Gramercy Tavern: No deal, but an excellent lunch

I'd wanted to go to Gramercy Tavern for lunch after reading about their "secret" lunch deal on VittlesVamp, but when I met with JL, JSK, and BH there, we found ourselves seated in their formal dining room instead of their Tavern room, which is where the deal was offered. So instead of getting a steal at one of the fancier restaurants in town, we ended up ordering from the pricey regular lunch menu.

The meal, at least, was beautifully done. The small olive rolls served as part of the bread selection were delicious and addictive, crusty and studded with large chunks of briny purple olives. I found myself agreeing to a second, and then a third, smearing each with a curl of good butter. And the braised shoulder of lamb I ordered was served nearly falling apart on a bed of bok choy, and the meat was tender and rich and utterly satisfying.

Dessert was good, too; we split the warm chocolate bread pudding with cacao nib ice cream, and alongside it came a plate of delicate petits fours, including tiny buttery rounds with a single plump blueberry sunken in the middle, sugar-coated fruit jellies, and chocolate balls filled with salty peanut butter. At the end, JL declared it one of the nicest lunches he'd had in a long time. I'm definitely going back to check out the Tavern room.