New York City, NY--The Harrison

 

THE HARRISON

  355 Greenwich St, New York City, NY 10013-2844

 

http://www.theharrison.com/harrison.php

 

Why The Harrison? What we found: Well-Prepared Food in an Unfussy, but Elegant Atmosphere

You know the situation:  after a long meeting, the people hosting it generously take a dozen or so people out to dinner.  Is there any hope for conversation?   Will all of the food arrive in a timely fashion?  Will the quality be consistent?  (Yes, I say, to all.)

Given the organized chaos of our group, I followed along with my ten colleagues to The Harrison for this business-related dinner, complete with intense and quickly-paced conversation.  We'd spent the day debating various academic and publication-related issues, and we were ready for good food--and a break, if not a break from more conversation. 

The Harrison was not as I had envisioned it. For some reason, I'd expected a dark, rather clubby place.  Instead, we found French-style bistro chairs outside (alas, too cold and rainy to dine out there), and a brasserie-style dining experience inside. 

Despite the long table, we managed conversation across-boundaries (so to speak), comparing menu choices, talking about politics and events at our respective campuses, occasionally exchanging the bite of something delicious from our plates. The service was attentive and excellent; everyone seemed to enjoy his or her meal.

The food: I had the pan-sauteed cod with quinoa (lovely!), starting with the very fresh and delicious melon salad. I then convinced one of my companions to share the ice-cream sandwich--just wonderful and surprisingly light as a finish to the meal. One of my colleagues had what she described as a marvelous dish of carefully-prepared lamb; each of the main fish dishes received positive reviews from our genial and occasionally finicky bunch.

In all, everything was quite good and well- and carefully-prepared. This is a pleasant and very lively (and occasionally noisy, but conversationally managable) place. I likely will return with JB, my spouse (he of the affection for the Scotch Egg at other dining venues), when we're next in New York City.

New York City, NY--Lattanzi

LATTANZI RISTORANTE

361 W 46th St, New York City, NY 10036

212-315-0980

 

 http://lattanzinyc.com/

Why Lattanzi?  Delicious Food--a Fine Choice Before or After the Theatre...

I'm a native New Yorker, but it's been a long time since I've lived in the city; when I have the chance to visit, I confess that I've begun to feel something in between native and tourist.  Things change, right?

So, as soon as we scored tickets to see Book of Mormon at the O'Neill Theatre on a Friday evening, the first thing that came into my mind was tourist-like uncertainty as to where it would be best to eat before the performance (which, by the way, was just as good as it's cracked up to be).

After a good deal of checking around between the Internet and good old word-of-mouth, we visited Lattanzi that Friday night, having made a 6pm reservation in advance of our 8pm curtain.

Now, there's enough native New Yorker left in me to be appropriately suspicious of restaurants on "restaurant row," and the sidewalk hawkers thrusting menus into the faces of passers-by didn't do much to calm my cynicism.  But we'd heard very good things about Lattanzi, especially about its post-8pm, Jewish-Italian inspired menu (which, of course, we wouldn't be trying that night).

But no matter.  The place seemed crowded with locals and few tourists, to our surprise.

We were immediately greeted by a very friendly hostess, who--when the maitre 'd was occupied elsewhere--didn't want us to wait, so she seated us. I confess to having been a bit antsy when our waiter took his time to take our drink orders....but that's just me.  We had plenty of time.

My husband and I each had delicious salads and each ordered the soft-shell crabs, which was on the list of specials for the evening. These entrees were lovely--moderately-sized, but very meaty soft-shells, delicately and well-prepared. (The extensive list of traditional Italian dishes seemed worthy of a return visit, as well, in addition to the later evening menu.)

Our meals were delicious, and the desserts--homemade cannoli and homemade chocolate mousse--were exceptional. (The menu announces that all of the desserts are homemade--and they are worth saving room for--worth it even if you have no room left.)  In fact, link to the restaurant's website, above, and hope that one of the photographs that appears before your very eyes features the cannoli.  They are as they appear--just terrific.

Oh, yes.  The play: We had more than enough time to walk to the theater where we had to wait on line to enter anyway, as it happened, and we felt that we'd had ample opportunity to relax at the restaurant and enjoy our dinner.

Despite my initial impatience and concern that we wouldn't have enough time before the curtain, I learned quickly that these folks know exactly what they are doing.  The food's great. The service was attentive, helpful, and yet not obtrusive--and, rest assured, completely and yet not annoyingly efficient.

I'd love to hear more from New Yorkers who like this place--and who have tried its competitors.