Restaurant Review: Fig and Olive

Once again, I am traveling for work. So, this week I am posting from Denver, CO. I am so sad that Continental is no longer my work's contract carrier. US Airways never seems to get it right. Monday's flight was super delayed and PACKED. 

I am going to take a stab at writing a restaurant review. Last weekend, I was in NYC visiting my sister and brother-in-law. On Saturday night, Becky made dinner reservations at Fig & Olive Kitchen and Tasting Bar. Fig & Olive has several NYC locations. We dined at the Fig & Olive in the Meatpacking District. This is where Samantha moved to in Season 3 of Sex and the City. The Meatpacking District has numerous hip restaurants, cobblestone streets, and rooftop bars. Often in NYC, the restaurants are small and cozy. However, the warehouses of the Meatpacking District allow for more space than average. Here is how Fig & Olive took advantage of the extra room (gentle readers, you will have to make do with stolen internet images because I forgot my camera): 

Main Dining Room

In my opinion, the decor evokes a Mediterranean vibe without being overly cheesy. I particularly liked the large wicker light fixtures. Our reservations were for 7:00 p.m., early by any big city standards. This fact allowed our waiter Jonah to be extra attentive. We started with cocktails and a sampled 3 kinds of olive oil. Fig & Olive keeps in stock over 30 different kinds of olive oil. My olive oil pallet is not very refined, so I couldn't tell that big of a difference between the three. My White Sangria cocktail is something that I would recommend to anyone. It was packed with tons of different kinds of fruit - yum! Troy enjoyed his Red Sangria and Becky had a Pomegranate Martini. She is such a sucker for anything with Pomegranate :)

Most of the dishes contained olives and figs served in a clever way. I started with a chilled avocado soup. The portion was too large and I was overwhelmed. However, the flavor was nice and creamy. 

Avocado Soup

For dinner I had their signature salad. The salad was packed with baked figs, olives, walnuts, apples, and cheese and then topped with a sweet balsamic vinegar dressing. My favorite part of the salad was the cheese. There was shaved parmesan, manchego, gorgonzola, and goat cheese. It was indulgent and I liked it. I heard no complaints from Becky and Troy regarding their main meals. Becky chose the rotisserie chicken with string beans and mashed potatoes. Her dish was accompanied by a special kind olive oil that she periodically drizzled over her plate. There was enough chicken to feed a family of four, so I added some to my salad. Troy had the salmon, which looked tasty, but the vegetable medley side looked uninspired. 

Overall, Fig & Olive is a restaurant that I would recommend to friends and family. It is especially good if you have a picky eater in the group. The menu is varied, but contains a number of "safe" chicken and pasta dishes. On a final non-food note, I think that Fig and Olive would be cute names for a pair kittens. Can you picture it?