restaurant week diary: grayz

I can think of this as a free meal on Grayz thanks to my wonderful coupon! Woohoo!

I'm cheap. I am. This is why I came up with a blog that's all about living the fabulous life without paying full price! Why am I starting my food blog by professing my cheapness? Because quite frankly, the highlight of our meal at Grayz was receiving $25 coupons at the end of the meal for us to use on your next visit! Woohoo!

Freebies aside, I knew I would like Grayz when I had a hard time finding it. The ones you can't spot (especially in the tourist infested 5th Avenue area) are the ones you want to be at. Grayz takes up two floors of a posh townhouse and it's entry has the feel of a speakeasy. I like its old New York, 1950s vibe.

The most memorable part of the meal for me was the appetizer: tuna-kampachi tartare with tomato salsa, tobiko and tortilla chips. I looooove tuna tartare. Grayz's version used ultra-fresh fish that was almost like gelatin in consistency. Slivers of kampachi embraced the mound of finely cubed tuna, and having the two together in one bite was a truly tasty treat. And tuna tartare with salsa and tortilla chips?!?! OMFG. Why did no one ever tell me about this fab combination before? I could eat it all day long ...

My entree, the short rib croque monsieur with fried grits, baby spinach salad and tamarind chutney was ... mmm-okay. I keep ordering the wrong damn entree everytime. Like the entree I picked at Eleven Madison Park, it wasn't bad--just not what I wanted at the time. At both restaurants I passed on the fish entrees because I thought it would be overkill with the tuna tartare. But it turned out to be a big mistake ... Ahh tuna tartare obsessions--a blessing and a curse! This time, my entree overwhelmed me. I never thought I'd say this in this lifetime but there was just too much carbs on that plate for me! Croque monsieur and fried grits together was a bit too much for me. But the short ribs were über tasty and the baby spinach salad a welcome relief from the carbfest.

For dessert, I was the sucker who picked berries and champagne spiked slush (I can't remember what it's called, I'm improvising). Everyone else had something luscious and chocolatey while I had the posh cousin of the Pinoy halo-halo. But hey hey hey, I enjoyed my dessert very much. Nothing like fresh fruit and champagne after shoving all that rich food in my belly.

Unfortunately, thus ends my RW Summer '08 saga due to eating money being misallocated as martini money. But I will be back with a vengeance come Winter. You watch out Grayz. I know where you live.

Where: 13-15 W 54th St, New York 10019. Between 5th & 6th Avenues.

When: Lunch, Mon-Fri: 11:45am-2:30pm; Dinner, Mon-Thu: 5pm-11pm and Fri-Sat: 5pm-11:30pm