44 ½: Pretty in Pink
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Have you ever had one of those moments when you step foot into a beautifully lit restaurant for the first time and everything seems right in the world? I seemed to have such a moment when entering Hells Kitchen’s 44 ½ the other evening. Rarely does a restaurant wow me in terms of décor at first sight, but something about the pink-reddish glow of the place put me in a fantastic mood at the very beginning.
And I stayed that way throughout the rest of the night.
A spirited group of us took over a long table at the restaurant, and began to devour some appetizers. I was only able to try the tuna tartare and crab cake, while the others feasted on fried calamari and a veggie flatbread pizza. As for beverages, my friend Josh whose birthday gathering I was attending, had a dirty martini complete with goat cheese stuffed olives. Naturally, I stole an olive from Josh and sincerely enjoyed it. I had a delightfully smooth glass of the Malbec from Argentina, reasonably priced and highly satisfying.
For our mains, I stuck to a strip steak complete with spinach and roasted potatoes. The steak was cooked to my liking and the sides were plain and simple, any gluten-free girl’s dream. The entire menu wasn’t as GF friendly, as there were many pastas, flat breads, and breaded items on the menu. But I made due as us GF folks can never go wrong with a nice piece of grilled meat or fish.
For dessert, we had a cake prepared by Billy’s Bakery in Chelsea. Sadly, I couldn’t partake but the guests said it was a deliciously rich and creamy white cake with a butter cream frosting. As for me, I sat sipping on a nice dessert wine and taking in the pink atmosphere of the restaurant. With red roses on the table and an outside garden decorated in pink and red, the space was truly an aesthetic pleasure. It didn’t hurt that I was surrounded by great company for a very special occasion either.
