Following some very successful wedding dress shopping for my friend Merri in New York City on Saturday, we headed back to her apartment to snack on some chips and guacamole before changing for dinner.
We had some very special plans on the agenda for the evening thanks to Merri’s fiancé Pete.
Pete planned a special birthday dinner for Merri at Craft, an upscale restaurant founded by chef Tom Colicchio in 2001. (You might recognize him from Top Chef. He’s the head judge!) Merri is turning 30 on January 1, so we wanted to be sure to celebrate when we were all together.
We arrived just in time for our reservations and were so impressed when Merri was handed a personalized menu that said “Happy Big 3-0!”
Such a special touch!
I cannot say enough fabulous things about the service at Craft. Our waitress was knowledgeable, attentive and extremely friendly. She recommended that our table share a few things from the items listed under first courses, main courses and side dishes and that’s exactly what we did.
The food was incredible. We laughed saying that our plates looked like Thanksgiving because they were filled with so many different delicious-looking dishes!
My favorites of the night included the chestnut agnolotti pasta, diver scallops, cipollini onions and the duck risotto. Oh my gosh. So good!
We also shared a couple of bottles of the most fantastic red wine.
I loved this wine! I’m already trying to track it down in Ocala…
Though we were already quite full, we had to say yes when our waitress asked us whether or not we wanted dessert.
They also surprised Merri with a mini cake!
Of the desserts we shared, the table favorite was the sugar and spice doughnuts served with chocolate sauce and burnt orange caramel. Unreal! You must order the doughnuts if you ever go to Craft!
After dinner, our group hopped in a cab and headed to Hudson Lodge for drinks.
Did you notice the snow behind us!?
Inside the lodge it was quite cold unless you were standing underneath a heat lamp, but the chill was worth it for the (foam) snow! Plus, it made it feel awfully cozy when you huddled close together with your warm drinks!
I ordered a Peppermint Pattie (basically a spiked peppermint hot chocolate) and loved every sip!
Eventually we had our fill of the lodge and wanted to head to bar with fun music, so we took the subway to Brooklyneer.
We had a great time ordering rounds of drinks, laughing, singing and dancing! I love these girls!
We didn’t get to bed until after 5 a.m. Yikes!
It was definitely a memorable night. I love NYC!
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YUMMY!!! My brother works at the Craft in Los Angeles and takes me every other month for a special employee meal. It’s sooooooo delish!!
Awesome! So glad you had a blast!
awww what a cute night! I love the snow in the background! those 5am nights are the best!
ah! There was a Craft in Atlanta for a short while. I went on opening night and met Tom.(Bc I’m a super nerd when it comes to amazing chefs.) He even took a picture! I wish the restaurant had “made it” here. It was so delicious.
Hahah big night! Dinner sounds great, and dancing/spending time with the girls sounds even better. Love the special touches at Craft!
I love reading about your trips to NYC! I live here and I discover so many new fun spots to check out from your posts. I learned about the Double Chocolate Walnut Pillows at Our Little Brown from one of your previous NYC posts, and I now go to that bakery for those little guys ALL the time!
Dinner looks so delicious, that is such an amazing restaurant.
Where is the adorable top from that you have on?
Crazy — I was at Hudson Lodge on Sat night too! Such a fab bar. How fun was the karaoke?? We had a little bit of an obsession with DangerKat. 🙂