Apologies in advance for the blurry photos – I didn’t drink, so I’m not sure what caused the shake… excitement, perhaps?  Our appetizers arrived quickly, ‘bruschette’ were really a basket of crostini served with the topping you’d requested in a small dish on the side, for you to top yourself… and if you ordered more than one, to mix and match as you pleased.  Choice of one ran $5, but three came to $10, so we chose three: the red, roasted red peppers, smoked almonds and pecorino romano; the green, rapini pesto with walnuts and pecorino romano; the brown, lily confit – which a check with our server informed us that it was garlic, onions and shallots.  The lily confit was the surprising favorite, while the rapini pesto bordered on a bit too bitter at times.  I really enjoyed the red pepper one with its light smokiness, but mixing a bit of each on top of a piece of bread actually worked out fantastically as well, with the sweetness of the lily confit tempering a bit of the bitterness from the rapini pesto, yum.  Not a bad start to the night. 

Hungry chose to start with the bay scallop crudo, a light appetizer that I know she enjoyed, remarking that it was a good, light beginning to her meal, which is what she wanted. 

I love beets, so it was no surprise when I chose the roasted beets with candied fennel, radish vinaigrette and pecorino romano.  The sweetness of the beets with the creamy saltiness of the cheese was perfect, and I happily ate the entire thing pretty fast. 

We’d all heard the pastas at dell’anima were phenomenal, so we all chose pastas as our main course.  KC went with the orecchiette, with roast cauliflower, onion, celery, walnuts, parmigiano reggiano – and I know she really enjoyed it quite a bit.  I’m not sure why I didn’t try a bite, but she said a few times how good it was, and it certainly looks delicious. 

I believe Hungry chose the garganelli, though I’m afraid I don’t recall exactly, so I’ll let her insert her thoughts (or a link to her post!) in the comments section…

A side of broccoli rabe also appeared on our table.  A nice green counterpart to our heavier dishes, I wasn’t complaining. 

I chose the pappardelle integrale, with duck ragu, pancetta, mushrooms, asiago.  You might think it was too rich, but it was just perfect – every strand of pasta perfectly cooked, clearly fresh pasta, but the best part was definitely that it was topped with something crispy.  We thought it might be bits of pancetta – just perfectly crisp, offering an amazing textural contrast to the soft pasta, the rich, tender duck, and meaty, earthy tomatoes.  Everything was just so well-executed, thoughtfully put together… I was in heaven as I cleaned my plate.  Not a bite wasted, that’s for sure… delicious. 

Though we were all pretty full, the dessert menu beckoned with some appealing choices.  Unfortunately, the dessert menu doesn’t appear to be online, though I recall the word ‘espresso’ in the description – and all of us commenting that we thought a cake with espresso in it would be darker.  The cake was crumbly, almost like a cornmeal cake, but the ice cream pulled it all together very nicely, and we all enjoyed the cake very much.  I apologize for being unable to offer further details on the contents… I know the caramel drizzle was salted though   

Then we exchanged cookies and walked into the night, sated, happy, full… and having spotted Glenn Close in the restaurant!  She didn’t stay – I think there wasn’t enough privacy and a bit too many people staring at her, she’s much shorter than I thought she was! – but that was a pretty awesome celebrity sighting (props to KC for spotting her)! 

Yvo says: I enjoyed everything I ate here, though I particularly enjoyed the pasta – there’s something about a well-executed pasta dish that just makes my tastebuds sing.  With perfectly cooked pasta and exactly the right complementing textures and flavors, that dish is a really fond memory right now… and I will definitely be back to try more.  Lovely. 
recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Pasta

My darling KC, one of my very favorite people in the world, had only one birthday request: “I want pizza.”  Easy enough, I gave her a list from which to pick, and Rubirosa came up the winner.  The menu tantalized her for weeks beforehand; every other day I received a new message with another suggestion for something she wanted to eat there, and I agreed – the menu looked like it was tailored entirely to the things she likes to eat.  I was excited. 

Since we were a group of six, and the small pies came with 6 slices each, it was quickly decided we’d order two pizzas to start for sharing, and then our own dishes.  First up was the mushroom pie, with prosciutto, peas and pecorino.  The peas added a nice brightness to the rich pie, but I loved the soft prosciutto melting on top.  And while I’d seen pies being delivered to the tables around us, I’d nervously wondered at the thinness of the crust – I’m pretty against cracker crusts, that’s not pizza, that’s flatbread – but I was happy to note that though the crust was impossibly thin… it was not cracker-like.  It had give to it, while still being super thin.  I have NO idea how they do that! 

The other pie was pesto, with fresh mozzarella and a scattering of cherry tomatoes.  I LOVED this pie; though it was a somewhat warm December evening, the brightness just was so intense, and the pop of the sweet cherry tomatoes with the creamy mozzarella… perfect.  My only complaint would be that I wanted a few more tomatoes – I noticed some slices didn’t have them, or only had one while others had 2 or 3 – but I know they were way out of season.  In any case, I would not hesitate to order this pie again – it was so freaking good.  SO good. 

