lunch at Oceana

I went into the city to meet the Mister for lunch.  Its Restaurant Week in the city, and we went to Oceana. I managed to traverse the subway all by myself, even though I was rushed and left my directions at home. This is quite an accomplishment, as I get lost on a frequent basis.  And whenever I ask the Mister for directions, he wants to know if I'm going east or west, north or south...as if I would know.  Why do other people have a mental compass in their head?  How am I supposed to know if I'm facing east or west?  By the position of the sun? Lick my finger and test for the wind?  Seriously, I can tell you I went left or right, but I have no idea how people internalize what direction the North Pole is.

I digress.

I would have liked to have taken pictures of the restaurant decor, but the Mister thought it was unseemly to be taking pictures in a restaurant, so I didn't. Much.

I did, however, manage to get a snapshot of the far wall of the restaurant, which had--ta DA---a botanical print wall!!!

Actually, it was more of a anatomical print wall of fish and various sea fauna, but still--gold frames in a grid with animal and floral prints!  Look like anyone's dining room we know??

I did not get to take a picture of the first course, which was DELICIOUS.  I'd also like to know how come the Mister always seems to get the tastiest thing on the menu.  He had the scallop sashimi with peach chutney. OMG so good. I had....I forget, something with shrimp and beans.  Tasty but not as tasty as the sashimi. Which I promptly helped myself to and gave the Mister the shrimp and beans.

Again, the Mister got the better entree...chilled skate with marinated zucchini and chili-fennel vinaigrette (the picture is after I already started eating it):

I had the grilled bluefish with beefsteak tomato and olive tapenade:

Dessert was also tasty; blueberry almond lemon merangue tart thingy, and chocolate chip cookie parfait:

It was really a lovely meal.  So nice, in fact, I think we'll go back next month for the Mister's birthday.  Even more exciting, Oceana is extending their Restaurant Week lunch through Labor Day, every day but Saturdays.  So for $24.07, you too can get 3 courses of delicious seafood. (I'm not being paid to talk them up, I just thought they were a fantastic meal.)

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Our lunch had that delicious peach chutney, and riding the subway on the way home I read Better Homes and Gardens, which had an article on fifty ways to make peaches.  So I came home and made barbecued chicken with grilled peaches.  Which sounded great in theory but sort of fell off the skewers and is still stuck to my grill.

The three bites left on the skewers were tasty, tho.