After only several hours of sleep in forty eight hours, two plane rides and three hours of yoga,  I'm ready for a relaxing dinner.  Not just any relaxing dinner, I'd like a healthy dinner artfully crafted, filled with unique ingredients and love.  Wandering the streets of the West Village in Manhattan in a sleep and food deprived delirium, unsure of where to rest  our weary souls, my friend and I have an epiphany:  "Let's go to Eighty Four on Seventh!"  The intimate ambiance of the restaurant with wide open floor to ceiling windows echoing hints of the city of street noises was exactly what the doctor ordered on an early Sunday evening.   A cozy neighborhood restaurant that offers organic ingredients whenever possible and sourced from local farmers.  We'd had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Natalie Maroufi.   After speaking with Ms. Maroufi, we knew we were in for a treat.

After whetting our palettes with a few specialty cocktails, we agree to begin ordering some food.  We first decide to keep it light and veggie in honor of our three hour yoga class at six the next morning; Heirloom tomato salad with Nectarines, pinenut vinaigrette, baby basil. Fresh, delicious and healthy.

Then one of my most preferred dishes breaks us of our veggie vow; Seared diver scallops with Grilled radicchio, salsify and Campari butter. You might be asking “What on earth is salsify?“.  Although it sounds like a verb “To salsify something”, or a South American zesty relish, it’s actually a root plant that comes from the edible plantae kingdom.  This interesting vegetable almost had the taste of fresh oysters. It added an interesting texture and flavor to the scallops. So far so good, everything is very fresh and well prepared. The brussel sprouts really knocked my dining partner’s socks off. Their bitter flavor cut through the rich osso buco nicely and the sage and saffron made the dishes complimentary.

It wasn’t until we’d left that I realized how good I’d felt for all the “mixing” we’d done with the drinks. Amazing yet not overwhelming all around. We dig Eight Four on Seventh. You will too.

EightyFour on Seventh 84 Seventh Avenue South New York, NY 10014