Babbo, finally

After years of wanting to eat at Mario Batali's Babbo, I finally ate there this past Sunday for my birthday. I have eaten at Otto and Lupa many times and even at his fancy white-table-clothed, expensive restaurant Del Posto (I didn't really like it but that is a story for another day). My boyfriend made Babbo reservations 30 days in advance because even after all the years it has been open it is really difficult to get one and it's almost impossible to get a seat unless you get there at 5pm.

We got there an hour before our reservation hoping to have a drink at the bar but it was completely packed so we decided to walk around outside on the unseasonably warm November night instead. We were promptly seated by the uber polite hostess when we returned 15 minutes early. Like her, everyone else that waited on us were well-trained and attentive without being overbearing.

I had always wanted to try the pasta tasting menu but 3 out of the 7 courses were desserts which is my least favorite course so we decided to order from the a la carte menu instead. I have been mushroom obsessed lately so I was also tempted by their porcini mushroom tasting menu. I ordered a mushroom focused appetizer to make up for my porcini lust. The Neci con Funghi Misti is a walnut crepe stuffed with porcini mushrooms with greens and tons of grated cheese on top. The mushrooms were fantastic and the dish was light enough for us to continue with our upcoming two pastas and steak.

Babbo's signature pasta is the Beef Cheek Ravioli with Crushed Squab Liver and Black Truffles. So of course we ordered that and it was fantastic. Even though we were eating lots of meat fat, it didn't feel like it. For a non-meat option we also had the Goat Cheese Tortelloni with Dried Orange and Wild Fennel Pollen which was tasty but not as unique as the beef cheek dish. The Barbecued Skirt Steak with Eggplant and Salsa Verde was cooked to perfection. The meat was so good I didn't bother with the salsa verde since it's flavors overwhelmed the steak.

We finished up with a fig and apple tart with goat's milk ice cream which like everything else was great. I might have to go back soon for the porcini tasting menu...

Restaurant Favorite - The Grocery

On a different note than my last food post where I complained and criticized recent meals out, I had two incredible meals this past weekend to celebrate my 26th birthday. Friday night I went to one of my Smith Street favorites, The Grocery with three of my friends. I have been there twice before and have had memorable food. Once again I was not disappointed. My favorite way to eat is to order to share as many dishes as possible, so we ordered 4 appetizers and 4 main courses and passed them around. The appetizers were my favorite part of the meal. We got:

roasted beets with goat cheese ravioli, fried shallots, toasted pine nuts, poached organic egg on a popover with sauteed mushrooms, ranch dressed frisee, house smoked bacon, fried artichokes with escarole, parmesan, croutons, roasted garlic & lemon aioli, house smoked wild salmon with potato yuca pancake, shallot sour cream, asian pear & endive salad

The poached organic egg was the standout for me. The bacon was smokey and thick, the mushrooms were amazing, and in general eggs with a runny yolk always make me happy. The smoked salmon was fantastic as well and had a really interesting combination of flavors that worked really well together. I was full at this point but had to push through and eat our main courses:

pan roasted fluke with couscous, tomato & ginger, braised leeks, baby bok choy, seared scallops with black soffrito sauce, arugula, fried potatoes & calamari, grilled loin chop of lamb with spinach, panisse, spicy stewed chickpeas, slow rendered duck breast with kasha, beet greens, roasted carrots, caramelized red wine sauce

The lamb was by far my favorite. It was cooked perfectly and I really enjoyed the spicy stewed chickpeas that came with it. I could have skipped the pan roasted fluke, it was too bland for my tastes and I also prefer my fish raw than cooked. The duck was everyone else's favorite probably but wasn't mine probably because I got that dish last and was so full it was hard to completely enjoy.

The ambiance of the restaurant isn't the greatest and as you can see from the picture below it is small, minimally decorated and slightly cramped. It is best to not get there before your reservation since there is no bar and no place at all to stand. We got there a few minutes early and had to awkwardly hover around the seated diners and kept on getting in the way of the wait staff. Have a drink at The Jakewalk down the street while you wait like we did instead.

Dining Disappointments

Part of the fun of watching reality competition shows is the pleasure we get watching people being criticized. One of my favorite shows is Top Chef because I (obviously) love food and am always impressed by the famous chefs that judge the show. Recently, I have gone to a couple of restaurants owned by TC judges and was underwhelmed.

First off is Daniel Boulud's restaurant Bar Boulud which I dined at a few weeks ago. The restaurant was completely full on a Wednesday night, so we sat at their back communal table. We were definitely the youngest people there probably because it's located in the Upper West Side. I started with the escargot which was poorly seasoned with garlic that wasn't cooked all the way through on some pieces which made the taste overwhelming (pictured below). The potato croquettes that came with the escargot were quite good though. For the main course we shared the Steak Frites which was completely average and really not worth the $33 price tag. I am still dying to to eat at his legendary restaurant Daniel which I am sure is excellent.

