Weekend Cooking- Charlie Palmer at the Knick

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People frequently ask me for suggestions on where to eat dinner near Times Square when they are visiting NYC, usually to see a Broadway show. I didn't really have a great suggestion for a smaller, more intimate place until now. (If you have a big group, Tony's DiNapoli is wonderful.)

About a month ago, we went with friends to see Hamilton on Broadway, and it was just as great with the new cast as it was with the original cast. Before the show, we went to Charlie Palmer's at the Knickerbocker Hotel, located at 6 Times Square, off of 42nd Street. It's so good, I have returned twice within a month, once with a great group of blogger friends after the Book Expo, and once on a ladies' night with my sons' girlfriends before we saw Anastasia (which was fantastic- go see it!).

The entrance is inside the Knickerbocker Hotel, up on the 4th floor. When you get off the elevator, it's hard to believe you are still in the middle of bustling Times Square. The room is hushed and dark, with lots of low lighting and couches in muted colors opposite the bar.

They have a wonderful pre-theater pre-fixe menu from 5:30-6:30, and even though we were running a little late, they managed to get us out in time for the show. They have a terrific wine and cocktail list, and my choice of the Landmark Chardonnay from California was a winner.

Their pre-fixe menu is three courses, with three choices for each for $45 a person. In the appetizer section, you can choose from a Market Salad, with pumpkin seeds, radish and a light lemon dressing, a Grilled Mushroom, Goat Cheese and Onion Flatbread or a Blue Crab Tomato Bisque.

The grilled flatbread was the star here, and it was big enough to share, so two people could order the salad and flatbread and share, as our waiter suggested.

Grilled Flatbread

For the main course, you can choose from a vegetarian Pecorino Risotto, with mushrooms, a Chicken Breast with a mushroom and scallion cream sauce, served with a roasted potato that was more like a baked croquette (and totally tasty), or their Kobe Burger, with a maple glazed bacon and comte cheese.

I've had the chicken all three times and each time it has been phenomenal. The portion is not too big either, which I really liked. The sauce was perfectly seasoned, and the potatoes seemed almost like a scalloped potato.

I chose the Almond Cake for dessert, which was served with a scoop of raspberry sorbet and strawberries. The presentation was lovely and the little cake with its sides was a terrific ending. The other choices are sorbet or ice cream, or fresh strawberries marinated in mint served with a lime sorbet.

Almond Cake dessert

If you are looking for a great dinner, with a quieter atmosphere where you can have a conversation without shouting, try Charlie Palmer at the Knick, I highly recommend it. 

One funny observation: each of the three times I have been there, I have been seated at the same table and had the same waiter, Matt, who is very good. It's starting to feel a little like Groundhog Day, which is now playing on Broadway.

Have you found any good restaurants in your town lately? Tell us about it in comments.

Charlie Palmer's at the Knick's website is here.