good spot to end the evening.

Downtown Galway Hooker: 133 7th Avenue South (7th avenue at Charles Street):  Can you say “FUN”!?  Irish bar, fun atmosphere, youngish crowd (mid-20s – late 30s), great to catch a Fighting Irish game on a Saturday night.

Galloway Hooker

Galloway Hooker

There are tons of fun places to go to in the West Village, and the above are solid choices for your next night out in Manhattan.  Cheers!

Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant – Irish Food Revisited

I recently attended the Executive Girlfriends Group’s  annual meeting in Orlando at beautiful Omni Champions Gate Resort.  While the event was a great networking opportunity, one of the highlights was the fantastic dinner that Irish celebrity chef Kevin Dundon of Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant personally prepared for our group.

When we were informed that our group dinner would be at an Irish restaurant in Disney’s Pleasure Island, I was skeptical of the meal we’d be sharing, but was I pleasantly surprised by the restaurant, the staff and the food.

First, the pub is neat!  There’s a large bar area with a multitude of beers on tap with a great vibe about it.  The restaurant is expansive and features several semi-private areas, one of which our group occupied on our visit.

As the custom menu was presented to us, I still wasn’t sold on the idea that Irish food could be elevated to a level beyond stew and sheppard’s pie.  Boy was I in for a treat!  The four-course menu featured creative options that had me intrigued.

Raglan Scallops

Raglan Scallops

For the first course, we could opt for either a seared scallop on pea puree with a smoked salmon salad with crème fraîche or a heritage tomato salad with shallots and balsamic glaze.  I adore scallops so chose that option.  The scallops were perfectly seared, I wasn’t happy with the pea puree as there wasn’t a whole bowl of it for me to devour and the smoked salmon was perfectly fresh and flavorful.  My peers who had the tomato salad were also very pleased.

Raglan Risotto

Raglan Risotto

The second course was a velvety butternut squash and cinnamon soup which was wonderful.  For the entrée course, we were offered a choice of duck, risotto or turbot.  The duck course consisted of a breast and confit of duck in a lentil and spring onion bulb stew.  The risotto featured wild mushrooms and asparagus with parmesan shavings, and was the entrée I opted for.  I love risotto, and this version was perhaps the best I’ve ever had. It was perfectly creamy with a bit of a bite and was loaded with mushrooms and huge shavings.  The chef personally recommended the turbot and many guests tried an enjoyed it very much.  It was served with a wild rosemary and saffron sauce, so not sure how you could go wrong!

The desserts consisted of a chocolate fondant with stout ice cream (to die for) and a baked pear and almond tart with vanilla pod ice cream.

If you’re near Orlando or have an opportunity to be in town, be sure to put Raglan Road on your list of must-try restaurants.  I’m a convert and now can appreciate how modern, fresh and perfect Irish food can be…or at least Chef Kevin Dundon’s Irish food.