Where does a food blogger go to dine when the world’s #1 restaurant is shut for a refurb? The highest restaurant in the Western Hemisphere, that’s where! The Man Birds’ wallet wasn’t exactly heartbroken to learn that we wouldn’t be spending a second mortgages’ worth of cash on food at 11 Madison Park; opting instead to go and see the 9/11 Memorial and the One World Observatory before dining in their fine dining restaurant, One Dine.
There isn’t a specified dress code, but given the standard of the food and service I was glad that I’d worn smart trousers and Cami -style top. We skipped starters, even though they sounded delicious, conscious of the fact that portion sizes tend to be larger than we’re used to in the UK
The Chick chose the Market catch of the day, which was Cod fillet on Purple potato mash, and had a side of Asparagus with it. I had the Smoked Duck breast and leg confit with a side of Green Beans Almandine; His Nibs had the Rib eye steak with Béarnaise sauce and oven dried Tomatoes and had Crunchy Potato with Scallions and Cream on the side.
As we waited for our food to arrive we took a few moments to really drink in the amazing view from our table; straight in front of us was the Empire State Building - boom! In the distance we could see a couple of areas of New York receiving a downpour, but where we were was dry thank goodness. The mainly clear skies meant that we had a view across the city for miles and miles; literally.
All the serving team were very smartly attired and a dapper gent came and poured us glasses of iced water to sip at; The Boy Wonder and I also had a glass of the “One Rosé” wine to accompany our meals.
The food, when it came, was all superbly presented on white plates. Chickadees Cod was the largest piece of Cod Loin I’ve ever seen; at least 3” thick and a good 4-5” long. She said it was lovely and moist, with a beautiful sweetness to it; the purple potato mash went down a storm too! Since we’ve been in the States she’s taken to Asparagus like it’s going out of fashion; no bad thing as it’s a great vegetable in terms of nutritional value.
My Duck Breast was cooked perfectly pink and had that lovely dense texture that satisfies something deep within the brain. The Green Beans had their natural crunch and texture preserved, and their seasoning was exquisite. I had expected the leg meat to have been shredded and fancily arranged on the plate, but it had been left “au naturel” on the bone instead; this was deeper in flavour than the breast meat, but just as delicious.
His Nibs’ steak had been cooked perfectly medium and was an impressive slab of meat by any stretch of the imagination. The Crunchy Potatoes had been mashed, mixed with the scallions and cream, formed into triangles, and fried; their outsides were softly crispy and nicely coloured, their inners were wonderfully soft.
We all cleaned our plates and sat with grins of happiness on our faces. Our lovely server noted the cleared plates with pride and took them back to the kitchen with a spring in his step.
For desserts we ordered the Chocolate Mousse Cake with Ganache, Almond Biscuit and Kumquat Jam, I had the Raspberry Frangipane Tart with Caramel and Vanilla Ice Cream, and The Boy Wonder had the Coconut Crème Brulee.
They all tasted divine. His Nibs’ Crème Brulee gave that beautiful “crack” as he tapped it with his spoon, and The Chicks cake and Ganache were wickedly rich. I could’ve happily eaten my Frangipane tart all day long for the rest of the year; its texture meant that it lingered on the tongue for a second to let all its fragrant glory be revealed, and the contrast of the fresh Raspberries set it off brilliantly.
In the distance the lights of the bill boards were starting to twinkle into life against the evening sky, and we took in the sight as we sipped our coffees. Several photos were taken for posterity, although it isn’t the kind of experience you easily, or quickly, forget.
If you ever get the chance to go to the 9/11 memorial and the One World Observatory, then do a little advance planning and reserve a table at One Dine, it’s well worth it :)
