Grae Gram

Many of us in the working world are parents. When we go out to eat, we tend to cater to our little one(s) taste buds: Chuck E. Cheese, McDonalds, etc. And of course, it’s not always healthy. Actually…most times, it’s not healthy. Sometimes, you call up a member of your ‘village’ and ask them to watch your little one so that you can go and have some adult eats with your adult friend. Other times, you are relegated to cardboard pizza doom.

Cue Eatery NYC, a trendy New American restaurant in the Theater District of Manhattan.

The ambiance of Eatery is very kid-friendly, and yet still has an adult feel to it. It resembles the diner that you might have found in the Jetsons – clean, crisp lines, metal furnishings, and minimalistic florescent lighting. One of the things that was most impressive was that their wine list (yes, this casual eatery has a wine list) contained gewurtztraminer, a German origin dry white wine that is not as well known as its Chardonnay counterpart, but much better tasting. This, of course, is what I opted for as opposed to my usual Syrah or Pinot Noir. Tania, my usual partner in crime for Grae reviews, opted for zinfandel. Quick wine fact: Zinfandel is a red wine, not a white. The white zinfandel that wineries such as Sutter Home and Beringer make popularly are actually generated to be made white wines. Go figure. The taste was to her liking. It wasn’t as sweet as the red, or as smooth as Chardonnay, but it got a thumbs up!

We started our meal with hummus with a balsamic glaze, pine nuts, and whole wheat pita bread. I’m a hummus fan. It was awesome to me. Tania – not so much the hummus fan. We did, however, both find it light and tasty. The fried calamari we had was of course, superb! I may be biased here (this makes two of us) because neither one of us had ever had a calamari that we don’t like. Accompanied by a white ponzu sauce, which was light and savory yet sweet, it was finger licking good (not that we licked our fingers in the restaurant or anything. We wouldn’t do that. =o)

We ordered a few dishes to try. Kid friendly place this was, my daughter was able to enjoy herself and the food. Her pepper jack turkey burger was moist and had excellent flavor. She was also able to substitute her fries for a salad instead (her idea, not ours!), and the meal itself was quite healthy. We also ordered the Portobello flatbread with Hummus, Baby Spinach, Monterey Jack, and Basil Aioli, the Wok Flashed Tequila Shrimp with Poblano Corn Flautas, Sweet Potato Mash and Cilantro Sour Cream, and the Organic Baby Spinach Salad with Humboldt Goat Cheese, Grilled Chicken, Pickled Pear, Fennel, and Pistachio-Apple Vinaigrette. The shrimp was good, well seasoned and perfectly cooked. The sweet potato, however, served no purpose on the plate. It was a pretty decoration, though. The spinach was good as well, cooked just enough for it to melt in your mouth.

Interestingly enough, all three of us, the ice cream aside, were not as impressed with the flavor of the brownie dessert as we were with the presentation. To quote my little one: “Mommy…um…it looks prettier than it tastes”. My caramel martini, however, made up for it. (No, I did not give my little one any of the martini. I promise.) Overall, our experience at Eatery was as lighthearted and fun as my little one, with great service and a lively atmosphere. If you want to eat well with your young person (and still feel like an adult afterwards) then Eatery is the place for you.

Eatery NYC, located off of Ninth Ave at 53rd St, serves a contemporary New American menu. They offer lunch, brunch, dinner, outdoor dining, delivery, prix fixe menus, vegetarian food, group dining, and 7 day per week dining. Their executive chef is Steve Gutterman.

Tania Breton is a contributing writer to GraeGram.com.

K. Parris Catering and Personal Chef Service, LLC, is an off-premise catering company specializing in French influenced Caribbean cuisine for the elegant yet trendy urban professional. They offer full service event planning, catering, and personal chef services tailored to family friendly as well as urban chic events. For more information, visit her website, or check out her food and spirits blog, “Confessions of an Ex-Foodie”.

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