Diane Ah-Kine

Came here for a blind tasting dinner...the restaurant itself is visually stunning - very much an oasis in terms of feel, sights and sounds. We were warmly greeted by the staff after being seated at the bar. The bartender gave us an intro since it was our first visit, and explained how the format and menu worked, and then we were under the care of our server/bartender. We selected a 7 course menu, and though initially were told we could select 2 dishes, we were not invited to make those selections for the meal. I thought the first 4 selections were very good: caviar service, sticky rice pops, kabocha squash and marblehead sea uchin. The chinese broccoli was also quite tasty. We were served the homemade egg noodles, but this dish was a disappointment, particularly when the name of the restaurant has "noodle" in the name. The sauce was overwhelming, very salty, and completed swamped the whole dish. There was a nice lemon pernod palate cleanser, and then dessert was a chocolate mousse, which I thought was very heavy, and not special (why then bother with a palate cleanser?). Service felt rushed, for the second half of our meal, we were presented our next items before finishing the ones in front of us, and were presented the check just moments after dessert was placed in front of us. And I'm a really fast eater! We were in and out of the restaurant within 90 minutes, having had 7 courses and 2 drinks each. The cocktails were excellent, which took me somewhat by surprise, since it's a reservations-only restaurant where you can't just go for drinks, but need to commit to a meal. Overall, it was a nice night out to experience a pretty restaurant, but there are definitely kinks to iron out to make guests feel more welcome, and to allow at least an option or two, given how much it costs for the experience.

Great store to browse or meet friends or make purchases that support communities at risk. They have a give and take wall where you can buy a book or coffee or the like for a stranger, and offer access to a restroom (so rare in NYC), free covid tests and plan B! Mutual aid FTW!

Was very excited to get chai at this place and it did not disappoint! Got their iced chai with regular milk and it was delicious, refreshing, and not overly sweet. I appreciated that they had little stools outside of the store so you could sit and sip on your beverage!