Pinci con Seppie (pasta, cuttlefish, razor clams)
by Celia Cheng
May 27th, 2008
BAR MILANO
323 3rd Ave
@ 24th St
212-683-3035
There are many things to love about Bar Milano, the latest and most ambitious restaurant from the Denton brothers (Jason and Joe of ’ino and ’inoteca) and their partner chefs from ’inoteca and Lupa. For starters, it’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Secondly, the atmosphere is stupendous; relaxed but exquisite, sultry but bright, it’s the perfect mix. The service is professional, and the food is good. Bar Milano is more upscale than Denton’s other venture (and a personal favorite of mine), Lupa, whose food and atmosphere seem almost homestlyle in comparison. And the prices reflect as much.
To avoid the dinner crowds, I’m a fan of lunch at Bar Milano; the menu is the same while I can easily find a seat in the austere dining room or at the 26-seat bar with banquettes and an open view of the corner of 24th Street and 3rd Avenue. Sitting at the bar, listening to the jazz in the background and chatting with the bartender seem like the quintessential New York experience. With a glass of wine in hand and my meal served, I am in a state of bliss.
On my first visit, I tried the insalata di bagna cauda (early spring vegetables tossed in a garlic and anchovy dressing), trota in carpione (pickled trout, beets and horseradish), risotto di aragosta (carnaroli rice with lobster and ramps), and trota con montecato (trout, potatoes and chard). All dishes are arranged elegantly and the flavors subtle. The early spring vegetables, or what I call baby vegetables, were delicate, and though I expected the garlic and anchovy dressing to be heavy in flavor, it was so subtle that I almost forgot it contained these powerhouse ingredients. The tangy flavor of the pickled trout was balanced by the horseradish, and then reiterated by the beets. And the risotto, prepared with longer grain carnaroli rice (rather than aborio grains), was perfectly creamy yet still al dente. The small lobster pieces were tasty and rich without being heavy. But the highlight of this meal was the trout entrée; pan-seared trout paired with smoked trout mashed potatoes and a side of chard dressed with Meyer lemon was just delicious.
All that said, it was only on my second visit that I really fell in love with Bar Milano. I had been dying to try their pastas, so I ordered the homemade pinci with razor clams and cuttlefish and a side of Italian greens. The hand-rolled pinci is rounder and thicker than spaghetti. The consistency matches well with the chewy pieces of cuttlefish and the slices of razor clams (that almost disappear into this dish). Whole, peeled cherry tomatoes add zest and freshness. The flavors bursting in my mouth, I was blown away at first bite!
The only downside was that my solitary lunch of pasta, side of greens and a lovely glass of the NV Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut totaled $57 with tax and tip. Though lunch was relaxing, the bill was not. Since opening, Bar Milano has received much criticism for its pricing, but that’s unlikely to change. “If you build it, they will come.”
Posted in Italian , Murray Hill , Pasta , Seafood
website • menu • reservation • map • tell-a-friend • print • comment
Lesso Misto
by Celia Cheng
September 20th, 2007
INSIEME
777 7th Ave
(50th & 51st St)
212-582-1310
Located in The Michelangelo Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, Insieme stands out as chic and modern in contrast to the rather drab, old school hotel in which it’s housed. The restaurant is relatively small, seating just seventy-five in the main dining room and thirty in the private room downstairs. Though the sliver of a bar at the front of the restaurant is currently not in service, seats will be added and service will start soon. One can survey the entire dining room at a glance. I find the size of the restaurant rather endearing, and the interior modern but comfortable; it’s a bit understated with just the right amount of dim lighting to make you feel at ease.
Chef and co-owner Marco Canora pays tribute to his Italian heritage with a daily menu that is split down the middle with traditional items on the left hand side and contemporary dishes on the right. There’s also a special tasting menu for $85. While I tend to think of myself as a traditional type of girl, my friends and I ordered a good mix of dishes from both sides of the menu. And what we found was that Marco’s ability to fuse traditional with original is remarkable. Though I still have a bias towards the traditional menu, it was hard for my companions and me to say which type of dish was better as it really just came down to each person’s subjective tastes. Items from both sides of the menu warmed our tummies and hearts.
