I used to work near the New York Life building on Madison and I would get off at the 33rd street/6 train station. Everyday I would pass Artisanal for 2 years and never go in until finally, one random night my date and I decided to go in because it was early. Fortunately, we were able to get seats at this very well lit restaurant. There was so much motion that it reminded me a little bit of Balthazar on Spring St. in Soho. This was the very first fondue place I ever ate at in NYC. Artisanal is a cheese lovers dream with a great selection of cheeses, but there's also chocolate fondue for the sweet tooth folks.

Now Artisanal was slightly stuffy for me so if you need something a bit more relaxed, there are other places I'm looking forward to trying out like Fondue, Dip, Punch & Judy and Mont Blanc. Like tapas, it's a fun and relaxing date where you can try a different assortment of bite size food and stir up conversation. Just don't make the date too messy.