Tag Archives: risotto

Restaurant Week Winter 2014: City Hall

8 Mar

For Restaurant Week Winter 2014, we made 3 reservations: City Hall on Duane Street near West Broadway, Butter Midtown on 45th St near 6th Ave, and Villard Michel Richard at Madison and 51st St.

Unfortunately, upon showing up at Butter Midtown, we found out that they do not participate in Restaurant Week on Sundays, which was disappointing since our last Butter Restaurant Week experience at the downtown restaurant (which is apparently closed now?) was so great.  (And it became even more disappointing after we actually ate there… more on that in a review coming soon).

So our first Restaurant Week experience wound up being at City Hall in TriBeCa with some old friends and new friends.

The dining room is set up nicely so there are a lot of tables but it still feels somehow private.  The building and space is quite beautiful with a very Old New York feeling. They even have a lot of old pictures of New York backlit around the top of the walls.

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We were given some some (pickled?) veggies (carrots, pickles, green tomatoes) upon seating.

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And they quickly took our orders, which most of us took from the Restaurant Week menu.

I went with the lamb chops with a mint chimichurri over kale. This was absolutely delicious, with great lamb flavor and a nice fresh mint and herb sauce.  Not much needed to make lamb taste great, but this was prepared very well. I was especially impressed that they were serving it for Restaurant Week.

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Someone also got the scallops, which they said were tasty but the portion was SUPER small with one miniature scallop on the plate and one reasonably sized one.

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Another friend got the salmon appetizer, which was a nice portion over a risotto that had squash in it. It was very nice.

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Another person in our party ordered off the regular menu and she got the local field greens salad, which they seemed to enjoy.

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Mike didn’t get the Restaurant Week menu either, but the chef didn’t want him to go without anything so they served him a very, very small amount of French Onion soup.  It was about 1/4 inch in a small bowl with a crouton in it. While I appreciated the gesture a lot, it was a bit.. odd.  Very little soup and no cheese.  They would have been better serving it in a very small shot glass or something of the sort, because it just seemed funny when it was barely a bite in a cup.

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We got a side of brussels sprouts off the menu that the entire table split when the entrees came out. They were caramelized and very, very tasty.

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Two of our friends go the fish, but I cannot recall exactly what it was (and sadly, them menu is no longer posted), but it certainly didn’t photograph well. Luckily, I think it tasted better than it photographed and they both ate it all up.

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I got the beef bourguignon over wide egg noodles.  The meat was fork tender and I enjoyed the dish, but I do with the sauce had a bit more punch to the flavor.

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The regular menu offered Calves Liver “Milk-Fed” with sauteed onions.  I certainly was tempted to try this myself, and then I forgot to ask for a bite when it came (damn) but she gobbled it up and seemed to enjoy it.

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Mike’s regular menu choice was  the burger. It was a big burger and Mike chose blue cheese, which he said was a bit overpowering.  It wasn’t anything too special but it was a decent burger.

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For dessert, I got the chocolate with raspberry.  I remember enjoying it but it wasn’t overly memorable or special. Just a nice end to a nice dinner.

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A few other desserts that were all tasty but nothing to write home about:

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Overall, City Hall was a very good place to have dinner and the Restaurant Week menu was very good.  I don’t know if I feel the need to run right back, but I would absolutely recommend it if someone is looking for a place to eat in TriBeCa.

Overall Nom Points: 7 out of 10

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Michael White’s Ai Fiori for Valentine’s Day Part Deux

15 May

Michael White is one of those “celebrity” chefs that I have long heard about but never tried.  Enter Ai Fiori, Michael White’s newest restaurant, centered around pasta, that happens to be just a few blocks from the apartment (400 5th Avenue, between 36th and 37th Streets, in the Setai Hotel).  We were looking for another lovely dinner to surround Valentine’s Day to compliment our meal the weekend before at Annisa (since I was away on business on the actual day), and Ai Fiori couldn’t have been more perfect.

We went for an early dinner and found ourselves alone (but not for long) in the tastefully decorated 2nd floor restaurant.

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Even the table settings were quite lovely.  A waiter confused our table with the one next door and accidentally delivered us glasses of champagne.  I wasn’t sure if it was free (for Valentine’s Day) so there was some confusion.  We sent the champagne back to the table that ordered it, but our waiter wound up bringing us a glass each, on the house, for the confusion.  A lovely touch.

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The crusty, soft, warm bread came out with delicious salted butter and well flavored olive oil.

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Our amuse bouche was small shot of a fruity smoothie.  I cannot remember if this was mango or passion fruit, but it was a nice way to start the meal.

