When Charlotte and Vittorio Assaf invited me to dinner at Brasserie Cognac last night, I had no idea I would be in for a flirtatious food and wine fete. Vittorio and Fabio Granato hosted this Zagat-sponsored event, an informational dinner prepared by Chef Florian Hugo. Of course, in honor of Valentine's Day, it was paired with the number one aphrodisiac of all: wine.
In attendance were the usual group of tall stunning women, especially Charlotte, who always add glamour to Vittorio and Fabio's elegant events. Yet this evening was exceptionally hot, thanks to "wine commentator" Alessandra Rotondi, who entertained the crowd— to say the least.
With a profound knowledge and experience in the wine industry, Alessandra has served as wine consultant and sommelier in many Manhattan restaurants. But it was her creative, seductive wine storytelling combined with her provocative wardrobe changes that made everyone gasp and blush throughout the night. She certainly fed many fantasies!
The dinner and wine pairings were superb:
Champagne Veuve Clicquot yellow Label,
N.V Brut
Welcome Cheese Puffs Foie gras terrine and Tomato-Goat Cheese Tart
Ferrari Brut, Metodo Classico,
N.V. Trento DOC
Bisque De Homard
Lobster Bisque, Sautéed Mushrooms and LIght Whipped Cream
Gewurztraminer 2006,
Maison Trimbach
Wild Mushroom Risotto
Sautéed Forest Mushrooms, Aged Parmigiano and Veal Jus
Marchese Antinori, Chianti Classico DOCG,
Riserva 2004
Wild Stripe Bass "Matelote"
Filet of sea bass cooked "a la plancha" with a ragu of confit potatoes, pearl onions, scallions, clams and Red wine sauce
Baccorosa, Spumante Dolce,
Zonin
Rose and Raspberry Macaron
Litchies, light cream and berry sauce
Cognac XO, Hennessy
Pleasures of Chocolate
Throughout the night, Alessandra gave us narratives about her love life. She asked us to envision our desires while providing us with useful tips. For example, she told us that a man should impress a woman at the bar by ordering a sparkling wine instead of using the standard "Can I buy you a drink?" approach because bubbles have specific erotic connotations. She also told us that ladies can suggestively lure their men by asking them if they like the scent of the wine, then use a straw to sprinkle some of it on their body. Alessandra gave the crowd a very enticing demonstration that may have distracted the men from their dates.
Ladies can learn a lot from her charm and seductive sipping methods. Armed with the new moves that Alessandra taught us, I'm ready for my first victim!
Whenever you crave high quality Japanese food, the nearest Nobu always satisfies the urge. I've been to the Miami, L.A., Aspen, Vegas and New York locations many times. The food is always top notch and the hip, sophisticated scene draws a fun mixture of businessmen, entertainers and designers. After frequenting Nobu New York downtown on Hudson, I was relieved when Nobu Matsuhisa partnered with Robert De Niro, Drew Nieporent and Meir Teper to open and Nobu 57 , enabling me to get a quick sushi fix in midtown and make the occasional new acquaintance while dining solo at the sushi bar. Designed by David Rockwell, there is an elegant bar downstairs, complete with sake barrels imported from Japan and a spacious dinning room upstairs. A few nights ago, as my friend Kate Secor and I headed over to the trendy spot to meet our dinner companions, I decided to take notes for Behind the Burner.
Packed on a Monday night, there were no signs of the recession in the pricy locale. With all the women dressed to the nines in high-end labels like Chloe, my new fleur wood dress (bought on sale, of course!) fit right in. After spotting a few familiar faces, we settled into a booth near the kitchen and ordered hot sake.
The service was disappointingly slow--a problem that I have experienced at Nobu before. Although I enjoyed the company, too much sake on an empty stomach after a long day at the office is never a good idea. Luckily, the waitress was very nice and I took solace in the fact that their business appeared to be booming even during these turbulent economic times.
