I can’t believe it’s over so soon! Restaurant Week just flew by in what felt like a matter of minutes, and although I’m ready to spend a little more time in the kitchen, I am definitely going to miss checking out all these new restaurants.
Our final dinner of the week was downtown at Nine on Nine. This is another of those restaurants that we’ve passed many times and somehow never stopped into.
We made the reservations early on, since it would be a Saturday night around theater-dinner time, but I was getting a little apprehensive after reading some Yelp reviews of the restaurant that were all over the place. Boy am I glad we decided to go with our gut and form our own opinion!
Nine on Nine has both an excellent wine list and a unique cocktail menu. We were undecided about which way to go, but the final decision that I wanted meat and Michael wanted fish sealed the deal: cocktails! Michael started with an Orchid, which is made of Bombay Sapphire, St. Germaine Elderberry, and white wine. It was a perfect summery drink!
It also made for some really cool pictures between the cold drink, the sunlight streaming in the window, and Michael breathing into the glass.
I started with a white grapefruit cosmopolitan. The difference between this and a regular cosmo is the swap of regular vodka for Absolut Ruby Red (grapefruit) vodka, and white cranberry juice instead of traditional. This was also great for a hot summer day, and quite smooth.
While waiting on our appetizer, we got to enjoy this bread basket. While everything in it was tasty, the true star was the onion bread. It was like a softer focaccia (focaccia bread has a tendency to be dry, but not this one) with onions and cheese on top. Paired with the salted butter, I could have probably eaten a whole loaf of this stuff.
For an appetizer, we split the tuna tartare. It had the consistency and spice of a ceviche (which is my new favorite food of the moment). Great size for splitting, too!
For round two of beverages, I got one of their seasonal mojitos. (Earlier in the day, I was at the grocery store and bought a mint plant because I was thinking about mojitos… it was a sign!)
Here’s how this one went:
Fox: Dang, I am totally craving a mojito right now!
Bartender: Here you are. I have put it in a pint glass. Good luck!
Seriously huge! Loved the muddled blueberries though.
Michael got the snap Old Fashioned, one of their house specialties, for his second round.
Then our entrees arrived! Michael’s was the scallops with a peach and corn salsa. The little dollops on the side are a pear sauce. Very unique, and very delicious.
Since pork is not always the most present menu item, when I see it, I like to try it. This had both pulled pork and a pork chop, with squash, a fruity dressing, and fried zucchini bread. This was incredibly rich, but everything was so melt-in-your-mouth tender that it went down easy. My only issue was that the pork chop was bone-in, and I am the WORST when it comes to cutting meat off the bone. Otherwise, it was heavenly!
For dessert, we decided to split the peach Napoleon. This had peach slices, a peach mousse, puff pastries, and frangelico. It was just the right size to split, just the right amount of sweetness after our meal.
And the perfect accompaniment for a fruit-forward dessert? Nine on Nine’s ‘Mexican coffee.’ Tequila, Kahlua, and coffee: what a wonderful idea! I think I may have just found a substitute for my wintertime hot cocoa…
Nine on Nine was super charming. It was a little pricey, but I think that’s understanable, with it being situated in the heart of the Theater District. We had excellent service from our server Tzvetanka, who was friendly, attentive, and able to answer any of the questions we had about the menu.
I know their menu changes seasonally, as do their cocktails, so I’d love to come back again for another round. Oh, a tip that we found hard to come by when we were researching our visit: the dress code is dressier than many other downtown restaurants. Many patrons were in theater clothes, but there were quite a few people in nice jeans as well. There is also a lounge and outdoor dining area, and I think those are a little more casual (but you don’t have to overdo it: I wore a skirt and boots and felt just fine).
I’ll say this for sure: it was a great way to close out our Restaurant Week dinner experience.
One blog left, from our brunch at Verde this morning! (And you can see our pup Lucy’s Restaurant Week wrap-up at her blog.)
love your photos