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We chose to do the prix fixe of 4 courses (cominciare / pasta or risotto / pesce or carne / dolce) for $89.

Mike chose to start with the Animelle which was crispy sweetbreads, pomme purée, truffle vinaigrette, and pancetta. It was delicious, delicate, and just the right amount of crisp. It was a $5 supplement charge, and well worth it.

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I chose the Mare e Monte (which, sadly, does not currently appear to be on the menu).  This had a $15 supplemental charge… but hey, it was Valentine’s Day!

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This was diver scallops, celery root, black truffles, bone marrow, and thyme.

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It was rich in all the right ways with complex flavors and sprigs of green to spring it up a bit.  It was decadent and fantastic.

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For our pasta/risotto course, Mike chose the risotto with riso acquarello, duck confit, and hen of the woods mushrooms. This was a perfect blend of flavors. Very rich but not at all heavy.

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I went with the Agnolotti, which was braised veal parcels, butternut squash, and black truffle sugo.

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These were just perfect.  Great meaty flavor inside and the pasta was just thin enough to hold it together.  The bay leaf on top was crisped and slightly sweetened, and tasted great when broken up into the pasta and squash puree. Mmmm mmmm.

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For our carne/pesce course, Mike chose the Agnello, which was rack of lamb en crepinette, panisse, romanesco, and parmesan.  This was simply perfect. The lamb was cooked as well as you can cook a lamb and each piece on this dish was simply delicious, especially the sauce on the lamb.

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I chose the Astice, which was butter poached Nova Scotia lobster, root vegetable fondant, and chateau chalon sauce.  I always struggle when deciding to order lobster, as no matter how good it is, I never find it as good as the lobster pounds in Maine (I’m spoiled rotten… I know), but this one was right up there. All the pieces that came with it just added to a fantastic dish.

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Onto dolce!  Mike chose the Tartaletta which was dark chocolate, red grape, caramelized sherry, and walnut gelato.  I loved this dish, and the grape tasted like a fantastic grape jelly.  It all went together perfectly.

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I chose to go with the Buddino di Limone with hazelnut praline, toasted meringue, espresso gelee, and cinnamon gelato. I was impressed by how architecturally it was belt, with a sheet of caramelized sugar balanced on top of the meringue peaks.

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This was a perfect dessert with great, original flavors.  Really impressive.

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And then out came the petite fours! They were stunningly beautiful…

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… and very, very tasty.  I especially liked this jelly thing… though I have no idea what it was. 🙂

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I knew we were in for a treat when we finally decided to try a Michael White restaurant, but this was out of this world.  I was so impressed by every bite at Ai Fiori, from start to finish.  It’s also very hard to find food this good, with a well-known chef, on a tasting menu with 4 courses for less than $100 (yes… I know that’s crazy…)  I really loved everything we tried and find it very hard to ignore the fact that this restaurant is so close to home. I just want to go again and again.  I definitely want to go back for breakfast, and also try White’s other restaurants (Marea, Alto, Convivio, Osteria Morini and recently expanding to Bernardsville, NJ and many other locations coming soon).

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

Gigino Wagner Park

21 Jan

My great aunt is one of the most fabulous people you could ever meet.  She is well over 90, has an impressive shoe collection, could out-bake anyone I’ve ever met, and tells stories in a way that makes you feel like you lived them.  She is loved by every single person that meets her.  And then she got even cooler… she joined a dance class.  I was honored and overjoyed to see her perform with her troupe in Battery Park City with the family one weekday night.  After the show and our long Jewish goodbye, we tromped through a torrential rain storm down the block to the first restaurant we saw: Gigino Wagner Park (20 Battery Park… pretty much at the bottom tip of Manhattan).

It’s in a beautiful space on the water with a view of the Statue of Liberty, however, you’ll have to take my word for it since the rain was so dreadful that a picture was impossible.

We all ordered some delicious sounding Italian food, including gnocchi with a simple tomato sauce (their usual sauce was pepper ridden).

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The gnocchi was pretty good… but I’ve definitely had better.

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I had the same sauce (due to the same problem) over pappardelle.  Again… good… but not great.

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The rest of the family ordered items like the mushroom risotto…

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And the pasta primavera.

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Honestly, everything was just average.  The space could have lent itself to being a gem in Manhattan, but it wasn’t really anything special.  The pastas were all priced between $15 to $20, which seemed pretty over priced for food I’ve had at any run of the mill Italian restaurant for half the price.  I’m curious what their brunch is like, but I wouldn’t return for dinner.

Total Nom Points: 5 out of 10