Christmas Eve at Cibo E Vino - The NYC Appetizer Crawl Continues!

CIBO E VINO
2418  Broadway
New York, NY
212-362-0096
www.ciboevinony.com

On a chilly Christmas Eve I ventured out with my friend Bud and knowing Christmas was going to be a big "cooking" day, we opted to walk around the corner to the very charming Cibo e Vino.

Considering it was a major holiday we thought the restaurant might be empty. No such thing. It was packed solid with groups of people waiting to be seated. Opting to sit at the bar, we quickly ordered a couple of smart cocktails and decided to do a festival of appetizers.

Bruschetta

Split between us we ordered the bruschetta. Towers of taste treats! Micro greens sat atop seared ahi tuna followed by vine ripened tomatoes, avocado, and a crispy toasting of Italian bread all enhanced with a balsamic drizzle. More than a mouthful, we decided to use knife and fork so as not to miss a morsel of this appetizer. Fresh, bright and surprisingly light, the bruschetta was a great choice. 
 

Meatballs

Next up were the meatballs swimming in the house tomato sauce with dollops of basil burrata puree. Tender and flavorful, the sweet tang of the tomato sauce was the perfect juxtaposition to the addition of the aromatic basil burrata. Plus it looked very Christmas-like, with red and green. (Or the Italian flag with the white plate.)

Cauliflower

But wait, there's more. The crispy cauliflower with truffle béchamel sauce was our favorite of all three appetizers. Cauliflower is the perfect blank canvas for any culinary artist and the chef didn't disappoint. Quickly deep fried and topped with a delicious white sauce scented with the truffle, it had the perfect sprinkling of salt, that took the app to the next level.

The next time you find yourself on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York, check out Cibo e Vino.

Buon appetito!

 

The Appetizer Crawl Continues in New York City! Petrarca Cucina E Vino in TriBeCa

Petrarca Cucina e Vino
34 White Street, New York, NY
212-625-2800

On a recent trip downtown to catch The Seeing Place Theater's production of Cloud 9 at the Access Theater I was challenged to find a nice restaurant to have appetizers and drinks at  before the show.

Located in what is called TriBeCa in the city (for those of you who don't know, TriBeCa = TRIangle BElow CAnal street) I discovered that just a block away from the Access Theater, which is located at 380 Broadway, was a very inviting restaurant called Petrarca Cucina e Vino. 

The Roxy Hotel

And Petrarca was, to my surprise, across the street from The Roxy Hotel (rated #15 out of 465 hotels in NYC on tripadvisor!)

Arriving on the early side, we were seated at a quiet table with a great view of the restaurant and beyond.

We ordered glasses of pinot grigio as a basket of fresh bread appeared. Note: the bread was gorgeous. The crust was so crunchy delicious that I immediately discarded my low carb diet and inhaled more than my share. But I was smart enough to leave some for what was to follow.

Piatto Rustico

We decided upon a stunning Piatto Rustico with prosciutto, speck, salami & porchetto.

Calamari Fritti

And a we also had a light and refreshing order of their Calamari Fritti, fresh fried calamari with a tangy marinara sauce.

As I devoured the appetizers and the pinot grigio I decided to order one more appetizer. (Hey, the show we were going to see was on the long side, 2 hours and 40 minutes...I needed my nourishment!)

Caprese Salad

So I opted for the Caprese...bufala mozzarella & tomato salad with fresh basil. So light and it really cleansed the palate after enjoying the selection of meats.

A delicious find in TriBeCa and I can't wait to return to Petrarca for a full dinner to experience their entrees and desserts.

Buon appetito!

Saju Bistro and Bar - A bit of Provence in the heart of NYC.

Saju Bar and Bistro
120 W. 44th Street
New York, NY
(212) 997-7258

Having dinner with friends Mary Lou Santora and her brother-in-law Bud Santora, we chose Saju Bistro, which was a block away from Town Hall where they were headed for a concert. It's a great choice if you're looking for a restaurant East of Broadway but still within the theatre district. The Belasco Theatre is also nearby as is Rockefeller Center.

Mary Lou and Bud

(NOTE: If visiting NYC and in need of a good hotel recommendation, check out the amazing Beekman and many others to choose from.)

The restaurant boasts that they serve "authentic French Provencal cuisine in a casual bistro setting." And it's true. Charming decor and tables not too close to each other make this restaurant very pleasurable. Add to that, the friendliest service in town and it's a keeper.

Front seating overlooking the sidewalk - great for people watching

Bar

My favorite, the back area

We started with a round of appetizers . . .

Tartelette au Chevre Chaud - Warm goat cheese tart

Bud and Mary Lou split an appetizer (there were two tarts) of warm goat cheese tartelettes with fresh herbs nestled into a pastry dough and a small greens salad. Both really enjoyed it. I ordered . . .

Moules Provencales

. . . the mussels Provencales, with a heavy handed garnish of whole parsley. The mussels were fresh and plump but  honestly, the best part for me is the broth. I was hoping for a bread dunking sauce, which forces me to shout out, "They should bottle this!" But it was rather bland. I was even searching for a hint of garlic, but no such luck. And yes, the parsley was inedible at that size and amount.

On to the main courses, Bud opted for their . . .

Salade de poulet

. . . chicken salad. The salad of mixed field greens, string beans, asparagus, apple and avocado with a lemon vinaigrette. He especially loved the salad.
 
Mary Lou ordered the . . .

Spaghetti puttanesca.

. . . spaghetti puttanesca. Tossed with fresh tuna, tomato, capers and a rather large basil plant growing out of it (kidding). Between the basil and the parsley, there's a garnish king or queen in the kitchen. But she loved it. And I had . . .

Fettuccine with shrimp and scallops.

. . . one of the night's specials - fettuccine with shrimp and scallops swimming in a yummy and light tomato sauce. I've had my share of parsley for a year now! The dish was delicious. I'll be back to Sajun again. Great locale and food of Provence.

Added points for the floral arrangement in the restroom!

Bon Appetit!

The Metropolitan Museum plus more Appetizer Crawling

First destination is The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Located at 5th Avenue between 85th and 79th Streets it's a glorious but gigantic building. Like most museums of this size, it's best to pick an exhibit or a small section of the museum to explore, otherwise it's all too overwhelming.

If you don't live in the NYC area and need a good hotel recommendation on the Upper East Side,  the Sherry-Netherland Hotel is a glorious option. Included in this link are plenty of other hotels to choose from in this neighborhood.

I was here to visit the Vigée Le Brun: Woman Artist in Revolutionary France exhibit.

Self-portrait of the artist.

Louise Elizabeth Vigée was a prominent French painter who arrived on the scene at the mere age of 19-years-old! She became the court painter preferred by Marie Antoinette.

It's amazing the amount of portraits she produced. And her ability to paint clothing and hair was exceptional. It's also said that she had the ability to recreate exact likeness of her subjects. This is one of my favorites of her paintings...a wealthy business man close to the King.

But with the rumblings of the French Revolution surfacing, fearing her close relationship with the Queen, Le Brun was smart and fled to Italy. There she was embraced wholeheartedly in Florence, Rome, and Venice. She then traveled to Vienna, Switzerland, and then to Russia where she continued to paint royalty. If you live in New York City or are going to be visiting, I highly recommend this exhibit - it will continue through May 15, 20016. Before heading off to an early dinner, I had to stroll through some of my favorite areas of the Met.

The Greek statues.

The American Wing. Look - Lampposts!!!

First stop on this continuation of the Dizzy Traveler Appetizer Crawl is Isabella's. Located at 77th Street and Columbus Avenue, this restaurant has been serving Upper West Sider's for decades.

Isabella's

Taking a seat at the bar, my appetizer crawling companion and I ordered the fried calamari and jalapenos served with a spicy red sauce and a creamy dill...

Fried calamari and jalapenos.

...and the charred artichoke heart salad with arugula and thinly shaved onions with a light vinaigrette.

Charred artichoke salad.

Both were delicious. I'm going to try to copycat the artichoke dish at home it was so yump-shish.

Walking back up town, we stopped in at Osteria Cotta located on Columbus Avenue between 84th and 85th Streets.

Not quite sure why I'm making this face.

I've been wanting to try this rustic Italian restaurant for months but it so popular, getting in was virtually impossible. But we dropped by on the early side and it was great. 5pm to 7pm is their happy hour and drinks are discounted as well as a list of their thin crust pizzas, which were only $7 each! One was definitely plenty for two.

We chose the prosciutto and BRUSSELS SPROUT pizza with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Yes, Brussels sprout = to live for! I'm going to try this one at home too. I inhaled it.

Buon Appetito!

Les Liaisons Dangereuses and A Revisit to Buceo 95 - Authentic Spanish Tapas - NYC - Foodie Alert!

Recently I enjoying a filmed live version of the Donmar Warehouse/National Theatre's London stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses starring Janet McTeer, Dominic West and Elaine Cassidy at Symphony Space. It was a beautiful production with great camera work and superb acting. I would love to see this production live, on stage. And this was the most humorous adaptation of this story I have ever seen, but shooting live theatre for a film audience can often fall flat, as did this one. They are just two different beasts requiring different ingredients to work.

Speaking of ingredients. . . I walked just a block east and stopped by my favorite tapas bar in New York City - Buceo 95 - 201 West 95th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam.  212-662-7010

If visiting and desire a hotel on the Upper West Side, The Beacon, which also houses the very popular Beacon Theatre, is a great alternative. Thru the link, there's a list of plenty of other hotels in this area also.

It had been some time since I had dropped into this beautiful bar/restaurant. The reason being, it had gotten too popular. It was always packed.

DIZZY NOTE:
 
And anyone like myself, if you have vestibular disorders, loud (happy sounds) with busy, tight environments can wreak havoc with our balance issues. But this was 9:00pm-ish on a Sunday night and it was surprisingly quiet. Just 8 of us in the restaurant plus the waitstaff. I was delighted to see that my favorite waitress was still working there and after a big hug, she confessed that Sunday nights are always quieter. Who knew? I didn't. But now that I'm telling the world, I may have spoiled my discovery. There's my friend in the back and I've affectionately nicknamed her, River Song. For those of who watch the British television show Doctor Who you'll know why.

River Song in the back!

Preferring to sit at the bar, my partner in food crimes and I claimed our space and quickly ordered drinks. The restaurant has a beautiful and extensive wine list. My choice was their La Sorda, Rioja.

Rioja

Buceo 95's menu is extensive and they always have daily specials. For two people I think two small plates and possibly a "larger" one is plenty of food. (Although the fellow sitting next to us dropped in to take an order home and I swear he ordered no less than 15 different tapas. Party!

It seems as though every restaurant nowadays is offering "small plates" on their menus but Buceo is the real deal. I speak a little Spanish, but I always need help translating the daily specials on the chalkboard and tonight's was Casera de Pollo Chorizo - homemade chicken chorizo with peppers, onion, squash, garlic, and Mexican crema (Mexican sour cream). Beautifully presented on a slab of slate, the Pollo Chorizo was perfection. The spice and heat was cooled down by the Mexican crema. Scooping up the last bite, that lingering question in my head was...should I order another?

Casera de Pollo Chorizo

But there were two more dishes to come. One that I have to order every time I visit Buceo 95 is their Daitiles - bacon wrapped dates stuffed with a chorizo goat cheese emulsion. I happen to call these little geniuses, Devils on Horseback. And if you make them with dried apricots they are Angels on Horseback. Little pillows of heaven.

Daitiles - Devils on Horseback

Next up was an order of Piquillos Rellenos - young smoky idiazabal cheese stuffed peppers served on slices of bread. Idiazabal is a pressed cheese made from goats milk that has origins in the Basque and Navvare regions of Spain. The first sense that hits you is the smokiness of the tender peppers. Marry that with the idiazabal and the fresh bread to soak up all of those lovely flavors and I'm a happy camper. Chased with the Rioja = more happiness!

Piquillos Rellenos

I'm willing to share with all of New York City that Sunday's at Boceo 95 are deliciously quiet. And I don't think I've spoiled the discovery. Hey, for some, that may not be what they are looking for.

Happy customers!

 Treat yourself to a virtual tour of Buceo 95!

¡Buen Apetito!

 

A Cicchetti and Wine Tour Through Venice

September, 2015 I went on the fantastic "Cicchetti and Wine Tour of Venice" with Francesca Marucci through Venice Urban Adventures. In fact, these walking food tours offered through Urban Adventures are worldwide...from Venice to Brazil to Cambodia!

Francesca Marucci

With 8 other guests, my friend Bud and I, joined Francesca at the Campo della Maddalena in the Cannaregio neighborhood. The Church della Maddalena, built in approximately 1222, has a unique hexagonal plan, on which rests a big semicircular dome with a lantern.

HOTEL NOTE: If you'd like suggestions as to hotels in the Cannaregio neighboorhood, here is the Al Ponte Antico Hotel and many others to choose from.

Church della Maddalena

Francesca gave us a fascinating historical walking tour and then we headed to a crossing of the Grand Canal on a traghetto. There are only four bridges spanning the Grand Canal so at different points it could be a long walk to reach them. Therefore the traghettos, (there are seven different points of crossings), which are large gondolas with two gondeliers operating them, minus the fancy decorations of a typical gondola, make getting to the other side fast and cheap. A ride is just 2 euros and most Venetians ride standing up.

Traghetto crossing the Grand Canal towards the famous fish market.

Dizzy Note: I brushed aside my pride and took a seat. 24/7 my life feels like I'm riding standing up in a rowboat at sea with my balance disorder, therefore I'm not actually going to do it. But I totally enjoyed the ride.

Across the canal were all the wine bars that we were going to visit. Note how close they all are to each other. Cicchetti are small snacks, often meats, vegetables or fish served on top of a slice of bread or polenta or skewered on a stick. Ancient recipes for an ancient ritual. And with every stop at each Bacari (cantina or tavern) we enjoyed a special glass of wine.

Do Spade

First stop was Cantina Do Spade (Two Swords - S. Polo 859). Wine served was a Prosecco and the cicchetti were a Mozzarella in carrozza; a deep fried sandwich made with soft bread, filled with mozzarella cheese and anchovies or with ham, and Olive ripiene, which is a big green olive filled with meat and deep fried. The sparkling Italian wine cut through the richness of the cicchetti wonderfully. Perfect pairing of food and wine.

Cantina Do Mori

Next stop was Cantina Do Mori (S. Polo 429 Rialto) Wine served was a Pinot Bianco and the cicchetti was a slice of fresh baked bread with Baccalà Mantecato (a salt cod spread.) Again, mouthwatering scrumptiousness. Is that a word? 

Me asking Francesca a bazillion questions.

Then we visited All'Arco (S. Polo 436, Calle de l'ochialer). Wine served was a Verduzzo and the Cicchetti were slices of bread with raw ham and pecorino or asiago cheese and truffle cream made with robiola cheese/vegetables and soppressa (a soft and young type of salami). Heaven.

Osteria alla Ciurma

Another glass of wine with cicchetti - am I'm full and tipsy but I want more! The next bacari was Osteria alla Ciurma (S. Polo 406). The wine bar has a boat motif and Ciurma's transaltaion into English means crew. Wine was a Raboso and the cicchetti served were ham or soppressa with asiago.

Glasses of Soave waiting for us at the window of Sacre e Profano.

Our final stop and truly one of my favorites (for sit down dinner too) is Osteria Al Sacre e Profano (S. Polo 502). Here we had a choice of wines: a Refosco (red) or Soave (white).

Cicchetti at Sacre e Profano

Cicchetti were artichoke patè with soppressa, a pumpkin mousse with raw ham (salt and air cured), and fried fish balls (sea bass). Also offered was a sweet wine - Malvasia and cookies from Burano. What an incredible evening and a great way to meet knew friends. It also gives you a good understanding of how and what to order at these taverns.

Some of the people on the tour with us were from Australia and several days later we were crossing a bridge on the other side of Venice and down below in a gondola there they were. We waved to each other and one of the women yelled out to us, "We'll meet you at the bar!"

Salute!