Thanks to Restaurant Week, I’ve been going to a bunch of great restaurants for only 25 (lunch) or 35 dollars (dinner). The other night we went to 66, which is Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s take on Chinese food. Overall, I recommend it. Here’s what we got:

Appetizers:
Tuna Tartare with Chinese Celery, Crispy Lotus Root & Soy Tapioca. The thing that really set this apart from every other tuna tartare in the city was the use of the mini tapioca pearls cured in soy sauce. I thought that was a very creative alternative to including soy sauce in a dish on the side like so many other Japanese restaurants do.

Lacquered Pork Belly, Shallot & Ginger Confit. Amazing. It wasn’t on the prix-fixe menu but we ordered it anyway, and we were glad we did. It was possibly the most tender pork I have ever had, and the crystallized or fried ginger on top made the dish. A must-try.

Entrees:
Chili Prawns with Lily Bulb & Sweet Walnuts. Pretty good. Medium sized portions – not too small, but not quite big, either. Though the waiters took their sweet time bringing it after the entrees had already been served, it came with fried rice.

Overall: I think its pretty good, if you can schlep all the way out to Tribeca!

We tried:
Chanterelle: Rhubarb Consomme over Honey & Yogurt Creme (my friend thought this was better than I did – he raved about it)
Edwards: Chili Hot Dogs (its a hot dog)
Scalini Fedeli: Porcini Mushroom Ravioli w/Truffle Cream Sauce (I never got to try this but heard it was the best thing out there)
Dylan Prime: Prime Rib & Rock Shrimp (the Prime Rib was like salty roast beef, but the Rock Shrimp was great)
Acapella: Mushroom Ravioli (damn good)
Bubbys: BBQ Brisket Sandwiches (this was the most filling dish)
Duane Park Patisserie: Magic Cupcakes (meh, I think all cupcakes are overrated)
Cercle Rouge: Chicken Wings w/ Blue Cheese (this in my opinion, was the best dish – they take off one of the bones and roll down the wing, then deep fry it. It was awesome.)

Then we got sauced at the wine tasting at Tribeca Wine Merchants. They served a wine out of this special vacuum sealed cylindrical box (NOT FRANZIA!) that was actually a suprisingly good chardonnay. The rest of the wines were not that great.

The little puppy who wouldn’t let go of its owner was the highlight of the day. I want a bulldog.

You may notice some fuzziness in the right hand corner. I took this shot on my tiptoes, no one would let me get a clean shot and that is the corner of some lady’s hat. Ah well.