POLO BAR
1 East 55th Street New York NY, Open 5:00 to 10:30, 1 212-207-8562

Located in mid town at 55th street is the Ralph Lauren Polo Bar.  Five of us decided to try it while visiting NYC.

We entered this restaurant through the bar, which is glamorous.  

We were quickly whisked downstairs to the restaurant.

The restaurant downstairs took our breathe away, it was stunning!

We perused the menu.

It was a rather simple menu for such a lovely space.

The house sommelier came by and asked if we needed help in ordering the wine - he suggested a nice Californian, so we ordered two bottles (there were five of us). The wine was great!

A couple of us also had a cocktails.

As we were deciding a bread like item arrived that resembled Yorkshire pudding - it was light and very soft!

My wife and I shared a shrimp cocktail and it was very good!

A couple of us had the special app of the evening steak tartar - it was outstanding.

However, after this the meal went downhill!  Three of us ordered the chicken and mashed.  The chicken was almost raw - so we sent them back to the kitchen.  A manager came by and said they would make it up to us!

New chicken dinners arrived.  A couple of us found them too spicy - but we were very forgiving, until we were asked if we wanted desert and none of us wanted one.  They forced three deserts on us in lieu of the raw chicken (by the way a thermometer is a useful kitchen tool)! 
This was one of the deserts they gave us.

A cheesecake was another desert they gave us.

They also gave us a selection of sorbets!
We finished our dinners with cappuccinos!

Though the surroundings were magical and very glamorous the menu and kitchen need a serious re-engineereing.  The menu is boring and overpriced and the kitchen needs some training!!

 


http://www.ralphlauren.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=54938256

SERENDIPITY 3

3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S., (877) 346-4642, 9 am - 10 pm, except Fr. and Sat 9 am - 11 pm

Located outside Caesar's Palace directly on the strip Serendipity has a variety of offerings to dine on. 

There is also an inside restaurant - but we decided to enjoy the Las Vegas weather and sat on the outside patio.

The menu has a good variety of choices - we came for breakfast.

They also have an amazing drinks and desert menu.

My wife chose the 2 pancakes and they were gigantic!!

I chose the Central Park Omelette (they didn't have egg whites) that included spinach, swiss cheese and avocado.  It was served with breakfast potatoes.

The meals were rather expensive for breakfast at $18 each and it seemed they tried to justify this by serving very large portions that were difficult to finish.  We finished with coffee but did not finish our meals.

 

https://www.caesars.com/caesars-palace/restaurants/serendipity-3#.VfjNpyiJUTM

GUY FIERI'S VEGAS KITCHEN + BAR

3535 Las Vegas Blvd. LINQ hotel, (702) 731-3311, 8 am to 2 am 7 days a week.

Located in the LINQ hotel and casino, with a large patio outside.  Guy Fieri's is a popular restaurant on the strip.  We came here for breakfast, which seemed to be popular here.

Since it was already hot outside we decided to eat our late breakfast inside.

My wife decided to try the shortbread pancake and berry "pot pie".  It was gigantic, but very tasty and filled inside with berries.

I decided on the safe choice bacon and eggs.

It was enormous and the home fries were very soft and tasty.
The sage biscuit was large and very filling.  This meal would last till supper!!

Our breakfasts were very good and very filling. We will probably return again when back in Vegas.  By the way they serve a mean Bloody Mary for breakfast!  You can choose ingredients to add by checking boxes on a list.

Some fellows beside us ordered them - they looked like a good morning appetizer!!  Only in Vegas!!

 



https://www.caesars.com/content/cet-global/caesars-com/linq/restaurants/guy-fieri.html#.VfDxqiiJUTM

JUNIOR'S 

1515 Broadway, New York New York (212) 302-2000, 6:30 to midnight every day.
Located at 1515 Broadway in Manhattan, Juniors is a great spot for breakfast and any quick meal.  We came here every morning for breakfast on our NYC visit because it had very quick service and good food - especially the breakfast and the cheesecake.

There is a patio space and a large indoor space to choose from.

We had breakfast that included bacon, eggs, toast and tomatoes. I chose scrambled eggs.

 My wife had her eggs easy over.

We finished our breakfast with a good strong coffee and a couple of complimentary house made cookies. 

It was a convenient location next to our hotel and we also tried it's next door location that specializes in their famous cheese cakes and other delights.

Junior's is well worth a visit if you are near times square.

 
http://www.juniorscheesecake.com/our_restaurants/times_square/

THE STANDARD GRILL

848 Washington Street, (Under the Highline) at 13th Street, Meatpacking District, New York City, 212-645-4100

On our first day in Manhattan we walked the High Line to the Standard Grill.  We had made our reservations for 8:30 and were looking forward to a great Thursday evening.  We arrived a little early after a wonderful stroll along the High Line (if you visit Manhattan you have to walk it - it is both mesmerizing and relaxing).  The Standard Grill is in a hotel called The Standard and connects to the High Line Park.

We could hear the commotion emanating from the Standard from a block away.  It was buzzing.  We arrived at the bar to wait for our table and enjoyed a couple of cocktails.

There was a raw bar beside us that looked great.

There is a large patio that was quite busy and filled with people enjoying the vibe.  It is a great place for people watching and is very alive.

After a couple of cocktails at the bar we were seated and reviewed the wine list and menu.

We chose a nice 2011 Chianti Felsina.  It was smooth and reasonably priced.

For our appetizers Tom had the steak tartare, fines herbes, lardo toast.  It was tangy and filled with amazing flavours.

Mark had the tamarind glazed pork belly, charred onion, cucumber, crispy shallots.  He really enjoyed this dish.

My wife and I had the little gem salad, champagne-dijon vinaigrette, rye croutons.  It was cool and delicious.

For our mains my wife chose the Atlantic salmon, rye berries, pickled turnips, poppyseed dressing.

Thomas and I chose the one of the evening specials - short ribs, with beets, edamame puree, asparagus and other vegetables. It was outstanding - the meat just melted in your mouth and there was a lot of it!!

Mark chose the bourbon glazed pork chop, cheddar grits, roasted apples, pecans.  Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of this awesome dish.

We reviewed the desert menu.

For our deserts my wife and Mark shared a blueberry cheesecake.  

Thomas and I shared the Deal Closer - a bowl of decadent bittersweet chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings!! It was incredible!!

We completed our dinners with coffee

and espresso

Greg was a great efficient waiter that was amusing and friendly. We thoroughly enjoyed our relaxed evening here and will return again when we come to New York City!!  This is an amazing restaurant!!

http://www.thestandardgrill.com/