it's been in my sights every day for at least the last two years, as the lite-brite background to grand central terminal and the helmsley building, but...i haven't really looked at it. isn't that though what you get when you plop something (even something so stocky and glaring) behind a city's major transportation hub? if you're walking anywhere near there, you'd better not be staring up while you do it.
this might also be the peril of situating a restaurant, even a very fine one, in the same spot. so convenient, yet so easy to overlook? la fonda del sol is a shiny modern spanish marvel tucked under the huge concrete overhang on the west side of the metlife building, facing vanderbilt avenue and 44th-45th streets. is anyone ever really strolling on vanderbilt avenue? hustling to and from the station i imagine folks, if they are looking around at all, peer through the restaurant's etched glass, admire the bold spanish reds and the striking floor squares of black and white and think, i should go there sometime... (mañana...)
and it would be a pity if mañana never came because the "inn of the sun," while hardly a neighborhood joint (for those of us who call this neighborhood home) and perhaps too proper and pricey for a mere pit-stop, spins traditional spanish ingredients and flavors (garbanzos, chorizo, fresh fish, citrus and saffron) into special little events.
if you're in deal-hunter mode (like me and my friends), there's a pretty good one to be had during restaurant week (now through feb 5, and probably again later in the year). but beware the $11 glass of sangria.
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(the 50mm experiment continues)
chickpeas and chorizo soup. a smoky, spicy start...
skate wing a la plancha, with pickled peppers, olives, and saffron orange sauce.the bits of orange rind are startling. i loved the briny jalapenos.
does this look like a chocolate dessert? it's red-wine braised beef cheek, with pomegranate and celery root. the deeper, richer iberian cousin of the turkey and cranberries, if you will. my favorite part? a downy puree, which is impossible to see in this photo, but according to our waitress is made of celery root and chick peas.
roasted cod romesco. hearty black olive oil.but i think the shaved zucchini is the star here, with nice summery basil scattered about.
poached pear with turron ice cream. bright citrus rouses this sweet, sophisticated number. 
and the best bread pudding (pudin de pan!) in town. maybe the world. with caramelized bananas and spiced whipped cream.all photos © anita aguilar
