Wrestlin' bread at Zucca

Two weekends ago, AS's friends were in town and wanted to explore the West Village on Saturday night. So the six of us set out into the Village wilds to start the evening with some Italian food.

We ended up at Zucca Trattoria, a relatively nondescript Italian joint right in Sheridan Square. And I'll tell you right up front: Zucca is the quintessential middling Italian place that fills the gaping maw between Olive Garden and Babbo in the Italian spectrum. Was it great? No. Was it reasonably priced? Yes. Was it filling? Yes. Done and done.

We started with some bread and apps. The bread was fine, with my only gripe being the presentation style: They had only cut the pieces about halfway down in the loaf, and with the incredibly, persistently thick bottom crust to this bread, extracting one piece from the remaining slices involved a personal wrestling match filled with contorting arms and flying elbows. Watch our for your neighbors' water glasses. I'm just sayin'.

Look at how thick the bottom crust is!! Fo' real, yo!

The apps were a fried calamari and a burrata with mortadella. Both were well-received, although I'll say the calamari looked a little paltry when it hit the table. The burrata came with some large and flaccid roasted red peppers and some tomato slices, along with a liberal sprinkling of dried oregano.

They really liked the limp radicchio garnish theme...

Mmmm, burratta

How were the entrees? Also along the same lines-- not bad, but not exceptional. There was a seafood pasta special; a veal scaloppine; an orecchiette with broccoli rabe; a ravioli; and a fusilli with some other delights mixed in. I went for the beet salad with asparagus and ricotta salata. My thoughts: though multicolor beets were promised, the only beets that populated the plate were red; the asparagus looked like overcooked green beans; and the cheese was cheese. Did it taste fine? Sure. Was it worth returning for? No.

Special seafood pasta. Not THAT special.

Scaloppine, with mysterious fried log

Tri-color orecchiette-- the only time I've ever seen that

Ravioli 'n' sauce

More limp radicchio garnish

My beets

So, we did what we could, filled our bellies, and made our way out onto the streets to continue (start) our night. It's worth noting that the staff at Zucca was quite friendly, and they accommodated our large party on short notice on a Saturday night with grace and aplomb. Still, Zucca is the epitome of the two Offset Spatula restaurant. While it wasn't bad, in a city such as New York filled with delicious Italian places, I wouldn't necessarily return.

Zucca
95 Seventh Avenue
212-255-1980

A Princeton review... backwards

This past weekend, AV and I headed back to his hometown of Princeton to lend a hand at his mom's jewelry show on Sunday. I'd been back to Princeton once before but hadn't thoroughly checked out all the edibles the town had to offer. For the past few weeks, I'd been looking forward to checking out the Bent Spoon, Princeton's famed artisanal ice cream shop, as an after-dinner treat, wherever dinner may be. But as Saturday night neared and dinner hour came and went, AV and I were simply not that hungry. But we wanted ice cream. So we decided to skip dinner entirely and head straight to the good stuff. Strangely, however, I wasn't craving fancy, delicate ice cream a la Bent Spoon; I was craving what we had had during my last trip to Princeton: Thomas Sweet.

Thomas Sweet is known for both ice cream and chocolate, but as we entered the shop, we knew exactly what we wanted. Two efficient orders later, we were sitting at a table diving into the most decadent, purest cookies 'n' cream ice cream I've had since that euphoric moment at SoCo Creamery in the Berkshires over the summer. This ice cream was a straightforward expression of sugar, vanilla, cream, and cookies-- nothing more, nothing less. It cooled the tongue and warmed the heart.

Absolutely classic

Satisfied with our dinner, we set off on a stroll around Princeton proper. Even in the merciless mist, Princeton was fairy-tale-like, cute and dreamy like a movie set. We peeked into the coffee shops and stores and dodged the college students, and all of a sudden I floated an idea: "Any chance you'd like some... real food?" Curiously, AV was on the same wavelength-- though we'd both just consumed about a half-pint of ice cream each, all of a sudden we were hungry for dinner.

And so we ducked into Mediterra, a warm yet chic restaurant near the center of town. It was about 9PM, and the hostess quoted us about 15 minutes for a table. So as I nipped off to the bathroom, AV retreated to the bar area, and by the time I returned, he had scored us two choice seats right at the bustling bar. I will note that Mediterra has by far and away the most comfortable bar seats we've ever had the pleasure of perching upon: padded and upholstered with substantial backs, these made our gastronomic journey a pleasure.

