Since you all, so many of my readers, go to New York City – and I’m often asked my restaurant picks there – from time to time I’ll feature a Big Apple restaurant with the fabulosity quotient.  High on this list is my new find, Colicchio and Sons, on 15^th Street and Tenth Avenue, part of the restaurant group under Uber chef Tom Colicchio who first came on the New York Scene with Craft . First the menu – there’s a choice of a four course or  7 course chef’s seasonal prix fixe menu with optional wine pairings or a la carte. The dishes are very creative, but not precious or deconstructed. Thank you.  Two of us had the four course menu and I had the a la carte. In both cases, portion sizes were perfect. New Year’s weekend called for caviar, so the first course was a potato bavarois (a dome  of mashed potato mousse with a  center of American caviar and mini potato chips). Other top starters were the Barolo spaghetti with coddled egg and guanciale, now my preference over pancetta  and burrata with crosnes, fennel, radish and black truffle. All were divine.

Next up, a  roasted duck tenderloin with yuzu marmelade, prickly ash and Tokyo turnips which, as you will soon read in a separate post, made it to my top ten dishes of the year – juicy, delicious, perfectly cooked . My partner in culinary excess had the braised beef cheeks with polenta and beets which he gave high marks to.  Another dish that looked especially appealing (next visit) was the roasted lobster with mustard spaetzle.  As with everything else on the menu, nothing is ordinary. Tea selections included coffee nut crunch and honey truffle and for dessert we had coconut madelines with caramel corn and peppermint. Go prepared to  spend a few hundred dollars for two . This is very fine dining; you’d probably pay double or triple for this meal in London or Paris. It’s worth it.

Over twenty foot high ceilings, industrial post modern décor, inspired lighting that somehow made the large room seem intimate and soft,  made for a casually elegant setting with an emphasis on the chic . There’s also a tavern upfront offering pub type fare. The tavern is separated from the main dining room by a window wall encasing a floor to ceiling wine cellar housing a formidable wine list (we recommend the well priced Nevermore Pinor Noir 2011).  The service was professional and attentive, and they scored major points with us with a takeaway gift– individually wrapped homemade corn muffins (pictured here) for breakfast in the morning and a homemade biscuit for the dog in your life. That’s what I call a “wow” (and a wow for the bow wow).