I don’t do much restaurant food-blogging these days, in part because of the economy and also because I like being able to control the conditions when I shoot food. The latter is almost impossible when in a restaurant setting. When I do shoot food in restaurants, it’s almost always in the daytime when I have access to natural light. I could probably get a new digital camera, one that allows me to take quality pictures in low-light settings, but that’s not a priority right now. Maybe later in the year I’ll have room in my budget; we’ll see.

In the meantime, here are some pix from earlier this afternoon. Enjoy.

Trio of shellfish

Left: Raw oyster from Wellfleet, Massachusetts
Middle: Raw oyster from Wellfleet, MA, with celery mignonette
Right: Baked clam

Riesling Kabinett, Gunderloch, Jean Baptiste, 2010, Rheinhessen, Germany

Seared scallop, fava beans, Rancho Gordo beans, heirloom tomatoes, sorrel

Fish croquettes, radish kimchi, baby lettuce, seaweed

Smoked trout, red cabbage, pickled cippolini onion

Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Manenti, 2010, Sicily, Italy

Wild mushroom and calamari salad

Pork meatball, fontina cheese, red cabbage, potato purée

Blueberry corn ice cream sundae, toffee popcorn, sweet corn muffin

Today’s lunch came out to $133. Very reasonable for 6 courses (7 if you count the amuse-bouche above — “trio of shellfish”), two glasses of wine, a cocktail and tea — with tax and tip included. The food remains as strong as ever, which may be why Gramercy Tavern is one of my favorite restaurants in New York City. Think “farm-to-table” via modern American cuisine with a touch of French influence. As an added bonus, I have a couple of ideas as a result of today’s dining out excursion that I’m eager to tinker around with, the results of which you might see on this here food-blog thingy.

Gramercy Tavern is located at 42 East 20th Street (Park Avenue South), in the Flatiron district of Manhattan.