Opal

As far as bar food goes this place was surprisingly tasty. I mean, I wouldn't come here every week, but it was a nice change of scenery from Chelsea, and with this week being Gay Pride Week, it was nice to get away from all the craziness. In fact, on the way to Opal, Maria (a friend in town I went to Columbia School of Social Work with) and I witnessed this diva barely wearing anything at all dancing on the median in the middle of the street on the corner of 23rd & 8th. People were filming him and taking pictures. In case you missed it, here he is performing:

We entered the restaurant and noticed a younger crowd. We were right smack in midtown, so there were a lot of after work folks coming in for happy hour. All the tables were reserved and we noticed there was a back section so we proceeded to walk in there. I'm glad that we did because it was much more spacious and somewhat private. There happened to be another small group and they were much older.

Since I knew that we'd be drinking all night, I ordered the hummus to keep the food calories to a minimum. I love hummus and I've been spoiled by Mark, who makes the best homemade hummus, so beating his tasty recipe is very hard to find. I found the presentation to be quite artistic. It was shaped like it was packed in a can of tuna and served in the middle of the plate with pita bread on both sides along with a small mediterranean salad. The taste was bland as hummus can tend to be if you don't put enough oil and spices. I ended up eating more of the pita bread and I should've eaten the salad because it was so colorful and healthy, but I did not. Bummer.

A few people in our party ordered the sliders, which looked really good. The sliders came in 3: pork, chicken cordon bleu and beef & chicken. Just watching people eat it made my mouth water. If I come here again, I'm definitely getting it.

I wasn't expected to grab the menu here, but as we were leaving, I noticed a menu sitting on our table. As I headed toward the exit door I grabbed it and stuck it in my bag and walked out the door. Before calling it a night, we also stopped at Cornerstone Tavern for post Opal drinks and Uncle Charlie's for gay bingo.

Opal: 251 E. 52nd St. between 3rd & 2nd Ave.
Midtown East, NYC
Website

Opal