MARSEILLE (***)
630 9th Avenue, NY, NY 10036 (Midtown West, Hell’s Kitchen, Theater District)
The hubby and I decided to check out this spot for NYC Restaurant Week 2022. Basically, Restaurant Week gives folks a chance to check out restaurants’ special prix-fixe menus. This year, the price of a three-course meal was about $60 (~$39 for a two-course lunch). My oh my, how times AND prices have changed. I remember doing restaurant week for the first time back in 2003, and I remember the prices being $20.03 and $30.03 for lunch and dinner, respectively.
I will say that walking into this restaurant definitely took me back to Paris, France. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that Paris is in the central region and Marseille is in the southern region of France. However, the vibe and the decor of the restaurant were definitely French.
Let me get to the food. The photos (like always) are kind of struggling because the restaurant was pretty dark, and I did not care to mess with all of the camera settings. Also, I was in true starvation mode.
APPETIZERS
Left to Right: Oysters (not included in the Restaurant Week's menu), Kabocha Squash Gnocchi, and Tuna Tartare (with seaweed salad and roe)
Since I know that the hubby loves his tuna tartare, I let him choose that appetizer while I went with the gnocchi. I've never been a huge fan of gnocchi because many places make it a bit TOO chewy for my liking, but this one had the perfect consistency/texture for me. Also, the crème fraîche really elevated the dish. I wonder if it would be appropriate to order gnocchi at an Italian place, but request that they use crème fraîche to prepare it. ;)
Main Course
Left to Right: Branzino (with parsnip purée, cauliflower, black truffle dashi) and Duck Breast (with Swiss chard, turnip puree, and farro)
I am so glad that I selected the branzino because it was out of this world AMAZING. For me, I love when branzino's "meat" is flaky while the skin is nice and crispy. Very few restaurants (IMO) can acquire that perfect combination. The fish was so delicious that I almost ordered another one for the road. Being that Marseille is a French restaurant (and we were dining there during Restaurant Week), I expected the portions to be on the smaller side, but the portions were pretty generous for my starving a**.
DESSERT
My Sticky Toffee Pudding with pecan ice cream was delicious, but it was not anything out of this world.
RESTAURANT WEEK: FINAL THOUGHTS
Because of Restaurant Week, I definitely could see myself dining at Marseille again. Since the restaurant is right in the Theatre District, it is a perfect spot to grab a bite to eat and/or some drinks before or after hitting up a Broadway show. I have to say that my French 75 cocktail was very yummy. Also, it's good to know that Marseille has oysters on its happy hour menu, and y'all know that I love all things shellfish.
Ok, the point of Restaurant Week is to sample food from restaurants that you would not regularly visit and to help the food services industry. For this year's Restaurant Week, I really wanted to support a Black- or Brown-owned restaurant in my neighborhood of Harlem. However, for the Harlem restaurants that piqued my interest, none of the $60 special menus really made me go: LET'S EAT HERE. Keep in mind $60 is the bare minimum because you have to add in additional cocktails, tax, and tip. Since you are getting more bang for your buck, it's an unwritten rule that you should tip a little more during Restaurant Week. Being raised on Soul Food, I am not going to pay $60 for corn chowder (appetizer), fried chicken with a couple of sides (main), and peach cobbler or banana pudding (dessert). Let me stop being so negative. Since there is a lunch option for Restaurant Week, I'll look into some of the lunch offerings from the Harlem restaurants.