The sardine alle erbe, broiled sardines with breadcrumbs, herbs, garlic and lemon, was such a delight that even Monica, who usually shies away from sardines, found it to be one of her favorite dishes. Any dish that can convert a non-believer is always an indication of true talent. As part of the fish crudo appetizer, the iced cup with diced shima aji and watermelon was nice and refreshing, but the most pleasant surprise came as I dug for more and found a Barron Point oyster at the bottom of the cup — an elegant and winning ending to this subtle, light starter.
Pasta may just be my Achilles heel. We tried the lasagna verde alla Bolognese, spinach pasta with béchamel and meat ragu; linguine con vongole, linguine with clams; potato gnocchi with rock shrimp, braised lobster mushrooms and tarragon; and cocoa pappardelle with wild boar ragu, parmagiano regiano and thyme. There have been several reviews on Insieme, debating the excellence of the lasagna, but having tried a variety of Insieme’s pastas, I’d say that we should retire this argument. Marco’s entire body of work distinguishes him as a master chef, so if I must contribute anything at all to the discussion of his lasagna, I’ll say, let’s not insult him by dwelling on lasagna. The linguine con vongole alone is one of the best I’ve tasted (if I could, I would specialize in pasta with vongole). The key to vongole is how fresh and clean the clams are. The manila and little neck clams are cleaned and snipped so that only the body is left. It’s sweet and juicy without a trace of sand. The potato gnocchi was also tasty but the cocoa pappardelle took second place with rich and distinctive flavors that paired together cohesively.
While I hardly ever make it to the secondi in Italian cuisine as I get stuck on the primi pastas, the main meat dishes at Insieme are not to be missed! The lesso misto, boiled meats with salsa verde, horseradish cream and mustard fruits, is dreamy! There are four different varieties of meat: cotechino (pork sausage), beef cheek, veal tongue and chicken breast. The broth is made from two whole turkeys, fifteen stewing hens and forty pounds of beef shin. The cotechino is poached in the broth then removed. The remaining broth is used to cook the remaining three meats. Chicken tends to be my least favorite meat since it can often be flavorless or overcooked, but the chicken breast in the lesso misto has got to be the best chicken I’ve had in years. It was so soft and tender it nearly melted in my mouth. The arista di maiale arrosto con fagioli, roasted pork loin with beans, sage and garlic, was also juicy and tender, and all the ingredients harmonized with one another adding to a wonderful dinner experience. I’m not sure what Marco is doing to his meats, but it seems that in his hands, they just bow under his direction.
Insieme is not entirely without flaws though. This was my second visit and I did find some inconsistencies in the quality of the food from one visit to the next. However, any dining experience relies heavily on knowing what to order, and I think my choices, with the help of the chef, improved drastically on the second visit. Nonetheless, I did try the lasagna both times, and, again, all I’ll add is that there’s so much more to the menu. The restaurant only opened in April, so inconsistencies are to be expected and need some time to be ironed out. Especially based on this latest visit, I have no doubt that I will be returning to try more meats and fulfill my linguine con vongole craving.
