Alex Eats World

Once people know about my food obsession or blog, they inevitable ask what my favorite restaurant is. I always hated that question. You can’t rank food as a whole. I can probably give you my favorite Japanese restaurant, or favorite ramen joint, or favorite place in the UWS under $25, but you can’t just ask me my overall favorite restaurant; its impossible to answer. Park Avenue Summer however, is my favorite restaurant week restaurant. Park Avenue Summer however, is my favorite restaurant in the UES (mostly because I never eat in that area). If you can still snag a reservation, do it now! Did I mention that its gorgeously decorated inside?? (Which makes is frustrating and hard to take good pics…)

Caprese Ravioli with Yellow Tomato Coulis Appetizer: Delicious. Ravioli, and most cheese items, have a tendency to harden and become too sticky as the cheese cools, resulting in a heavier dish. This however was tasty, refreshing and light. The skin was pillowy soft and they seemed to have mixed tomato or something into the cheese in order to provide the spongy and amazing texture that it had. A must try!

Salmon Tartare with Tomatoes and Basil Appetizer: This was my appetizer and I can’t decide if this or the Ravioli was better. I thought the tomatoes would be too acidic and overpower the salmon, but it was a surprisingly good pairing. Basil is good on anything in my book. The cheese that the salmon tartar came on made it easy to spread on the bread and created a smooth, cream cheese like texture that was wonderful. Good luck choosing between this and the Ravioli. I say you just order both and skip the Butter and Sugar Corn Soup.

Fire-Roasted Lamb Chops with Smoked Cherries: This costs $10 more and it may just be worth it. Not the best lamb I had but it was very good, especially for the price. Add some salt and pepper and its well worth the extra cash. Grilled medium rare, the lamb was juicy and full of flavor. As you know, I hate anything sweet with my meats and same went with the cherries, but everybody else at my table thought it was better with them. They only have 5 main entrees on the restaurant week menu. This ranks in at #2.

Lobster Salad: Another $10 supplement dish, this salad comes HEAPING with fresh lobster. If I hadn’t just eaten four pounds of lobster in Maine two weeks ago, this may have been tempting. Compared to Maine however, this lobster just couldn’t hold its own.

Filet Mignon with Grilled Corn: I was hesitant about ordering a steak for restaurant week prices. However, I have to say that this was a big sized filet and you just can’t go wrong with it at these prices! If you’re not the steak snob I am, and I sure hope you’re not, go ahead and jump at this entree. For me however, this was a wet-aged steak, which is a big no no in my book.

Seared Salmon with Crispy Taro and Cucumber Salad: My oh my, what a wonderful world. My FAVORITE dish at this restaurant and probably the best grilled salmon I’ve ever had at a restaurant. Incredibly crispy skin gave way to a lusciously cooked interior that was still slightly raw. This salmon reminded me of salmon belly (much like toro) that I used to cook up at home. Tender, moist, oily, juicy, and flavor, this dish had it all. Not sure I cared for the avocado puree or the crispy taro and cucumber salad. If they wanted to add to this dish, they would have given me a third piece of salmon!

The desserts here were not so hot. I don’t understand why they would put a layer of fruit jello on panna cotta…it ruined it in every single way. Panna cotta is smooth, silky, refreshing and milky. Peach jello is sweet, fruity, tangy, and has..well… jello texture. You wouldn’t throw candy into your soy milk would you? The Goat Cheese Mousse in Phyllo with Honeyed Raspberries was amazing for the first bite. Then the goat cheese was a huge turn off. They should have used a lighter cheese, or even ice cream! and this would have been a star.

Again, go book your reservation now. It is a MUST.

Park Avenue Summer
100 E 63rd St
New York, NY 10021