Marius fell. And then he got up, a few months later after back surgery. So went out to celebrate, to welcome him back (pun intended). Laura organized 28 people on a Friday night in the holiday season, place cards and all. No easy feat.
The location was perfect. Stanton Social on the Lower East Side. IÂ’d been wanting to go there for ages and now here was my chance. Laura designed a set menu which allowed us to taste about a third of the menu. HereÂ’s what we had:
1st course
Sweet & sour chicken & cashew spring rolls: These were the standouts. They flew at our table. Delicious.
Wood grilled pizzetta with figs, smoked bacon, blue cheese and truffle honey: A mixed bag here. I typically don't like blue cheese, but I liked this. JB vehemently did not.
Red Snapper Tacos with fiery mango and avocado salsa: I was excited for these and found them a disappointment. Taco shell seemed ordinary. JB, however, loved this. No wonder Laura sat us at opposite ends of the table!
2nd course
Warm spinach salad with roasted corn, smoked goat cheese, & chile cashews: Again, this dish was a mixed bag. I found it a welcome treat, just to have one item and a light one at that. Others at our table were not fans.
3rd course
Wasabi pea crusted wild salmon with asian pesto and soba noodle beet salad: I do not like salmon or beets, but I liked this, the pesto gave it a kick. A testament to them.
Dry-Aged Hangar Steak au poivre with carmelized cippolini onoins: This dish was the one least touched at our table. It was perfectly fine, just not as complex as the other flavors.
Spaghettini with sweet roasted tomatoes, fava beans, arugula, lemon and pecorino: JB happened to love this dish. I found it ordinary but good. JB always loves a simple pasta.
Sides
Herb dusted frites with red chile mayo: No complaints here other than not enough for our table of 10.
Haricots Verts with garlic, olive oil, almonds and a sprinkling of cheese: These I liked, but most others didn't. Lucky for me, I'm married so I can have as much garlic as I want and there was a lot of it.
Bonus dish
Kobe Beef Burgers: JB & I table-hopped and convinced Matt & Aubrey to order the Kobe beef burgers with us. They were OK which was the disappointment of the evening. Laura was right in not putting them on the menu.
Dessert
Jamie's Dessert Platter: At this point, dessert was almost a no go. There were black and white cookies and donuts. I had a small taste of each. Go with the donuts and dip them in caramel. Serious yum.
To recap, it was an amazing party and Laura did an amazing job. Everyone had fun and everyone ate a ton. A lot of cheese and a lot of nuts, but that may have just been the menu.
There are a lot of items on the menu and JB and I have already decided that we must return for some more signature items. Especially the French Onion Soup dumplings, now that sounds awesome.
Until we eat again, KLB
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