For the past two years since I’d heard about it, I’ve been trying to get to Park Avenue Cafe for their pay your own age three course menu deal. The gist of the deal is that if you arrive past 8:30, you pay your age (minimum of 25, maximum of 65) for a three course meal of an appetizer, entree and dessert from their regular menu, plus tax, gratuity and any beverages you choose to consume. Well, it was announced in November that they were closing for good at the end of this year… so RotaryGirl and I made plans to go before it was gone for good. (Of course, right after I made the reservation, it was announced that it would remain open, but we chose to keep our reservations anyway…)
We both arrived a few minutes late, but were seated within 5 minutes. Our waiter was fairly attentive, not quite warm nor rude, though we were definitely among the youngest diners in the restaurant. Park Avenue, I’d discovered while walking from 60th to 63rd, was incredibly different this far north. I wasn’t in Murray Hill anymore… (or whatever neighborhood it is a bit further south. I’m terrible with neighborhood names.) The other patrons were clearly of the older set… and the decor reeked of upscale TGIFriday’s, with the red and white stripes familiar from my college days.
The other funny thing was being asked if we were here for the pay-your-own-age deal- well, why not; it was after 8:30 and some of the entrees alone cost more than my age!; when we confirmed this, the waiter asked us for our ID on the spot. He wrote down our ages and I wondered to my companion; “Do they give us smaller portions based on our age?” (We’ll find out now, won’t we?)
RotaryGirl ordered the lobster & squash bisque to start; I’m not a fan of squash nor bisque in particular, so I didn’t bother trying it. She said it was good, with chunks of squash in the bottom and a nice smooth taste to it.
I opted for the foie gras with toasted brioche, and an apple cider side? Here I will demonstrate my immense stupidity and childishness. I wasn’t sure what the side cup was, so I dipped my fork in it and tasted it. When I had ascertained it was apple ciderish, I wondered aloud if I should drink it. RotaryGirl shrugged and said why not, it’s cider, right? So I drank it surreptitiously, praying that the waiter didn’t notice and tell me, “Uh, you’re not supposed to drink that, retard.” Whoops. But the brioche was yummy, crispy around the edges but soft in the center and perfect; the foie gras, sadly, was not up to par. I found the flavor lacking; some parts were too creamy, and others overwhelmingly liver-tasting (I realize it is liver, but foie gras generally lacks that liver taste that makes me dislike liver to begin with). The apple chunks accompanying were interesting, but not sufficient enough to blend with the foie gras itself for a divine taste. I was definitely disappointed.
RotaryGirl chose the lamb loin; she’d ordered it medium rare, but it came a bit rarer than she’d have liked. The meat was succulent, soft, but a bit much and a bit cold. We waited between courses for quite a while, so at this point, I was really annoyed that our food wasn’t even warm. Cold food is so disgusting sometimes, when it’s meant to be hot. There was also a random sausage that popped out of nowhere; either way, this dish was only so-so. I tried the goat cheese polenta and found it intriguing, but still had too much of that after taste bite that makes me dislike goat cheese.
I chose the braised short rib and filet mignon with Brussels sprouts and apple-celery puree. I had a lot of hope for this dish; short ribs are so wonderful and tender and fatty… well, this piece was extremely dry and bland. The Brussels sprouts were sharp, but the apple-celery puree was delicious in that I could taste distinctly the presence of apple and celery without either overwhelming the other. A perfect harmony. Sadly, my filet mignon, while wonderfully tender, a great cut of meat, and cooked exactly to medium rare, it lacked any seasoning whatsoever. It finally occurred to me, with my last bite, that I could grate some salt over it, and so I did, which livened up the flavor to not just bearable, but delicious. Woe is Yvo, since I rarely add anything after being served (I didn’t grow up adding salt or other condiments to my meal, and many times, it will slip my mind altogether that I can do so because I’m just not used to doing it!). Ah well.
The chocolate cube, filled with caramel mousse, was a bit too sweet for RotaryGirl, so she instead focused on the sorbet and the wafer cookies. The waiter was kind enough to box up the actual cube for her, though he warned that it wouldn’t last long like that. She took her chances though.
I was intrigued by the promise of coffee custard and espresso sorbet, so I opted for the bittersweet chocolate mousse. I was not disappointed; the coffee custard (in the cup) reminded me of, as I’d hoped, the dessert RotaryGirl had ordered Django; sweet with crunchy bits strewn throughout. The espresso sorbet was deliciously cold, creamy and perfect, with accompanying crunchy bits (to the right of it in the picture) as well. The cake, I was impressed with mostly because I don’t like cake in general, but this was dense, moist and unobtrusively sweet delicately. It was bittersweet without the bitter and without the sweet; just right for a dark chocolate lover as myself. The white chocolate curl was a nice balance as well.
Overall I would never go to this place to pay full price. The food was mediocre at best, though the desserts were pretty good (I was really happy with mine, and as you can see from many, many posts, I’m not really a dessert person). Though the waiters were not rude to us- they didn’t treat us any differently, I felt, than the other patrons, though we stuck with water and were ordering from a very inexpensive menu- we definitely were out of place in the restaurant. Aside from being the youngest, we were also among the only minorities; interestingly, the only other minorities there were two other tables of Asian people, also around our age (though one of the tables ordered champagne, which generally improves waiters’ impressions of you right away). Did I mention dinner took a long time? We were seated by 8:45 but didn’t leave the restaurant until a little after 10:30. Two hours for dinner isn’t unheard of, but on a Monday night and for two people, it’s a bit much.
Yvo says: If you’re 30ish or younger, a great place to experience at least once for the pay-your-own-age deal. Otherwise, why bother? The food isn’t that good, and though the desserts are pretty to look at, only some of them are good to eat. There’s something for almost everyone here, but that doesn’t mean everyone should go. Our entrees were both normally priced $39; we paid $33 (including tax + tip) total. It’s a bit ridiculous, if you think about it; who in their right mind would pay $39 for the mediocre dishes we both ordered???
middle of the road; good for a one time experience or apparently large groups
Swan says
That’s what I’m saying! The food’s not worth full price at all. I was surprised that a few foodies actually like it.
Both times I was there, there were crowds of Asians. Most recently, there was another group of 20 and a table of 10 full of inter-racial couples
Mona says
That’s hilarious. Great minds think alike. I had this on my list of things I wanted to try with Hawkeye last week but we never made it. Glad to know I’m not missing much if I don’t make it there for the deal. Happy Holidays feisty foodie 🙂
Amelita says
Very Fiesty little Sex in the City young lady. 😉
Evaaaa says
Oh man…that makes me sad inside. *shakes head…
christiegl says
maybe the food was mediocre because they are closing soon. i went to the plaza to eat before it closed down, and there was a RAT running around the dining room. lol.
Anonymous says
I think that the flock of people trying to eat here before it closes affected the food. I came a few months ago and enjoyed my meal, and when I decided to come back b/c they were closing, I had a mediocre experience.
However, now that they’re not closing- maybe the food will get better again.
Here’s to hoping!