Tag Archives: truffle pasta

Aldo Sohm Wine Bar – New Opening from Le Bernardin

22 Sep

We had a truly special meal at Le Bernardin a few years ago,  so when I heard that they were opening up a more casual spin-off, Aldo Sohm Wine Bar, helmed by their sommelier, Aldo Sohm, it was high on our “must try soon” list.

We popped in last weekend, when they were open for just about a week, and I instantly felt at ease. We were a bit worried that by not planning ahead, our jeans were going to be out of place, however, all the waiters were actually in jeans and the fun, casual nature of the place was apparent from the colorful, fun art on the walls to the friendly, unpretentiousness of the wait staff.

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But casual does not mean unprofessional. The bar was beautiful and big, with some couches in front and high tables around the perimeter of the room.

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The wine list is extensive, thorough, and spans the gaps of many different price points and options.

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The menu is like high end bar snacks, with a heavy weighting towards charcuterie.

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We started with the Whole Baked Cauliflower with “Roasted Chicken Salt.”

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The “salt” was crispy roasted chicken skin, which added a very rich flavor that made this already great vegetable really pop.  The only problem was that to get the whole head of cauliflower fully cooked, it lost all its bite.  It was a bit mushy and overcooked in the middle, which was a shame. If it had some toothiness left, this would have been a killer ish.

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We also ordered the Short Rib Skewer which came with fried shallot and red wine reduction.  The short ribs were just kind of ehhh.  At $12 per skewer, the portion is pretty small, and the meat itself didn’t taste much different from other so-so short rib dishes I’ve had. It was well cooked and tasted like short ribs, but it really wasn’t much more than that.  The mashed potatoes on the other hand… WOW. Those were GREAT! They should offer them alone as a side.  Best part of the dish.

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One thing on the menu that caught our eye was the Tibetan Yak Cheese. This was on the menu as a separate dish for $10/ounce with the following description: “Imported from the Tibetan Plateau, Yak cheese is considered a rare delicacy with great health benefits.” I was very excited to get to try a new cheese.  So when I noticed that it was also included on a pasta dish, we opted for that.  The dish was Truffle Pasta with Grated yak cheese.

I wish this was great. But it just wasn’t.  It didn’t taste all that much of truffles, and the cheese really didn’t add much to it.

It was good… don’t get me wrong. But it just wasn’t all that truffle-y nor did the cheese taste much different than any regular cheese.

A few days later, I came across this article that says that the yak cheese hasn’t come through customs yet, however, so now I’m not even sure if we had the yak cheese at all! (And if we didn’t… someone should have let us know!)

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We were still a bit hungry after those snacks, so we went back to the menu and decided to order some charcuterie. We got the speck and the fireplace smoked pork loin.  Both of these meats were absolutely incredibly, inching out the mashed potatoes as our favorite part of the meal. We especially liked the speck, and it paired perfectly with our Vouvray (which was easily polished off a bottle of).

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For dessert, we ordered the Red Wine Dark Chocolate Ganache Mendiant, which was listed as $12 for four pieces. We also asked our waiter to advise on a wine to pair well with it, and they suggested a really great port (though I can’t recall the name).

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I was a bit… surprised… by how they served the dessert.

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The filled chocolate disks were wrapped in little plastic envelopes and labeled with the same type of labels we put on our file folders at work.  Hmmm…  While I dig casual, I felt like this really degraded the dessert.  Especially at $12 for 4 very thin candies, I thought it should have been served with a bit more care.

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Once I got over my judge-iness, however, the actual candy was beautifully done and had great flavor.  The chocolate was very high quality and the thin ribbon in the middle was rich and not too sweet.  Very good.

I just wish they found another way to serve it.

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Overall, I can’t say I was thrilled with our meal.  I wanted it to be great.  This has all the makings of a great place.  But with Le Bernardin as the foundation, the food is expected to be phenomenal and perfectly executed.  Perhaps they are still getting their sea legs, but I have to hope this is not their best foot.  I will go back, because it’s a great place to grab a glass of wine and some bites, but it is not destination dining and I can’t say “You MUST try the food!”  I expected more.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

nomscale- 06.5

Il Punto- Take 2

14 Sep

 

We had been to Il Punto (on the corner of 38th and 9th) once before.  It was decent, but not some place I was chomping at the bit to go back to, however.  But when Mike’s family suggested we do a family meal there, we were game.  Hell… it’s hard to beat a place right on the corner!

We started with the artichokes, as we did last time.  These weren’t as good, and the sauce I loved last time seemed changed.

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We then ordered “Paper Thin Slices of Wild Boar” which came with mesculin, marinated eggplant, cherry tomatoes, and drizzled with pear vinaigrette.  This was good, but resembled roast beef a little too much to feel very special.  Still tasty though.

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I’m a bit foggy on what was ordered, but this may have been some sort of salad with meat and potatoes? Hmm. Not positive.

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This was the Salmone Alla Brace, which was grilled atlantic salmon served in a nest of julienne vegetables and roasted potato.

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Next was a Lombatina Al Vincotto: A grilled tender rib veal chop with red wine reduction, drizzles with vincotto, sprinkles black turffles, mashed potatoes and swiss chard.  This was pretty good.  Probably the best thing on the table. However…I have no idea what happened to the truffles.

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Someone also ordered a fish.  This may have been a special, because I can’t find it on the menu.  I know it’s not easy to bone a fish, but this one looked a bit like it had been through a war when it came out.

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Mike got the Bisteca Di Manzo Arrostita: char grilled sirloin steak with roasted potatoes and vegetable. This was pretty good.  Well cooked at the very least, though missing the fantastic char that, in my mind, sets steak apart.

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I got the special of pasta with beef and vegetables with shaved truffles.   I need to stop ordering shaved truffles.  They never taste as rich in flavor as I want them too.  This basically tasted like a small diced stew over over-cooked noodles.  Disappointing.  Fair at best.

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Overall consensus was pretty poor on Il Punto.  It was fine… but for the price, it should be much more than fine.  (Most entrees were $25-$30)  I probably won’t go back, but it’s just fine if you need an option in the area.

Total Nom Points: 6 out of 10 (a full Nom Point lower than last time)