Posted in Italian , Meat , Midtown West
website • menu • reservation • map • tell-a-friend • print
Stuzzichini Misti (selection of five appetizers)
by Celia Cheng
August 30th, 2007
It doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s blazing hot or abnormally cold; the weather this month has not affected my appetite in the least bit. It’s been another full month of non-stop eating. I’ve had the chance to try a dozen restaurants, old and new, that have been on my list. Here are three more quick highlights for August:
Bar Stuzzichini
928 Broadway
(21st & 22nd St)
212-780-5100
The stuzzichini (small plate appetizers) at this new Flat Iron district Italian restaurant are actually quite good, but the size of the restaurant can be distracting and the service consistently sloppy. It feels more like a dining hall than a nice restaurant. Sitting at the marble-topped dining bar could’ve been just as delightful as the dining bar at Bellavitae, but, unfortunately, Bar Stuzzichini lacks the intimacy and comfort, and the large restaurant atmosphere sadly detracts from the otherwise perfectly good stuzzichinis. The pastas are descent but not exceptional and desserts not too interesting. My recommendation is to sit at the bar and have the stuzzichini misti — one of each from the five categories: fritti (fried), verdure (vegetables), pesce (seafood), formaggi (cheeses), and salumi (cured meats). Ordered individually, each appetizer ranges from $5 to $10, but the misti is a bargain at $22. The arancini (fried rice balls) are wonderfully crunchy on the outside and gooey inside, and the scamorza alla brace (grilled scamorza cheese — a type of dried and cured mozzarella) is scrumptious. It seems to me that happy hour at Bar Stuzzichini for some snacks may be the way to go.
Rose Water
787 Union St
(5th & 6th Ave)
Park Slope, Brooklyn
718-783-3800
website
Rose Water is a foodie haven in Park Slope. The seasonal menu focuses on quality ingredients, the service is always pleasant, and the prices are fair. At a recent dinner, the sweet corn risotto with oyster mushrooms, zucchini, pickled onions and herbs stood out as an extremely savory combination. The weekend prix-fixe brunch at $13 is also very worthwhile and includes an entrée and a drink. It’s an unbeatable deal. This past weekend, I was happy as a clam after having the poached eggs on flat grilled corn cakes, served with plum sauce and accompanied by a feta, spinach and grilled cherry tomato salad — a special so it was $15 instead of $13 — and a glass of fresh watermelon peach juice. Rose Water is yet another great Park Slope neighborhood restaurant.
Sfoglia
1402 Lexington Ave
@ 92nd St
212-831-1402
website
Trying to get a dinner reservation at Sfoglia is a real challenge, as they seem to be booked six-weeks in advance. It’s no wonder, since Sfoglia is small, with only ten tables and a bar, and the food is simple and good. If your schedule is flexible, though, there is the option of lunch, which is rather quiet. Several of the regulars eating alone at the bar treat Sfolgia like a neighborhood café, bringing reading or writing material and leisurely enjoying their meals. The homemade bread is served fresh and warm! It’s like country bread with a dash of sea salt seasoning; the outer crust is crunchy but not too hard or thick, and the bread inside is white and fluffy. The frittata of the day (fennel, cipollini onions and parmesan on the day of my lunch) seemed a popular choice amongst the bar diners, so I tried it and decided that on my next visit that would be all I’d need for lunch. Naturally I couldn’t pass up the scialatelli (a thicker version of spaghetti), roasted cherry tomatoes, bottarga di muggine (dried grey mullet fish roe), parsley and garlic. The scialatelli is a meatier pasta and worked well with the sweet roasted cherry tomatoes and bottarga. The pappardelle alla Bolognese sounded great with ground pork, veal and chicken liver and fresh hand-cut sheets of papparadelle, but alas the dish was over-salted and thus disappointing. Nevertheless, Sfoglia is a rustic gem, a sliver of a restaurant on the UES that I will happily return to for lunch. It’s a place where you can relax and find peace of mind, if you can take the time.
