But The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by the appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but The Lord looks at the heart.  (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT)

Sunday was our last full day in the city and we wanted to take advantage of everything we could do that we hadn’t done yet. Sunday is also known for Sunday brunches so we took a friend’s suggestion and we gave Beauty & Essex a shot. Normally, we work on Sundays so brunches are a rarity for us. We were really looking forward to this because the menu that we looked at online seemed very well rounded and playful.

Our day started off with us not knowing the train schedule for the weekend; also the main train we took for the last few days wasn’t working, so we had to figure out how to get to the lower west side. When we finally made it, the appearance of the neighborhood was questionable. However, the restaurant itself lived up to its name, Beauty & Essex. Our server gave us a friendly greeting and suggested a few of her favorite dishes. We ordered everything she recommended: blackberry and lemon pancakes served with ricotta and house-made syrup, the grill cheese with bacon and tomato soup bites, fried chicken biscuit sliders served with purple cabbage slaw and a house-made Tabasco honey butter, salt and vinegar French fries, and eggs benedict with prosciutto and truffled hollandaise. Every suggestion she made was perfect! The pancakes were fluffy, delicious,and very light; the grill cheese was fun to eat and we thought the plating was very playful; the fried chicken in the sliders had the perfect crunch, and those biscuits were nice and buttery; the fries were hand cut and perfectly fried, the salt and malt vinegar seasoning added a familiar taste like if we were having salt and vinegar chips; the prosciutto gave the eggs benedict a unique touch, the eggs were done perfect, but we could have used a little more of the hollandaise.

After a delicious meal, we were awaiting the dessert to surpass our expectations, and it did! Our server recommended the butterscotch and chocolate pot du creme. It was served with tulle cookies in the shape of spoons, and was absolutely out of this world! We couldn’t believe that a place that is located in such neighborhood could produce this kind of food. Then thinking more in depth, the verse above came in mind. We judged too soon; we caught ourselves doing that a lot on this trip. Not just on this trip, but on our daily life. We judge and we are judged by others. Are we missing something? Maybe we miss the fact that we all miss the mark, and grace is easily taken but hardly given.

Food: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Decor/Ambiance: 5/5

When our beautiful brunch came to an end, we walked around the lower part of Central Park. The map of Manhattan indicates how big this park truly is! We ended up at 5th avenue and we visited two popular stores: FAO Shwarz and the Apple Store.

For dinner, we had left the best for last: the number one rated restaurant according to Tripadvisor, Colicchio and Sons. We had been in the same neighborhood when we had dinner at Del Posto and Morimoto. Located in the Chelsea market and the Meatpacking district, Colicchio and Sons is owned by Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio and his sons, as the restaurant name promises. The decor and the ambiance of the place were both phenomenal. The service was truly perfect; we were treated like a King and a Queen. We never ran out of water, we constantly had bread on the table, and every time we were served a dish, it was explained in full detail by the server or food runner (a method that is often used in New York). Last time we had such service was at Del Posto. Not to compare because both restaurants had their own uniqueness and sophistication; but Del Posto has this “fufu” high end element that Colicchio and Sons doesn’t. We never felt out of our element there, in fact, we consider this the number one spot to eat in the whole area of New York City. This is the restaurant we suggest people to spend their money in because it is truly worth it!

It took us awhile to figure out what to order because everything sounded amazing, but we ended up taking the tasting menu. With the tasting menu, not only did we get what we asked for, but we also got a few surprises from the chef, including two sets of three amuse-bouche, fresh made bread out of the oven, tiny cookies after dessert, and blueberry muffins to take home for breakfast the next day! The amuse-bouche all had something different to offer, but they all went together very well and prepared us for what was about to come.

The tasting menu consisted of an appetizer, a first course, a main course, and dessert. All categories, in exception of dessert, had two items to choose from. Kenny ordered whatever I didn’t order. He had the very soft burrata cheese with stewed tomatoes and chanterelle mushrooms, while I tried the perfectly seared tuna with lemon pepper Yukon gold potatoes and leek vinaigrette. For our next course, Kenny had chili-rubbed monkfish with roasted tomatoes and escargot, while I stuck to my Italian roots and tried the bucatini with fresno peppers, jalapeños, and little neck and razor clams. The monkfish had a spicy crust which the roasted tomato cooled down, and the escargot added a nice touch and brought it all together. The bucatini had different levels of flavor and while I’ve never had clams before, they tasted very delicious. I also tried Kenny’s courses and while they were not my first choices, I thought they really delivered. I tried a lot of things I avoided eating in the past such as monkfish or escargot, and I’m so glad I did because I would have missed out on some culinary greatness.

For our main course, Kenny had the roasted rabbit with pork sausage, garlic confit and Swiss chard. The roasted tomato and the pork jus was what rounded this dish together, Kenny was really impressed by all these flavors. I had the beef short ribs with bombolini carrots and crispy artichokes. The short ribs were rich in flavor and tender in texture; the carrots and the artichokes added that needed crunch. We were both enjoying our main courses that we didn’t share!

Finally, our dessert was art on a plate, we both had a form of cheesecake with the velvety texture of a key lime pie, it was topped with chocolate lavender ice cream, fresh strawberries and lemon syrup.

As I mentioned earlier, dessert wasn’t the last surprise to our taste buds, we also had some fresh baked cookies from their bakery department and two blueberry muffins packed to go for us to have as our breakfast the next morning. This was truly an experience of a lifetime and we were so glad we left it for last! It exceeded our ratings:

Food: 10/5
Service: 10/5
Decor/Ambiance: 10/5