5 Ninth NYC

In the tradition of exploring good food in NY I decided to head down to the West Village Meat Packing District to try dinner at the trendy and rustic 5 9th with my friend Al. I had been here before with Beth for a drink. The Meat Packing District, as the name 
implies is where all the meat butchering and packing took place in NYC and was home to over 250 butcheries in its day. Over time, the area fell into disrepair and became a haven for sex clubs, and prostitution. This was until the 1990's when some visionary developers and retailers began transforming the area into a hip and funky area laden with boutiques, clubs, and restaurants. It's a real cool area to visit. For foodies, it's also the home to Chelsea Market where the Food Network resides and films their Iron Chef series. OK...back to 5 Ninth:

5 Ninth stands for Building #5 on 9th Avenue. It's a rustic 3

story brownstone built in 1848. The first floor is the bar and a backyard garden with seating. The 2nd floor houses the dining room with 6 fireplaces, and the 3rd floor is candle lit lounge with chairs and sofas. The place has a very cool ambiance. I think it was voted as one of the hippest bar/restaurants of NYC in 2005. My buddy Al and I headed there for dinner. We sat at the window on the first floor (the window on the right in the above picture) which is elevated above the street with a bird's eye view of the happening on 9th Avenue. I ordered the grilled hanger steak with a cherry tomato, raisin, grilled oyster mushroom, frisee salad with white balsamic dressing. It was made perfectly. The meat was a perfect medium rare and the balsamic dressing was nicely balanced. Not the most sophisticated dish, but cooked very well. Yelp gives it 3 1/2 stars. Zagat rates it 19/22/18/$52 (food/decor/service/avg. cost). I would consider going again not because the food blew me away, but the whole package of ambiance, hip, and trendiness all combine to make for a nice dining experience on a summer night in NYC.