Posted in American , Appetizer , Brunch , Flat Iron District , Italian , Park Slope , Small Plates , UES
menu • reservation • map • tell-a-friend • print • comment
Meatball Parmigiana Sandwich
by Celia Cheng
May 17th, 2007
FRANKIES SPUNTINO
17 Clinton St
(Houston & Stanton St)
212-253-2303
It’s been a while since I deliberately went out for an evening of restaurant crawling, but what else can you do when you really crave one thing but also want to try something else?! I don’t believe in choosing, and tend to end up eating two or three meals. It’s particularly fun when you can do this with girlfriends of the same mind set, so Jennie, Monica and I embarked on an evening of four rounds on Clinton Street. The intent was to try Frankies Spuntino, but the small twenty-plus seat restaurant doesn’t take reservations. While waiting, we’d start the evening with a light meal at Falai, one of our favorites, and then move on to Frankies when it was ready for us. We were having so much fun at Falai that we ate and drank more than planned, and since a forty-minute wait at Frankies turned into a two-hour wait, we stopped in at Cube 63 — across the street from Falai — with a bottle of sake and had some seared white tuna and volcano rolls in the interim. We finally started our main meal at Frankies at 10pm before returning to Falai at 11pm for dessert.
Normally, this would be the part where I start ranting about a two-hour wait for a simple eatery with a lot of attitude. Maybe it was the amount of alcohol I had consumed by that point, but I wasn’t really mad. And I enjoyed the food so much I didn’t mind, but of course, this was an unusual evening, and I wouldn’t have been so forgiving had I not already had two meals.
This was my first visit to Frankies, and I’ve never been to the original in Carroll Gardens. Frankies serves rustically straightforward Italian-American fare at extremely reasonable prices. Everything we had, from the fennel, celery root and parsley salad with red onions and lemon, the cremini mushroom and truffle oil crostini to the meatball parmigiana sandwich reflected the simplicity yet downright goodness in Frankies’ home-style cooking. There are no tricks up its sleeves but the flavors speak for themselves. I was particularly enamored with the side order of cauliflower. Roasted in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper, the natural process caramelizes the vegetable slightly so there is a tinge of sweetness, but it’s entirely refreshing and addictive in a way the artificial addition of sugar could never produce. The meatball parm sandwich, as all the sandwiches on the menu, is served on the delicious rosemary bread from Sullivan Bakery.
(The article continues below in Falai’s Panna Cotta post.)
Posted in American , Italian , LES , Meat , Sandwich
Panna Cotta
by Celia Cheng
May 17th, 2007
FALAI
68 Clinton St
(Stanton & Rivington St)
212-253-1960
(This article is the continuation of a larger piece that starts in the above Frankies Spuntino’s Meatball Parmigiana Sandwich post.)
In contrast, our starting and ending meal at Falai was on the opposite spectrum of refined and studied Italian cuisine. Falai has recently switched to its spring menu and is currently serving crudo of nairagi — a.k.a. marlin or a’u — from Hawaii. Light and extremely fresh. The gnudi — doughless ricotta cheese and baby spinach dumplings — were voted best in town by New York Magazine for a reason. They are larger in size than I had expected, little domes sitting like small scoops of ice cream in a butter, cream and sage sauce. As a pasta dish, it is incredibly light, despite the cheese, cream and butter, but I had filled up on several pieces of homemade black-cabbage rolls and onion rolls.
For dessert, Falai’s deconstructed version of tiramisu made me think. Unlike the oversaturated and traditional tiramisu with ladyfingers, espresso and other ingredients mixed and layered, Falai’s version has the ingredients placed separately on the plate, with espresso then poured over them, so you can play with the proportions as you please. It’s rather unconventional, and I was a bit apprehensive at first, but then realized that this is much more amusing and thought provoking. However, my pick for dessert is the panna cotta with dried strawberries in orzata — an Italian almond syrup — foam and cocoa butter. It was delicate, precious and stellar!
The evening reminded me why the Lower East Side and particularly Clinton Street stands apart from other areas from a culinary standpoint — where else in the City can you have such a fun and diverse culinary extravaganza within a one-block radius? With more time and a larger appetite I could have hit many more restaurants on the street or in the area, but even the glutton in me knows that it’s best we leave that for another time.
Posted in Dessert , Italian , LES , Pasta
website • menu • reservation • map • tell-a-friend • print • comment
