Gramercy Tavern

Upon entering Gramercy Tavern the first two things you'll notice are the amazing floral arrangements, designed by Roberta Bendavid, and the panoramic mural painted on panels surrounding the bar and the front dining room, created by artist Robert Kushner.
Gramercy Tavern has been an NYC staple since 1994 located on 20th St. near Park Ave [MAP]. Chef Michael Anthony serves up gourmet American classics with a twist which includes several vegetarian options like the four delicious vegetarian dishes I tried, the Sunchoke Salad (fyi: a sunchoke is a root vegetable related to the sunflower) served with apples and walnuts, the Chilled Asparagus Soup, a warm Mushroom Lasagna and a giant Heirloom Cauliflower sliced and served with almonds, capers and lemon.
We passed on dessert so we could visit the nearby Pinkberry but it was hard to pass up Apple Pie served with cinnamon sour cream ice cream and Mango Lime Cheesecake.

If you don't make a reservation via OpenTable prepare to wait at least 30 minutes, but not to worry, champagne bar Flute is two doors down and the perfect way to begin (or end) your evening.

Sundaes and Cones

After having dinner at The House and champagne at FLUTE my friend and I walked to Sundaes and Cones (10th St. near 3rd Ave.) where we had some fabulous ice cream!
With tons of flavors to try- some organic, some sugar free, and even soft serve frozen yogurt- it was hard to choose but I finally went with the fat free raspberry soft serve and the cookies n' cream ice cream. It was so good- creamy and smooth, just the way homemade ice cream should taste. I wasn't brave enough to taste the truly unique flavors like ginger, red bean or lychee even though they are recommended by Gothamist. A perfect way to end a casual night out in NYC.

FLUTE

After dinner at The House my friend and I walked to FLUTE, a champagne lounge in Gramercy (20th btw. Broadway & Park). I never knew there were so many different types of champagne, most of which lined the shelves above the bar. The dim lighting and plush sofas would be perfect for an after-dinner date, even though I was there with a friend we had a great time and ordered the Bellini Sampler. For each of the champagne samplers you could choose 3 different types to taste. For the Bellini sampler we choose the pear, mango and peach flavors. Pear was our least favorite as the taste was very subtle.

Apparently Tuesdays from 5-8pm it's Happy Hour at Flute. On our way out we also noticed a flyer announcing Champagne classes, it would be interesting to learn more about the varieties of champagne, I'll have to look into it.