Keller
01-01-2009, 01:32 AM
So my wife and I weren't sure what we were doing for NYE. We didn't want to waste our money on a mass produced pre-fix at a nice restaurant and aren't the type to get black-out-drunk, so we didn't really make plans in advance.
My friend who is teaching at Yale was going to come down and run the 5k in Central Park, but snow kept him in New Haven and I sure as hell didn't have the motivation to go myself. So we decided to wander the crowds (we're staying about 10 blocks north and 2 blocks east of Times Square) and figure it out as we go. It was a great success.
After about an hour of wandering we decided we weren't going to decide on something to eat in the area and my wife acquiesed to going where I wanted to go for the evening. It is a one-room restaurant operated, owned, and staffed by one woman - China (pronounced Sheena). She is Cuban and runs a caribean fusion restaurant that is - no joke - amazing.
Now, I say the following in the hope that you take it as a statement of perspective. In the past year Lauren and I've eaten at Spring in Paris and Canteen in San Francisco. We've enjoyed some of the most acclaimed restaurants in DC, LA, NYC, Paris, and SF in the past couple of years. But this is the important part:
Kurio, our destination tonight, was by far our most pleasurable, enjoyable, friendly, loving, amazing-food experience in of them all.
First, China was the entire front of the house for 6 4-tops, 5 2-tops, and a bar. Her parents were cooking in the back. For the New Years, they roasted a suckling pig. I, seriously, never knew pork could be that good. We both had salads, shared a tapas-style app, both had the special (suckling pig), and then stayed for dessert. We split a bottle of wine. We escaped at a little over $100. That's dirt cheap for the quality and effort that went into the food.
The bonus? We stayed for New Years. She poured free champagne, twice, for all of the remaining patrons/friends. Lauren ended up dancing salsa with her dad after he came from the kitchen. In the end, it turns out she graduated from Columbia with Barry Obama, and after talking for a while with my wife, gave us her complementary tickets to the inauguration.
I cannot express how amazing of a dining experience this was. So comforting. So good. Just amazing.
So for my NY peeps -- please patronize Kurio on 92nd between 1st and 2nd. It will be well worth your while. I promise.
My friend who is teaching at Yale was going to come down and run the 5k in Central Park, but snow kept him in New Haven and I sure as hell didn't have the motivation to go myself. So we decided to wander the crowds (we're staying about 10 blocks north and 2 blocks east of Times Square) and figure it out as we go. It was a great success.
After about an hour of wandering we decided we weren't going to decide on something to eat in the area and my wife acquiesed to going where I wanted to go for the evening. It is a one-room restaurant operated, owned, and staffed by one woman - China (pronounced Sheena). She is Cuban and runs a caribean fusion restaurant that is - no joke - amazing.
Now, I say the following in the hope that you take it as a statement of perspective. In the past year Lauren and I've eaten at Spring in Paris and Canteen in San Francisco. We've enjoyed some of the most acclaimed restaurants in DC, LA, NYC, Paris, and SF in the past couple of years. But this is the important part:
Kurio, our destination tonight, was by far our most pleasurable, enjoyable, friendly, loving, amazing-food experience in of them all.
First, China was the entire front of the house for 6 4-tops, 5 2-tops, and a bar. Her parents were cooking in the back. For the New Years, they roasted a suckling pig. I, seriously, never knew pork could be that good. We both had salads, shared a tapas-style app, both had the special (suckling pig), and then stayed for dessert. We split a bottle of wine. We escaped at a little over $100. That's dirt cheap for the quality and effort that went into the food.
The bonus? We stayed for New Years. She poured free champagne, twice, for all of the remaining patrons/friends. Lauren ended up dancing salsa with her dad after he came from the kitchen. In the end, it turns out she graduated from Columbia with Barry Obama, and after talking for a while with my wife, gave us her complementary tickets to the inauguration.
I cannot express how amazing of a dining experience this was. So comforting. So good. Just amazing.
So for my NY peeps -- please patronize Kurio on 92nd between 1st and 2nd. It will be well worth your while. I promise.