The Birthday Dinner. Well One of them.

So the big actual BIRTHDAY came and the 100 facebook shout outs, several phone calls, and one birthday e-greeting (Thanks Pops!) all made my day.

And by the way, I love posting this over a week later cause it really extends the birthday out. I'm just saying.

Mr. Broad took me to a new hotspot in NYC because being 30 is the new 26.5 as one friend told me.

10 Downing
10 Downing (in West Village)

I think this is a very NYC thing. You are blanking on a name for your restaurant and so you just go with the ADDRESS that it's located on. It works here. I think this would be a problem in the planned community hometown I grew up in though. "I'm going to eat at 15119 Raccoon Ridge Court" or "Who wants to go to 7934 Sunrise Valley Drive".

Again. I'm just sayin'

This is a restaurant that recently got reviewed by the New York mag and received the critically acclaimed red check mark/critic's pick. Ooh la la! You know that restaurant when you step in and you just know it's going to be a good meal? Yeah. That's this.

Low brow Top Chef celeb spotting- Check!
Table that isn't on top of our neighbors - Check!
Mr. Broad calling ahead without me knowing to secure that table- Double Check!

We started with lots of different items.

Duck Proscuitto
It's like Duck but Proscuitto cut? I guess? Didn't matter it was awesome. This came as a "must order" through on the blog world... and I can see why.


Duck Meatball Cassoulet
Aaah, I do enjoy my duck...The cassoulet came consisted of beans and other things I don't remember because well, we were too busy eating it.


Ocean Trout Tartar pine nuts, pickled mustard seeds, chorizo oil & quail egg
Shout out to Mr. Broad for seeing beyond the pickled mustard seeds that I was wary about and ordering this. While my meatballs were mighty tasty, the tartar was very fresh and suited my palette.



Arctic Char parsley mussels broth, bacon and artichokes
Artic char turns out is really just a fancy term for salmon. It was awesome. The fish had some mussels around it (out of the shell) and an ever so little piece of bacon on top! Not sure what the green color was from but my guess is on the parsley broth.


Grilled Lamb Loin And Chop provencal herbs, chickpea panisses and feta

Hello lamb tenderness! Oooh and those were chickpeas!? Ya know, they should really leave the menu with you afterwards cause Mr. Broad and I thought they were little potatoes with a bit of tang to them. Either way, they were great.



Chocolate cake souffle, malted milk ice cream with salted caramel
And obviously what's a birthday without a dessert. This came with the requisite candle (Check!yay Mr. Broad!). The souffle unleashed a rich lava of chocolatey goodness... And whomever thought of throwing on some salt with caramel- big high five.

and the inside... yum

Review
10 Downing is where it's at. Located in hip West Village, it has a loud vibe that doesn't sound too pretentious or overboard. There are several round tables that aren't on top of your neighbors but I believe you need to call up in advance and start begging. The service was impeccable and we had a great waitor that really completed our experience. It can be costly depending on what you are getting but it was my BIRTHDAY! And the bottle of wine didn't help... They do not have a liquor license but the wine and beer list is pretty intense and well makes up for it. But that's besides the point. The food is where it's at. The menu listed numerous items that you would keep coming back for with specials that change out daily. And next time for dessert. Perhaps the upscale PB&J? Peanut butter gelato, concord grape jam and challah anyone?
Rating: 9