Review: Nice Matin

I had brunch at Nice Matin back in July, but never went there for dinner. I've passed the place on weekend evenings a couple times lately, and it looks pretty hot.

So my friend Jackie, in New York on business, and I checked it out on Monday night and it was pretty impressive.

Because I'm paranoid about being out too late on weeknights, we arrived at about 7 and the crowd was still a little thin. It didn't take long, however, before most of the tables filled up.

I had the leg of lamb, and asked for a medium rare plus, drawing a stare from the European server and a comment from Jackie. Has no one heard of medium rare plus? Anyway, it was cooked just as I'd asked for it, and it was delicious. Jackie seemed to enjoy her salmon salad, and the Pinot Grigio seemed to go down fairly quickly.

The warm chocolate cake with ice cream on the side was an excellent capper. By the time we were done, the attractive wait staff had a full restaurant of tables to serve, a near surprise if only because it was the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. But the music, lighting and chatter made for a delightful ambience, and with my sister visting this weekend, perhaps we'll call the cousins and meet up at Nice Matin for another brunch there.