Lunch Review: New York, New York

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This is the New York, that many of us former college students never got to experience.  Those who've lived in Manhattan during their younger years can relate...the posh restaurant with roast duck and seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras on the menu, that also served top shelf bourbon cocktails with a side of swank to go with that Joie de vivre (French for the "joy of life").  It's that restaurant where you pressed a cold nose up to the window, dying to go inside, but knowing that your work/study income would only cover that bar in Soho, where carving your name into the table was about as close as you'd get to having your own star on Hollywood Blvd.

Here's the light at the end of the Holland Tunnel...

New York, New York is Sarasota's newest Manhattan-themed restaurant, offering a touch of that glorious "city that never sleeps", but in a uniquely, "user-friendly" way.

What does that mean?  It means that amid the Black Truffle Cole Slaw and $23 a plate lamb chops with a side of apple mint, are also lunchtime menu items that give you the whole fine dining experience, without sending you to the poorhouse, and a few salad and sandwich dinner options that still fit the budget.  So, while dinner dining might cost you between $30-$40 a person,  lunch at NY, NY starts as low as $12 for a sandwich and soft drink.

One mark of a good restaurant, is not only the quality of its food, service and ambiance, but in its ability to make anyone who walks through the door feel as if they belong, and the friendly service and moderate price points on the menu, do just that.

The Menu Geography - Divided in sections, the menu is organized by Manhattan locations, and each location represents a food type.  The Tribecca rounds up all the appetizers, the Brooklyn, all the freshly baked flatbreads.  The Central Park lists all the salads served, and the Manhattan, your main entrees.

The Food & Beverage - The lunchtime menu offers a wide variety of moderately priced entrees, making it one of the major hot spots for employees of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital, who often stop in on their lunch break, as well as local businessmen and women.  The Buffalo Chicken Sandwich ($8), with strips of white meat chicken marinated in a buffalo wing-style sauce, and served with a bleu cheese fondue, is a spicy reminder of the Famous Chicken mascot for the Buffalo Bisons, as the team competes on Coca-cola field. The Manhattan Clam Chowder ($5) comes with a sherry floater shot in the center of the bowl, giving the soup a slightly bitter kick.  After lunch, try the Grand Marnier Orange Creme Pie ($6), topped with a coconut macaroon, bringing you back to that little bakery on Mott street, in the lower east side.  Lastly, instead of the ever popular, and over-consumed, Cosmopolitan (made famous by Sex & the City), opt for the BLT, Bullet Bourbon Lemon and Tonic ($9), one of New York, New York's signature drinks, reminiscent of the classic Bourbon Manhattan, a little milder in intensity than its predecessor.

Happy Hour - Nightly Happy Hour includes $3 for beer, $4 on well drinks, and $5 on premium house wines.

Dualing Pianos - Unique to NY, NY is one of the areas only places that features "dualing pianos", in addition to the nightly piano, saxophone and vocal music from area musicians and singers.  Noteables include Chris Peterson, Brian Blatz, and Rob Satori on piano, with singers like Jennifer Real and Betty Comora.  

The Ambiance - Very contemporary-chic with black, white, and red everything.  Abstract paintings by local artist Gail Ross adorn the crimson walls (Jackson Pollock, eat your heart out!), while 40's jazz standards such as Cole's version of "Straighten up and Fly Right" airily float through the room.

****

New York, New York is located at: 1934 Hillview St., Sarasota FL, 34231.  Phone: (941) 955-6969  Hours:  Sunday - Thursday, 11 a.m. - 12 a.m., and Friday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

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