Sarabeth's

Sarabeth's
1295 Madison Avenue (at 85th Street)
New York, NY 10128
(212) 410-7335
(Other locations available)

My friend from San Francisco was in town one day and we picked this place for dinner. Sarabeth's has a bunch of locations in the city; this one on the upper East side is a cozy place that was just perfect for catching up--- not too loud, not too bright, and not too packed. I especially liked the big flower arrangements, which add a nice touch of luxury. Prices are what you'd expect for the area, but it's a pretty good deal considering the food here is pretty hearty.

Bread basket. This was very nice. From left: hearty nut bread (butter and very good), your typical crusty roll, buttermilk biscuits (I think). Sarabeth's is quite renown in these parts for their awesome baked goods, and we tend to concur that they were awesome.

The bread came with this summer squash puree. It was quite watery and bland, and we did not know what to do with it.

I decided to go with their prix fixe dinner, which includes soup, entree and dessert.

Sweet pea soup. This was actually a bit on the starchy side. This soup would have been really great when young green peas are in season.



My friend had the fig, asparagus and arugula salad with goat cheese on toast points. It looked really yummy.

For our entrees, both of us picked the lobster ravioli, which was one of the specials that day. Between the bread and the soup, and a nice glass of pinot grigio, I was already feeling quite full and could muster only a few bites. The ravioli had a nice give to it, and the lobster tasted fresh and sweet. I was surprised that it did not come in a cream sauce; it was simply prepared with a garlicky olive oil, and tossed with some grated cheese and pine nuts. DJKung had my leftovers the next day and really liked this.

Fruit plate for dessert.

We were pretty stuffed after the meal, and had a nice long coze at that. Definitely have to bring DJKung here next time.