With no waitress in site, I seated myself near the bar, where the bartender and a few locals were joking and gossiping. That's all fine with me, but I got a little irritated when I got up and asked her for the menu only to have her rudely point to them without saying a word. The menu was interesting, although not that diverse.The entrees leaned towards a Thai take on New American dishes, with dishes such as Flank Steak marinated in tamarind sauce, and the Ginger Fried Chicken. The rest of the menu was comprised of traditional Thai noodle dishes, no surprises there! Now, if you know me, you know there are two types of food that I love more than anything : fried and Asian. Ginger Fried Chicken? YES PLEASE! It was one two lunch options, the other being any of the noodle dishes served with 2 dumplings and edamame. I placed my order with the now present super sweet waitress,and was super excited when it emerged only 5 minutes after I placed my order still sizzling.
It came with two slices of lime, and a tangy chili aioli , another of my TWO FAVORITE THINGS! The first bites were absolutely amazing; the batter was seasoned with just the right amount of ginger, which balanced with the lime and chili mayo perfectly. It was a really refreshing tangy take on traditional fried chicken, but I just felt like it was missing something. It needed a vegetable, or something to tie the dish together and make it feel complete. That aside though,the meal was decently cheap at only $8, and I really enjoyed the Asian inspired flavors paired with the fried chicken.
Address:196 Elizabeth St, New York 10012
Phone:(212) 925-3310
Average Price: $9 for lunch, $13 for entree
Grade:B
I've wanted to try this place for awhile. What's the vibe like? Is the chef/owner Asian?
ReplyDeleteSo would you consider this a fusion restaurant? :)
Lovely Day definitely seemed like it had a super dedicated following, everyone there aside from myself knew all the employees by name and vice versa. It didn't have an Asian vibe at all, it felt much more like an Italian cafe or a French bistro than a Thai restaurant. I wouldn't quite call the restaurant fusion; the menu aside from the ginger fried chicken, the steak with tamarind sauce, and the smoked salmon sandwich with with wasabi creme fraiche is either purely Thai or purely American, with a definite emphasis on the Thai side. Here's the menupage link if you want to check it out for yourself:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.menupages.com/restaurants/lovely-day/menu
I couldn't say if the chef was Asian or not, but the owner was there and he was. I would definitely go back there again, and would recommend you try it out! Let me know how it goes!