Alternative dining in the times of COVID

The Greens at Pier 17

Over the past year, New York restaurants have become creative with what “dining” should look like: For a good six months during the pandemic, no indoor dining was allowed, so al fresco became the new trend. Some restaurants spent small fortunes to build fully equipped outdoor seating with comfortable benches and heaters. Some opted for a more rough look, with plastic chairs and a plastic cover surrounding them to prevent wind from coming through, and others simply didn’t have the space or means to accommodate outdoor dining.

I was amazed to see the inventiveness of New Yorkers, and ultimately, it worked!

One of the places that stood out to me the most so far has been The Greens, located at Pier 17 in downtown Manhattan. It’s an accumulation of warm and transparent cabins on the pier’s rooftop, with an individual, and rather spacious, hut for every reserved party. You have to reserve in advance and pay a $50 fee to hold the space for dinner, but once there, it makes it all worth it.

However, you can also make a more casual lunch reservation with a fee of only $5 attached to it. The fees don’t go towards the food, but are donated to a local charity.

The food and drinks come in paper containers and plastic cups, but don’t let that fool you. The menu is limited, but the food is scrumptious; my favorites being the cheese fondue and meatballs with polenta. Service is fast (it must be, since you’re only given 90 minutes of this dining experience), and all the transactions are done on your phone, to limit the time of interaction with your server.

Cheese fondue with bread, broccoli, roasted potatoes and apples

If you’re lucky, you might get a hut overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge, but otherwise you can still enjoy the scenery around you. The huts are outfitted with a TV, which provides music and a digital fireplace, and the vibe is nothing but cozy, and may I say, romantic. No need for jackets or blankets in there!

The Greens isn’t really al fresco, even though it might feel like it, but it’s by far the safest way to eat indoors during this time, with a thorough cleaning after each party leaves. It is designed to eliminiate virtually every risk you could possibly encounter during a normal dining experience, and gives you the utmost privacy, with way more than 6 feet away from other patrons, each in their own socially distanced hut. I couldn’t think of a better way to dine during a pandemic-ridden 2021! Can you?

A stunning New York City skyline in the background