Have been to 51 a bunch of times and thought I owed it to the chef to write a review. Last experience was on a Friday night when it was totally packed. Was meeting friends that I had not seen for a while so asked for a table out of the way so we could really talk. The manager, Ryan (cute and really nice), offered me a table in the wine room downstairs... TOTALLY FABULOUS! The room has a lush oriental carpet, reclaimed barnwood (yes, I had to ask) and wine racks on the walls, and a flat panel tv fireplace (cute idea). Innovative and cosy, we all absolutely loved it. Now to the food... we had the taleggio stuffed date with prosciutto and rose petal liquor, the caesar salad, the rigatoni bolognaise, the chili braised short ribs with veggie frites, the crispy duck breast with sweet potato hash, the vegetarian plate, and the molasses glazed pork tenderloin with collard greens and a sweet potato pancake. All were fantastic - the short ribs just melted in your mouth, the homemade mozzarella on the homemade crouton that comes with the yummy caesar salad was a really nice extra, and the rose petal liquor was really light and fresh. The service was also great... Richard knew the menu and was able to steer the group to dishes that matched our tastes. He also showed us some fantastic wines on the ""reserve"" list that were a great bargain... we truly appreciated a waiter that did not steer us to the most expensive bottles on the list, but rather showed us some really great wines (in our budget) that went perfectly with what the entire group was eating. Wonderful experience... will definitely be back!
Pros: Relaxing and unpretentious with truly creative food, excellent service
Cons: Hard to get a reservation on weekends
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