Butter, 415 Lafayette Street, NYC

Butter at 415 Lafayette Street, NYC 1/11/13.  Chef: Alexandra Guarnaschelli

Bread basket: slices of Country Bread and warm Bacon Scones served with two kinds of soft butter, one with fresh Herbs.

Amuse bouche: Smoked Salmon spread with grilled/fried (?) toast.  [Toast a little greasy.]

Appetizer: Marinated Domestic Burrata with warm Garlic Toast, grilled Radiccio and aged Balsamic.  (A serving large enough to be shared.)  [Burrata was creamy and perfectly complemented by the radiccio and balsamic vinegar.  Is aged balsamic always so sweet?]

Entrees:
Rack of Lamb with roasted Winter Vegetables, and a Lamb stuffed Raviolo atop Sage and Basil Pesto.  [Cooked as ordered, two very meaty, thick, frenched lamp chops.]

Thick slices of Duck Breast with Cranberry Jam and braised Escarole.  [Cranberry jam a little too sweet to my taste.]

Dessert:
Chef's Birthday Cake, a generous slice of Vanilla cake with a thin Chocolate Filling and Icing, drizzled with a Salted Caramel Glaze.  [Dense textured cake, a result of the recipe or refrigeration?  Salted caramel glaze made it special.]

Thankfully, only one appetizer special (butternut squash soup), and one entree special (pan seared filet of red snapper), instead of the laundry list of specials that some restaurants burden the diner and the waiter with.  A tasting menu is available, but not all waiters remember to mention it.  Reservations can be made through Savored.com, a variable pricing service, which enables you to eat at many places for a discount, if your meal times are flexible.  7 p.m. on a Friday night does not seem like an inconvenient time to eat for a 20% discount on both food and drink.