Amy's Birthday: Saturday Night in NYC

We had planned on Italian food for dinner. I had the names and addresses of four places within three blocks of our hotel. But, as we walked back from sightseeing, another place caught our gaze: Saju Bistro. I'm not generally one for French cuisine, but the specials looked good, the aromas wafting out were delightful, and there was a pre-theatre menu that was reasonable. So, after we changed and grabbed the ticket information, it was down for dinner. It was fairly crowded, and we were asked if we made a reservation. We had not, but were still seated right away (there were several tables for two that weren't filled the entire time we were there, so I imagine they hold those for walk-ins during pre-theatre rush). The attentiveness of the staff was wonderful, from water refilling to taking plates away to the pacing of our dishes. While one of the specials (grilled scallops) sounded delicious to both of us, we each chose the prix fixe.

Jonathan had a glass of wine (Argentinian Malbec), while I stuck with water. For starters, I had the mixed greens salad, Jonathan had Brandade de Morue (a baked dish of codfish and potato, served with toasted slices of baguettte). The salad was as stated, with a strange dressing. It was certainly dijon-based, but it may have been lemony as well, I couldn't quite place it. Jonathan's baked cod was wonderful. It was quite hot and blended with the potato and garlic beautifully. It was delicious, although I didn't try it paired with the baguette as Jonathan did.

I chose the Saumon Provencal as my main course, which was an excellent selection. It was prepared medium with tarragon, and served with asparagus and tiny diced (and fried) potatoes. The grilled flavor on the asparagus was very good, and the potatoes were very flavorful, albeit a bit greasy. The salmon was served with half of a lemon, which added a light flavor to it... delicious. Jonathan went with Onglet a l'echalotte, aka hanger black angus steak. It came with potato puree (ridiculously fine, took out the flavor), a stewed tomato, and a nice shallots sauce. I wish I could replicate the sauce, as I enjoy shallots. The steak itself was enjoyable, although a bit different. He made room for all of it, which I was impressed with.

Next was coffee and dessert. There were quite a few choices (more dessert options than appetizer options, LoL), I easily chose the chocolate mousse, while Jonathan thought for a moment before settling on creme caramel, a flan-ish dish. The mousse was plentiful and incredibly rich. Very good, and the homemade whipped cream topping it was delectable. I wasn't a fan of Jonathan's sweet, but he enjoyed it very much, particularly the sauce. The coffee was very hot, but with cream even I had some. The biscotti cookies were the best I'd ever had, but that's because they were closer to lady fingers, hehe. We'd both highly recommend the place, but be sure to go between 5 and 7 so you get the pre-theatre menu and discount!