Honest Abe [and Arthur's]

Last night was another great dining experience with coworkers.  It was a Thursday night, and we were 4 hot mamas, so the only logical dinner location was Meatpacking.  Didn't you know?  I'm one of the beautiful people.  We went wild on the menu:

• Appetizers:
• Tuna Tartar Tacos
• Hamachi Sashimi (Pictured below, top row, far right): The best of the 4 apps
• Sliders
• Meatballs (pictured below, top row, middle)
• Entrées: Steak, steak, and more steak (it's the restaurant's specialty, so we felt like sinners ordering anything else...minus Jill, the pescatarian of the group).  I believe I have previously mentioned my extreme affinity with dipping sauces, so I ordered my steak with not one but two of them.  I chose the bernaise and the truffle butter.  The bernaise was good, but don't even bother because the truffle butter is incredible.  At only $3 for this addition, do yourself a favor and splurge.  The steak is very tasty on its own, but this is a decadent supplement that should not be overlooked.
• Sides:
• Sweet potato fries with a sweet syrupy dip (did I mention my love of dip?) - almost like dessert and soooo good
• Creamed spinach (pretty much a must with a steak dinner in my book)
• Polenta: nice and creamy, a good and unexpected side
• Desserts:
• Carnival (Pictured below, bottom row, middle): a ferris wheel of doughnut holes with a chocolate dipping sauce and caramel and raspberry sauces that you could inject into the holes.  There was also a mini funnel cake on the side.  Basically, the plate looked adorable, but it was more of a novelty.  The taste was nothing so phenomenal, but the waiter brought it as a freebie, so you won't hear any complaints from me. 
• French Toast Bread Pudding (Pictured below, top row, far left): Came highly recommended for good reason.  It was delicious.
• Cookies and Cream Soufflée (Pictured below, bottom row, far left): Great.  It was nice to see a take on soufflée that wasn't the typical chocolate or cheese.  The crème anglaise poured into the center tableside made the dish.  The housemade ice cream sandwiches and oreos were nothing to scoff at either.  I love Bouchon Bakery, but I think this "oreo" was even better than the TKO (Thomas Keller Oreo) served there.

Dinner was long (in a good way), full of gossip, and wine-filled (3 bottles for the 4 of us, to be exact).  I must admit, a meal like this is an anomaly.  We went pretty crazy and ordered up a storm; but in all fairness, I must warn that the bill was waaaay up there.  Everything I had heard about this restaurant previously was along the lines of "the food is good, but comes with a hefty price tag," "loved what I got but thought I should have gotten a little more for what I paid," etc.  This made me leery of going, but I'm glad I was persuaded because I ate famously (though the comments were true). 

We left around 10:30, just when the real party was gearing up (alas, we did have work today).  Like I said, it was Thursday night in Meatpacking and cougars and daddies were out in full force.  But don't worry if you're not in the market for a sugar daddy/mama; there was someone for everyone.  The party gals were there in droves in their high high heels and short short skirts.  I was no shlub, but I must have missed the micro-mini memo.  I'm pretty sure I saw a girl's Cha Cha Slide.  The picture on the far right of the bottom row had to be included due to this Euro's fab shirt and hairdo.  There was a whole table of this awesomeness.

Overall: If you have a lot of money to burn, Abe and Arthur's serves up good food and A+ people watching.  If you don't have an overweight wallet, eat and drink before you go and get an app and drinks there.  It's a good way to experience the scene at this hot new restaurant without spending a bajill.