We had such good experience from our first visit to this spot (you can read about it here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/the-uptown-garrison/ ), we decided to go back for more. We arrived about 30 minutes after they opened, and they already had a few people starting off their evening over drinks and food. We ordered a couple of cocktails too. Their Grasshopper ($10) was really awesome at our previous visit, we ordered that one again. And yes, it was still as tasty, creamy and delicious as we remembered it… Nothing like a little dessert cocktail before the dinner to lead the way!
For the other drink, I asked the server for recommendation. I asked him what is his favorite drink was, and he told me Gold Rush ($10) was his favorite. So, I went with that. The Gold Rush is made with Bourbon, lemon, and honey. Such simple drink, yet it was really great! It had one big ice cube in it, with a small amount of frost on top. It was very refreshing and went down real smooth. It had nice sweetness from honey, without being overly sweet. Excellent recommendation from the server!
The server told us few of their special menu of the day. One of them got our attention and curiosity. It was Sweet Potato Soup ($9) with Crème fraîche, bacon, and green onion. Even though this was an appetizer, it came in a nice large soup bowl. The soup was very comforting and soothing to both stomach and soul. It was rich and not watery at all, rather thick and very hearty. A perfect winter soup for sure. It had a good amount of bacon that was meaty, and added nice salt flavor. Green onion was fresh and gave nice crisp and crunchy texture. Excellent soup!
We had another appetizer (before we knew how big the soup was), Eggplant Croquettes ($9). They were small but four pieces came with an order. I found a lemon wedge hiding towards the bottom.
It was creamy and cheesy inside, a bit mushy from the eggplant. Maybe they puréed the eggplant? I personally would’ve preferred more “meaty” or chunky texture. The exterior was super crispy and gave a nice crunchy texture. Lightly fried so it was not greasy at all. I had one without lemon, and another one with a little squeeze of lemon on it. It was tasty both ways, I guess it will be based on people’s preference.
Then the main course. They still only have pizza pies for main dishes for dinner. This time, we chose Prosciutto Burrata Pizza ($20). This was the most expensive pizza on the menu, but I really wanted to try it. It is made with arugula, lemon, prosciutto, burrata, and parmesan. The crust was super crunchy, thin but airy and fluffy. It had a nice salty flavor, just right amount. Arugula was super fresh and refreshing, and Burrata…my goodness it was awesome! Very creamy, soft, and decadent. It had a nice amount of fresh Prosciutto, of course I would always love to have more… It was a high quality meat and the salty flavor went well with the fresh arugula to balance it out. It was like a super fresh Prosciutto and arugula salad on pizza. We absolutely loved this pizza, delicious, high quality and oh-so-satisfying. Worth every penny.
With everything tasting so good, we ordered another round of cocktails. My hubby ordered Garrison Old Fashioned ($11), which is made with rum, angostura, and chocolate bitters. It was strong but smooth, had deep and warm flavor. It was very relaxing and warm you up from the inside. Very nice drink.
I chose Railroad Spike ($10), made with drambule and cold brew. This was a good surprise, since I had no idea what is going to be like. The funny thing was that when our server brought this one to me, he said “I have never seen anyone order this one, since we opened three months ago!!!” so he was very excited! I am glad to be his first customer to order this drink (I am sure there were other customers who ordered it when he was not around…maybe…). The drink was really great, it was like a spiked sweetened iced coffee. Both my husband and I enjoyed it very much, it was pretty amazing drink! Simple but delightful.
For dessert, we went with Pain au Chocolat Bread Pudding ($8) with cherry jam and butter milk caramel. When it was brought to the table, it was very different from what I imagined it to be. First of all, I somehow imagined it to be more of a square, since many of my past experience with bread puddings have been square… And the “jam” was not what I thought it would be either. They were real cherries, still holding onto its shapes and texture, before it starts to kind of melt away altogether.
The butter milk caramel was not too thick nor watery, a good consistency to coat the bread pudding. Very creamy and velvety. The bread pudding itself was warm, dense yet fluffy, rich and oh-so-delicious! The cherry and cream went great with the bread pudding, although it might have overpowered the little bit of chocolate flavor in the bread. While we were enjoying this dessert, one of their staff (manager?) walked by and said this is his absolute favorite dessert. No wonder, it certainly was amazing!
So, there you have it. Our second visit was another success. I would like to see them expanding the menu a bit, but for as long as what they have currently are all very tasty, then I say it would be ok (until we try them all…). We found out that they are now serving breakfast and lunch. Now we need to go back again to try their new menu during the day. Another good reason and excuse to go back for more delight!
The Uptown Garrison – 821 W 181st St, New York, NY 10033