Like many other New Yorkers who like to eat out, I am a huge fan of Danny Meyer. I have no idea what he looks like or what his personality is like, but I love the restaurants he has either started or been a part of. Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe, and Eleven Madison Park are restaurants that I have had some of the best dining experiences in my life, so I was really excited to finally get a reservation at Maialino, his other well known and loved restaurant in the city. Everything we ordered tonight exceeded expectations along with a couple of surprises. When Chris ordered us a pork belly appetizer, It ended up coming to the table in the form of a pate mixed with duck and duck fat and was paired with these delicious little pickled cucumbers and apricot jam. The cocktails were artfully crafted and smooth, and surprisingly they were not as expensive as we thought they would be. We had some quick small talk with our waiter, and he laughed when he heard that the reason we came was because of Danny Meyer. It’s only in cities like New York where patrons would actually know or care about “celebrity chefs.”

I have a friend who is visiting New York this weekend who I will meet with tomorrow, and since she’s only been to New York a handful of times, she looks at New York as the city “that has everything” in terms of food and cuisine. And she’s right. As New Yorkers, we take for granted the variety and quality we have in this city. Sometimes, I can feel myself getting complacent when I’m deciding what to eat next when it comes to restaurants. Shame on me (to be fair, it’s mainly because we need to pick a restaurant near the theater district, which is notorious for catering towards tourists). It will be sad one day to finally leave it, but as long as we are here, I want to relish it as much as possible.