Hiatus!

Just wanted to give you all the head's up that I'll be taking a blogging hiatus until Tuesday as I'll be at the wedding of the year! Don't worry, there will be lots of delicious things to detail when I get back!

Dios mio! Where to begin with Mia Dona...

Hallie's birthday dinner at Mia Dona started out interestingly, to say the least. We waltzed into the space and immediately lowered the average age by 20 years. After we got over the fact that we were dining with our parents in a conservative/modest setting, the wine and prosecco started flowing. The focaccia and sourdough with roasted garlic really set our taste buds in motion.


The appetizers most certainly set the expectation high for the evening. For the four of us, we decided on:
- Arugula & Chicory Salad: fluffy sprigs of arugula tossed lightly with grilled onion, oven dried tomato, aged provolone (critical in this salad), garlic, chianti vinaigrette. Light, flavorful, delicioso!
- Grilled Octopus: super tender - no knife needed! Accompanied by potatoes (not sure if they forgot them), leek, olives, feta, anchovy vinaigrette. Definitely an A+ on this one.
- Baccala: lightly fried cod served alongside of a crispy mild cheese. Not too salty or overly fried.
(Note: the highly touted crispy rabbit had been removed from the menu just 24 hours earlier)

We REALLY enjoyed course numero uno so when our main courses arrived, we were really expected to be catapulted over the moon for this place. Disappointment ensued:

Two orders of ricotta and truffle butter gnudi, the highly recommended pasta dish by several trusted sources just did not deliver. It was too rich and didn't really knock our socks off flavor wise. The balance of the light, fluffy pillows of pasta and crispy speck was completely off. Go to Spotted Pig for a tried and true version.

The florentine meatloaf, served shaped in little cups with room for a lightly boiled egg sitting in each half. The mushroom and beef broth was quite flavorful if a little salty and provided extra moisture for what could have been a potentially dry dish.

Finally, the scallops. The birthday girl, who simply adores a nice scallop, actually laughed in the server's face when he presented her with two scallops in a bowl. Now, I'm no mathematician, but that means that each scallop cost $12, not including tax or tip. I felt bad asking for a taste (essentially a quarter of her meal) so Hallie will just have to leave her comments below.

And dessert: the chocolate semifreddo. A delightfully sweet ending to a bitter main course, this popular Italian dessert combined creamy chocolate ice cream with crunchy pieces of brittle.

Overall, I'm slightly disappointed by Michael Psilakis' new venture with Donatella. I'd probably only return to eat small plates at the bar to refuel post-Bloomingdale's.

Don't read the rants - La Esquina RULES

Despite the fact that our waitress totally pressured us into ordering far more than we could handle, Cara and I happily obliged to maul any plate that came our way.

The stars of the night:
- Tinga de Pollo tostadas: slow-cooked chicken, avocado, chipotle pepper. Very interestingly stacked and lots of fun to eat!
- Braised short ribs special: The waitress seemed overly excited when reading the specials list so we had to try it. The ribs were so tender we didn't even need a knife! Perfectly paired with bok choy and roasted garlic. MMMMM.
- THE GRILLED CORN: By far my favorite of the night. Grilled with chile powder, butter and cotija cheese, if I could have one single food for the rest of my life, this would probs be it.
- Warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and creme fraiche: Delightfully warm in the center and spiked with a touch of cinnamon. Totally unnecessary, totally worth it.

I'd definitely return - no rants about the service or bouncers here!

Crazy few weeks ahead!

My food schedule is getting a little nuts. This week:
- La Esquina tonight: I cannot wait to try the Spanish Sauv Blanc and the taquitos
- Mia Dona tomorrow: Happy Birthday, Halpal!

Next week:
- The Chopping Block: I'm going to be a guest trying the food on a new NBC cooking show!

Week of June 2 (aka week of hetero lifemate reunion):
- Fig and Olive! An old stand by!
- Del Posto: hoping to prove that heaven really is a place on Earth
- Tarallucci: oh how I've missed you!

Week of June 9:
- Scarpetta: Could Scott Conant (of Alto and L'Impero) be my new hero?
- Sarabeth's: an obvious brunch choice with le boy's parents
- Angelo's of Mulberry: taking over Little Italy one bite at a time!

Why I Love Brunch

Brunch is that time of the week that I look forward to every weekend. I can effectively cure my hangover with some eggs, toast, and, if it's really severe, a big fat Bloody Mary.

On Sunday (I know, I'm a bit lackadaisical on posting these days), Lauren and I went to Resto, a Belgian Spotted Pig that's conveniently located around the corner from my new apartment.

I started out with an Americano, Lauren with a cappuccino. Not too bitter, not too frothy. LD had to talk me down from the $12 Bloody Mary ledge but the tables around us really seemed to be enjoying theirs immensely. We decided to split the eggs Benedict and an egg white frittata (wedding in t-minus six days!) and we could not have selected a better brunch.

The Benedict was obviously my favorite since the English muffin was replaced by a sweet, fluffy, perfectly-sized Belgian waffle. The Hollandaise sauce was not too overwhelming and created a thin, smooth layer over the egg. The frittata, surprisingly, was very well seasoned was just bursting with flavor. Both were accompanied by a lightly dressed mixed greens salad - it complemented the heavy Benedict perfectly.

