On A High at 71 Gramercy

This view is becoming one of the most popular — not to mention, most photographed — views of Metro Manila today:

This spectacular view is what one can have a glimpse of at 71 Gramercy, a New York-style bar-slash-restaurant located at the top floor of the Gramercy Residences, the tallest residential tower in the country. With its breathtaking panorama of the entire metro and in vogue interiors, it is now dubbed as one of the finest dining and partying spots in the city.

The view is not the only thing about 71 Gramercy that gives guests a high. Their menu is also top-notch, and this is no surprise, given that the restaurant is helmed by Chef Carlo Miguel, who is also behind Opus, Prive, Draft, Distillery, and Beso Cucina Vinoteka, which are some of the most prestigious clubs and restaurants today.

I was fortunate enough to attend a blogger event where we were fêted with the appetizing dishes of 71 Gramercy by no less than Chef Carlo himself.

Most fine dining restaurants serve complimentary bread and butter, but at 71 Gramercy, their butter alone is enough to set it apart from all the others you have tasted. This is no ordinary butter. Their butter is made with white truffle imported all the way from Italy, and it’s deliciously exquisite. You can go all the way to this restaurant and just have their bread and butter, and feel that the trip was worth it. It’s so good that they can actually include it in their menu and charge guests for it… but it’s a good thing that they don’t! After tasting their butter, I got excited as I thought, “If their butter is this good, I can’t wait to try their main dishes!”

Prior to eating at 71 Gramercy, I didn’t know what “tartare” was. Chef Carlo just told us that “it’s raw meat.” I had to admit, that sounded a little disgusting… and morbid. If it wasn’t presented so nicely, I probably would have had second thoughts about eating it. But because it actually looked aesthetically appealing, I was enticed to have a taste of it. Surprisingly, it was really delicious! It was a little spicy too. Oh, but don’t forget the frites! They may not be the main attraction here but they complement the steak tartare well. No wonder it’s Chef Carlo’s wife’s favorite dish in the menu.

If you’re big on crabs, you might enjoy the Maryland Crab Cakes made with fresh shredded crab meat on the inside and coated with crispy, deep-fried breadcrumbs. These go really well with fresh greens and salads, but you can also pair them with fries or just eat them on their own. My only complaint? Why just two? More, please!

Duck is not really my favorite kind of poultry, and I don’t think I’d ever pay PHP 680 for duck. But if you love foie gras like me, you probably won’t mind shelling out this much dough for this dish. Chef Carlo’s interesting version of this Filipino pulutan (a Filipino term for food that you eat while guzzling some drinks) is given a touch of class by the fatty, melt-in-your-mouth foie gras and moist risotto. And while I said that duck isn’t my favorite kind of poultry, I actually really liked this dish. It’s sisig, all right, but it’s swanky sisig!

*Photo grabbed from Spot.ph. I was not able to take a photo of this dish as I was probably too excited to attack it!

As soon as the plate of Baby Back Ribs was served on the table, all of us just gaped at it in bewilderment and uttered “wow!” This dish could feed four people! It’s made with U.S. baby back ribs so it’s meaty and hefty. If that’s not enough, it also comes with a fully loaded baked potato. (See photo below)

As if the ribs aren’t filling enough, this baked potato is bound to satiate hungry tummies and finicky palates. Their potato is made with delicious and rich smoked Cheddar cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits. It’s a whopper too, so prepare to be stuffed!

According to Wikipedia, Pavlova is a dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. (It must be so cool to have a dessert named after you, as long as it doesn’t come with the word “nutty”!) Chef Carlo claims that pavlova is a dessert that most Australians love and/or know how to make, and he assured us that since he grew up in Sydney, he knows just how to make a rocking pavlova. His version is made with meringue on the outside with a marshmallow-like texture on the inside and topped with ice cream, whipped cream, fresh passion fruit and mangoes. When I think of summer desserts, ice cream always comes to mind, but 71 Gramercy’s Pavlova also makes for a great tropical thrill.

When the waiters served the cheesecake in front of us, Chef Carlo smiled a confident smile, like he was up for a challenge. He said, “I don’t mean to brag, but my cheesecake is one of the best cheesecakes you’ll ever taste.” A bold claim, I must say, but he sounded absolutely sure. “Let’s put that claim to the test!” I said. I tasted the cheesecake while he waited to see my reaction. After taking a bite, my face lit up and my eyes widened, and I blurted out “You’re right!” That was all he needed to hear. His homemade strawberry cheesecake is so rich and creamy that when you eat it, it’s like you’re transported to a world where everything is nice, delicate, and sweet. While most cheesecakes are made with cream cheese, Chef Carlo uses mascarpone cheese instead. This heavenly and dainty dessert also contains lemon juice and sour cream but it’s still more sweet than tangy. Okay, Chef, you win!

The banana tastes just like banana fritters (or what is more popularly known as “banana cue” in Filipino street food lingo). It’s honestly not as great as the first two desserts I have tried but the homemade dark chocolate ice cream is rich and sinful. If I could, I would even order just the dark chocolate ice cream even without the bananas and tart.

I love anything salted caramel so I had high expectations of these macarons. However, I found them to be lacking in sweetness, which might actually be a good thing if you’re trying to cut back on sugar like me (the operative word here being “trying”). It’s not too sweet and has just the right amount of salt. The texture could be improved, though, as they disintegrated a little too easily and it got a little messy to eat. These macarons aren’t included in the regular menu, but if you ever drop by at the restaurant, you can try to ask for these. Tell them that you read this blog and say “I know you’re hiding some mystery macarons in there!”

The best thing about this dessert is the tempting, teasing hot fudge oozing out of the soft and spongy lava cake. It contains nuts so if you like nuts on your dessert, this is the dessert for you. However, the ice cream was not as impressive as the dark chocolate ice cream of the Banana Tartetatin.

71 Gramercy is the kind of restaurant you go to if you want to commemorate life’s little feasts, from birthdays to wedding proposals. It’s where you take people who are special to you to mark those rare, red-letter occasions. At night, it’s also an ideal place to for fun-loving partyphiles.