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.
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