I was meeting a friend of mine in New York for dinner and she made the recommendation to try Boat Basin Cafe. It is located near Riverside Park on the Upper West Side.
It is not an easy place to get to if you are not familiar with the area. It is actually underneath the road on 79th Street.
Once I found it I was impressed by its view of the Hudson River looking into New Jersey. An interesting fact about the Marina by the restaurant, it is where they shot some scenes from the movie You Got Mail with Tom Hanks.
It was time to order a cocktail. They are suppose to have a great rose sangria but they had run out for the day. So I went for a red sangria instead. It was good, nothing too special about it; it had a nice spice flavor to it.
One of the specials for the day were Aranchini. These Sicilian rice balls were loaded with fresh ground meat, peas, and carrots that were tossed in a pasta sauce. Then the mixture was covered with tender rice, breaded, and deep fried.
There was a generous amount of Parmesan cheese on top. They put the pasta sauce on the side which was good. It allowed the aranchini to stay crispy. I simply dipped each bite in the sauce before I ate it. The inside meat filling was very flavorful and it was accented with the taste of the pasta sauce.
I also shared the chicken nachos with my friend. The portion size was huge so it is definitely a must share. The nachos were loaded with creamy queso, fresh pico de gallo, and cilantro. The chicken was chopped up well so that it was easy to pick up with the chips.
It was a perfect night to have dinner outside. Not only was the view of the sunset wonderful but I had awesome company. We also visited at the perfect time because Boat Basin Cafe is only open seasonally. So if you are in the city before it gets too cold check them out.
Enjoy!
T