I'll definitely be back to Resto as the fries with dipping sauce and Bloodys looked TO DIE FOR.

Does date night get better than this??

Last night, date night was taken to the extreme since, well, it doesn't really exist when your boyfriend lives in another state. So, celebrating the fact that it was Tuesday night, Lee and I went to BLT Steak for a true New York steakhouse experience.

We probably shouldn't have started out with two drinks each at happy hour as the wine list at BLT is as long as the distance that normally separates LHM and myself. We started off with the sweet, smooth duck liver pate to amuse our palettes as our 2005 Hardin cab sauv, recommended by our sommelier as a full, not too dry, not too sweet cab, arrived.

Soon thereafter, the infamous BLT popover popped on over onto our table and I showed Lee how to pop the top off, smother in butter and salt and then pick apart the airy, light roll. This is definitely my favorite part of the BLT experience.


Since we anticipated the avalanche of steakhouse abundance about come crashing down, we decided on starting out with sharing the crab cake with spicy, stringy cole slaw and a somewhat sweeter remoulade layered over it. The contrast was pleasing although I'm not sure if it would be a repeat order.

The main event: we both ordered the 12 oz. filet - mine medium, his medium+. Although our somewhat pompous waiter repeated Lee's order as medium, our steaks were cooked slightly differently and just as we preferred. I took the smother-herb-butter-all-over-the-steak approach so the meat was extra tender and moist while Lee complained his was somewhat dry.

On the sideline: creamed spinach and Parmesan gnocchi. Lucky for me, Lee and vegetables are like oil and water so I consumer the entire mini cassoulet while he went to work on the gnocchi with a mountain of freshly grated Parmesan cheese covering the firm pillows of cheesy deliciousness. Our only complaint? Give us more than seven or eight, please!

Finally, dessert. Somewhat of a disappointment, as steakhouse desserts are supposed to be over the top and rich. The chocolate brownie cake with vanilla ice cream was super soft in the middle but the abundance of walnuts at the bottom really threw us through a loop. Our favorite of the night? The little warm, soft chocolate button cookie that they delivered with the check - gratis!

I'd give this one an 8 out of 10. Definitely a great date or group spot but definitely not a Luger's by any means.

Before I forget...

I wanted to make a list of all of the places I NEED to try ASAP (well, after my MOH duties and obligations have been fulfilled):
- Insieme (that homemade spinach pasta alone looks worth it)
- Dell'anima (could the wild boar polenta sound any more appealing?!)
- Del Posto (June 4 ressie, will be posting a prolific review thereafter)
- Boqueria (mmm crusty paella...poss for Halpal's bday next week?)
- Mia Dona (Michael Psilakis is a GOD)
- Resto (will be my new 'hood destination)
- The Little Owl (even the name reminds me of the Spotted Pig...too bad they don't have gnudi)
- Centro Vinoteca (Anne Burrell is a goddess. Potential birthday dinner party location!)
- Momofuku Ko (if the stars ever align) or, Ssam, realistically
- 15 East (since, if you know me well enough, I can never consume too much raw fish)
- Peasant (hearty Italian, how can you go wrong?)

So, the next time you ask me where we should go to dinner, refer to this list. I need to maintain my focus!!

Apologies!

I hate to cheapen my blog with non-eventful meals so I've been hesitant to post in the past few days. However, after consuming a sugar-free Jamba Juice for lunch, I have never been more ready to gorge on La Bottega's orgasmic Italian cuisine. Stay tuned tomorrow for the full report.

The burger debate of '08 continues...

As I criss-cross the country in search of the perfect burger, yesterday's lunch time destination proved to be quite a contender as one of the best burgers ever.

The Outlook meeting maker started blinking at 12:15 to remind me that we were oh-so-very-close to Burger Joint's most-perfect burger. Once the clock hit 12:30 we were off and running like the Triple Crown-bred foodies that we are to Le Parker Meridien's Burger Joint.

A decidedly non-trendy, uber-kitschy type joint, Burger Joint is the quintessential dive burger place amidst the wood-paneled offices of Midtown. As "Ride, Sally, Ride" blasted on the stereo and men in suits carried away their greasy brown paper bags filled with deliciousness, we staked out our table and ordered according to the hand-written protocol:
- plain or cheese
- rare, medium-rare, medium, medium-well, well
- tomato, onion, lettuce, pickle, mustard, ketchup, mayo or "THE WORKS"


After a slight mix up between my burger and Karen's "The Works," we began to munch. I ended up with The Works and honestly, I could not have been more pleased with the mixing of the condiments (sorry, Hal) and the crispy pickles, lettuce and thinly sliced red onion. With each bite, I knew this was one of the top burgers I'd ever eaten.

The meat: perfectly charred outside, really moist, flavorful pink inside
The bun: a traditional Arnold's roll that stood up to The Works and didn't crumble one bit on me
The fries: slightly reminiscent of Wendy's - they were perfectly crispy on the outside and super soft on the inside

Net-net, it's one of the top burger's I've ever ingested. Second only to Art's, in Fayetteville, AR, of course.