Dinner Notes

So Tuesday night, as a special birthday outing, I went to 10 Downing with one of my favorite dining companions. I had chosen this restaurant after reading about it in a few publications and was very much wanting to love my experience there. Our reservations were early, 7 pm, since it was a Tuesday, which meant we could take advantage of happy hour at a nearby bar prior to dinner.

We went to The Dove Parlour which has fantastic happy hour specials - all martinis and carafes of wine are only $6 from 4 pm - 8 pm. The bar is a few steps below street level with a great decor and plenty of seating that makes you want to linger and have a few more cocktails that your probably should - easily done when happy hour lasts four hours.

After having a drink we headed over to 10 Downing, which has a great location on the corner of Downing St. and 6th Ave. The restaurant is V-shaped with one side facing 6th Ave. and the other facing Downing St. When we walked in, the restaurant was relatively empty and thus quiet, but that quickly changed as more people arrived for dinner. The acoustics of the restaurant are awful and the bar scene happening ridiculously close to the dining section does nothing to help the noise situation. The dinner menu is acceptable, but none of the menu offerings jump off the page and get you excited. We decided to start by sharing one of the dishes listed under the 'to share' section of the menu - and had to ask the waiter for sharing plates! When a dish is listed as a 'to share' item, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume sharing plates will come out when the dish is served. We both ordered fish and while the dishes were fine, they were not impressive, and some components of the plate were downright strange. Béarnaise sauce on fish, especially a particularly sweet one, is just a mistake. Also, the fish is served slightly pink inside, which is all well and good, but since I know plenty of people who do not like their fish even remotely raw, this is something the waiter should make you aware of when you are ordering. The dessert menu, an oft overlooked way to evaluate a restaurant, was short and unimpressive. Needless to say, we left without wasting our money on a third course. In short, 10 Downing did not make me want to come back for seconds.

Since we were in the West Village, there were plenty of other options for dessert, one which I had been wanting to try for a while. Milk & Cookies Bakery, located at 19 Commerce St., ended up being the perfectly sweet note on which to end the evening. The cookies are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle and you can get a big glass of cold organic milk to dip them in, truly reminiscent of childhood. They even have made-to-order ice cream cookie sandwiches and, if you cannot find a cookie you like from their extensive menu, they bake-to-order, allowing you to fulfill any craving.

So, check out The Dove Parlour for drinks, and Milk & Cookies Bakery for dessert (or a snack), but skip 10 Downing.