Terroir Murray Hill

Occasion: Spur-of-the-moment tapas crawl with my shenanigan buddy Yining
Location: Terroir on Third between 30th and 31st (wineisterroir.com)
Edibles: Breaded and deep-fried lamb sausage; beet salad

Musings: Hey! There's a Terroir three blocks from me! The original location is lovely, but too crowded on a regular basis and too far to be a regular hangout for me.

The new Murray Hill location has more seats and it's not too crazy yet - though it's only the opening weekend so who knows what it'll be like in a few months. (Since the meatheads found Hofbrau, it's been a complete madhouse.)

Food's good. Serving sizes aren't huge - they're really just to munch on while you drink. Be prepared to spend a lot if you're wanting the equivalent of a full dinner.

A note on the wine: They pour pretty generously on their tasting size. At half the price, Yining's tasting was just a splash less than my (supposedly) full pour. Happy hour prices are great - $6 for their wines by the glass ($3-4 less than regular prices) and free tastings of sherry. BUT... it's only until 6:00. I get out of work earlier than anyone else I know, and even I would be hard-pressed to make it there in time.

[Postscript 2/3/12: The friseé salad with duck confit, shallots and gorgonzola is AMAZING. They were warming up some duck and I literally smelled the delicious aroma from fifteen feet away. Of course, I had to have some.]

La Follia

Occasion: Drinks with Amy... that sort of slid into dinner.
Location: La Follia on Third between 19th and 20th
Edibles: prosciutto, caponata, and burrata crostini to start; then we shared an arugula salad and the pappardelle with braised pork ragu

Musings: La Follia has a good selection of wines by the glass, and the food is very cheap compared to the likes of Bar Jamón. The prosciutto, caponata, and burrata crostini (two pieces of it) were all $6 a plate. It's good, too. I particularly liked the caponata, which had a few more ingredients than the standard version, but tasted wonderfully bright and fruity.

The pappardelle is also worth a mention. A mere $15, the homemade pasta is great and they're generous to a fault ladling the sauce on.

The décor is understated but classy, and it looks like a place for adults. Hopefully, that will keep the NYU hooligans at bay. I did see a lot of banker-looking guys, but I guess that's not too surprising considering the proximity to Credit Suisse.

In general, a nice addition to the neighborhood. If only it was ten blocks further north....

Part II, 5/2: I came back here for dinner with Mamie after an anniversary showing of Top Gun at AMC Village 7. I ordered a bunch of the same stuff - can't resist caponata! - but Mamie got the salmon main. I can report that it was masterfully done - a gorgeous, tender piece of fish with a nice hard sear on the skin.

I'm really liking this place. Hope they can keep their quality up and their prices where they are.

Eataly

Occasion: Dinner with Josh
Location: Pasta / Pizza station at Eataly, on 5th between 23rd and 24th (newyork.eataly.it)
Edibles: Fettucine with oxtail ragu for me; pesto lasagna for Josh; tiramisu and gelato for dessert

Musings: After two failed visits (driven out by the crowds and long waits both times), I finally managed to eat here. The trick is clearly to come early - like, 5 or 6pm - and on a weekday.

As it was a cold and dreary walk over, my first thought was to get me some carbs. Off to the Pasta / Pizza station. We had a short wait for our table, and passed the time by wandering around. There's plenty to browse and drool over, so the wait is not a complete chore. And there are samples to be had! I nibbled on some celery root shavings with olive oil.

Our meal at Pasta / Pizza was pretty good overall. To start, I was pleased that they do a generous pour on the wine, and that there were lots of choices sub-$10.

A small step backward with the antipasto plate. It's not cheap at $13 and the portions of each are miniscule. I'd not get this again.

Really good, fresh, al dente noodles. My fettucine was crying out for some grated cheese, but it was never offered. I also stuck my fork in Josh's plate, and while I liked the flavor of the lasagna, it's pretty heavy with béchamel and a whole plate would have been too much for me.

We left Pasta / Pizza for dessert. I got a scoop of pear and vanilla at the gelato stand - $5 a pop for a small cup. It got a little cloying towards the end, but the flavor is really unique and memorable. Josh's chocolate was nice too, but you can get the same thing at any number of places.

I also got a divine tiramisu cup - just couldn't resist. $6.

Eataly has a casual, marketplace ambiance, but you'll probably end up spending as much as if you went to a proper restaurant. I'd definitely come back to try the seafood place, and the vegetable place. It'd also be good for dessert and coffee, maybe after a Shack burger.

