Christmas in Rockefeller Plaza

Rockefeller Plaza during the Christmas season: the good, the bad, and the just plain ugly. The tree, the twinkling lights, the sentiment of giving permeating the atmosphere coupled with brisk freezing air slapping you in the face, the annoying crowds of people, the tourists that don’t know where the hell they are going and then there you are--a New Yorker cursing at the out-of-towners, weaving through the masses.

So when I was amongst this on Friday after attending a Conan taping, what seemed seasonally mystifying at first quickly turned into an irking sensation and an urgent need to escape the cold and the irritating crowds. Ginger (pseudonym created to protect the innocent or in this case, the wild) and I tried to shop for a little but were soon stricken with the hunger for a hot meal and a nice glass of red to beat the frigid weather. For the life of us though, we couldn’t figure out where to go? What is in that area? Now, I might be completely wrong but I couldn’t think of a thing. Ginger couldn’t either. We were having a great day (aside from security misplacing Ginger’s confiscated mace during the taping—but that’s just pretty funny that she was carrying that at all). We wanted to keep the momentum going and knew a fabulous dinner was the only answer. A brainstorming session and a couple of google texts later, the best we could come up with was City Lobster. Facing the wind and trying to figure out which way was 6th avenue, I suddenly remembered this little Italian place I almost went on a date to. I say ‘almost’ because we went there and it was too packed and we were too hungry to wait. But I remember thinking the brick oven joint was adorable and my date raving about the food. Although a complete weirdo, every other restaurant we had been to was great so I knew to trust his judgment.

I quickly texted “La Vineria” to google and was relieved to find that it was only 6 bocks away. There actually might be a haven from the tourist-centric blocks of 5th Avenue! Ginger and I began to weave through the crowds as I was already patting myself on the back to have remembered this place and crossing my fingers in the hopes it was good. We got to La Vineria and the tiny place was packed. Luckily, there was a two top with our name on it. We quickly sat down and sorted through the wine list as a thick accented waiter came to our table to share the specials. Ginger’s tongue almost fell on the table when she heard the assorted sausages dish and the grilled octopus salad. But something about this place screamed try the pasta!

We picked a Chilean Cabernet just because we had never heard of a Cab from Chile. It was actually just okay and I guess that’s why you don’t hear about Cabernets from Chile. But in any case, the food absolutely made up for the wine snafu.

We ordered the grilled calamari with avocado puree and grilled red peppers for appetizer. The rule of thumb for Ginger and me is that anything with guacamole is good. When the server told us it was going to take about 20 minutes we obliged and boy was it worth the wait. The calamari could only be described as ‘blissful.” It literally melted in your mouth along with the puree. The red pepper complimented the butteryness of the calamari and the avocado. It was exceptional. We were content with our choice and were now over-confident in our main course selection.

We both opted for the Pasta tubes with lamb ragout. When the plates came, we looked at each other and nodded. We knew, “It was on.” The ragout was so tender, it tasted like the lamb had been sitting in a stew for hours. We both could hardly speak. While it’s a very simple dish, it was a great surprise.

By the end of the meal, we sat with espressos basking in our victory. We had succeeded. We laughed in the face of that tourist area and I had converted Ginger from a “There’s no where good above 14th street” type of girl to a “There’s one good restaurant midtown” type of girl. I, of course, don’t agree with Ginger—there’s plenty of restaurants all over NYC, but when it comes to Rockefeller Plaza try and find em’.