Bar Milano

I recently visited Bar Milano, the latest in the Denton Brothers’ ventures.  An interesting and bright space on 24th and 3rd Avenue, I was easily able to make reservations for a Sunday evening, 6:30 pm, only a few days’ prior. 

As we approached, I noted how discreet the entire place appeared to be; the entrance looked more like an office building foyer than a trendy restaurant.

Since my boyfriend and I were celebrating a couple of things, we decided to go all out and order whatever we wanted, a bit of gluttony won’t kill him, and I can stand to use a little extra gym time for it. 

I opted to start off with the scallop carpaccio, topped with uni and meyer lemon. 

Though I found the flavors wonderfully complimentary, the texture really threw me.  The creamy uni (sea urchin roe) with the mashed scallops were a great pair, but the thyme leaves sprinkled on top, along with the meyer lemon zest and crunchy sea salt really threw off the balance.  It was almost unpleasant, the crunch jarring the smooth mouth feel of the uni and scallops.  Overall, a good dish with well selected ingredients, but I didn’t like the texture of the thyme- it really detracted from the experience.

A blurry photo of BF’s ricotta and chard filled pasta.  I know he enjoyed it but wasn’t overwhelmingly impressed… the chunks of tomato strewn throughout were a bonus in his mind, and he liked that a lot as well (and I’ve been cooking like that lately, though I started before we went here).  His only complaint for this dish was that he wished there was more filling inside.

For my primi, or first course, I chose tagliatelle alla bolognese.  Since the first time I’ve had tagliatelle alla bolognese, when I see it on a menu, I almost instinctively want to order it, because it’s so yummy.  Thick, hand-pulled pasta noodles, with a hearty meat sauce… ahhh, I just love it, how it soothes that deep part of your body that just wants comfort food.  This was a standard execution, the noodles not quite done, not even al dente… something was just off.  I enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t say it WOW’d me. 

BF ordered the veal chop, which I know he really liked, the veal was juicy, tender, and extremely flavorful.  I tried a piece and also thought it was really good, just right.

As for myself, my pork chop with mustard fruit atop escarole (shcarole, if you’re so inclined) was juicy and cooked nicely as well, but the pork chop itself lacked flavor.  There were no salt shakers on the table (of course not!), the pork chop just… didn’t have any oomph.  However, a bite of pork chop coupled with a bite of mustard fruit was good, though there wasn’t enough of the mustard fruit to go around and save the entire chop. 

To end the meal, since none of the desserts appealed to us, we asked for the check.   One of the Denton brothers brought our check along with these cute little hazelnut chocolates.

A nice end to a nice meal, but overall, nothing outstanding, and considering how many dishes we’d ordered, neither of us were full.  We were sated, but both of us got hungry quickly after (what is this, the next Chinese food?- for these prices… no thanks!). 

Yvo says: The decor was nice, ambiance nice, service good, but notice the lack of superlatives (in either direction) here?  It wasn’t anything outstanding nor awful, but just … nice.  Average at best.  A little below at worst.  Considering that the above, plus two glasses of wine ($14 apiece), tax and a generous tip cost us $175, I don’t think I’ll be going back.  I would much rather go to ‘ino, have a couple of panini or tramezzini, pay $15ish or so, and call it a day.  I’ll pay through the nose for excellent food, but I refuse to pay high prices for mediocre food. 
very middle of the road; go if you really love going to the latest trendy place, otherwise, mehhh