Lupa, part II

Occasion: Dinner with Elizabeth
Location: Lupa on Thompson between Houston and Bleecker (luparestaurant.com)
Edibles: We shared little dishes of broccoli rabe with ricotta, beets with pistachio sauce and sautéed summer squash and zucchini to start; I had the fresh pea pasta for my main; Elizabeth had the spaghetti amatriciana

Musings: I've raved about Lupa before - see the older review here. But I just wanted to add a little additional gushing about the broccoli rabe (the ricotta was the perfect flavor to offset the bitterness of the veg) and my pasta. I'm not usually one to describe food as tasting like colors and feelings and whatnot, but that pasta just tasted so vibrantly green and spring-like, I don't know how else to describe it. Bliss!

By the way, Travertine, let Lupa show you how to serve a proper quartino of wine.

Travertine

Occasion: Dinner with PA.... ultimately without PA. Let's just say we had some logistical difficulties.
Location: Travertine on Kenmare between Bowery and Delancey (travertinenyc.com)
Edibles: Elizabeth and I shared the gnocchi with braised pork shoulder and crackling to start, then I had the skirt steak and she had the prosciutto-wrapped cod; Abby had the garganelli with morels and sugar snaps

Musings: I'll start with a disclaimer that this is not the most objective of reviews. We all arrived grumpy because of the scheduling snafus with PA, and the restaurant did nothing to improve our moods.

Even before the food arrived, things were rubbing me the wrong way. Everything from the Twilight décor, complete with black crystal chandeliers, to the bored aspiring models they'd hired as waitresses. Our table, too small for three people, with my chair positioned six inches from some steps. Everything irked me.

Their pricey wines are listed as quartinos, defined as little carafes holding 8 oz., almost twice the standard New York pour. I was served a fairly miserly amount in a glass, with no carafe. When asked, the waitress insisted that the pour was a quartino and I just couldn't tell because their wine glasses are bigger. Complete BS.

The food was pretty uneven. The gnocchi were about twice the size they should have been, dense and pasty as a result. (Even crackling couldn't save it!) The prosciutto on Elizabeth's cod was soggy and the portion was tiny. Abby's garganelli, supposedly voted the best pasta in the city (by who?), was good but not great. The skirt steak, I'll admit, was pretty tasty.

My inclination is to write this place off completely as expensive and mediocre. Anyone out there think I need to give Travertine another try?

Terrior, part II

Occasion: Drinks with James
Location: Terroir on E 12th at 1st Ave (wineisterroir.com)
Edibles: prosciutto; marinated cremini mushrooms; beet and orange salad; olive oil cake with rhubarb compote

Musings: Not as stellar a performance as on my first visit. I was a little miffed that the chef wouldn't share the secret fritata she had stashed in the oven, and the rhubarb was strangely salty and slimy (though both the waiter and the chef swore up and down that was how it was supposed to taste.)

Uva

Occasion: Pre-Brandy's dinner with Rebecca, Tessa and Dale
Location: Uva on 2nd between 77th and 78th (uvawinebar.com)
Edibles: to start, we shared a burrata with yellow tomatoes, fava beans and a balsamic glaze (I continue to be obsessed with burrata); I had the beet salad; Dale had the chicken salad; Rebecca had the cavatelli al pesto; Tessa had the ravioli; we passed around a slice of girella al cioccolato (chocolate-hazelnut cake) for dessert

Musings: Location is everything. A place like Uva with a decent atmosphere and decent food would probably survive okay in the crowded field of the LES. But out in the barrens of the UES, it's packed to the rafters.

I don't think I've ever been here for an evening that didn't include Brandy's (one of my happy places, along with the shoe department at Bergdorf's). But though I wouldn't go out of my way to come here, they do make a decent showing. The wine list is long and varied. Our dishes were flavorful and all of the portions were generous. I was particularly impressed by Rebecca's cavatelli - the pasta was nicely plump and tasted homemade to me. And the cake was divine.

Veritas

Occasion: Pre-movie (Alice in Wonderland) dinner with James
Location: Veritas on 20th between B'way and Park Ave S (veritas-nyc.com)
Edibles: so many yummy things - described in detail below

Musings: Been on my To Do list for ages, and it did not disappoint. Dinner here is an Event.

The wine list, the restaurant's proudest achievement, is a daunting volume filled with hundreds of choices. It was mostly wasted on me. I was very happy to abdicate the choice of wine to James, and found our bottle of medium-bodied red tasty enough.

The food... now that, I did appreciate.

Amuse bouche: An artistically-presented trio of crab wrapped in cucumber with mango sauce, cucumber cream with shrimp and mango, and cucumber sorbet. Dainty and delicious, though obviously designed for warmer weather than we had that dreary day. I guess the chef is longing for spring just like the rest of us!

