Category — Restaurants

ButcherSauce from "The Italian Slow Cooker"

All you can eat pasta is not what you might expect at an upscale restaurant like Locanda Verde, but for the past three Mondays, Chef Andrew Carmellini has transformed the private dining room  into an old time trattoria with a set menu of antipasto, several pastas and dessert.   When Charles and I and a group of friends arrived this Monday, we were shown to the warm and rustic private dining room at the rear of the restaurant.  It was decorated with wheels of Parmigiano, giant tins of imported Coluccio brand Italian DOP tomatoes, red checked table cloths, and candle dripped Chianti bottles to look like an old time trattoria.   We sat at a big wooden farmhouse table, ordered some wine and the parade of antipasti began.  Meatball sliders, fresh mozzarella drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, mortadella from Emilia Romagna, fried eggplants in vinegar and garlic, and a crisp Caesar-type salad topped with fat anchovies were all passed around the table and quickly gobbled up.

Then came the pastas, the moment we were all waiting for.  Tender fresh ravioli with a creamy ricotta cheese filling and light mushroom sauce, called My Mother’s Ravioli on the menu, were the first to arrive, dished out from a large platter by our waiter.  Penne Ricche with Ragu Pugliese made with tomatoes, ground lamb and mint was next, and then my favorite, or maybe my second favorite, gigantoni, similar to paccheri but with ridges and a tasty pork ragu.

I thought they were coming to clear our dinner plates, but the waitstaff appeared with a fourth pasta, Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe pesto, olives, pine nuts and raisins.  The orecchiette, which I learned later were made by a company called La Bottega and sold, like many of the other ingredients of our meal, at D. Coluccio & Sons in Brooklyn, were so good they seemed like home made.   I was impressed at how well all of the pastas were cooked al dente — not an easy feat under the circumstances.

Charles ordered a perfect wine to go with the meal, Grifalco Aglianico del Vulture.  It was hearty and spicy and stood up to all of the different flavors in the antipasto and pastas.  We ended with big bowls of Citrus Tiramisu and espresso.

Locanda Verde’s pastapalooza was a lot of fun, especially for a group.  There is one more pasta dnner scheduled for Tuesday, March 2.  Just make sure you go hungry.

Hot zeppole on a cold winter’s day — how could I say no?  Charles and I went to Mia Dona yesterday to meet our old friends Rob and Linda for lunch and we had lots of catching up to do.  Between toasting the New Year and conversation, I ordered a creamy cauliflower soup topped with a dab of bright green arugula pesto — just what I was in the mood for.

Next came grilled mahimahi with artichokes drizzled with a lemony caper sauce served with olive oil crushed potatoes.  Meanwhile, Charles was just about swooning over the homemade cavatelli with meaty Sunday Ragu and a hefty chunk of pork brasciole.  Since my restaurant week lunch included dessert, I opted for the limoncello cheesecake.  Feelling pretty full,  I was happy to share it with everyone.   But the zeppole changed all that.

Donatella Arpaia, who owns Mia Dona, is an old friend and knows how much I love zeppole, and wouldn’t let us leave without some.

For me, zeppole are a reminder of Sunday nights when I was a kid. Since we always had the full on Italian American Sunday lunch experience with pasta, meat, vegetables, and usually pastry for dessert, we would typically skip dinner, or my mom would make us a little treat.   I always asked for zeppole.  Just before Ed Sullivan came on, she would fry up a big batch and drop them into a brown paper bag with cinnamon sugar.  Then she would shake the bag until the zeppole were completely coated. The bag would get all greasy and the doughnuts, because that is what they really are, would come out crunchy with sugar and spice. We’d eat them right away, fresh and hot and light as a feather, while we watched Topo Gigio or Senor Wences.

Anyway, the zeppole at Mia Dona were quite possibly even better than my mom’s.  We ate them so fast, I didn’t even get a chance to snap a picture! You will just have to go there yourself and try them.

Mia Dona is located on 58th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.  They are open for lunch and dinner and the menu features the simple cooking of the Puglia region of Itay.

Imagine the densest, chocolatiest ice cream you have ever eaten.  Then think what it would be like if it were hot and served liquid in a cup, maybe topped with some cold,  whipped sweet cream.  That’s what you get when you order chocolat chaud in Paris or cioccolato caldo in Milan. A cup of molten heaven, it  almost makes a winter day bearable.

It’s not easy to find that kind of hot chocolate here in New York, so Charles and I were delighted to find that a Burdick Cafe and Chocolate Shop (www.burdickchocolate.com) had opened a few blocks away.  Charles remembers meeting the owner, Larry Burdick years ago when he would come to the shop where Charles worked to buy the finest liqueurs to flavor his hand made chocolates.  His signature chocolates were shaped like sweet little mice with pretty silk tails.   Sure enough, you can still buy them at the shop, as well as bars and bite size filled chocolates.  But we were there for a cup of hot chocolate.  I ordered the dark chocolate, and what a treat it was!   Did it transport me to Angelina’s in Paris?  Not quite, but it was delicious all the same — dark and dense with a slightly bitter edge.  Hot chocolate for grown-ups.

The cafe has a few small tables where you can sit and relax.  I can’t imagine why, but there are alternatives beverages like coffee and hot milk as well as cold drinks. And that’s not all.   The pastries looked amazing, but after sipping the molten chocolate, I decided to save them for another time.  All I can say is, it’s a good thing they don’t have croissants or I would have a hard time staying away from the place.

Tony May slicing culatello

With the opening of their new restaurant SD26, father-and-daughter team Tony and Marisa May have brought their upscale and sophisticated approach to Italian dining to Madison Square Park.

Designed by the renowned Massimo Vignelli, the glamorous 14,000 square foot space has three levels.  At the entrance is a wine bar and lounge area, while the dining room and open kitchen are at the back.  The décor is simple with colorful fabric sculptures on the walls and suspended from the ceilings.  A private party space is located on a mezzanine above while the cantina, a cozy dining room in the wine cellar, is on the floor below.

Speaking of wine, the restaurant boasts an enormous list, which diners can access on a hand-held electronic device that is brought to the table instead of a traditional printed wine list.  It’s a good idea that I am sure will work out just fine once everybody figures out how to use it.

As at the Mays’ former restaurant, San Domenico, Odette Fada is the chef at SD26.  From our table near the cheese board and bright red salumi slicing machine, I could see Odette busily overseeing the kitchen operations. Tony came by and insisted we try some culatello, the choicest part of the prosciutto, which he then sliced for us himself.  He was right.  The culatello was tender, sweet, mellow — and expertly sliced.

I resisted the urge to order my old favorite from San Domenico, the poached egg stuffed raviolo, and opted instead for the rich and gamy pappardelle with boar ragu.  Charles loved the meltingly tender beef cheeks braised in red wine while I enjoyed baccala prepared three ways.  We ended the meal with a pistachio cake and poached figs.

We tasted only a few of the dishes on the menu, but we are looking forward to returning.  I can’t wait to sample some of the unusual cheeses that Marisa told us no other restaurant in the city has.  And, of course, another plate of culatello sliced by Tony.