NYC Four Seasons Restaurant Pool Room Review

This week I have attended the inaugural Periscope Summit (you can read all about it here on LinkedIn http://bit.ly/1FCbG3R ). During my downtime. I are at the New York City Four Seasons Restaurant – Pool Room. I had to dine there since I was a DC Four Seasons regular. The NYC atmosphere was totally different surprising me. It was 100% businesslike even at 8:15pm. I was astounded because DC was the more conservative town it was NYC where the men wore this standard uniform (blue suit jacket, white shirt and red tie). I was just glad to wear my Roberto Cavalli dress and Rene Caovilla sandals. The highlight was the food of course! The wait staff was wonderful. I got free ravioli and chocolate cake for my first visit. It wouldn’t be my last check out my photos!

NYC Four Seasons Restaurant Dinner Menu

Shrimp Ravioli

Grilled Snapper

Free Chocolate Cake, Apple Cinnamon Cake and Free Cotton Candy

NYC Four Seasons Restaurant Pool Room Table Setting

Instant liquidity

                This morning I ate breakfast at the Four Seasons using the leftover cash from my hair appointment.  At my waitress’ recommendation, I tried that shrimp and grits. I paid in cash.  Stunned she asked me if I needed a receipt. I told her yes leaving her a cash tip.  Later this afternoon, I ate dinner at Doi Moi where I left my waiter a $5 cash tip.  His response was immediate upon seeing the $5 bill. This reminded me that cash is king especially among service workers.  They don’t get paid the standard minimum wage due to tips but need cash to support their families.  That $5 can be spent as soon as possible for food or medicine or even rent.  In this era of credit, debit and Bitcoin, the public must never forget that service workers still prefer cash.

My First Cronut

            I know that I haven’t been up on food fads (I don’t religiously go to cupcake stores in DC) so I have no idea what a cronut is.  However, yesterday I had breakfast at the Four Seasons where it had a strawberry cronut.  Though I ordered the lemon ricotta pancakes, I told the waiter to keep the menu on the table because I contemplated ordering it. Well, after telling him that I needed new butter because there was a hair in it, I guessed that the restaurant gave me the cronut as ‘complimentary’. The dessert was delicious! I loved all if its gooeyness. It was so scrumptious and perfect that I would be willing to pay $3 for it again. The Four Seasons Washington had just baked one of the best breakfast pastry I ever tasted!

Back for More at the Four Seasons Washington DC

            Free from running errands and running for my life, I sit down for breakfast at the Four Seasons for the first time in two weeks. I ask Maricris, my waitress, about the Belgian waffles. She replies that this is one of the bestsellers. Immediately I order it. Then she tells me that it comes with whipped cream. Add it on please! Whipped cream for breakfast? Most definitely! I move the strawberries away from my plate. When Maricris asks me why, I tell her that my paternal grandmother has always broken out when eating them. It’s genetic. She says that she’ll record that so that the restaurant won’t serve me any. Now that’s customer service! Here is the photo:

Four Seasons Washington DC Belgian Waffles with Whipped Cream, Mixed Berries, Syrup and Butter

The Snowquester That Wasn't

            Last night the weather channel predicted this massive snowstorm and today I only saw 15-30 minutes of snowflakes. Yesterday I went to Bourbon Steak and ate Angus skirt steak and truffled mac and cheese as my last meal before being stuck inside for at least 24 hours. Below is the photo of my meal.  Though the Snowquester was a dud, this meal wasn’t.

Angus skirt steak and Truffled Mac and Cheese

Four Seasons Turnaround

            My morning started out raggedy!  I awoke, showered and left my warm bed all before 8am to see my beautician but he stood me up ‘because he left something on the stove at hom.  Hey, this was my off day plus it was damp from early morning rain.  I made my way to my office to pay my bills, enroll in the new statistics class and outline ½ of quality engineering statistics chapter 7. While there I made a Four Seasons lunch reservation.  Arriving early I never say so many police in my life at the hotel.  I sat in the lobby observing all of the coppers.  When 11:45 am rolled around, I walked downstairs to Seasons restaurant. The maître d escorted me to my seat.  The manager told me about the new Kobe pastrami Reuben sandwich that the restaurant added last week.  Originally, I was dead set on ordering the Angus burger but what the heck I tried the Kobe sandwich.  I was glad I did because it was filling.  Its portion size looked like the Four Seasons got my lunch from a corner deli.  I could only eat ½ asking that the rest be boxed for later.  This lunch date right set my day allowing me to return to normalcy carrying out the rest of today’s tasks which were watching college basketball and outlining my book.

