Friday, May 21, 2010

keeping death company

I suppose a place called Death & Company is a bit of a weird spot to have birthday cocktails at. But if you'll indulge my morbid side for a second, you have to think that every year we grow older, we do get a bit closer to kicking the bucket, right? So I'm just being real here. In any case, I should be so lucky if I met my end via death by cocktails and foie gras.

Having said that, I actually just picked this place because Zoe and I passed it last week and I couldn't believe that I'd never been there. So we set up an intimate party of cocktail lovers to celebrate my impending 30s (it's still a year away, but clearly I have a flair for the dramatic). The wait for our table was a tiny bit annoying, but after half an hour and some sweet talking out front, we did get seated. I got a kick out of the menu, which had all sorts of quotes that I am totally including in my repertoire. This one's a favorite:  


The quote above seems particularly geared towards me since I am given to proclaiming that I will wake up at 7AM and run 4.5 miles after drinking roughly five gin & tonics. Death & Co.'s cocktail menu is pretty extensive, separated by the main spirits used: rum, gin, tequila, whisky, champagne or beer. Furthermore, they change their menu every few months to incorporate in-season produce. I settled on the Hoi Polloi, which was refreshing, delicious, and served in a satisyingly tall glass.


We hadn't planned on eating but Zoe, Mat and I have very little willpower when faced with the words "foie gras, pork belly and truffled macaroni." The seared foie gras, priced at $18, was totally worth it. We were served two slices of foie about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide, laid atop dainty corn cakes and quince puree. Heaven. Just heaven.

I loved the presentation of the truffled macaroni (above), which made clearing out the plate a breeze. Not that it wouldn't been wiped out if the macaroni was simply dumped on a saucer. Macaroni, cheese, bread crumbs and truffle oil are just heavenly, no matter what. I wasn't able to get a good picture of the pork belly but they were quite good as well. The pork was flavorful, and the meat-fat-crispy-skin ratio was on point. Even Zoe who is very particular with pork belly gave this dish two thumbs up.

Qualms: there was a strange and rather unappetizing odor permeating the area where we were seated, making the feeling of being inside a massive coffin a bit too real, if you know what I mean. I would definitely come back to Death & Co., but I would let that air out first ...

I proclaimed this week my birthday week, so you can expect a few more stories about how I milked my birthday for the next few days ... in the meantime, if you're in New York, I hope you'll go do something amazing to enjoy the fabulous weather that we're having today. If you're elsewhere in the world, have a wonderful weekend!



Death & Co. is located at 433 East 6th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A, New York, NY 10009. Tel. (212) 388-0882

2 comments:

Tisha said...

Mmmmm foie gras!!! And I know I'm anal but I can't believe they misspelled Hemingway.

celine said...

Hahaha omigod you're right! I didn't notice that!

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