Vandal-ized in NYC
As I wrapped up the last day of a conference this past week in NYC, a long time client and friend approached our booth, who about 6 years ago I had tagged along with for my first, dance until 5 am night of fun at the Mean Fiddler in Time Square. After catching up and talking business for a bit, to my pleasant surprise, as he was leaving he said "hey, if you don't already have dinner plans tonight, I have a resy at Vandal that I can't make so please feel free to take it and enjoy." Umm... Score!
While I've heard of and eaten at some great places in New York, this city, much like Paris, always has new amazing restaurants to try. That said and upon mom, sis and myself all taking a quick peek at this place online to decide, we unanimously agreed this was our "let's get dressed up" dinner spot for the night!
Driving here and seeing that it was cornering the trendy East Village, I was already getting excited for what this Lower East Side restaurant was about to serve up. Walking through the entrance into a scene of street inspired art decorated walls, funky cool music playing, followed by the big purple Jeff Koons style bunny busting a breakdancing move next to the hostess stand, I knew this was exactly where we were meant to be for our night out in NYC.
As we were led to our table we were equally in awe at the deceivingly huge restaurant as well as enchanted by all the creativity that the TAO Group's carefully selected Rockwell Design Team did with this space. It was a vibe of authentic yet carefully crafted street artistry making it fun, vibrant, upscale and absolutely fabulous all in one!
So with the ambiance in full effect, next came the food. Ohhhh... the food!
Now if you've ever "mealed" with me, you know I am all about "hey let's order 2 different things and split", that way, selfishly, I get to try it all and don't suffer from order remorse! But tonight it was my lucky night, I didn't even have to ask since this place was all about small sharing plates. Yesssss, tapas style!
Looking at the menu of Vandal's perfectly crafted creations prepared by Executive Chef Chris Santos, also known for the fabulous Beauty & Essex and Stanton Social, we honestly couldn't decide. Everything, literally everything, sounded delightful. But with a little help from our sweet, well versed on the menu, positive vibed waitress, we went with the below beauties.
What is this deliciousness, you ask?
Let's start here
First we were served up with some generously Vandal sized shrimp cocktail, because you gotta start with an oldie but goodie, coupled with the mouth-watering Roasted Squash Tostadas consisting of a crunchy jicama shell topped with avocado cream, crisp kale and a touch of salsa verde. Needless to say these were Gone in 60 Seconds, flat!
Next up...
A
s we anxiously salivated
was the highly recommended Lobster Sopes which whisked me away on a flavor vacay with the delightful fresh lobster paired with black beans on a crispy tortilla and topped with tequila-habanero salsa. Yep, yummy is right! And as if that wasn't already a slam dunk by Chef Santos, next was our waitress's personal favorite, the Crispy Bao Buns, filled with juicy, tender brisket, crunchy asian slaw and hints of sesame. This dish was executed to perfection; The taste, the texture, the size, literally...perfection! Needless to say, at this point we are in a full-on taste bud celebration with all the "wow, omg, and yum's" going on at our table! It was a taste bud's dream come true.
The third appetizing delivery of deliciousness
Reaching the peak of our dining experience, we were presented with one of my personal favorites: The Short Rib Meatball Kebab laid upon grilled corn and topped with a fresh, crunchy chimichurri. It was the perfect balance of simple, yet absolute savory bliss. Accompanying this was some perfectly crisp, sweet potato fries served with a chipotle molasses ketchup and maple mustard. And last but not least, my sister and mom's fave, the Grilled Sea Bass Tacos. Now let me tell you about these tacos, just as the waitress described, the Chilean Sea Bass within these tacos was so freshly prepared that you could literally taste the delicious smoky grill flavor with each bite while being perfectly complemented by the avocado, chipotle slaw and salsa diablo, making it a dish we all wanted a second round of. Well, that is if we weren't saving room for dessert, which in my book is never!
To wrap up an already incredible evening of dining, came my most favorite part of any eating experience... dessert! Now that I was a fan of being Vandal-ized, and upon convincing my dining team that we should stay true to form with the sharing plates, we each picked a dessert.
Saving the best for last!
Starting from top to bottom, we have my gladly picked personal favorite, the Vandal S'mores, which is really just a plate of heaven consisting of a deconstructed and oversized s'more with a side of crunchy and quite pretty, chocolate crisp topped with graham cracker ice cream. Following that and just below we have the Churros, which were like cinnamon and sugar hoops of light sweetness coupled with a unique spicy chocolate dipping sauce to give you a twist of sweet with a kick of flare. Below to the left, we have the way too big even for 3 people, Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Cake, my sister's fave, made of sweet cream, strawberry ice cream and topped with a full on 90's classic, Pop Rocks. Yess! Last, was the 4th, yes 4th, brought out to us even though we all said no due to being ready to burst, but which was graciously presented as a token of appreciation by the Chef and staff! So of course, we had to have at least one bite of this Chocolate Coconut Pavlova filled with chocolate pudding and coconut whipped cream. After all, it would be rude not to, right?
With our tummies now completely tapped out and taste buds content beyond all means, we rolled ourselves out of the doors, each holding the newly claimed title of being NYC Vandal-fied ladies.
Adam, my palette and my fam, thanks you again for this incredible reservation!
Next time you're in New York City and you want to experience a unique, chic and delicious dining experience, be sure to check out Vandal and make a reservation here: http://www.vandalnewyork.com Your taste buds will thank you!
