Tag: Michelin Star Restaurants

New York, New York Day # 1 “I Love My New Job”

by reissmd, posted in New York City

As many of you already know, in January Robert “Fight On For Old SC” Reiss became Robert Reiss, MD employee of UCLA Health.  You are also probably aware that I am really enjoying my new work environment. The staff and doctors have been incredibly welcoming and making this old man feel young again.  I’ve been very busy seeing a full schedule of patients every day. Since many of my patients are new to me I frequently look ahead to get familiar with the medical histories of these new people.

Last weekend I checked my schedule for Wednesday and Thursday and saw a full line up. When I got to Friday my slate was blank.  No one scheduled to see me?  How could that be?  I checked the other doctors and their schedules were blank as well.  Hmmmm, I thought for a second and then immediately yelled to Patrice. “The office is closed Friday for Veterans Day let’s go somewhere!”  Patrice gave her usual answer by the time I said “Would like to go to …..”, she interrupted me with YES!   We gave it some thought and decided on a trip to New York.  

I quickly found a hotel then I looked for a flight.  Unfortunately the business class tickets were insanely expensive even if we wanted to use miles so being the travel snobs that we’ve become (flying business class for anything longer than 3 hours) we decided to just chill at home.  The next day I received an email from American Airlines promoting flights to New York.  It got my blood boiling again and we booked two coach tickets hoping we would get a complimentary upgrade.  So today we took off for the Big Apple but no upgrades were offered so we were seated in the back. The last time we took a long flight in coach I was seated next to a 17 year old kid who was bouncing his leg up and down the entire flight. This time I sat next to a guy who slept the entire way – a significant improvement. We watched two movies “Shortcomings” which Patrice would recommend but I would not and “Jules” with Ben Kingsley and Jane Curtin which both of us enjoyed very much.  

Much to my surprise they served us a meal on the flight.  We had a choice of three items all served cold #1. Waffle and yogurt #2. Oatmeal #3. Fruit and cheese.  Waffle and oatmeal served cold?   I opted for the fruit and cheese.  It was not bad and it satisfied my tummy for the duration of the flight.

The flight was smooth and uneventful other than when I spilled a glass of water onto Patrice.  She was very undertanding. I offered her my water so she could reciprocate but she graciously declined. No way would I have made the offer if I thought she would take me up on it.

Stepping out of the JFK terminal we were quickly reminded that we were no longer in Los Angeles. Temp in NYC 51º while back home it was 72º. We got in line for a taxi and were quickly on our way to Manhattan. The ride took over 1 hour for the 15 mile trip to our hotel.

We are staying at the Algonquin Hotel. The room is nice but incredibly small. The bathroom is even smaller than the one we had in Bologna in 2022. I didn’t think that was possible.

Small even by European standards.

We decided to look around the hotel and found ourselves in the fitness center. Patrice did some curls with some light weights. See below.

Patrice doing some curls.

I scoffed at her use of such tiny weights and tried to hand her something more appropriate. Unfortunately my eyes were bigger than my biceps. See below.

A weight lifter I am not.

After touring the hotel we headed off to dinner. Tonight we ate at the Gramercy Tavern (42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003). We ate there for Patrice’s birthday in 2019 and we were just a few days late of repeating that event. If you want to review that post this link should take you there: https://wordpress.com/post/reisstravelblog.com/7631

The place was as spectacular as we remembered. It has a Michelin star rating and it is well deserved. We walked to the Gramercy Tavern because we knew the caloric intake was going to be extensive.  I remember the meal being amazing in 2019 and tonight was no different.  See below. 

Squash with sunchoke. I thought the waiter said Squash with “Sancho” and when I looked up Sancho all I found was an English Soccer player.
Next I had a salad that was delicious.
Patrice had the beets. Her’s looked prettier but mind tasted much better.
Corn Agnolotti followed for me. It was like a ravioli. It also had shrimp.
Patrice had the gnocchi which again looked beautful but my corn agnolotti was far superior.
We both had the sea bass with cauliflower and bok choy. Another taste delight.
The lamb followed and it looked much better than it tasted. Maybe our expectations were pumped up by the previous dishes.
Finally a little birthday gift for my bride.

The walk to the restaurant was enjoyable. The meal wore us out and we had to take a taxi back to the hotel. Now we will try to crawl into bed. See you tomorrow.

New York and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Day 3 “Birthday Celebration?” November 7, 2019

by reissmd, posted in New York City

Today is Patrice’s birthday. What a wonderful idea to enjoy your birthday in the “Big Apple”. Well, not quite. Today we spent the entire day in an office with a bunch of researchers much smarter than me (I know that isn’t saying much) discussing proposals for funding of inflammatory bowel disease research. Patrice and I act as Stakeholders for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. As such we review applications for funding by the Foundation and voice our opinions about which studies should be approved. At the meeting we sit amongst a bunch of researchers who discuss very technical proposals and we try to understand what is being said. The experience for me is like watching Spanish television. I understand a word or two but the meaning often escapes me. Needless to say, this is not how you would probably plan to spend your birthday. But it is incredibly rewarding to feel like we are helping the cause that means so much to us.

After the meeting I wanted to go to the hotel gym and work out. But I didn’t.

Instead we did a bit of chilling in the room until heading out for a birthday dinner celebration at Gramercy Tavern (42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003). This place was recommended to us by one of the managers at The Modern where we dined two nights earlier. Apparently one of their former employees is the general manager at Gramercy Tavern. Both restaurants have the same owner.

Patrice has said that The Modern is her favorite restaurant. Well Gramercy Tavern is right up there too. This restaurant has had a Michelin star rating for the past 11 years (The Modern has two Michelin stars). The food was incredible as was the service. It was not just food but rather an experience.

They started us off with Roasted Cauliflower with whipped Ricotta Cheese to
“Wake up your palette”
Next we had “Whole Wheat Angel Rolls with Goat Cheese Butter”

Those first two items were just add ons. Next we had the first thing we actually ordered and that was:

Ruby Red Shrimp

I can’t begin to tell you how luscious this was. The shrimp were perfectly prepared. The sauce is making my mouth water as I write this sentence. The only thing that kept me from licking the plate clean were these magic words from Patrice, “If you do that, I swear, I will walk out of the restaurant and not look back for one second”. Yes, that stopped me but I would be lying if I didn’t say II did mull over my options.

Then they brought out our main course selections:

Patrice ordered: “Winter Skate with Butterball Potatoes and Almond Butter Sauce”

I never heard of Skate (fish that is) so I looked it up. It looks very much like a stingray. Not very appetizing looking but her dish was spectacular. I ordered:

Striped Bass with Cauliflower Puree Sauce

This dish tasted even better than it looked. The sauce was a bit spicy but I loved it.

The staff knew it was Patrice’s birthday so they personalized her dessert.

Apple Upside Down Cake with a personalized message
I ordered “Chocolate Hazelnut Custard”

As a present they brought us:

Chocolate Pudding Cake

And just in case we didn’t have enough sugar they brought us a couple of candies.

Peach and Amaretto on the left; Pear and Clove on the right,.

We paid the bill and had to get out before we developed diabetes. But they were not done,

Chocolate Banana Amaretto Cake as a to go gift for breakfast in the morning.

I need to go to the gym.

But first I need a nap.