NYC Guide: Ilili & Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

ilili Restaurant - Lebanese Mediterranean Cuisine

ADDRESS | 236 5th Ave, New York, NY 10001

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

ADDRESS | Lyric Theatre 214 W, 43rd ST, NEW YORK, NY 10036

Topping the list of a quintessential New York City experience is dinner and taking in a Broadway show. I decided to have a family date night capitalizing on these two cultural favorites in NYC. We started with an early pre-theater dinner at ilili, a restaurant that serves Lebanese and Mediterranean Cuisine. I recommend making a reservation, given that this is a popular spot for their tasty dishes and contemporary ambiance.

Cheers! Our wonderful server suggested a mocktail for Jack made of pomegranate syrup, passionfruit juice, and seltzer. It was really tasty and a beautiful presentation. Lynette and I opted for white wine.

Mezza

We ordered several mezza options to share. The Mouhamara—spicy dip made of walnuts, sundried peppers, pomegranate molasses— was a thicker consistency than I usually have been served elsewhere but I didn’t mind. It was really tasty and all three of our dinning party really liked this dish, served with romaine lettuce leaves for dipping.

Not pictured, we also ordered the Tabbouleh—parsley, mint, tomato, burghul. It was a fresh and healthy option. The dressing was really balanced and again it was something we all devoured.

Duck Shawarma—pita pillows, gig toum, pomegranate seeds, micro chives. This was one of a couple of the meat options that my son wanted to try so I indulged in sampling these as well. The pita was really good and, as the name suggests, pillowy. It had a nice orange flavor and the duck skin reminded me of Chinese mooshu.

Black cast iron shrimp. This was a pretty straight forward dish. Well prepared, simple ingredients. It’s a nice pescatarian hot Mezza option.

Brussels sprouts—grapes, fig jam, walnuts, mint yogurt. I did not take still photos so you’ll have to peek behind the shrimp and watch the video below to see this dish. The Brussels sprouts were tender with almost a char to them paired the the fresh crunch of the grapes and walnuts made this another favorite dish at our table.

Phoenician fries

I almost never eat fries so my wife was shocked when I kept coming back to these. The fries are wonderfully seasoned with garlic and sumac, crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. To take it to the next level use the dip (not sure what it was called) that they are served with.

Mekanek—sauteed lamb sausage, lemon, pine nuts.

I liked the texture of these because the sausage itself wasn’t emulsified meaning that the texture was a little crumblier which I enjoyed. Fries or pita are a perfect option for sopping the juices.

We only could spare 5:30-6:30 for our meal so we stuck to drinkies and the mezza plates before heading to our evening showing of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It’s recommended you show at least half an hour early which for us was the perfect amount of time to go through the line and make our way to our seats. The show is three and a half hours long and is absolutely incredible. The story line is really touching, and I was surprised to find it was a lot about the relationships between fathers and sons. I was glad to experience it with my youngest son. If you’re in the NYC area—or elsewhere putting on the production— this is a great Father’s Day gift idea. The illusions and effects were breathtaking. During intermission grab some famous Harry Potter Jelly Beans, and a chocolate wand.