Bourbon Steak Saves the Day!

I truly need this Friday off because this week has been a wreck!  There’s a bad salon experience, monsoon weather and work snafus galore.  This morning all of these things have been rectified.  I’ve dropped off five white dresses for dry cleaning, gotten my hair re-pressed and celebrated these two events at Bourbon Steak.  During the last week of National Burger Month the restaurant is highlighting the Forager burger containing an egg, relish, dried aged beef and onions.  I remove the egg because it causes the burger to slide.  The burger is immense mandating that I use utensils to cut it in half.  The medium well-done burger’s juices ooze out of the patty.  I savor every morsel even using my fork and knife to scrap the sweet relish from the plate.  I finish my meal with a West Indian Limeade.  This lunch has given my day new life reinvigorating me.  If I weren’t so full, I’d have seconds!

Four Seasons Washington Send Off

            At the Four Seasons Washington, I tell Flora that I have received my promotion and will start working at another agency, she commissions the chef to bake me celebratory chocolate cake.  In one week, I will be finished working as an Economist and start working as a Program Analyst position.  I am so happy that I am that I will get to use my project management certification because it has been two years in the making.  When I felt that I was stuck, I asked my other friend, she said that she detailed as a Management Analyst during the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act project.  I took online project management courses through the community college since UDC doesn’t have any ones.  In 2011 I enrolled in the Graduate School PMP exam preparation.  I passed the Certificate in Associate Project Management (CAPM) on August 23^rd.  Eight months later I will start working as a Program Analyst exactly 8 months later. 

Having an Actual Labor-Free Saturday!

Today I have awakened finally able to catch my breath and enjoy this Saturday without running errands. I walk to Books-a-Million (partially because my beloved Borders is out of business) to purchase the latest Washingtonian and Dolce Vita magazines. The latter is an affluent lifestyle magazines befitting of the DuPont Circle area. Seeing that the Books-a-Million doesn’t have the latest Capitol File magazine, I walk down Connecticut to News World magazine shop to buy it. I can always count on this store to have the latest magazines. And viola! Of course, News World has it along with O magazines. I grab these two magazines and head back to my apartment where I watch the Food Network and read these four magazines before departing at 12:30pm for my Four Seasons restaurant lunch date.

I decide to wear the floral v-neck Eliza J dress and carry my larger brown embossed croc Kate Spade purse to accommodate my Capitol File magazine while walking down M street. Realizing that I late, I hail a cab at 21st costing me $5.25. Though I know that I could’ve walked seven more blocks and been late, I think that it is my personal responsibility to be on time. I refuse to take advantage of other people over some meal. I arrive there ordering fish tacos (which dare I say are better than Oceanaire’s that I had during restaurant week and that eatery is renowned for its seafood!) and leaving with a $26 bill ($22 meal with $4 tip). My lunch is cheaper than yesterday’s breakfast (Four Seasons charged $6 for orange juice. Luckily, it didn’t charge for refills.).

I walk back home down M Street crossing the St. Mathews church where the bums that I’ve scrapped with sitting on the streets. Since I report them to the church father, they haven’t said anything to me. This makes my day since it’s static-free. I settle down watching TV yet automatically become uninterested because I love wearing my floral dress and must get outside. Therefore, I drop off eleven dresses to the dry cleaners. Since the weather is starting to cooperate staying in the upper 80s instead of the blazing 100s, I can now wear lined dresses. Dropping them off also means that they no longer occupy my mesh bag but now will hang from the closet. I can pick them up Wednesday. Still feeling fidgety and realizing that the Books for America store is still open I call it asking for donating my 15 books. Ironically, the Labor weekend has me doing my spring (fall) cleaning because the end of American summer. I stock all of them in my CVS reusable bag and walk through DuPont Circle down P street to 22nd street where Joshua reviews them for highlighter marks then hand me my donation slip.

As I head up the hill, 15 books lighter, Pesce restaurant captures my attention. It opens up at 5:30pm coinciding with my climb so I enter asking if it’s opened. The bartender says yes and I ask to be seated near the window. Out of nowhere, the waiter puts the large menu board in another seat right next to me. This is a first. I ask him questions about the appetizers and the entrees before ordering the spaghettini. Containing shrimp, corn, broccoli, and linguine sauce, this dish is worth the $20! Since this is a local seafood restaurant not part of a national chain, I will patronize this establishment again. Finally, for now I have returned to my humble abode full of no hard errand running just having fun, enjoying the weather, decluttering my life and reading my favorite magazines.