Two weeks ago today, we celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary (and, btw, the 22nd anniversary of signing our first book deal) at Gotham Bar & Grill, slipping in just days before the restaurant retired its summer Greenmarket vegetarian tasting menu.
After surprising us with a welcome glass of Lantieri Franciacorta rose we’d actually been craving ever since our last visit to the restaurant at lunch in May, wine director Heidi Turzyn paired our courses with a succession of lovely wines. They included glasses of master sommelier Christopher Bates’ alluring Element Winery Cabernet Franc to accompany the mushroom course below – which proved a perfect pairing.

SWEET CORN BALANCES MUSHROOMS + HAZELNUTS’ EARTHINESS
We loved how successfully Gotham integrated vegetables into the dessert course, expanding our fandom of the concept way beyond carrots, pumpkin, and sweet potato.

DESSERT OFFSETS BITTERNESS OF DARK CHOCOLATE + ARUGULA WITH BEETS
Gotham Bar & Grill is celebrating its anniversary, too – its 30th, in fact, which we found inconceivable given that the restaurant is looking, tasting, and feeling better than ever. Now if only we could convince chef-owner Alfred Portale to bring back the Greenmarket vegetarian tasting menu and give it a permanent spot on the dinner menu….It’s so impressive, we’d expect it would be bringing in customers for three decades to come. Continue reading…