Our celebration evening began with drinks at the hot, relatively new rooftop bar in the Ritz Hotel NoMad. Nubeluz is worth visiting, especially with out-of-town visitors.

I ordered the Foggy Hill, a mezcal drink I recommend that someone at your table get because of the lemon-thyme aromatic cloud presentation. Others had traditional cocktails. The birthday girl requested caviar bumps (3 grams Kaviari Ossetra, $18 per pump), a trendy new app where you put a tiny mound of caviar on your hand and slurp! Yum.

The four of us shared all the apps. Those included sliced, grilled Trumpet mushrooms over crushed potatoes with watercress with a side sauce Vierge ($32) of tomatoes, olive oil and lemon; their six Fine de la Baie oysters with spicy pumpernickel ($27) and my favorite duck liver parfait topped with gelée and served with toasted brioche ($20). Do not miss the latter.

One had two recommended apps instead of an entree. That included the citrus-flavored snapper crudo spiced with horseradish and smoked olive oil ($18) and the celery root “tartare” with Pommery mustard and parmesan cheese ($21).

Both entrees we sampled were perfect. Their salmon in a thin crust with pickled cucumber and sunchoke came in a puddle of red beetroot beurre sauce ($49); the roasted duck breast with braised celtuce (stem lettuce) and oranges ($49).

We didn’t have room for dessert but ordered one to hold a candle. We all shared their baked Valrhona chocolate ($15) with ice cream so the birthday girl could blow out a candle!

I highly recommend a drink at Nubeluz and dinner at Koloman.

Koloman
@ the Ace Hotel
NoMad
1186 Broadway
New York, NY 10001-5410

Nubeluz
NoMad
25 W 28th St
New York, NY 10001