Thursday, January 28, 2010

Terrace in the Sky, 119th between Amsterdam and Morningside

Wow. Restaurant week. We were able to go for $35 prix fixe for a 3 course meal to a restaurant that normally charges $41 for rack of lamb. We walked up the eleven blocks, through Columbia's campus, to Butler Hall -- a Columbia dorm with Terrace in the Sky, a 4 star restaurant, on the 16th floor. From the wrap around windows you can see the Triboro Bridge, the George Washington Bridge, Riverside Cathedral, St. John the Divine, Central Park and the lit up skyscrapers of midtown and downtown. And the food is really good.

This is elegant dining. Not your neighborhood ethnic restaurant or bistro. You ride the elevator up and up and step out into a foyer of mirrors. We handed over our coats and were given a choice of dining in the quieter, carpeted room with wrap-around two story high windows or the terrazzo tiled room where a harpist played and the views were reflected in black mirrors.
For an appetizer, I ordered the pasta, perfectly al dente, in a divinely smooth goat cheese sauce with porcini mushrooms. David ordered the sashimi with mounds of chopped mango, sprinkled with sesame seeds. We both ordered (at the suggestion of the waiter) the short ribs that were pink and butter tender. You could cut the meat with the side of your fork. The plentiful sliced beef was laid beside a pool of pureed parsnips and a mound of chopped garlicky, buttery kale. One of our friends ordered the chicken -- a breast of tender white meat under a crust of rosemary.

For dessert, two of us ordered the chocolate mousse sponge cake with cherries soaked in kirsh and a creme anglais, topped with vanilla ice cream with a zebra straw made of dark and white chocolate.. Almost too rich for me. Two ordered the smooth, custardy creme brulee with mixed berries.

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