Restaurants: Aquagrill, New York

There is not much that beats a day at the beach. And: There is not much after a day at the beach that beats coming home hungry and getting a delicious dish of seafood. You can get both in New York City. The metropolis has not just a legion of high quality seafood restaurants, there also is a variety of nice beaches.

The other day, after visiting Rockaway Beach (accessible by the A-train  drivebycuriosity), my girlfriend and I enjoyed a meal at Aquagrill in Manhattan`s trendy Soho (210 Spring Street at Sixth Avenue  aquagrill.com). The ritzy restaurant specializes in seafood. It was quite delicious.

We started with a selection from their huge oysters menu. They offer 25 to 30 varieties from different coasts, including a lot of local places like New York State, Rhode Island or Connecticut, but also from distant areas like Mexico and Chile. I`m not an expert in oysters, but the examples we got animated me to become a student in the science of oysters.

The fish entrees, which followed the great beginning, met our then lifted expectations. My girlfriend choose the "Black  Bass", which was one of their recommendations of the day. An indulgence, she declared. I decided for the "Bluefin Tuna", also one of the daily recommendations. They were almost a reason to become addicted.

Even the dessert, which they claim they made themselves, was a highly valuable experience. We choose, for sharing, the "Caramelized Mango Tart with Mascarpone Cheese and Macadamia Nut Brittle Ice Cream with a Mango Sauce" and the "Roasted Caramelized Grapefruit with Grapefruit Sorbet". Both were as good as their names promised.

Now I`m thinking about an excuse to go back to this place as soon as possible.