Amalia

** Note: Amalia is no longer serving food as of June 2009

New York Restaurant Week meals can run the gamut from insultingly bad to refreshingly well-executed, and the contrast between my meal at Megu and Amalia proves that. Not only was the decor, service, and food at Amalia spot-on, we had an enjoyable three course meal for $35, which is exactly how Restaurant Week should be. Amalia also shows that there is great food to be had in midtown Manhattan, and I discovered another perfect pre-theater venue.

Named after Sigmund Freud’s mother and located in the Dream hotel, Amalia definitely has that air of fantasia with ornate Baroque paintings lining the ceiling and a floating staircase covered in blue mosaic. Amalia sure is “gussied up” but it feels airy and relaxed, not overly refined. It’s the kind of restaurant you want to linger in, which is great because the restaurant has many rooms each with a unique decor, for private events.

Amalia was once more Mediterranean-focused, but now the menu leans more toward Mediterranean/New American. It seems to be having an identity crisis with some of the menu offerings, though the flavor and presentation was clear.

The meal began with warm pita served with a delicate hummus. My friend and I both had a fattoush salad of arugula, mint, feta, toasted flatbread and a lemon vinaigrette. It was very fresh, though small, though this was reconciled by our entree: a generous fan of beautiful skate served with a cucumber-fennel salad and tztatziki sauce. The skate was lightly breaded, adding some richness to the dish to complement the cool flavors. I did note that the entree seemed rushed as the sauce looked sloppy. Both of our desserts were nice too: a chocolate mousse bar with vanilla ice cream and a luscious coconut flan with banana ice cream. It’s tough to demand a better three-course meal for $35. I’d love to see what they can do on a regular evening.

Amalia: 204 W. 55th and Broadway
Cuisine: Mediterranean, New American
Average App/Entree Price: $14/$30
Word to the Wise: Amalia makes accommodations for pre-theater dinners.

Thalassa

This week and next week are designated as New York Restaurant Week(s), when people can enjoy 3 course meals at some of the top restaurants in the city for just $35. It’s a fantastic way for those of us with shallower pockets to get a chance to try some of the best that New York has to offer. My restaurant of choice was Thalassa, a modern Greek restaurant located in a loft-like space in Tribeca. I was really looking forward to the meal not only because I happen to love Greek food but because Thalassa received an award from the magazine in this month’s Restaurant Awards issue. In our program, restaurants submit their menus and wine lists for review among a panel of judges at the magazine in hopes of receiving an award for being one of “America’s top wine driven restaurants.” A restaurant can receive one of three levels of awards: Award of Distinction, Award of Unique Distinction and Award of Ultimate Distinction. Thalassa received the Award of Unique Distinction so I anticipated a fantastic meal with a unique wine list. However, I was also hesitant because restaurant week is not the best time to see a restaurant in all its glory. Participants in restaurant week are packed with reservations during this time and often are conservative with their offerings on the restaurant week menu, due to the cheaper price. Service can be smug and rushed towards those who order from the restaurant week menu. Luckily, Thalassa was nothing short of perfection.

Thalassa is a large, two story restaurant which feels like a cross between the new and old world. The walls are mainly exposed brick but the space is cut with billowy white sails which transport you to the Greek isles. When you first walk in you notice a spacious marble bar with fresh fish packed in ice to the left. The ceilings are incredibly high so the restaurant has a wonderfully open feel.

After being seated my friend and I were brought a healthy assortment of Greek olives as well as some bread and smoked eggplant dip. The waiter brought the restaurant week menu without a request from us which I appreciated. Often restaurants force you to awkwardly ask for the special RW menu. I find this to be quite rude. The Thalassa restaurant week menu offers a myriad of interesting dishes. For the first course, diners have the option of a vine ripened tomato salad with aged feta cheese, grilled octopus with santorini caper leaves, or crab cakes with gigante beans. The main course options are pan roasted skate with lobster sauce and fingerling potatoes, Colorodo lamb chops with braised beans and fingerlings, or fire roasted lavraki (a flaky, white fish which is Greek-indigenous). The dessert options are honey walnut cake, raspberry yogurt cake, or loukoumades which are traditional fritters. In addition to the three courses, Thalassa also offers discounted additional appetizers and wines which you can add to your selection for a fee. They seem to welcome restaurant week diners. The waiter was very knowledgeable and friendly and had the answers to any of our questions. My friend and I chose to start our meal with the cheese plate, followed by grilled octopus for each of us, then the lavraki for her and skate for me, finishing with raspberry yogurt cake for her and honey walnut for myself.

The sommelier was very helpful with the wine list. I explained to him that we wanted a crisp, fruity and dry white wine to complement our fish. Interestingly enough he suggested a white Chilean wine rather than a Greek wine. I yielded to his expertise and opted to try it. To be sure that our service was not compromised by restaurant week, I passed my card to him and we discussed their award. I believe he made my presence known to everyone else who was helping us as the service was completely over the top from then on. My absolute favorite moment of the meal was when my friend quietly made a comment to me about how good the bread was but said she was mostly interested in the crust. The waiter was walking by, overheard her, and immediately yelled out “MORE BREAD, ONLY CRUST- NO MIDDLE!” And tried to explain to the bread/bus boy to remove the center of all of the pieces of bread in his basket and deliver them to my friend. This was completely unnecessary and perhaps a bit embarrassing but I have to admit, it made us feel special :)

All of our courses came in a perfectly timed manner. We drank our wine and ate at a leisurely pace; never feeling rushed nor pressured by our pending courses. The cheese plate was adorned with three different cheeses: a barrel aged feta, and one mild and one sharp Greek cheese. Unfortunately I cannot remember the names of these though I did ask the waiter and he provided them. Next we had our grilled octopus appetizers. The octopus was lightly grilled which imparted a delicious, smoky and charred flavor. It came with fresh, sun-dried tomatoes and micro organic greens on the side. My skate was very flavorful with the lobster sauce which added a comfortable richness to the fish and I enjoyed soaking it up with the fingerling potatoes as well. My friend’s lavraki was simply grilled with steamed wild greens. It tasted very fresh and light and was enjoyable as well. I’m not a dessert freak as I prefer savory foods but I will say that the honey walnut cake was nicely sweet without being over the top and the raspberry yogurt cake (similar to a panna cotta) was refreshing.

At the end of the meal the sommelier came by with 2 complimentary glasses of champagne. As he proudly approached our table and leaned over to pass us the glasses he dropped the tray, shattering them and spilling the champagne on the floor. No harm was done whatsoever though I was really hurting for him. He came back with 2 new glasses and I tried to console him by commending his “performance” and saying what an exciting “show” it was. Oh well.

If you are looking for somewhere to go for the second week of restaurant week then please run, don’t walk, to Thalassa. You will not be disappointed.

Thalassa- 179 Franklin Street (between Hudson and Greenwich)
Cuisine- Modern Greek
Average App/Entree Price: $15/$27
Food: Very Good
Service: Excellent
Value: Good
You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite.