NY DINING DAY 2: PIPA

Day 2 in New York was not a huge dining day for us. It was more a working day for me. I spent the morning walking the bottom floor of the Fancy Food Show (the smaller floor) and then met up with Tom, his brother and the brother's gf for a casual lunch in Cobble Hill. We went to a cute local French restaurant to eat and afterwards, checked out a couple of chocolate cafes in Park Slope.

For the evening, we went to a reception at the Michel Cluizel chocolate shop in ABC Home and Carpet in the Flatiron district. I hadn't been to Michel Cluizel's only outpost in the U.S. because when they opened last year, it was during the NYC Chocolate Show and I just hadn't had time. So the reception was a great time to check the place out, have some free drinks and free chocolates (of course). The store was actually much smaller than I thought it'd be. I thought there would be more seating and more of a cafe setting. And I will admit, it was a bit of an odd setup since it was right inside ABC Home and Carpet, so it didn't have real walls and it was sandwiched between two restaurants. In some ways, it reminded me of my own store. It was nice to see though, and I certainly enjoyed the drinks.

For dinner, since we were inside ABC Home and Carpet anyway, I had told my buddy Moses to meet us at Pipa, a tapas restaurant that was immediately adjacent to Michel Cluizel. This would be the fancy dinner for our trip. My friends had all gone to Pipa before, but I'd never visited, preferring Craftbar which used to be immediately across the street (it's now moved a few blocks away). The setting is dark and filled with these crazy chandeliers. Lots and lots of chandeliers that are all available at ABC. They each have a price tag on them and they are super expensive (in the price range of thousands), but they help set the mood.

When Moses arrived, we were quickly seated at a table. He wasn't very hungry, so Tom and I ordered a number of tapas to share. Here is my order of wild mushrooms. (ok, I've blogged about a few tapas restaurants now. Have you noticed that I tend to order the same things?)The mushrooms were pretty good, but nothing extraordinary. And then I ordered my typical gambas al ajillo.I did like the crispy garlic. But I didn't find the shrimp to be really fresh and they were kinda bland.

I also ordered this Scallops a la Mancha seared diver scallops with caramelized onions, Manchego cheese & crispy Serrano ham. I guess I wasn't really paying attention to the ham part, because then I wouldn't have ordered these had i noticed that. Anyway, here are the scallops below.
I really do prefer seared scallops. And all the toppings on the scallops made them soggy and pretty unappealing to me. I think Tom ate most of it.

And lastly, Tom ordered the Champinones mushroom croquettes served with a frisse salad dressing with truffle trumpet vinaigrette. I didn't end up eating any of these cause I'd already had enough mushrooms. Overall, I enjoyed the setting of Pipa much more than the food. Although, I must say that the service was pretty horrendous. We were generally ignored. It took forever to order and when we finally wanted to pay and leave, it took quite a lot to find a waiter. I expect more out of NYC restaurants. I think they were bit off because the resturant was quite empty and quiet for a Saturday night, tho not surprising considering it's summer season in NY. However, in the future, I would rather stick to my cheaper, more enjoyable hole in the walls than visit a place like this.