I usually don’t participate in Restaurant Week because I rather not be limited to any particular menu options.  I feel if I’m going to pay to eat at the restaurant, I want to choose the most popular dish or the dish that the restaurant is known for.

However, I had been to Ai Fiori in the Setai Hotel for drinks with my coworker and he raved about how good his dinner was at Ai Fiori a few months prior.  We agreed to get some food the next time we went out for drinks. Coincidentally, Ai Fiori participated in Restaurant Week and agreed to go on an “early Summer Friday” for a late lunch.

Still craving the “gazpacho” that I had in Spain, I ordered the chilled zucchini soup as my appetizer hoping it would satisfy my palate and it did.  The light texture and the crisp fresh flavor with a drizzle of olive oil on top was perfect for a summer afternoon.  I ordered the skate wing as my entree and I wasn’t disappointed. It again had the perfect texture, not too tender and the white bean puree was tasty.

The pièce de résistance was the dessert.  Between the 2 of us, we ordered both of the choices so that we could try them and we are glad that we did.  They were so good I wanted to dive right in to the center of both of them. The chocolate “tart” had salted caramel center, so gooey and good, with a dark chocolate coating and the other is an olive oil cake with a lemon confit.  It was really hard to decide which one I liked better as they each satisfied the sweet and the savory.

This restaurant wouldn’t be on the top of my list to try out but I am for sure glad that I went.  Great company, good wine and a view of 5th avenue was exactly what the doctor ordered on a rainy summer Friday.

Question: Where did you go for restaurant week?

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