When my dad told me that he was coming to NYC for an Art Expo that was located on 12th Ave and 54th and wanted to me to find a restaurant nearby, I was really perplexed. I mean besides being in a total waste land, I couldn't even think of anything within a 5 block radius except the Gotham West Market and I didn't want to go there since it was a bit too casual. I finally found out about Taboon on Opentable and luckily they had a 7:45pm reservation.
The food here is Greek/Mediterranean which I love so I was excited to try it out. I was and wasn't surprised by how crowded it was on a Friday. I'm surprised because it's in such a removed area but also not surprised because if you live/work in that area, it's probably the best dinner option. My one gripe about the menu is that everything was about $3-5 more expensive than it needed to be except for the dips. But regardless the menu has a lot of delicious options. To start we got the red snapper ceviche ($14), the crab meat salad ($14.50) and the sautéed calamari ($11) and then shared the lamb duo ($36) for an entree. I was tempted to get a tzaziki dip for the bread but figured we had ordered enough food that we didn't need it. While the bread was delicious, I definitely wished that I gotten the tzaziki because there was just something missing while we were eating the bread. All the appetizers came out together and at first glance, while they looked great, they definitely looked small. The ceviche was served chopped up and mixed together with lim juice, avocado, bulghur wheat, cucumber, shallots, cilantro and mint served on a romaine lettuce leaf and then topped with slices of radish. When I think ceviche, I usually think they are chunks of fish marinated in lime juice not chopped up - while I wasn't a huge fan of this format, the flavor profile was still great. Very refreshing and light but it was a bit difficult to really taste the fish because it was so cut up. Next I moved on to the crab meat salad - this came with fresh crab meat, feta cheese, oregano, croutons, tomato and microgreens. Again, nice fresh flavors but not sure if it really needed the feta cheese in it, but I'm never one to not eat feta on anything. The calamari was sautéed with lemon oil and fresh herb salsa verde and served on a bed of arugula and cherry tomatoes. As my dad said, it was a great dish but very small - it only came with 4 small pieces. So while we had ordered 3 appetizers, I was still really hungry and totally ready for my entree. The lamb was served two ways - as grilled lamb chops and as lamb meatballs and this was served on a bed of lentils and root vegetables. I'm not sure if they did this because they knew we were sharing but it was nice that there was 2 of each kind, so we didn't have to fight over who got what. Again, these were also a bit on the smaller side as well but the root vegetables did help fill me up. The lamb chop was delicious and grilled medium rare. It fell off the bone and had a nice small amount of fat around it to keep the meat moist. The meatball was also fabulous and juicy but flavored well with herbs and tasted just like a lamb kebab.
So while it sounded like we ordered a lot of food, I was still a bit hungry at the end of the meal. Based on the waiter's recommendation, we ordered the date sponge cake ($10). It was a date sponge cake soaking in rum and then topped with a date compote and English cream and fig reduction. At first bite it was wonderful but as you start to take more bites of it, the intense sweetness really hits you. It was to the point where I just really couldn't eat anymore of it because I was starting to feel sick from the sweetness. All in all, I was glad that I found this place and if I was stuck all the way on the west side again, I would come back here if I needed a fancier establishment than Gotham West. But do be aware that it's a bit pricey and the portions are on the small side. Total bill: $70/pp with tax, tip and drinks
Photo Credit: Yelp
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Hi there! Enjoy reading your blog and was hoping to connect with you via email to ask you a couple of questions. Could you let me know where to reach you? Thank you!
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