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Restaurant Week – Winter 2015: Bar Primi

5 Mar

Our second Restaurant Week stop was with some friends at Bar Primi.

Bar Primi is run by Chefs Andrew Carmellini and Sal Lamboglia with Josh Pickard and Luke Ostrom of NoHo Hospitality Group, who also run Locanda Verde, The Dutch, Lafayette, Little Park (where we will be excitedly heading in 2 weeks) among others.

Here’s the 2015 Winter Restaurant Week Menu:

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I started with the Grilled Octopus with Fingerling Potatoes (sans red hots).  It was a beautiful tentacle that was pretty tasty.  It was lightly sauced so it really focused on the great octopus flavor.  While I enjoyed it, I still have the bar set by Kefi, which is the best octopus I’ve ever had, so everything else pales in comparison, unfortunately.

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I was the only one of the four of us who stuck to the Restaurant Week menu, and while I had 0 regrets, I was glad the rest of the table ordered off the menu so I could try a bunch of things, having never been to Bar Primi.

So the table started with the truffled mushroom crustino.  This was incredibly tasty and bursting with flavor.  The bread was just the right amount of crisp to bring it all together.

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The table also ordered the stuffed mushrooms in sugo (which, sadly, had red peppers in it).

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Here is an inside view, and everyone raved that they were very tasty.

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We also got Sal’s Antipasti Salad for the table.  This was nicely flavored, however, I was expecting a bit more antipasti components.  My bites were mostly lettuce and chick peas and not much more.

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For dinner, I chose the Strozzpreti from the Restaurant Week menu which has a mushroom marsala ragu.  I usually shy away from a dish without meat, but I didn’t miss the meat at all in this dish.  The pasta tasted like really amazing, gourmet macaroni and cheese with a hugely flavorful mushroom sauce.  I was so impressed with how much flavor they packed into this little pasta dish. And the pasta itself tasted incredibly fresh and was perfectly cooked.

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Others around the table tried the Bucatini with Lamb Amatriciana, which they all loved.

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And the Fusilli Napoletan with Nonna’s Veal Genovese, which they all also loved.

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And the Friday special, lobster oreganata with linguine pangrattato. This tasted similar to a classic scampi dish and the lobster was great with it.

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For dessert, we tried the Chocolate Hazelnut Torta off the Restaurant Week menu.  This looked like it was going to be dry, but the flavor was really fantastic and a great way to end the meal.

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We also got a piece of tiramisu, and while it looked very melty, it was quite good.

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I was VERY impressed with the Bar Primi Restaurant Week dishes I tried.  If I had only that, I would absolutely want to go back and try more, and was grateful to be able to try additional components with my fellow diners.  I will absolutely be revisiting Bar Primi, even after Restaurant Week is over. A very enjoyable restaurant.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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The Fegguary Challenge: Eggstra Special Challenge

6 Feb IMG_2238

My friend Jeff started the #Fegguary Challenge a few years ago, and this year he upped the ante to an Eggstra Special Challenge (inspired by the Ice Bucket Challenge, I’m sure, but with a focus on health rather than donations).  I was on his first list of challengees (and now I have to challenge 3 people… stay tuned on Facebook for my official challenges).

Luckily, I am always stocked with eggs (because I love them!) and Pete & Gerry’s Organic Eggs are my favorite (it helps that they are also my favorite clients).

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What is not to love about small family farms, a great set of people, and delicious healthy eggs?

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So for my Fegguary challenge, I decided to try to make an egg dish I have always loved but never made.  The eggs that are in ramen soup are one of my favorite things on earth.  Also called Ajitsuke Tamago, I turned to Serious Eats for a quick “how to.”  Sadly, I didn’t have sake, so I decided to use rice wine vinegar instead.  This made sense in my head.  I also replaced the sugar with brown sugar because I saw that in another recipe and thought it would be a good change.

First step, boil eggs (since I’m pregnant, I went with hard boiled… which I also turned to Serious Eats for the real story on how to get them perfect… a bit creamy but not raw).

Put eggs covered in cold water.

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Bring to boil.

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Take off heat and cover for selected time (I went 8-9 minutes).

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As the eggs were cooking, I assembled my ingredients and mixed up the marinade per the recipe. (Though I just realized I didn’t add the water… so I guess I had a more concentrated marinade than I was supposed to!)

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Then I peeled the eggs (and these peeled pretty well… because they were a few weeks old.  I found out the hard way a few weeks ago that freshies actually don’t peel well when I got all excited about hard boiling some eggs fresh from the farm. Whoops.)

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And set the eggs in the marinade.

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Then covered them with a paper towel to keep them submerged.

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About 11 hours later, I drained off the marinade and stored them in the fridge for another 2 days (only because we weren’t ready to eat them yet).

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And then we had them over pastina. While, sadly, not ramen, the egg added a bit of protein and flavor to a simple pasta.

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They were “dyed” a really pretty color which went a few millimeters into the whites when cut open.  The touch of sweetness form the marinade was exactly what I was hoping for and it tasted a lot like the ramen eggs I have come to love.  Great flavor.

Thanks for the #Fegguary Challenge, Jeff. You inspired me out of my eggy comfort zone to hatch a plan for an eggceptional project.

And now I challenge YOU, dear readers.  Tag me if you take the #fegguary challenge!

 

Gramercy Tavern for New Year’s Eve

29 Jan

I was more than happy to plan a New Year’s Eve that included not much more than my couch, my husband, and my cats… but friends of ours were visiting from London and were passionate about having a nice meal out, especially at Gramercy Tavern. So 30 days before 12/31, we were online and calling to snag a reservation. And we got one.

And I’m glad she motivated me to get off my butt to enjoy a nice meal on New Year’s Eve.  Because it was a really lovely way to spend the holiday, without having to deal with any of the craziness that is NYE in NYC.

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The Dining Room menu is typically a 3-course menu where you can choose from an app, entree, and dessert for $92 or a Seasonal Tasting Menu (~6 courses) for $120.  New Year’s Eve was no different.  (Which I think is important, because I hate price gouging on holidays)

We were at a table with 2 other couples, some of whom were not the foodie activists we are, so when the waiter said it would be hard to have some of the table do the 3-course and the others do the Tasting Menu, we sadly went with the 3-course.

But I longed for that Seasonal Tasting Menu.  There were so many dishes on that menu that had my name all over them.  I used every kindness I had and asked the waiter if I could choose some things off the Seasonal Tasting Menu, even if they came with a supplement.  He checked with the chef and agreed. OH HAPPY DAY!

We started with an amuse bouche, and I got a special one with pickled veggies, which was a very nice start.

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One of the items that tickled my fancy off the Tasting Menu was the lobster with squash.  This was fantastic.  Sweet lobster, cooked just right, complimented by a perfectly roasted squash, squash seeds, and a delightful sauce.

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Some other dishes around the table looked equally delicious.

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But the other dish off the tasting menu I needed was the short ribs.  These were cooked perfectly and in a fantastic sauce with bright, beautiful veggies.

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We then got an intermezzo of shaved ice that was a really refreshing transition into dessert.

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All of the desserts were lovely, including the cheese tasting.

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And we ended the meal with beautiful chocolate fudge and salted caramels.

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And they sent us home with homemade banana bread and chocolate hazelnut spread to enjoy the next morning (and oh boy did we).

This was a great meal, and a great way to end a great year with great friends.  They were so kind to let me order a custom meal and get the things I so wanted, and for that bit of hospitality I cannot help but love them even more.  We already had one great meal at Gramercy Tavern, and I can’t wait to go back for another one. It’s such a classic New York City restaurant that always impresses.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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