I also ate at one of Tom Colicchio's restaurants Craftbar a couple of weeks ago for a work lunch. He is one of the harshest judges on Top Chef and wow, was I not impressed by his restaurant. My Spanish octopus appetizer was overcooked and greasy so I barely ate it. My scallops were great on their own but was distracted by the overwhelming puree and foam surrounding it. I am not a fan of purees on the bottom of every dish because the texture reminds me of baby food. Even the steak was served on a puree of some sort. One highlight though was the was the pecorino-stuffed risotto balls.

I guess when you become a celebrity chef and your empire becomes so large, it becomes more about the marketing of your brand than the actual food.

The Walkmen: "On the Water"

One of my favorite songs from last year. Beautiful and slightly depressing video:

Cauliflower Pasta Obsession

My Mario Batali cookbook has come in handy before but I have to say that there is one recipe in particular I repeat over and over again. I make his Cauliflower Pasta recipe 1-2 times per week not only because it's addictive and tasty but because it's almost laughably easy to make when I come home from work and am feeling lazy. I actually think the one I make tasted better than the version I had at Batali's restaurant Otto last night.

Ingredients
1 box penne rigate (De Cecco is my preferred brand)
1 head of cauliflower
2-4 cloves of garlic, sliced (depends on how much of a garlic fiend you are)
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to your choice of fieriness)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pecorino Romano for grating

Directions
1) Remove leaves and base core from cauliflower and chop into 1/4-inch pieces. Break the florets away from the central core and size them similarly. Cut the core into 1/4-inch coins.
2) In a 14- to 18-inch sauté pan, heat oil on medium with garlic until just smoking. Add cauliflower, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
3)Leave the heat on medium and cook, stirring regularly for about 12 to 15 minutes, until cauliflower is softened and light brown but not mushy.
4)Cook the penne according to package instructions until “al dente” (mushy pasta is gross).
5)Drain pasta (do not run under cold water! this is gross too)
6)Toss hot pasta into pan with cauliflower and add lots(!) of grated Pecorino cheese. Season with extra red pepper flakes or black pepper if needed. Toss to coat and serve immediately.
7) Eat.

Mad Men Smash

Ahh Mad Men, my favorite show on television, you gave me my favorite episode of Season 3 so far. I have despised Joan's husband ever since he was introduced last season. I am sure I am not alone in feeling this, considering that he nonchalantly raped her in Don's office last season. It was always hard for me to understand how her character, usually extremely clever and confident, could fathom marrying such a self-absorbed, domineering, and insecure complainer, especially since she seems so in control of everything else. Finally after all his whining this season, she gave him what he deserved. Smash!

NY Film Festival 2009 - Broken Embraces (and other films)

I saw three films at the NYFF last week/weekend including Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces on closing night. Almodovar is my absolute favorite director, so I have been looking forward to this movie for a while. I attended a talk with him the day before the premiere where he spoke about his cinematic influences which whet my appetite to see the new movie even more.

While Broken Embraces isn't my favorite of his work (Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, and Talk to Her are tops), I still really loved watching this movie. Right from the beginning it was unmistakably Almodovar: gorgeous score, rich colors, stylistically interesting, and his familiar cast of actors. The main actors in this movie are the creepy priest from Bad Education, the cancer suffering neighbor from Volver, and of course Almodovar's current muse Penelope Cruz.

I don't like going into his movies knowing anything about the plot but I will say you should really watch Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown before you see Broken Embraces because the movie is directly referenced throughout the film and you will miss out on the humor in many scenes if you haven't seen it. I was never a fan of Cruz in her English speaking roles but I think she is a radiant and skilled actress in her native tongue (see Volver, Vicky Cristina Barcelona). The film weaves together a few storylines with her at the center and towards the end when they come together, the result is slightly awkward. I will definitely see it again when it comes out in November because when Almodovar introduced the movie with Cruz, he said that most people like Broken Embraces more after their second viewing and besides, there is nothing like seeing his movies on the big screen. Also in attendance were Selma Hayek, Jessica Lange, Jonathan Demme, Catherine Malandrino, and Antony from Antony and the Johnsons (he is one big dude).


Besides Broken Embraces, I saw two other foreign films at the festival since the majority of films on the slate are non-US. The White Ribbon, a film by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke is set in a small village in Germany during the dawn of WWI. Haneke introduced his Cannes Palme D'or winning film and wished us all a disturbing experience. Disturbing it was. Shot in stark black and white with a creepy cast of characters, The White Ribbon tells the stories of several families as they deal with a series of mysterious and scary events that take place in the village: children being tortured, animal mutilation, attempted murder, etc. The story wasn't wrapped up in a neat bow at the end which could be frustrating for some viewers but I don't think that is the point of the movie. I think it was supposed to leave the viewer feeling unsettled and show how parents actions shape their children's behavior especially in the history that was about to be made in Germany in WWI and WWII. This is not a feel good movie but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The same cannot be said for Korean director Joon-ho Bong's film Mother. It was a comedy, then murder mystery and then depressing. I didn't feel anything for any of the characters so I was just waiting for the movie to be over. Mother was highly regarded at Cannes but whatever, it wasn't for me.