Fifth Floor and good friends in the City

My good friends Karen, Monette and I got together on Thursday evening for a dinner that has been long over due. We had a great time.  The three of us used to see each other when we were younger and had less responsibilities. I remember we always had a good time.


Since both of them were coming into the city, I thought of something on the fancy side to make their bridge-cross worth it.  We went to Fifth Floor in Union Square.  Here's what we munched on that evening while catching up on family stuff, work and personal goings on.

Foie Gras and Charcuterie and Cheese plate. As soon as our server placed these plates on the table, my heart started palpitating. Not because of the tasty goodness oozing out of these precious little things but because I knew they are loaded with cholesterol and fats and all the bad things our doctors tell us. Why is it that food that tastes good is usually bad for us? Luckily, there were three of us sharing and the serving of the fattened duck liver, the greasy cured meats and aged cheeses are small. The plates were perfect with the complimentary bread and butter.

Almond Beignet. Ok this is fancy schmancy beignet but this is my favorite that night. The beignet is small and its chewy almond taste was perfect with the creamy milk sauce and the cherry preserves and it came in three. I am not sure if they did that purposely just because there were three of us and we told our server we were going to share? It was also at this time the good looking chef came by to check on us. Wow!

Baked Alaska. Monette ordered this one. It was on fire when it got served. That was a nice touch. It is icing over custard over ice cream over custard over ice cream which sits on a sauce made of liqueur. Though the liqueur was not potent, the taste was so strong that it felt like it left a burning sensation on my tongue. This was also good.




Lavender cocktail. I don't remember the exact name of this cocktail. Something like lavender ginset or ginlet. Anyway, it was sour but it is a good kind of sour with a hint of lavender. The mixologist, he was very friendly and attentive. Too bad I couldn't talk to him at one point because I was busy texting Karen and Monette to tell them I got there early.




Complimentary Dessert. I always like a place which gives freebies. The place consists of small slices of almond macaron, peanut bar, lemon bar, and some fancy cookies and pastries.

Fifth Floor is on the expensive side but the service was very good. I'd probably be back to try more of their cocktails.


The place also has very low lights so it was hard to take photos of the food and drinks discreetly, that is, without the use of flash. (It wouldn't be a discreet photo anymore if I use a flash, would it?). This justifies my poorly lit food pictures.


~rl