At last, our first appetizer arrived-- small tacos filled with king crab, cilantro, green tomato sauce and a special berry tomato. Definitely worth the wait! I would never have known to order them, but I am so glad that our host selected these unique tacos. They were truly divine and I savored every bite. The crab mixed with the tomato and cilantro gave it a burst of flavor that made me want to bite into the crunchy shell for more. Next time, I'll try their Wagyu beef tacos, and tuna tacos--I've become obsessed with the mini tacos at Nobu!
Keeping it light at the start of our busy week, we followed with sushi, sashimi, and kobe beef. As always, the food was perfect--fresh, healthy, and beautifully displayed. For dessert we indulged in the bento box, a chocolate fondant cake with warm chocolate oozing from the center and goma tuille complemented with green tea ice cream. We also had the caramel and vanilla bean mochi ice cream. If you haven't tried mochi, you're missing out. Sweet and refreshing, the chewy rice flour coating on this palate-cleansing dessert conceals a light ice cream inside. It was the perfect way to end another great night at Nobu. We'll be back for more!
When I go out with my friends in New York City for a night of a few drinks and some laughs, I find that the trend amongst many of the bar patrons is the ordering of the simple, savory cocktail. A close friend ordered many gin and tonics, quick and sour, while others chose drinks with less of a sickeningly sweet punch and a more subtle flavor.
Mixologists and cocktail enthusiasts in and around major metropolitan cities have started designing drinks that blend the sweet taste of succulent fruits, such as strawberries or pears, with the tangy sensation of vinegar, balsamic or jalapeño peppers.
I had not realized the downward spiral of sugary sweet drinks until a week ago when I read a quick blurb in Allure about the rise of the savory cocktail. As I thought back over the past year, I recalled that even my local Jersey dive,The Jolley Trolley, had invested in a delicious new Pineapple Chipotle Margarita. The drink possessed such a keen kick without the overpowering sweetness that I knew I would be addicted for a good long while.
Even classics, such as the Bloody Mary or a Vodka Tonic, are now married with clean flavors to soothing liquors. Many bartenders are asking the head chefs for clearance to raid the kitchen to sample numerous new flavors. Adam Seger at Chicago's Nacional 27 has put together a crafty pairing of strawberries and balsamic vinegar that tingles the taste buds and adds a tang to a usually sweet mojito. I attempted the recipe at home and was surprised at how smooth the flavors were; the drink retained it's classic mojito flavor, yet the vinegar added a mild sour taste that was incredibly refreshing.
Farm fresh produce and local buying are even more popular as the Green trend increases speed. In New York City, with the Union Square Farmer's Market, among others, and an increasing amount of organic produce at local grocers, creating your own savory drink is merely the beginning. Testing flavors that go well together may not go easily at first, but by slowly discovering interesting fruits and vegetables to add to your favorite hard liquor, a whole new world of possibilities open up. The best produce will probably come during the summer months; a chilled batch of a Michelada would be invigorating on a hot day and involves some rather strange but average kitchen/fridge items.
Admittedly, the best cocktails usually evolve out of better vodkas, tequilas and rums. Patron tequila and Belvedere vodka were the top contenders in my recipes I discovered, along with occasional mentions of Beefeater gin and jalapeño peppers with lemon.
The world is your oyster! Enjoy the tempting taste of a non-sweet Salty Dog or an incredibly filthy martini. The complex characters in a savory drink only add to the pleasure of consuming it.
I want to begin this post with a disclaimer. I probably have no business making the bold, sweeping statement I am about to make. The restaurant that I describe in the following paragraphs might as well be my family's second kitchen. We ate there weekly for years until my mother unceremoniously sold our childhood home on 17th street in Manhattan and moved us to Brooklyn (my father, in an act of defiance, continues to eat there around three nights a week). Brooklyn is fine. Not too long ago, I moved there myself. But, it lacks proximity to Da Umberto.