Appetizer: On the waiter's recommendation, I made a last minute switch from the scallop salad to the lobster nage. (Thanks to him for the great advice!) The lobster sauce was so incredibly rich and savory - like the essence of a thousand lobsters distilled into a few spoonfuls of liquid bliss. Fantastic! James was kind enough to share one of his crispy frog legs with me. I was as happy to eat it as I usually am to eat things that are deep-fried, but I thought the flavor of the meat got lost in the crunch and the oiliness.

Main: The veal chop, medium rare. It's a Flintstonian-looking chop, but thankfully carved down to a few perfectly pink slices for each of us. The meat was so unbelievably tender that it actually creased where one slice lay against another. Best veal I've ever had, full stop. On the side was a whimiscal truffled pastina.

Pre-dessert: a tiny rhubarb tart and a diminutive strawberry shortcake

Dessert: A slightly weaker course. I had the honey tangerine panna cotta. The flavor was good but the panna cotta was tough from too much gelatin, and the tuile cookie tasted stale. Maybe the cheese plate would have been a better choice.

All in all, I was very impressed. The chef demonstrated real mastery of his craft.

Stonehome Wine Bar, part II

Occasion: Drinks with Liz, Jana and Olivia
Location: Stonehome Wine Bar on Lafayette Ave between Elliot Place and Portland Ave in Brooklyn (stonehomewinebar.com)
Edibles: gingerbread cake

Musings: Another brief encounter with Stonehome. We were looking for a mellow place to have some wine and chat, and Stonehome really fit the bill - bustling but not loud or crowded, with nice glowy indirect lighting. The bar was full, but we managed to finagle a table after some negotiations with the waitress. A fortunate happenstance, since I wouldn't have ordered dessert otherwise. AMAZING gingerbread cake.

Bar Jamón

Occasion: A drink and a snack with Elizabeth
Location: Bar Jamón on 17th and Irving, just around the corner from Casa Mono (barjamonnyc.com)
Edibles: tortilla española and cured tuna with gazpacho salad

Musings: A great place to hang out - if can you can get in. It's a little dark cubby of a bar, seating about fifteen. It was blessedly not too crowded tonight. I believe it was originally intended as a sort of waiting room for Casa Mono, but I come to Bar Jamón all the time, completely unrelated to Casa Mono.

Elizabeth and I did some catching up over quartinos of wine. Wine-wise, the selection is not very broad but I'm pretty easygoing - give me a decent white that's not Chardonnay and I'll call it a day.

She'd already eaten so I had the food all to myself. The tortilla was a generous enough portion for $7. Good, but a little bit dense and dry. The tuna dish was a great concept and was seasoned perfectly with just the right amount of acid; unfortunately the tuna itself was a little rubbery - either cured way too long, or cooked through first and then marinated. I would have gone with more of a ceviche style.

Minor critiques aside, it was a nice, light dinner and a great way to decompress after a busy day. I'm sure I'll be back soon.

L'Artusi

Occasion: Birthday dinner for Elizabeth
Location: L'Artusi on W 10th between Hudson and Bleecker (lartusi.com)
Edibles: I had the scallop crudo, followed by the grilled quail with pancetta and sweet potatoes; Elizabeth had the bucatini with pancetta and tomato, and the braised pork special; Abby had the pizzocheri (a pasta dish with brussels sprouts, fontina and sage)

Musings: I'd love to know what the decorator was going for. The interior screams hip and trendy for sure, but also struck me as sort of Pottery Barn meets Abercrombie, which I doubt was the intent. There is a lovely private-ish area upstairs, framed by racks of wine and more brightly lit than the rest of the tables, perfect for a larger group.

The food was good overall, if somewhat overpriced. My crudo, for example, was wonderfully fresh and delicate. But the slices probably didn't amount to more than one whole scallop, so it was pricey at $13. The quail sat in a fantastic broth. Unfortunately, the chef used too heavy a hand with the rosemary and not enough of one with the salt. Abby's "pasta" had good flavors; texture-wise, it seemed more like a cheesy dip than a noodle dish. But maybe you're into that.

Stonehome Wine Bar

Occasion: Pre-theatre (A Streetcar Named Desire) dinner with Kristina

Location: Stonehome Wine Bar on Lafayette Ave between Elliot Place and Portland Ave in Brooklyn (stonehomewinebar.com)

Edibles: tagliatelle with mushrooms for both of us (no time for an app, according to the waiter)

Musings: The space is narrow and cosy with perfect date lighting, and just a few blocks from BAM's Harvey Theatre. I feel like I only had a quick how-de-do with this place but I'm excited for my second visit, whenever that may be. The pasta was terrific, the wine was exactly what I asked for, and the French press coffee at the end was just the thing to stave off sleepiness during the show.

