33 East 60th st.New York NY
212.644.8885
It was early on a Friday night and I had fancied myself up to go to Philippe, an upscale Chinese restaurant in Midtown. Headed by Philippe Chow (who worked at Mr. Chow for 25 years!) the place is small and narrow, with a dining room scooped out a half level below the entrance, another dining room a floor above, and a small room in the rear. 33 E. 60th st. has had trouble over the years with numerous restaurants opening and closing, and you can see why with the space being so limited and dark. The atmosphere isn't horrible, mostly a grey and white palate with red accents in the napkins, you get an upscale and stodgy feeling. Everyone is extremely professional, the waiters bustle around in white jackets and take what they are doing seriously and the clientele sit around going through the Friday night motions, which adds to the stodge.
It was early on a Friday night and I had fancied myself up to go to Philippe, an upscale Chinese restaurant in Midtown. Headed by Philippe Chow (who worked at Mr. Chow for 25 years!) the place is small and narrow, with a dining room scooped out a half level below the entrance, another dining room a floor above, and a small room in the rear. 33 E. 60th st. has had trouble over the years with numerous restaurants opening and closing, and you can see why with the space being so limited and dark. The atmosphere isn't horrible, mostly a grey and white palate with red accents in the napkins, you get an upscale and stodgy feeling. Everyone is extremely professional, the waiters bustle around in white jackets and take what they are doing seriously and the clientele sit around going through the Friday night motions, which adds to the stodge.
I was glad I spruced up with a slinky black dress and heels because the crowd was so upper east, I felt like my appearance blended in, which makes me feel more comfortable when I "dine".
The food was spectacular. Because Philippe borders on upscale commercial Chinese food, one must keep in mind that sugar is really thrown around in the kitchen. I accepted this fact and chowed down.
Crunchy Duck salad: lightly dressed, chilled greens which balanced out the tender fried duck perfectly.
Crab meat soup dumplings: so much cleaner and tastier than ones I've had in Chinatown.
Fried rice: good, but better when I poured duck sauce all over it.
Peking Duck: huge, cut table side and the best duck I have had in the city. The order comes with house made crepes that are paper thin, as well as a garnish and duck sauce. I just didn't stop eating.
Philippe is a restaurant that I will go back to, not for the design, not for the service, not for the scene, because I usually detest places like Philippe, but simply for the food. Bravo.
*Smoke at home, or during cocktails downtown, you'll be thankful you're blazed at Philippe.
I give Philippe:
out of
out ofBlazeability:
No comments:
Post a Comment