"Un-Wined" Wednesday's at Choice Kitchen

Tiara wearing birthday Princess JRo celebrated the big 3-0 with a get together at Choice Kitchen in Murray Hill. Choice has an aptly titled "Un-Wined" special on Wednesday's where for a mere $35 bucks you get a bottle of wine with your choice (pun intended) of three appetizers. What a deal!

The atmosphere at Choice is pretty relaxed. There was a decent amount of people there but you were certainly able to talk to your companions without having to scream over the innocuous soundtrack. I was one of the last to arrive (par for the course with post work get togethers) and the wine ordering was well underway so I just went with the proverbial flow.

We tried to order a variety of appetizers so that everyone's dietary needs, food passions and allergies were taken into consideration. When all was said and done we wound up with the following: spinach and artichoke dip complete with tri-colored tortilla chips, Thai chicken skewers, Chimichurri beef skewers, buffalo wings, nachos grande, crispy spring rolls and the Mediterranean delight. As the bottles of wine increased, we went back for doubles on some of these tasty treats.

I was pleasantly surprised by the wings. They were meaty, a bit sweet and a nice hit of spicy heat on the back end. Bar menu wings have the tendency to be pedestrian but Choice's were a bit above average. The rolls were crispy without being greasy and didn't need the accompanying dipping sauce. Good thing because the double dip dilemma is always tricky in a large group.

Equally pleasant were the beef and chicken skewers. The meat was tender and juicy and not the least bit dried out. The peanut sauce for the chicken was just okay, but the chicken was seasoned well enough that again, the sauce was not needed.

The Mediterranean delight was an interesting combination of tastes. Fresh chickpea hummus (I get it) guacamole (huh?) and pico de gallo (what?) and served with warmed pita chips (fine for the hummus but for the guac and pico? Huh? What?). By this point, we were well on our way to being "un-wined" so who cares?

While our waitress seemed overwhelmed most of the evening, she became more attentive as the crowd thinned, even buying us a round of shots. And to top off the evening was the JRo's chocolate molten cake with vanilla ice cream complete with a birthday candle. Poor girl barely got to make her birthday wish before she had to dive out of the way of my incoming spoon. My greed and gluttony served me well, the chocolate was quality, warm, gooey and perfectly complemented by the cool creamy ice cream.

The few misses on the appetizers menu were certainly overshadowed by the hits. The nachos needed a bigger dish to spread out the cheese which was instead stuck in clumps to some of the chips. Of course, that did not stop me from devouring the bulk of the bowl. And I've already mentioned the curious Mediterranean delight.

Hits and misses, notwithstanding, if you are looking for a good weeknight deal and a place to "un-wined", check out Choice.