Food Therapy: Tree's $25 Prix Fixe

Sometimes, you want a low-key meal that's good and inexpensive.  And with the weather warming up, you want to sit outside.  For a casual dinner in a "garden", Sunshine and I like to head to Tree.

• Front of Tree:

• Back Garden of Tree:

The food here is consistently good and the $25 prix fixe is a great deal: 

• Appetizers:   The last time we went here, I had the Soup Du Jour ( a vanilla and pear cold soup that was brilliant!) and Sunshine had the French Onion Soup (very generous with the cheese!).

• Entrees:  Sunshine and I both ordered the NY Strip.  It's not the biggest NY Strip but it's nicely sized (remember: portion control!).  It's not going to wow you, but what do you expect for a $25 prix fixe?  It's good enough that I'd get it again.    

• Desserts:  We tried both desserts and...they were SPECTACTULAR!  I usually find chocolate mousse and creme caramel meh these days.  I was very surprised to find these two classics finally done right.  Even Sunshine, who's not a fan of dessert, couldn't put his spoon down.

It's located at 190 1st Avenue (between 11th & 12th St), NY, NY.  This is a great restaurant for a first date.  Plus, there are lots of nearby bars to hit up afterwards in case dinner didn't go as planned!

So why the name "Tree"? We think it's name after this tree (the only tree) in the garden: