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Tags: What Recession? / Restaurants / Food Travel / Jean-Georges Vongerichten / Meatpacking District / → All Tags

Keeping the Spice Alive in MePa

If we had to pick one neighborhood that we're OK with getting decimated by the great recession, it would have to be Manhattan's Meatpacking District, the former slaughterhouse site turned overpriced, overdressed, overhyped Sex in the City-inspired adult playground. Despite the quaint cobblestone streets and picturesque riverfront setting, the new "MePa" always felt more like a movie set than a real-life neighborhood.

But we walked around the Meatpacking District on a recent weekend evening and it appeared to be very much alive and well, with ultra-fashionable crowds still lined up and shivering in skimpy outfits outside every other restaurant and club. The epicenter of this scene is probably Spice Market—chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's massive eatery/hotspot.

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Tags: Food Travel / Restaurant Week / Jean-Georges Vongerichten / → All Tags

Restaurant Week Review: French Food and Gourmet Glimpses at JoJo

New York Restaurant Week is all about accessibility: Even venues at which you could get a table any time of year look much more attractive to visit when the prix fixe menus come out. Walking into JoJo, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Upper East Side joint around the corner from Bernie Madoff's penthouse, feels for all the world like stumbling into a stranger's posh apartment: Located in the bottom two floors of a brownstone, its modest entrance at garden level belies the splendor within.

JoJo offers two options for each course on its Restaurant Week menu, which is printed on the regular bill of fare. Our tuna tartare with chive oil and gaufrette potatoes (gourmet chips, really) was a delicate starter, though our dining companion found it a little bland, but the hanger steak with broccoli rabe was marvelously tender. (This Twitterer at Everyday Food said the other option, the cod, was "good, not amazing." We finished with the liquid-centered warm chocolate cake, which we had just enough room for, but the vanilla ice cream it was paired with left something to be desired on its own.

We enjoyed our meal at JoJo and would definitely consider it as a special treat at regular prices ($20-$35 entrees). Luckily for you Jane- or Johnny-come-latelys, JoJo is running its $24/$35 prix fixe special even after Restaurant Week ends on Friday. (The lunch special includes two courses, not 3, in case you have a job to get back to.) The catch: You have to dine Monday through Friday between 5:30 and 6:30 and after 9PM, or all day Sunday.

That said, here's our advice for fellow Restaurant Week diners: Be on time. Our dining companion was, but we weren't, and amid the commotion it took us an extra-long time to be seated. (Sorry, dining companion!) Watch the beverages. Want to turn your $35 meal into something double the price, quickly? Order cocktails. They were delicious cucumber mint martinis with a hint of sweetness, but our wallets did not relish the challenge.

And make sure to look around. We couldn't help but eavesdrop on some fascinating conversations at the tables around us while we were pretending to be fancy people who eat at Jean-Georges' all the time. (Our neighbors returned the favor later, so don't bring up your secret buried treasure!)

Related Stories:
· NYC Restaurant Week Now In Full Effect [Jaunted]
· Power To The People In This Year's NYC Restaurant Week [Jaunted]
· Top Five Hotels To Dine At For New York Restaurant Week [HC]
· Braving NY Restaurant Week at Chambers Hotel [HC]

[Photo: Kwong Yee Cheng]