It has been a while since I wanted to try Vynl located in Hell's Kitchen. The name and spelling was intriguing, and they had truffled mac & cheese on the menu (yes, I just need to see one yummy item to make me want to try...).
The decor is pretty interesting: disco balls on the ceiling, mosaic everywhere, even on the table (ours was a displaying a big Atari logo) and a big bust of Elvis. On the walls, you could see action figures from bands like Kiss, or actors, shows...
There was definitely a disco feel accentuated by loud music: you do not go there for a romantic or quiet dinner!
The menu is a fusion Thai-American that can satisfy meat and non meat eaters! What is great is that they propose small plates so you can taste different dishes and share.
To go with my meal, I went for a milk shake.
I know, I could have gone for some wine but I cannot resist to a milk shake! They propose three flavors: vanilla, chocolate and mocha. I went for the vanilla one. It was a good milk shake with the perfect thickness and enough vanilla taste, thanks to the vanilla syrup they probably pour in it.
We started with seared tuna sliders.
There were two of them, served with Thai spiced aioli and a cabbage slaw. It was delicious! Although, I would have liked a better proportion between the tuna and the bun. It is a very good alternative to a burger slider. It had very clean flavors and the tuna melted in my mouth.
After the sliders, we ordered vegetable dumplings.
They came with a sweet soy chili dipping sauce. I have to say that I am not a big fan of vegetable dumplings: most of the time, the shell is too thick, overpowering the taste of the veggies. This one was perfect! Light and succulent. Another great dish!
Then came the long awaited Truffled Mac & Cheese.
They served it with a salad.
To be honest, I did not care about the salad, although it was good to have some greens considering the rest of the meal.
The Truffled Mac & Cheese was made with gemeli pasta, two types of cheese (fontina and parmesan), black truffle and cream. It was creamy and you could taste the truffle immediately. In fact you could smell it. Was it the best truffled mac & cheese I ever tried? No. But it was a pretty good one. I hate when mac & cheese is dry and this one was creamy. The only regret is that they only serve it as a large plate. They would have proposed it as a small plate, I would have tried some other succulent dishes they have on the menu!
I had a great diner at Vynl and can't wait to go back to try some other dishes such as the fried chicken and waffle or the Kung Pao shrimp tacos!
Enjoy (I did)!
