Club Macanudo

Last week, my wife and I celebrated our first anniversary of being married.  We decided to get away to NYC, a place she had never been before.  As we were making plans for where to go and what to do, a friend suggested having dinner at Club Macanudo.  He knew people there and would arrange our reservations.  How could we say no?    Dinner on the Upper East Side just off Madison Avenue in a beautiful building where we can enjoy smoking cigars is like a cigar smoker's paradise.  It was a done deal.

We arrived promptly for our 8pm reservations that Wednesday.  As we entered the club, we were greeted by the door man, then the hostess.  She immediately took us to our seats.  En route to our seats stood the manager, Habib Alam, who introduced himself to us.  He told us it was his pleasure to have us and to let him know if he could do anything for us. 

When we were seated, we were presented with menus with a bronze-like covering stamped with the club's logo.  Inside, there were a nice selection of food choices, but the cigar and spirit choices were vast and sumptuous!  It definitely took some time to wade through the options. The club was also extremely well ventilated, which is necessary when there are so many people in the club smoking.

My wife and I made our selection for pre-dinner wine, the Maso Canali Pinot Grigio to partner with the Maryland Style Crab Cakes.  After placing our initial order, we were finally able to truly look around at this beautiful club.  It was packed, every table and chair occupied, every person with at least a cigar and drink in their hands.  50 feet away a band played "tropical" music that was heavy in Merengue and Cumbia, loud enough to enjoy but not too loud to drown out table conversation.

Our wines were immediately brought to us, and shortly thereafter, our appetizer.  To our surprise, Buffalo Shrimp and Fried Calamari accompanied our Crab Cakes as a special treat.  Obviously someone had spilled the beans about it being a special occasion for my wife and I.  We tried each of the appetizers, all of which were quite delicious and cooked properly with fresh ingredients.  With such an impressive start, we knew that our meal was going to be just as impressive.

When asked what wine we wanted for our main course, I asked our server for a suggestion.  She said the Cabernet Sauvignon, Uppercut.  She brought a sample for me to taste, and I agreed.  My wife ordered the Grilled Havana Rib Eye and I ordered the Peppercorn-crusted Filet Mignon, both medium-well.  Both of our main dishes were exquisite.  The steaks are on par with Ruth's Chris' Steakhouse (the one in Atlanta is better than the Nashville location, fyi), and better than my experiences with the Palm's steaks.

Upon completion of our dinner, and after the table had been cleared, Habib brought over to us 2 Macanudo Cru Royale Robusto on a silver tray (how the club typically delivers cigars to patrons).  After he left, the waitress came up and asked if we wanted anything for dessert.  My wife and I were full, but I did order a Remy Martin XO to go with my cigar.  After about 30 minutes, Habib delivered what he said was their signature dessert, a dish called Warm Chocolate Truffles.  They were chocolate truffles that were breaded and deep fried on a bed of confectionary sugar.  He said that we just had to try them and that we wouldn't be disappointed.  Boy, was he right!  Not only that, but they paired really well with both the Remy and the Cru Royale.  And my wife was in total agreeance.

The Cru Royale cigar proved to be a great cigar. It was a firm, well made  medium bodied cigar with initial notes of spice and cedar.  As it went along, it became a bit earthy with some coffee in the 2nd third and finished up with more spice and a hint of chocolate. There was plenty of smoke and required no touch ups.  It paired very well with the truffles and the Remy that it made for an excellent smoke that I'd highly recommend.  I'd give it a 94.

After we finished our cigars, we ended up talking to Habib a little longer and thanked him and his staff for their generosity.  They were very attentive and courteous making us feel at home.  If you're ever in NYC, this is definitely a place that you HAVE to visit!