I really do think we could have fit two courses in (after all, you can sear a scallop in three minutes), but that's just a quibble.

Finca Adalgisa

Occasion: A quiet dinner at our boutique hotel
Location: Finca Adalgisa in Mendoza (fincaadalgisa.com.ar)
Edibles: informal tapas dinner - spicy artichoke hearts; goat cheese sampler; jamón; lots of bread and house wine

Musings: We stayed at two boutique hotels in Mendoza, Lares de Chacras and Finca Adalgisa. They were about five minutes apart, in a neighborhood that was basically a nice suburb. Of the two, I liked Lares de Chacras better - bigger, more charming room and cheaper rates - but Elizabeth liked Finca Adalgisa better for the atmosphere and food.

Finca Adalgisa is ostensibly on a vineyard, but that "vineyard" is a bunch of grapevines in the house's backyard. They make some table wine once every few years but mostly sell their grapes to real winemakers. While I enjoyed our stay, I thought their advertising bordered on fraudulent.

They do have a very lovely Greek-influenced sunroom where we spent a lazy evening nibbling on simple tapas and playing Scrabble (with a letter distribution based on Spanish - tricky). [Coincidentally, we ran into some guys who had been on the ferry with us to Colónia. They contribued their two cents on some disputed Scrabble words, but didn't help us much as they were split themselves. Later, I was vindicated by Merriam-Webster online.]

O. Fournier Winery

Occasion: Wine tour lunch
Location: O. Fournier winery in Mendoza (ofournier.com)
Edibles: crispy pastry over caper cream; sliced, deep-fried eggplant with croutons and a tomato sauce; choice of lemon risotto with ginger and cherry tomatoes or steak with blue cheese; orange sorbet and a molten chocolate cake with coffee ice-cream and almond foam for dessert; and, of course, a selection of O. Fournier's wines to pair

Musings: After touring the Salentein and Andeluna wineries, the finale of our Ampora wine tour was lunch at O. Fournier. O. Fournier is a modern and high tech winery, but its owners also place a high premium on aesthetics: the main building (first picture) has won awards for its architecture, and the dining room (pictured above) was designed to offer a stunning panorama while you eat.

The lunch we had was extravagant and absolutely up to the high standards of the winery and the surroundings! While the style of the food was a little gimicky and molecular-gastronomic for my taste, I greatly enjoyed the lunch and we were all completely stuffed when we were done.

You could really tell that the head chef (who I believe is the owner's wife) was intellectually curious about food and prepared everything that came out of the kitchen with love and care. Our tour guide Myfanwy (Welsh, pronounced mee-van-wee - it gave me problems all day) asked for a simple salad instead of the offered mains and got an artistically-arranged, colorful plate of veggies with all manner of flourishes and garnishes.

I must point out that the steak was the superior main course option, as evidenced by the fact that the steak-eaters (myself included, naturally) trounced the risotto-eaters in cleaning their plates!

Tarallucci

Occasion: Pre-movie (Invention of Lying) dinner with Elizabeth and Mamie
Location: Tarallucci e Vino on 18th between B'way and 5th, one of three NYC locations (taralluccievino.net)
Edibles: panzerotti alla mozzarella a cotto alle erbe (fried dough stuffed with mozzarella and rosemary ham) and fregnacce al sugo di papera (sheets of pasta with a duck sauce) for me; Elizabeth shared a cheese plate with Mamie and had the eggplant and mozzarella bruschetta for her main; Mamie had a fish dish with shrimp and scallops

Musings: I really appreciated that they were able to seat us right away and without a reservation on a Friday night. (We had tried to go to Vintage Irving and were told that the place was completely booked, even though it was half-empty at the time. The host also gave me some totally unwarranted attitude.)

I liked the vibe of Tarallucci. It was intimately dim (i.e. good date lighting!) and the noise level was chattery but not loud. The friendly wine steward recommended a nice bottle of South African white, and later brought over some tastings of dessert wines.

My app was wonderful. (I mean, fried bread, melted cheese and ham - how bad can THAT be?) The pasta dish was also good, but I think it needed more pasta to stay in proportion with the very generous amount of sauce. And this coming from a person who's been known to sit down with a bowl of homemade spaghetti sauce with no pasta at all. My dining companions likewise reported that their mains were very good. (I had a bite of one of Mamie's scallops and it was plump and tender.)

