Time Out; New York

I need to interrupt the Europe Tour with a quick trip to New York last week. I've always had a love/hate relationship with Manhattan. One minute I'm in awe of how grand and easy the city is, the next I can't believe how pretentious and dirty it is. In any case, my first night, I met up with some coworkers staying in the Meatpacking District for dinner at 5 Ninth. It was a hot, balmy evening, even at 9:30, so we were thrilled to be seated outside on the street. Being Fashion Week, or maybe just because this is what New York is always like, there were gorgeous people strutting past our table all night. The restaurant had the cutest courtyard patio overgrown with greenery up to the latticework roof strung with twinkle lights. Of course we were seated on the actual street next to the dumpster and guy flattening cardboard boxes, but you have to love that the same restaurant can so blatantly organize their guests.

The menu was short but had serious breadth. Baked fried chicken (yes, that's not a misspelling), swordfish, a burger and gnocchi. We shared some amazing appetizers: heirloom tomato salad with banyuls vinaigrette and wild mushroom gnocchi that tasted as if the potato dumplings were as light as air. How do they do that? I've attempted to make it once and failed miserably as the dumplings came out hard as rocks due to my overuse of flour to get the little guys off my fingers, into the pot.

The scallop special was fantastically light—a clever blend of flavors to take the typically rich scallops down a notch. A bed of lentils in a balsamic reduction that tasted almost fruity provided the base. Scallops were nearly rare (the best way) with a seared crust of fine pepper and polenta for a little crunch that wasn't too spicy. Radish sprouts and flat leaf parsley were abundantly sprinkled on top and the overall effect was, like I mentioned, surprisingly light for scallops! I tend to only go for scallops if I'm in the mood for a rich beurre blanc sauce or serious cracked-pepper action. But this was perfect for a warm evening: light, fruity and herbacious.