This was my second Midtown Restaurant Week pick. It’s in the W Hotel, and the weekend we were there was the weekend of DragonCon and Black Gay Pride, so the hotel was slammed. It’s definitely got a hip vibe, especially with Whiskey Park upstairs. The waitstaff at Spice Market were forced to wear the most heinous outfits. Our waiter could have won awards for how klutzy he was. He kept bumping my purse off my chair, spilled my mom’s cocktail, spilled a dish on our table, and almost tripped and fell at one point. Whoops.
The food at Spice Market was definitely off the beaten path. There were kumquats in my chicken dish. I found the portions to be relatively huge, but the waiter did mention they were meant to be shared.
My dessert was particularly memorable. I ordered the chocolate dessert, the description mentioned ovaltine. It was basically a brick of soft chocolate garnished with carmel corn and carmel sauce. Nothing wrong with that.
My mom had the ginger ice cream, which was actually fairly delicious.
The whole idea behind Spice Market is that it’s street food. I think the dishes they chose and the preparation definitely leant the cuisine that vibe. This is a restauarnt that I’d go to with a big group of friends for an exciting night out. Order lots of dishes and pass them around. I did think the restaurant was trying a little too hard, but that often happens with outposts of restaurants in other cities. (The original Spice Market is in NYC and this one seemed to be trying to ride the buzz, but hey, it got me in the door.)
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