I think the reason this place isn't packed is because of its prices. The food is good and all but $60+ is what I pay for "fancy, special dinners." Tarallucci is not that. There are plenty of places where you can get a comparable meal and experience for fifteen or twenty dollars less. I'd probably eat here again, but it'd be a "definitely" if their prices were 15% lower.

Riposo 46

Occasion: Pre-theatre (Bye Bye Birdie) drinks and snacks with Amy and Brigid
Location: Riposo 46 on 9th Ave at 46th
Edibles: spinach pizza and mushroom bruschetta to share

Musings: A nice pit stop before a show. (My stomach starts yowling like a wounded mountain lion if I don't get something to eat beforehand.) The $9 bruschetta plate came with a huge mound of delicious sautéed mushrooms and would have been a light meal on its own. Definitely good to share. The pizza was trendy-gourmet-rustic. They poured me a generous glass of chenin blanc. No complaints here.

Terroir

Occasion: Pre-movie (Funny People) dinner with Elizabeth
Location: Terroir on E 12th at 1st Ave (wineisterroir.com)
Edibles: Serrano ham; boerenkaase (cow's milk) cheese; black cabbage and pork sausage bruschetta; pork schnitzel with German potato salad; beets with orange and ground hazelnuts; olive oil cake with Riesling peaches

Musings: Amazing food!! I'm glad Elizabeth and I finally managed to get in here! We've tried at least two other times - it's always packed.

Very small servings on the ham ($6) and cheese ($4.50). Other items provided better value. Of those, the schnitzel and dessert were particularly noteworthy. The pork was fried to perfection and the German potato salad (with scallions, chopped pickles and bacon!) was a wonderful side. And that cake! It was sort of corn muffin-esque; I think it was made with semolina, giving it that rougher texture, but it was still very light and fluffy. I hate sickly-sweet cakes, but this one was very subtle and the peaches provided some pizzazz. Two thumbs up. I will definitely be back.

Knife + Fork

Occasion: Farewell dinner for Alexandra, with Yining and Kathy
Location: Knife + Fork Restaurant & Wine Bar on E 4th between 1st and 2nd Ave (knife-fork-nyc.com)
Edibles: six-course chef's tasting (described in detail below)

Musings: As it was the send-off for Alex before she moved to LA, I was racking my brain to find a restaurant that 1) was delicious, 2) was not too expensive, 3) took reservations and 4) was a true New York gastronomic experience. No pressure or anything...

I'd been to Knife + Fork twice, but more than a year ago. While it was a good sign that it was still open, I was a bit nervous when I made the reservation. (I had another panicky moment when I arrived at 7pm to find the restaurant completely empty.) I crossed my fingers and hoped it was still as good as I remembered.

It was! Whew!

First course: Sliced chicken on squash purée, with a salad of microgreens, bacon and watermelon. I pretty much love any dish with bacon in it, so this meal had me at "hello."

Second course: Foie gras with eel, lobster vinaigrette; sliced cucumber, matchstick radishes and cucumber sorbet. This course was my least favorite. I generally find foie gras to be too rich, and this particular preparation had a lot of other intense ingredients to boot. I was puzzled by the pairing with the cucumber; the foie, sauce, etc. were very wintery while the cucumber and sorbet were very summery. I thought the cucumber sorbet was brilliant - just not with this dish.

Third course: White grape gazpacho with tuna tartare and microgreens. Loved it! The serving size - just a few mouthfuls - was perfect and the tuna provided a great savory counterpoint to the sweetness of the soup. (Photos - once it occurred to us to take some - courtesy of Kathy and her BB.)

Fourth course: Sea bass in saffron broth with carrots, green beans and microgreens. The fish was well-cooked - crisp skin, juicy flesh. However, everyone at the table agreed that it needed more salt. Luckily, the bread came with a little mound of sea salt so we each took a pinch for our fish.

Fifth course: Lamb loin with escargot and a goat cheese cream sauce; sundried tomato quenelle; rosemary potato gratin. The lamb and potatoes were DIVINE. I really enjoyed everything about this dish except the sundried tomato which, like the cucumber from the second course, was a discordant note.

Sixth course: Rosemary and orange crème brûlée; goat cheese and mint panna cotta. I was pleasantly surprised by the subtlety of the panna cotta given its flavorings. Tip-top technique on the crème brûlée as well.

As you can see, it was decidedly a feast! Aside from a few ideas that went astray - and some overenthusiastic use of microgreens - the chef showed us a real good time. Especially considering that we each spent $70 dollars total (that's six courses, a glass of wine each, tax and 20% tip).