Yesterday I went to the Bryant Park Grill for lunch. It's (quite) a bit more than what I usually spend on lunch, but it was for a recruiting lunch sponsored by work, so I gladly went along.
The meal started with a big bread basket. It was on the other side of the table so I couldn't really see all the types but there was an assortment of rolls and breads. I opted for the cheese-topped focaccia since I couldn't tell if there were any others I would like better.
I ended up being the only one to take advantage of the bread, but I'm glad I did. I really liked this cheese focaccia. It was soft, even on the edges, and had a good chewiness. I couldn't identify the type of cheese that was baked into the bread but it had a nice light saltiness and flavor.
The meal started with a big bread basket. It was on the other side of the table so I couldn't really see all the types but there was an assortment of rolls and breads. I opted for the cheese-topped focaccia since I couldn't tell if there were any others I would like better.
I ended up being the only one to take advantage of the bread, but I'm glad I did. I really liked this cheese focaccia. It was soft, even on the edges, and had a good chewiness. I couldn't identify the type of cheese that was baked into the bread but it had a nice light saltiness and flavor.
We split the jumbo lump crab cakes ($16.95), which ended up being an order of 2 crab cakes that came with petite mixed greens, a grape tomato split in half, and a honey mustard dressing.
The crab cake had a lot of stuff mixed in - bread crumbs and various vegetables and herbs. While it's not a crab cake of just crab meat like one we got in Baltimore, I do also like these softer more seasoned crab patties.
This is probably not the best crab cake I've ever had (although, in this "style" of crab cake, I can't think right now of what would be), but it was a solid appetizer. Well-seasoned, not overdone, tasty, good honey mustard.
For the main course, I got the poached Maine lobster and Israeli couscous salad ($29.50), which, according to the menu, included tomato, avocado, corn, bell peppers, Bermuda onion and sweet basil dressing.
I was excited for this salad which sounded great from the description, but it was disappointing. The lobster was tough and chewy in parts, which is a big reason I don't always like lobster. I've been eating more of it lately in lobster rolls and lobster salads, so I thought I would try it here. Half of it was fine, but half of it took too much work to cut and chew (with no side taste benefit, as it seemed to be missing that rich lobster flavor) that I ended up just leaving it. Very sad to leave lobster behind!
As for the rest of the salad, there were 2 tomato slices, a few chunks of avocado, and a bowl of Israeli couscous mixed with shredded lettuce, chickpeas and little bits of onions and other vegetables. The salad part wasn't bad and I did eat most of it (at least until the vegetables ran out), but it wasn't that flavorful either. The menu had mentioned a sweet basil dressing that I didn't taste at all. The salad was lightly tossed in some dressing but nothing with any distinctive flavor. Other than the couscous, the ingredients were very similar to a lobster salad we had a week ago, which was much, much better, both in flavor and construction.
As for the rest of the salad, there were 2 tomato slices, a few chunks of avocado, and a bowl of Israeli couscous mixed with shredded lettuce, chickpeas and little bits of onions and other vegetables. The salad part wasn't bad and I did eat most of it (at least until the vegetables ran out), but it wasn't that flavorful either. The menu had mentioned a sweet basil dressing that I didn't taste at all. The salad was lightly tossed in some dressing but nothing with any distinctive flavor. Other than the couscous, the ingredients were very similar to a lobster salad we had a week ago, which was much, much better, both in flavor and construction.
Looking at some other people's experiences, it sounds like the chopped chicken cobb salad might be good. But I'm not a huge fan of bacon, or blue cheese, or hardboiled eggs, or olives. So that's kind of wasted on me. I just looked over the menu to see what I might have liked better than the lobster salad and so far all I'm coming up with is the panko crusted chicken sandwich or maybe, the monkfish with baby bok choy. And while I'm critical of the food, I do want to note that our waiter was friendly and likeable.
(We also got a dessert - a molten chocolate cake with almond cocoa nib ice cream - which was fine but nothing incredible.)
(We also got a dessert - a molten chocolate cake with almond cocoa nib ice cream - which was fine but nothing incredible.)
It was nice to take a break in the day for a lunch filled with good company and conversation. I'm not one to complain about a free lunch (well, one that will eventually get reimbursed by work), but, with all the options for nice meals in New York, this probably isn't a choice I would repeat if going on my own dime. I think it's a bit overpriced for what you get, especially compared to other restaurants in the city, and there are other restaurants I like better (both for food and value). I think BPG is popular because of its location, but if you're sitting indoors that doesn't really matter that much as you're not really enjoying the park. Ultimately this just wasn't a very exciting meal to me.
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