A few people ordered bruschettas – duck, shrimp & chiles, and meatball.  I heard no complaints about the bruschettas, though I didn’t try any.  Someone said the meatballs were fantastic, and I know people enjoyed the duck one as well. 

Since I love brussels sprouts so much, I added on this side, but unfortunately, they were slightly mushy and overcooked.  It tasted like they were drowning in butter, which is about the last thing I want from my vegetables (no, really; there have been a few times when I cooked all my veggies in butter and it just makes me get very, very sick).  We didn’t finish this. 

CT ordered the veal milanese and based on the moans coming from her side of the table, I would say it did her very well, thanks.  Hahaha.  I don’t know why I didn’t try a bite…

The birthday girl ordered the brick pressed chicken.  I tried some of this and thought it was very tasty, though we both remarked on it being served a bit cold, which put me off.  Tasty, juicy, but… cold. 

TC ordered the black & white tagliatelle – I know he’ll pipe up with his thoughts!  (Thanks!) 

CheeeeEEEEse ordered the pappardelle – which I totally would have ordered, as I LOVE pappardelle, but I had my eye on something else.  I almost regret not getting it because he cleaned his plate – I’m not sure if he licked it clean, because I was at the other end of the table from him, but he held the plate aloft for me to see, completely clean, hahaha.  It must have been goooooood. 

Earlier that day, I’d talked to Noah, who told me that the meatballs were fantastic at Rubirosa.  He mentioned this at least 5 times, so I decided to get spaghetti and meatballs – sounds fabulous! – but unfortunately, my meatballs were cold, and as a result, a bit hard.  Actually, the one I started eating was cold, but when I shared one with someone else later, they said that meatball was fine temperature wise, so I ate that one and it was slightly better.  The pasta itself… well, I don’t like thin noodles, so I was a little disappointed that the pasta wasn’t thick the way I like.  Overall, though, the dish was perfectly tasty- I just wish my meatballs were served hot.  That would have made a world of difference…

Hungry ordered two entrees, FBM represent! – tripe first.  I’m sure she’ll share her opinion – either in comments or a link to her own post?

Her second entree was short rib ravioli.  I tried one and thought it was OK, but everyone else who tried it said it was really good.  Maybe I just have a different set of standards for this… I wanted some more oomph from it. 

Dessert time!  A trio of sorbets for the bday girl, apple, pomegranate and lemon.  We all raved about the apple – it tasted literally like an apple had been blended down, then frozen.  It tasted just like an apple, but super cold.  I really loved that apple sorbet and could totally eat an entire bowl of it.  So refreshing! 

I ordered the trio of gelato – pistachio, mascarpone and salted caramel.  I liked the pistachio best – it tasted like pistachios, bits of them interspersed throughout.  Creamy… the other two flavors were all right but nothing that stood out or made me giggle with glee. 

The last dessert, zeppole with nutella, powdered pillows of warm donut goodness… I thought they were very good, if messy.  I think everyone enjoyed them… we had fun taking turns dipping them and eating them with gelato and sorbet, anyway. 

Our service was great, and the place was casual, fun, and had a good vibe.  Do note that we sat in the back room, away from the crowds out front, because as we exited, all happy and commenting what a great place and great meal we’d just had, I suddenly noted “oh goodness, all the [expletive] hipsters are out front, how annoying” – which could definitely hurt your enjoyment if you have to sit at a table near the bar where they’re all jostling into you…

Yvo says: All of us were very happy and satisfied with our meal, and I am sure I will be back.  Return visits are already being planned by KC and myself, because there are so many other dishes on the menu that we want to try – so good, and a fun place to go with friends for a laidback meal.  While some of the dishes were cold, overall, the food was great, the prices pretty reasonable, and we had a great time.  Yum!
recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: gelato, Pasta, pesto

DLS ordered the fruit tart, which looked really tasty… but I didn’t try any.  As I told him on the spot – fruit tarts are for boring people!  I’m anything but boring. 

Since I’ve written about Veniero’s quite a bit already, I wrote this post mostly just to show off this photo.  I ordered the pistachio tulip or something… I just pointed at the picture they had in the menu.  A thin chocolate shell wrapped around a bland sponge cake, layered with pistachio cream that was a bit too buttery and had too little pistachio taste to it, the dessert was less substance and more show.  That’s more than I can say about a lot of people… at least this one was pretty.  Ha.

As always, though, Veniero’s is a great end to any night. 

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DLS, pastries, tarts

Love the bottles of water they placed on each table with the name of the restaurant on them! 

First up, we were treated to some lovely thin crust pizza that isn’t part of the Feast of the Seven Fishes.  Great start to the night. 

Raviolini di granchio con brodo; crab meat filled pasta served in a seafood broth that bordered on too salty and was overwhelmingly fishy.  Not fishy in a bad-fish way, but the seafood-ness of the broth really slapped you in the face.  A diner at my table remarked that his was cold. 

Insalata di mare; marinated shrimp, calamari, baby octopus, conch, thinly sliced red onion & celery tossed in lemon thyme vinaigrette – easily my favorite dish of the night.  Super light and refreshing, with very fresh seafood, not a wasted bite was left behind.  I really enjoyed this dish. 

