Il Punto (Press Event)

I recently had the good fortune to attend the grand re-opening of Il Punto in Hell’s Kitchen.  The wine & food flowed freely.

Miniature pig sandwiches greeted myself and AB as we walked in the door.  While the pork was tender, it needed a little salt.

Octopus ceviche atop toast points fared much better, juicy and tasty with a briny kick from both the sea and the little caper.

Assorted cheeses, Italian meats, and veggies were spread on the table.  Oddly, no spoon was available to scoop some dip up onto our plates, but the dip was a watery cucumber-sour cream or yogurt concoction that lacked salt or seasoning of any kind.

That little nibble to the left of the plate was deep fried delicious.  Potato croquette, I believe.

A whole pig was being carved in the back.  Depending on the bits you were served, this ranged from super succulent, juicy fatty and moist, or bone dry.  I was lucky enough to get mostly fatty pieces, though AB remarked that hers were dry and untasty. 

Various breads, breadsticks, more cheese, and olives were spread across another table in the back.

I rather enjoyed everything they offered that was deep fried (zucchini, croquettes of both potato and seafood, crab cakes).  The bread was pretty good as well.

Caprese atop a toast “point” – vibrant and yummy.  Good mozzarella.

AB and I couldn’t agree on the risotto; I found it to be the proper texture, though she claimed hers was way too al dente and was crunchy.  I thought mine was perfect; we’d been served directly one after the other so I will chalk that up to personal taste.  The pastas were a lot more disappointing for me; while the rigatoni with meat sauce was perfectly fine, I thought the pasta was cooked a teensy bit too much.  I’m not a fan of filled pastas in general, but these tortellini were even more disappointing for their lack of flavor. 

I think this was ricotta cheesecake – super light and fluffy, surprisingly not overly sweet.  Not a bad end.

While I realize it sounds like I didn’t like the place, the fact is I just felt it wasn’t organized the best it could be to properly showcase the restaurant’s finest.  It is extremely difficult to serve pasta en masse like that and hit the exact right shade of al dente, especially if it’s sitting over sterno warmers for a time.  I don’t hold any of this against the restaurant and was sufficiently pleased with many of the things I sampled that I will be going back sooner than later to sample a real meal.  (I already know when I’ll be going, actually…)

I can’t give this a rating until then, but I thought I’d share some food porn 😉

9th Avenue, between 38th and 39th Streets