Da Umberto is the best restaurant in New York City. I know. It sounds outlandish and I probably won't elicit Adam Platt or Frank Bruni's support here. One disgruntled diner on nymag.com even blustered that "Da Umberto should have closed years ago! Mediocre food...cavalier service and high prices will keep this diner away permanently." This person is clearly insane. Speaking of crazy people, the maniacs on Yelp.comlove Da Umberto. In the age of unappeasable Internet wack-jobs (of which, Yelp bloggers are among the wackiest), positive feedback on their review list rivals praise from pretty much any other source.
Yelpers and established gastronomes aside, Da Umberto is really the best restaurant in New York because it is old-fashioned and stodgy. There may be legions of places in New York with better food. No one has ever declared the Branzino at Da Umberto "transcendent" and the risotto is not a revelation. Cooler restaurants abound. Their white table clothes can't compete with the gritty-glam dè
cor at Graffiti and bright young things don't wait in line for the bathroom en masse or hardly pick at their undressed salads. Okay. But, it really isn't about that.
Da Umberto is simple. They won't lead you on an aesthetic odyssey to rediscover your taste buds. And, as far as I know, the word "umami" has never left a waiter's mouth. The food, though, is real. In her biography on MFK Fischer, Joan Reardon recalls that the highest praise the critic ever bestowed on a dish was that it was good. This is how I feel about Da Umberto—the food is unquestionably good.
When you arrive at your table, the waiter pulls out chairs for all the women, graciously welcomes you and drops a bowl of olives on the table. Although these olives were not salt cured on a Mediterranean island the size of a Walmart, they're fantastic. There is no point in reading the menu. In fact, I don't think I've ever really looked over the whole thing before. I'm sure, though, that it resembles the menu in every other mid-range trattoria throughout the city, filled with grilled vegetable antipasti, veal scallopini, and rigatoni Bolognese. All of these dishes are probably fine (although the angry New York magazine reader review above makes me wonder if he ordered straight from the menu).
To really experience Da Umberto, you have to request a special. This list is longer than the printed menu and changes daily. Miraculously, the waiter always has all twenty plus plates down verbatim. He knows them so well that he can describe them to you in poetic detail (even though English is clearly not his mother tongue). He probably also knows you, the diner, so well that he can recommend three of them and like some kind of culinary fortune-teller, his suggestions will be perfect every time.
The list always begins slowly. First, a salad of arugula, pears and pecorino. Then, a venison carpaccio with white truffle oil, avocado stuffed with baby shrimp, artichoke hearts with mint. During the pasta dishes, the waiter increase the pace, uses more adjectives. Rabbit risotto, Tagliatelle with squid-very nice, linguine with shaved truffle-only in season right now and quite expensive but worth it. It really reaches a climax during the entrees. Venison osso bucco with risotto Milanese-meat falling off the bone. Sea bass filleted at the table. Filet mingon with green peppercorn sauce. Whole roasted suckling pig. Rabbit with honey and black pepper.
The only real problem arises after the waiter lists all sixty specials for the night and walks away from your table, leaving you to (hopefully) remember two or three of them. It is not unusual to order by default. If only the porcini ravioli comes to mind, well, you will probably eat ravioli. However, if you are my father, you will heedlessly order off the menu. Whether he wants chicken cacciatore or "that spaghetti with spicy sauce," the waiter accommodates him every time.
This, I believe, is another sign of a perfect, old-fashioned, neighborhood restaurant. Maybe it's a result of Tom Colicchio's pomposity on Top Chef. It might have to do with the deification of enfant terrible chefs like Grant Achatz. Whatever the reason, we have experienced a dramatic shift in restaurant culture. Those of us naïve enough to believe that we dine out in order to be served and coddled, need to retire our twentieth century sensibilities. Today, chefs don't comfort and soothe; they inspire awe and reverence. Da Umberto recalls a gentler time when you could specially request a chicken cutlet off-menu without running the risk of summoning the chef from the kitchen to put you in a headlock until you either beg for mercy or order his pan-fried sweetbreads with capers and rhubarb compote.
