Marble Lane

The restaurant Marble Lane appears frequently on Page Six of the The New York Post (lovingly referred to by my husband as "the idiot paper"). The newish restaurant in located behind the lobby of the trendy Dream Downtown hotel. While perusing NY Restaurant Week menus, I noticed that Marble Lane was participating and offering an enticing menu. After sending an email around to my girlfriends, we decided to check out the "steak joint."

Marble Lane is dimly lit and plays music ripped from Z100's play list, which is also the ambiance in the lobby and watering holes at the Dream Downtown hotel. I would recommend asking for a table towards the back of the restaurant when you make your reservation, otherwise, you may feel like you're sitting in the hotel lobby instead of the restaurant.

The ambiance was fun and the food was delicious. My only gripe about Marble Lane was the wine. Marble Lane's wine menu offers very few high quality, affordable wines (although I suppose not surprising for one of the hottest new restaurants in NYC). We ordered the bottle of cabernet sauvignon recommended for pairing with the filet minion and it was incredibly underwhelming. It lacked flavor and body. Unless you are prepared to spend close to $100 for a bottle of red, you will have a hard time finding a satisfying bottle of red wine to accompany your steak.


What to eat:

The Tuna Tartare. The tuna tasted fresh (a must) and was accented with black pepper. The portion was very generous for an appetizer.

The Pepper Crusted Center Cut Filet. I requested the steak medium rare and that's how it arrived. The meat was so tender, you could have used a butter knife. The crust is heavily peppered so you should either be prepared to enjoy the pepper or trim the top off (I went for the latter). The portion was generous enough that you did not feel short changed by trimming off of the pepper crust. Only a few sweet vidalla onions shared the dinner plate with the filet so make sure to order a few sides.

For a starchy side, check out the Duck Fat Souffle. These are potato pillows cooked in duck fat. Dip these sophisticated fries in ketchup. We enjoyed each air filled pillow.

For a veggie, go for the Buttered Baby Carrots.

Even though my doctor would probably kill me for writing this (luckily he doesn't know about this blog ;), butter does make (almost) everything better. Marble Lane's multicolored Buttered Baby Carrots were delicious and a nice contrast to the potato sides we ordered.

While there were several appetizing dessert options on the Restaurant Week menu, I had long scouted out the chocolate cake. The Rocky Mountain dessert was the perfect decadent end to a steak dinner. I took this shot at a bad angle so it does not do the portion justice. This was a large slice of moist devils food cake, topped with peanut butter popcorn. The dessert also included vanilla gelato and candied peanuts on the side, to complete Marble Lane's take on a rocky road dessert. I should have taken an after picture, the only thing left was my fork scrapings in the butterscotch on the plate

What to avoid: The Peekytoe Crabcakes. I wouldn't call them disgusting, just disappointing. Thia appetizer consisted of two overly fried, overly breaded small balls, filled with mostly red pepper and breading, oh, and a few shreds of crab.

At $35 for three courses, this is definitely a steal.

In the mood for steak AND a fun night out? Check Marble Lane out this week before the end of NYC Restaurant Week,

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