… and I’m back from my food orgy in NY city. Wow… wow… did I say ‘wow’ already? Whether its the exquisit food, wine, and beer, or the immaculate service, NYC knows its gastronomy and boy do they put on a great show.
My first meal was at Otto!! Everything Italian, this Enotica Pizzeria in New York city is one of my favorite places. I like to sit at the wine bar and have their ‘mezza-like’ dishes.
JA and I thought we’d start of with a pink bubbly, so we had two glasses of Flor Prosecco Rosé from Veneto. A blush redish-pink color and so refreshing in the summer heat, Flor tastes of citrus, peach and pears.
We moved on to food…
Sformato di Parmigiano – a parmesan flan/pudding that sinfully melts in your mouth. Then Figs “Agrodolce” (a sweet and sour marinated figs – I’ll talk about that in another blog entry) to die for, especially if you have it with Prosciutto. The Roasted Beets & Saba was succulent, the Cucumber, Watermelon & Ricotta Salata – so simple and refreshing – and we had our usual assortment of three cheeses that Denis, the bartender/sommelier, recommended with our wine, which was a 2006 Domenico Clerico Dolcetto Visadi Langhe – a full bodied and very tannic Italian red from Piedmont. The grape -Dolcetto – tasted of dark berries, prunes, licorice, chocolate and was velvety in your mouth. Though it’s summer, this red was pleasant and smooth company to our food.
The Spotted Pig, another one of my faves came next. I just couldn’t get myself to stop eating those Shibumi Oysters! From Washington state, these are medium to small in size and are sweeter and creamier than the ones you get on the East Coast. Washed that down with a Harpoon UFO White, which is a white wheat beer, foggy yellow color, easy to drink and refreshing with an orange and spice palate and made in a micro-brewery in Boston, MA. Interesting how many micro-breweries are popping up in the US. When M arrived, we had another dozen oysters (can you imagine the state I was in by then?!? 
). We decided to share their Burger (medium rare akeed) with Roquefort accompanied by their delicious Shoestring Fries seasoned with garlic and rosemary (yaani, á la Deedee).
Next day, K and I went Public! Usually my dinner hotspot, it was the first time I ’brunch’ there. Of course, we had a pink bubbly. This time it was Taltarni, a sparkling Rosé from Tasmania, Australia. The color is rosy pink and the palate is dry and spicy but refreshing with peach and berries. We shared a few dishes: a Salad of Herby Lentils with Pomegranate Molasses (they went a little too heavy on the Pomegranate), Roasted Boudin Noir (blood sausage) a strong flavor with nuttiness, and finally Tea-smoked Salmon with spinach and poached eggs (my favorite of all and went the best with the bubbly).
I was a Double Crown virgin – same owners as Public. We were 3 and shared, naturellement! Started off with Oysters (surprised?) and a glass of Riesling, then moved on to a Gerard Millet Pinot Noir 2008 from Sancerre – a little too light bodied, but went well with the Crisp Pork Belly, Steamed Mussels, and Singapore Style Lobster. I would certainly go back there.
Overall, service was fabulous everywhere. It was an orgasmic experience eating out in NYC…. but then again, isn’t it always?
straight to the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle to meet up with CL. We went up to the 3rd floor and landed at the Bouchon Café. Deedee wanted to nibble on something, so we ordered the Rillettes aux Deux Saumons made with fresh steamed & smoked salmon, served with 
toasted crôutons, and to die for. We had a couple of Ommegang Abbey Ales to go with that. That dark amber ale had a dried fruit and spice flavor that was just perfect in the cold weather and married with the Salmon Rillette, which I confess we devoured instantaneously.
A nice change from the summer menu, their updated menu had delicious winter vegetable dishes waiting for us to choose from. “Me, me, me” cried the Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Beets & Saba. So we picked both. Then we moved on to a Cured Fresh Bacon and Red Cabbage salad and for pasta we had 
the Rigatoni with Spicy Cauliflower which had chili flakes, garlic and pecorino cheese. The sommelier picked out an elegant but young full bodied oaky dark red wine from Tuscany: Il Gentile di Casanova 2005. The palate has smoky, balsamic tannins with dark cherries and plum. A fine well rounded finish.
Posted by Deedee McFly 
