Restaurant Week or How I Stopped Worrying and Just Bloody Spent Money Already

To tell the truth, I have never done Restaurant Week. Sure, I've been in the city for 5 years but I haven't really done it because A) I couldn't get friends to come and B) it was too expensive for my budget (most likely a combination of A & B). Yes, it is still too expensive for my budget but there's something about this year that makes me to gloriously declare "What the hell". So far I have been to two restaurants which I will focus on later BUT I am currently scheduled to go to 5 of them. Each for a year I have been in NYC and not experienced Restaurant Week. There may be more later on but we shall see who's up for it and how far I can stretch my wallet. Anyhow, reviews! Deploy!

Sushi Samba

Andrea and I went to this after the many wonderful things that I heard from, well, Andrea of course. I got in late (stupid NYC traffic) but Andrea got there before me. I met her at the bar, while she was charmingly seducing older men. Luckily I was there to be a buzzkill and get on with our restaurant review. I knew I was in for a treat after I read the menu and our bubbly waitress was already giving recommendations.

After everyone ordered a drink, I thought I might as well join the party. I mispronounced the drink (it was a Tequiliana Caliente) much to the amusement of my comrades (actually, derision, but I want this to be more of a puff piece). I'm not much of a drinker. Usually after one drink I'm flat on my ass outside. However, it was way too frackin' cold out. The drink was made with some liquor of some sort (every liquor really tastes the same to me sans wine) but it was the guava and jalepeno pieces that made this for me. A bit of a girly drink but it was a sweet and satisfying taste to begin my meal.

My first course was about 6 scallops served in clam shells (yeah, I know, it doesn't make any sense either but aesthetically it looked nice) with a dash of pesto on top and a creamy sauce surrounding it. They were small scallops but I can't fault the restaurant in making small portions when there were two others on the way. The scallops were satisfying and didn't fill me up to start, which is a great sign for an appetizer. Then came the main course: assorted sushi. The fish was absolutely great. Fresh, delicious, and I didn't get any mercury poisoning afterwards. However, they were all generic rolls. Salmon, yellowtail, tuna, shrimp, etc. The peanut sauce on the side really made it unique but I expected more. For a restaurant that prides itself on its unique rolls, I expected a small smattering of them on the plate instead of what I received. Whatever disappointment from the assorted sushi was erased when I got dessert. It was a warm chocolate banana cake with warm chocolate sauce on top with some plantain chips for decoration. Again, this was small yet satisfying. At no point did any single flavor overwhelm any part of it. The chocolate and the banana blended so well that it felt like someone had a secret chocolate banana farm. By the end, my stomach was full and happy. Not so much in the days after where my stomach became upset. Sadly, I will need to take some points off for that but, overall, I recommend it. If only they had a better Restaurant Week menu...

8.5/10

iIili

I went to this place with my sister and my mom on the promise of Lebanese food. However, I found so much more. Besides the incredibly satisfying menu, the service here was top-notch. The servers were all incredibly attentive and the decor was subtle but effective.

To start, we received this fantastic starter of Labna (a yogurt dish with olive-oil) served with these amazingly crisp pita chips. From this, I knew it was a sign of great things to come. That and the sample of Lebanese wine was great as well. Then came the appetizers. Here's the thing with Restaurant Week. You get two appetizers with your meal. Yes. Two. Gigantic. Appetizers. I ordered this incredibly salad (FATOOSH!) and Lambjeena, which was ground lamb on pita. The salad had a minty, sweet taste and the lamb, though not so juicy because of the groundness, was delicious. I also sampled some other things like the Warm Eggplant (excellent through and through), the hommous (incredibly fresh), and fingerling potatoes (also excellent). After this, I may have been too full for the main course. Yes, usually this would be a bad sign for appetizers, but it was just as much as my fault since I chose to eat so much of it. Luckily, I found some room. The Lamb Burger was incredibly flavorful and juicy. Topped with mint yogurt and hommous (okay, I added the hommous on), it was succulent and messy to eat since the juice dripped all over the buns (yeah, kinda sounds kinky). Finally, there came the Achact (I think I misspelled that). A milk pudding with a peppermint & mint syrup, it was the finest dessert I can think of for this meal. It completely cleans the palette and is light enough that it makes you feel refreshed afterwards. Overall, a fantastic experience that I would share with anyone even if it weren't Restaurant Week.

9.5/10