city bites

Good morning all, happy Saturday! I slept in today (gasp) for the first time in a long time and am so excited to have a similarly laid back and rejuvenating weekend ahead :). This past week I had the unique opportunity to experience two of the city's finest restaurants for a fraction of the usual price... otherwise known as New York City Restaurant Week.
Restaurant Week is the perfect chance for myself and others to try out a restaurant that may usually be outside of budget, or test some new restaurant locations with less of a financial risk. Last weekend my best friend, K, and I had a great three-course lunch at Bar Stuzzichini.

Thursday night the boy and I went on an overdue date to the Rocking Horse Cafe, a casual/contemporary restaurant with innovative dishes, modern colors, and pre-Colombian works of art, all accented by the bold Mexican culture. The dark photos display the sleek ambience ;).

For some odd reason I wasn't that hungry so I just had a glass of Chilean CabSauv, a plate off of their regular menu, and relied completely on the boy to order the Restaurant Week special so that I could sample :). He began with a fantastic Watermelon Margarita.

Followed by a well-dressed salad with blue cheese, onions, tomato, and avocado. Yum!

But not enough to ruin my appetite for this beauty! For dinner I'd ordered a Burrito stuffed with grilled vegetables, watercress, avocado, a perfectly Mexican-spiced sauce and topped with pickled radishes.

Does that not sound amazing? Because trust me, it was :). I only made it through two though :(.

There was also a small bowl of black beans and basmati rice on the side which he and I split.

He had all this plus his main dish, the Carne Guisado, jalapeño braised brisket in a rich tomato-lime broth over garlic mashed potatoes. Not my thing but he enjoyed it and completely cleared his plate.

For dessert he chose the Napoleone de Platano, which consisted of layered cinnamon tortilla chips, whipped cream, banana, and a warm chocolate sauce. I very much enjoyed my two bites! My only complaint of our entire dining experience was that I felt rushed at the end when the waiter was trying to clear the table for new customers... other than that, a wonderful dinner.

To make up for it though we went to a nearby saloon for Guinness before going home. I usually go for light beers but there's something about this dark and creamy variety that is so comforting and dessert-like even. Although Guinness is much better in Ireland, there, I said it :). Have you every had a classic in it's country of origin? Isn't it the best? They were definitely the highlight of my travels!