Tuesday, January 24, 2012

How We Ate Our Way Through NYC: Forty Four

Restaurant Name:
Forty Four
44 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036, United States
(212) 944-8844


Cuisine: American
Price Rating: $$$$
Beach Junkies Rating (based out of 5 stars):
Food: 5 / Service: 5 / Drinks: 5 / Atmosphere: 5



One of our main goals was to try as many drinks as we could at Forty Four. After dinner we would walk back to the hotel in anticipation of what drinks we would get that night.  The drinks here are awesome!  Pricey, yes but if you go to other quality bars and restaurants around the city, the price is just right.  There is a range of cocktails and other drinks to choose from, but knowing that Forty Four bar is staffed with awesome mixologists, we knew we were going for their signature cocktails!

Drinks: Please keep in mind that we did not drink all of these in one sitting.  These were the drinks we had throughout our stay.

Creamsicle & Ginger Julep
The Creamsicle is an off the menu cocktail that Matt at Forty Four had done up for "M".  It was clean, tart, fresh and strong. If you like the taste of spirits, this drink is for you. If not, I'd stay away from it as it might be too much for your taste buds.  "A" ordered the Ginger Julep and this is where Matt introduced us to Honey Jack Daniels! Y-U-M!

Seven Spiced Cider & Agave Royale

After sitting on top of a double decker tour bus for 2 hours in the cold, we longed to sit by the fireplace at the lobby of the Royalton Hotel. Seeing that we were chilled to the bone, Jason recommended that we get the Seven Spiced Cider. It was definitely what we needed.  Hot, flavorful, and just a soothing cocktail!  It was perfect for coming in from the cold.  "A" opted to get the Agave Royale, her second crushed ice drink of the trip.  At this point I was getting really jealous of her crushed ice drinks but I'm glad she shared with me.

French Caribbean & Sidecar

I thought this time around it was about time that I ordered a crushed ice drink, so I went with French Caribbean which became my absolute favorite drink of the trip. It's pretty much a Pina Colada on roids.  It's that good.  It also comes in a clear Tiki mask mug that I thought was a perfect touch! The only thing that could've gone better with the drink is if it was called Beach Junkie lol! I definitely recommend it.  As a joke, "A" decided to order a Sidecar since Matt raved about it (inside joke). She should've ordered it when Matt was there but Merritt made one for her instead.

Merritt also made us a bunch of drinks our first night like the Alchemist and the Italian Banana Bread which were delicious as well but unfortunately we forgot to take photographs of them.


Appetizers: We don't remember what they called this bread, but we sure can still taste it.  This was the best bread we have ever eaten!  At first we thought it was some sort of danish.  The outer layer is like a danish but the inside is like bread. You really have to try this. It's unreal



Fresh Mozzarella Salad: A-MA-ZING! The roasted peppers and arugula compliment well with the texture of the mozzarella.  It was really fresh.  We've never eaten fresh mozzarella before and I can see what the difference is.  It's not hard and chewy, it's tender and slightly flakes at a bite.  Just great!


Tuna Tartar: The best tuna tartar you will ever have.  Sushi grade tuna dressed with Kimchi and mixed with Cucumbers and toasted chia seeds.  Fresh.  Flavorful. Fantastic.


Main: 72 Hour Braised Short Rib: This meal was straight from mama's kitchen.  Perfectly cooked baby carrots, peas and pearl onions. The mash potatoes was amazingly soft, fluffy and creamy and the short rib was outstandingly juicy!

As it turned out, our last meal of our trip was the best meal of our trip.  It was amazing and the service was once again outstanding.  The best part about Forty Four is that you don't have to be a guest at the hotel to enjoy this goodness.  You can walk right in and enjoy the drinks and food, like so many people we saw during our stay.  If the food doesn't lure you in, then the drinks should.  It is a bit pricey but there is a reason why and as the saying goes, you get what you pay for and we definitely got what we paid for!

2 comments:

Nicole said...

wow. that food all looks so yumyumyum.

xo

Jessica said...

Is it a sign of alcoholism that I want to try every single one of those cocktails?!