Lunch at Michael's in NYC, New York

Michael's is one of these restaurants that have been opened forever and where business people as well as celebrities like to go. Or at least people thinking that they will see celebrities go!

I went there for a lunch recently. The restaurant has a nice feel between classic and modern with its colorful paintings on the wall.

The service was courteous but a bit disorganized, although the restaurant was reasonably crowded.

In term of food, the menu offers a diversity of dishes that are at the same time simple and elaborated.

The presentation of each dish was a pleasure for the eyes: colorful and well put together. I tasted first the sashimi of hamachi (also called Japanese Amberjack or yellowtail). It was served with Pickled Jalapeño, Bell Peppers, Salmon Roe with a Yuzu Vinaigrette. I liked the finesse of the dish that had very clean flavors. My only regret was the salmon roe that I do not particularly like.

They also serve some amazing chilled shrimp, served with avocado, grapefruit, horseradish and a bit of Greek yoghurt. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the acidity of the grapefruit as well as the avocado added a some freshness to it.

For the main dish, I went for the Seared Maine Dayboat Scallops.

They were served on a disk made of quinoa and sunflower seeds, with a rouille sauce. The colors on this dish were fantastic! The scallops were perfectly cooked with a nice sear on it. The quinoa was perfectly cooked (thank God they rinsed it thoroughly so it did not have a bitter taste). The sauce was delicious, but I could not really think about a rouille when tasting it. Overall, it was a successful dish that healthy conscious people will sure appreciate!

For dessert, they had different types of sorbet.

The raspberry sorbet was scrumptious with a nice fruity taste! I bet it was homemade! 

I could not resist to the German chocolate pyramid either.

It was served with a delicious pecan praline ice cream. The pyramid was dense and for sure was loaded with dark chocolate! Perfect for chocolate lovers!

So, it was a great lunch there: great food, spectacular plating and fantastic flavors. I understand why it has been there so long!

Enjoy (I did)!