Vongole al forno; baked top neck clams stuffed with seasoned bread crumbs & herbs – I was surprised to see such large clams used for baked clams.  I’d have preferred either smaller clams, or to have the clam meat removed and chopped up, mixed into the breading for easier eating.  Maybe that’s personal preference, but these were kind of hard to eat the way they were, and the clams were even a bit overwhelmed by the thick layer of breading.  One of my clams was also pretty fishy… but the flavor of the breadcrumbs was good. 

Linguine con aragosta; pasta tossed with lobster meat, roasted tomato & chilies in white wine, olive oil, garlic & fresh herbs – the pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, and there was plenty of seafood in this dish.  A nice hearty dish after the lighter dishes of earlier. 

Capa santa con cavolini e melagrana; pan-seared sea scallops served with caramelized Brussels sprouts, crispy pancetta & watercress tossed in warm pomegranate vinaigrette – the scallops were cooked perfectly, though served on the cold side – it’s pretty hard to time everything so everyone gets hot food with as large a group as we were.  Another light dish, which was nice to break up the heavier dishes so we wouldn’t feel completely bogged down by all the food! 

Brodetto di pesce; classic Adriatic seafood stew of cod, jumbo prawns, sea scallops, mussels & cockles served in tomato seafood broth – I was pretty full by this point, so barely touched this dish. 

But then it was time for dessert!  Panetone gelati; Milan style holiday cake served with coffee gelato, whipped cream and caramel sauce – the cake was moist and the coffee gelato was really good.  I couldn’t eat too much of this from being so full, but I tried! 

Cannoli con cioccolata; crispy pastry tubes filled with sweetened ricotta, bittersweet chocolate chips served with chocolate sauce.  I couldn’t touch this as I was just way too full by this time, but it looked really pretty and I’m sure was very tasty!

Thanks again to La Bottega for their generosity and hospitality, and to their PR team for inviting me to join them in this lovely meal! 

I attended this meal courtesy of La Bottega’s PR; I received no monetary compensation nor was I obligated to post about it positively or negatively. 

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Feast of the Seven Fishes, press event

We weren’t the only ones who didn’t want to eat turkey again, so we were told it would be about an hour wait. They had a small bar up front where we waited and had some expensive beers. I hope $8 is not the new $6 when it comes to pint drafts.

After what ended up being close to ten minutes, the hostess informed us that our table was ready. Who were to be upset with not having to wait as long?

We decided to start with the Pizza Bianca ($5) and added ricotta for $3 more. I couldn’t think a better way to preview a pizza by just eating it naked. It was light and airy with just a bit of char from the oven. A very light hand was used with olive oil and salt, which was all that it needed.

The fresh ricotta was the perfect accompaniment. Light and cool, perfect with the crusty pizza.

Since it was still a holiday, CT gave in to temptation and orders the Chicken Liver Toast ($4). I was able to snag a small bite without losing a finger. Although I am not a huge liver fan, even I could tell it was a very good preparation.

CT says: I really enjoyed this, as usual. Creamy in texture and just the perfect amount spread on top of the crunchy toast.

To counteract the chicken liver, we also order a salad, Bibb lettuce ($9). It came with roasted butternut squash, pumpkin seeds, lemon, olive oil and sea salt. It was a great salad full of different flavors and textures. I appreciated how it wasn’t drowned in oil. This was quite an elevated Fall-flavored salad.

The first pizza we had was the Meatball ($18). It had tomato, mozzarella, veal meatballs, caramelized onions, olives, aged pecorino and oregano. I was thrown off a bit by whole meatballs on the pizza as I am used to meatball slices on pizza. While it made folding the slice a little more difficult, I was able to appreciate the meatball more this way. It was a very good meatball full of veal deliciousness. The onions and olives brought some good salty sweetness while the tomatoes and cheese added some tanginess. The crust had even more char than the Pizza Bianca, which was welcomed in my book.

Although our stomachs were well stretched out from the Thanksgiving feast and we had a lot of food already, we decided to go lighter on the second pizza.

Rosa ($9) with crushed tomato, garlic, fresh oregano and chili. The waiter warned us when we ordered that the pizza didn’t have cheese on it. I guess a lot of previous customers don’t know how to read a menu and got upset when their pizza didn’t have cheese?

This was also delicious. It reminded me of Pan con Tomate that is a classic Tapa like we had at Boqueria. This would have also made a great appetizer.

CT says: I really enjoyed both pizzas. The toppings were delicious and nicely balanced, not too heavy for the thin crust. I also appreciated the personal size of the pizzas, making it easier to share. I would definitely come back here to try their other pizzas or even eat more of the same.

At that point, we waved the white flag. No dessert for us. I was glad we brought home that last slice or else the walk home would have been pretty painful.

All in all, Company makes a fine pizza. It all starts with the dough and the obviously have plenty of experience with their baking roots. It hasn’t gotten much press recently as it did when it opened, but seems to be still attracting a good business. If you find yourself on far west 23rd street, stop in for a pizza.

© TT for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery