Summer RW 2019 - Cipriani Wall Street

I know, I know, I am shamefully behind in blogging.  I have a post in my head about the Encores Off-Center series and I've also seen a few other new plays, but I just don't have the time to blog.  I apologize.  All I can do is try to do better.  Which won't happen until later in August...

Anyway, you all know Restaurant Week is my favorite time of the year!  I've been so busy, I've only scheduled one lunch so far, but I'm hoping to choose a couple more spots in the near future.  Last week, for a Summer Friday, I went with an office chum to Cipriani Wall Street.  I've long heard of Cipriani and I've long known that they are a pricey, old-time sort of place.  But the menu looked tasty and I generally enjoy a trip downtown.  



I really need to learn to stop taking my phone's GPS directions as gospel - almost always, when I go way downtown, my Google directions go haywire.  For some reason, I'm continually walking in the opposite direction.  And so it happened last week - thankfully, we caught it in time and arrived only a few minutes late for our lunch reservation.  Most of the customers were seated on the very nice veranda; my office chum and I decided we wanted to stay in the shade (and air conditioning), so we were the only party seated inside for lunch.

Cipriani Wall Street is definitely old-school, country club sort of place.  It's in a landmarked building, which is cool, with a Greek revival facade.  Lunch is served in the less formal area of the building, in Club 55, so we didn't get to see the famed 70-foot ceiling with a Wedgewood dome, but that's ok.  I probably would've felt out of place having a Summer Friday lunch in a place that swanky.

I was a little disappointed that the lunch menu I saw online was not the lunch menu that was offered last Friday.  I had been looking forward to the burrata and the linguine with clams!  But I guess $26 beggars can't be choosers.  I did, however, break the bank and get a bellini.  The Cipriani/Harry's Bar bellinis are quite famous, so I decided I needed to try one.  It was exceedingly delicious, with just the right amount of white peach puree and prosecco.  It was the perfect refreshing beverage for a very hot day.  I'm glad I splurged to try it.

For my appetizer, I chose the prosciutto cotto with provolone.  It was tasty and a pretty big portion.  I prefer prosciutto raw, instead of cooked, but that's ok.  The cheese was also very fresh and tasty.  It went very nicely with the bread basket our server gave us.  I will say that I expected a perhaps fancier plating, but I guess that's not part of their appeal.

For my main course, I got the sea bass with lemon and capers, served with rice pilaf.  Again, the food was delicious and portioned nicely.  And, again, it was rather a dull plating.  But the fish was perfectly prepared, with a crisp exterior and moist interior.  The sauce was perfectly balanced between lemon, butter, and capers, and the rice was perfectly fluffy.  I ate every last bit of it (and ate a little bit more bread to get all that yummy sauce).  There was just nothing exciting about it.  Delicious, but not exciting.  

Our server brought around the dessert tray (you can get an a la carte dessert for an extra cost), and they all looked delicious, but we opted not to get one.  My cocktail was pricey and dessert-y, so I figured that was good for me.  The strawberry shortcake looked amazing, though.  I guess I could go back and give it a try sometime, though, like most restaurants I choose for Restaurant Week, it's not really a 'go back time and again' place.  It's a pricey, special occasion locale, which is just fine.  One thing that's really nice about Cipriani Wall Street is that they have a very Italian notion about their dining service - the servers aren't intrusive and you can be there as long as you like.  That was fun.  I had a grand time chatting and laughing with my office chum, and I thoroughly enjoyed my delicious lunch plus cocktail.  Who needs every meal to be exciting?  I guess there's always room for tried, true, and reliable.