Finally, there is dessert. Here, I'd like to pose a question. Why has every single contemporary restaurant done away with the dessert cart? Nothing thrills me more than watching the waiter wheel over a trolley larded with tiramisu, chocolate mousse, panna cotta, napoleon, berries and cheesecake. Really. Do pedigreed restaurant goers find the dessert cart tired and tacky? If not, what have they disappeared? In any event, Da Umberto has one and if you're wise, you'll order a big plate of pillowy tiramisu scooped right from a giant bowl on the cart. I can joke about the quality of the rest of the food, but I want to be completely serious for a moment. Da Umberto serves tiramisu's platonic ideal. The lightly sweetened, floral mascarpone melts in your mouth revealing the tender espresso soaked lady fingers hidden underneath. Their other desserts satisfy, but none can compete.
If you remain unconvinced that Da Umberto is the best restaurant in New York, I understand. I'm not sure that, as an outsider, this post would persuade me either. "Stodgy," "old-fashioned" and "uncool" are not typically adjectives that lure me through a restaurant's doors. All I can say is the following: trust me. Or, if after all of that you're still a little skeptical about me, trust those satisfied people who yelped about their Da Umberto experiences. After all, could hundreds of intensely opinionated amateur restaurant critics really be wrong?
Cecilia Estreich
Da Umberto
107 West 17th St
New York, NY 10011
212.989.0303
Boston's South End, with its mid-nineteenth century brick bow-fronts and charming neighborhood appeal, is bustling with new eateries. The South End seems to be Good Will Hunting meets The Bird Cage, so you can just imagine the rebirth on the culinary front.
My pre-arranged ladies night culminated at dinner on the South End. With reservations well in advance, we landed at The South End Buttery. A warm modern coffee house turned chic restaurant. They rave about their environmentally sustainable approach to cooking, a love for coffee and new style American fare. For a Saturday night out the price is right, with all the entrées under $20. The restaurant's main level has take-out items like cupcakes and Equator Estate Coffees-- even a funky little bar in the back. We proceeded downstairs to our table, where I was pleasantly surprised by the grotto-like architecture and bold, modern fireplace. The two small dining rooms were packed and brimming with laughter. Clearly this place had charmed the locals. And when I sat down in a giant leather booth, I felt very at home. I was ready to eat so I skipped over the creative drinks menu and went right for the good stuff, Duval-Leroy Brut (Champagne, France).
We dove in with Moules Frites which were steamed with garlic, tomatoes, lemon, saffron and white wine. The sauce was fresh with chunky tomatoes that added a nice texture. The accompanying French fries with truffle aioli were simply sinful. I knew I was throwing my waist line to the wind when I asked for a second order of the fries. They were that decadent.
My small-waisted friends ordered the arugula and mixed greens salad. It was dripping in green apples, walnuts, golden raisins and an excellent parmigiano. I had a forkful and the dressing blew me away. They used a cider-based vinaigrette that was to die for.
The entrée menu was very much in line with the culinary trend of creating menus that are simple and classic. They nailed it. From the braised beef short ribs with parsnip purée to the pan roasted Salmon with Israeli couscous, the dishes were recognizable yet had an innovative twist and flair. So, what do I order? It's a cold, misty winter night and I am out with the ladies. I decided to stick with the aforementioned trend of keeping it classic and simple. I went with the Buttery Burger with cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato and onion. And it came with fries! The bun was perfect, the red onions hit the spot, and the spicy ketchup packed an extra punch.
The crowd and ambience were as interesting as they were charming. Yet, we were challenged with the service. After our first bottle of wine, we did not see a server again for half an hour. And the wait between courses was not acceptable. However, they brought every table in the restaurant free cupcakes and cookies -- the specialty in the upstairs bakery - to compensate for being short staffed. I really appreciate a gesture like that. The restaurant business is hectic and when a server doesn't show or the kitchen gets out of sync it is important to communicate with the customers. The general manager was very pleasant and apologized for any delays. Apology accepted.
And besides, any restaurant in which I love the fries as much of the salad is worth becoming a regular!
The South End Buttery is located at 314 Shawmut Avenue, Boston, MA 02118. Call (617) 482-1015 for more information.
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