Ron W.
Yelp
There is no parking other than on the street where Meter Maids patrol as if they worked at The Shoe at Pelican Bay. If you find a spot that doesn't require a Bird or an Uber then buy a lottery ticket because you're on a roll.
Once you secure your sled, make your way to Slay. It's a handsome black box in the middle of the Manhattan melee. Go inside, it's dark, serene, and calm, except for the buzzin' wait staff.
The space is small with an 8 seat Bar anchoring the entrance. An overhead Flat Screen dominates the room. Hey, it's Manhattan Beach. Conversation? Only during commercials. A partition separates the Sports Bar front from the fine dining back dimly lit for the half lit diners.
Think of this place as a civilized MB Post without Cheddar Cheese Biscuits.
Who goes there? Locals who don't care about Meter Maids and can easily afford a sitter on a Wednesday.
The Staff: Manned by relaxed Manhattanites. No complaints on this side of the experience.
The Bar Program: The Bar is full, and fills up fast with only 8 seats. If you choose a Bar table they are barely large enough to hold two Parker House Rolls. Prepare to juggle. In the meantime, Cocktails, Beer and Wine await.
My Maple Spice Sour had all three tastes playing nice together. Bullet Bourbon, Amaretto, Real Maple Syrup and Egg Whites which I forgot to ask the server to hold. Egg whites bring little to the drink party and then what do they do with the Yolks? No matter, as a riff on a Whiskey Sour it was a deep well done well.
The Roederer Redemption had Empress Gin, Lemon Juice, Blueberry Champagne Syrup, and Roederer Champagne. This drink was so memorable, I can't remember drinking it but as I write about it, it sounds good and I hope it was.
The Food: Parker House Rolls to sop up anything laying around. These warm yeasty little beasties did their job.
A Spinach Salad was nicely done too. Peppered Bacon Bits, a healthy sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese, Fried Garlic Chips, Herbed Bread Crumbs and a warm Vinaigrette. You could put all that on a Bust Bunny and this dish would be a dinner winner.
A lovely Crab Cake showed up next. Remember that the table is sooo small that dinner comes out one small late at a time. The Crab Cake was just Crab formed into a little cute cake with no filler. Delicious. It was nestled on a bed of Apple slivers, Shaved Fennel, and a dollop of Remoulade. Wonderful, even if you're allergic to crab...get some. If I get back here I'm having mine and yours.
The Steak Frites (Flat Iron Steak) was cut into 4 strips the size of Stephan Curry's fingers. The steak was settled on a mound of French Fries with a serious pour of Peppercorn Sauce which turned the whole thing into a Poutine, (read, soggy mess).
The menu boasted House Made Ketchup which tasted like it was made in the Heinz House. Ketchup is, after all, just ketchup. Something to dip a fry into because it's expected or scrub out of your shirt if you can.
So, skip the limp fries and spear that steak, which despite a mystery chew or two, was actually pretty good. Hide those unchewable wads in the center of the left over Parker House Roll.
Finally, a fat Stuffed Pork Chop appeared. It was packed with a mush of Granny Smith Apples, Golden Raisins, a glop of Sourdough Bread and then drizzled with Soy Sauce and Molasses to make sure nothing was unmushed. Yup, there was a lot going on. Once I scraped off the innards and the glazes the chop was not a flop and ate well.
Slay has a slew of spots spread around town that all mimic his flagship Park Ave. and IL Garage in Stanton. None of them slay me, but they are all decent in their own way.