The Cottage at Gramercy, New York, NY (Manhattan)

Since Ian moved to an apartment on Gramercy Park in New York this past fall, I've wandered over a few times to visit and run around town with him. Try as I might (and I've been trying for years!), I still haven't been able to turn him into a gourmet or even an adventurous eater. When I ask him where decent places are to eat in his neighborhood, he usually just points to fast food or one of the ubiquitous Chinese take-aways. It, therefore, has become my mission to drag him out to different places to make him try new things, though that can be a major challenge given his Aspergerian aversion to change and his unhealthy fiscal frugality.

The first neighborhood place he picked for us to dine was a sit-down Chinese restaurant just a few blocks from his building called The Cottage at Gramercy. I'm not really sure how the restaurant got it's name, since "Cottage" doesn't really evoke an Oriental feel and the decor was more standard Chinese place than "homey." The most exciting thing about this restaurant for Ian is that they offer unlimited free wine to diners, which I suppose can be a good deal. The place was crowded and noisy when we arrived, and we had to wait a bit for a table. Once we were seated, they brought us a small carafe of inexpensive white wine, and away we went.

Ian ordered what I later found out was his "usual," the sliced chicken with string beans in a brown sauce. He got a very big plate full of very long green beans with some chicken breast and what looked like a lot of diced garlic and flecks of dried red pepper. I picked the "Neptune's Nest," a basket made of formed and fried Chinese noodles filled with a melange of seafood (including salmon) and vegetables, which I liked. Steamed rice came on the side. When we asked for more wine, they quickly and without question brought us another little carafe.

As usual, there was no dessert at the Chinese restaurant, so we moved along after our fortune cookies. I would not be opposed to coming to The Cottage again sometime.