We each ordered a light bite from the menu, and within a moment or so a bread basket swooped down. The bread selection was admirable: three different kinds by my count, including a pumpernickle, a white slice, and some delicious focaccia. The dipping oil had a peppery bite to it that kept the palate interested.

Lots of bread for two casual noshers

With barely a few bites of bread consumed, our entrees (after-dinner snacks?) made their appearance. AV had chosen the fried calamari, which came with "harissa-pomodoro and lemon aioli" as dipping sauces. AV asked for an extra side of the red sauce, noting that any order of calamari that doesn't come with just straight-up marinara isn't quite playing fair (and though I wouldn't necessarily style myself a calamari expert, I'm inclined to agree). Speaking of playing fair, the mound of calamari was actually interspersed with tiny shoestring french fries, making the seafood pile seem more substantial than it was. As it was, AV steered around the unfavored octopus-like tentacle pieces and gobbled the rings and the fries and was satisfied.

Trompe l'oeil calamari

I had chosen the bibb lettuce salad with roasted pumpkin, red delicious apple, brie, roasted beets, and raisin vinagrette. I was very pleased with the salad, which came with two dressings on the side, one more apple-sauce-like (which I loved) and the other pretty standard. The brie crostino was pungeant and tasty, and the pumpkin was soft and sweet. My only gripe was that a few of the beets had slightly rotten spots, but other than that, I was a happy camper.

Creative melange

Our snacks at Mediterra capped off a delightful and delicious evening of dining in reverse. I'll be craving the ice cream at Thomas Sweet for some time to come, and the savory-sweet salad at Mediterra was no slouch either. It was the perfect combination for a dreamlike night at a fairy-tale land so close to the city, and yet a whole world away.

Thomas Sweet
179 Nassau Street, Princeton
609-683-8720

Mediterra
29 Hulfish Street, Princeton
609-252-9680

Branching out to a new Thai on 9th

Two weekends ago, I attended the incredible show Fantasy Football: The Musical?, written by my good friend DI, part of the New York Musical Theater Festival. After laughing heartily for an hour and a half, fellow showgoers AV and JR and I were hungry. So we scurried around the corner to Aura Thai on Ninth Avenue.

The decor of Aura is plain and simple, but we were all so ravenous we didn't care. We started with a couple of apps-- first up, JR's fried calamari with sweet chili sauce. This dish looked like onion rings and was well received by both JR and AV, who sniped a ring or two.

A tangle of veg 'n' squid

AV and I shared the vegetable dumplings. These were large, half-moon/ravioli-style dumplings filled with a mixture of shredded veggies. The sweet sauce was drizzled over the top, which meant we weren't able to control the mixture of dumpling and sauce through dipping, always a key part of the experience. Overall, these weren't my favorite dumplings in the NYC Thai Restaurant Dumpling Pantheon; the filling tasted like generic frozen veggies, and I wasn't a huge fan of the half-moon shape.

Pretty, but plain inside

Moving on, JR got a curry dish... and shamefully I can't remember exactly which one. But it was ample and flavorful and delicious, according to its consumer.

Some sort of curry? Maybe?

AV went with the pad see ew with chicken. Lots of green veggies made this one a winner in my book... and AV was also a fan.

Wide noodles and bursts of bright green

My choice was, of course, papaya salad. This was a big portion with lots of green beans; the papaya was also cut spaghetti-style rather than in small matchsticks, which was interesting. The vinaigrette here was heavy on the lime and light on the umami, which made the whole dish light but lacking in the strong flavor usually associated with papaya salad.

It also came with sticky rice. Very, very gluey sticky rice.

Overall, we were so hungry that the food at Aura hit the spot. But the quality of food was definitely eclipsed by the other Thai options a few blocks up on Ninth. As a result, I wouldn't necessarily return to Aura unless I were ravenous and right in the area, which means Aura earns a two Offset Spatula designation. Done and done.

Aura
462 Ninth Avenue, between 35th and 36th streets
212-971-8530

Not quite at home at Maison

It was Friday night, and no plans were afoot. Setting out from AV's apartment on the UES, we decided to try to take on the Chicken Guy at 53rd and 6th, but once we got there the line was prohibitive. So, dejected, we walked west, vaguely toward my apartment, with no true destination in mind. But lo! We soon happened upon Maison, a French bistro-type affair with widespread seating on 7th Ave, and I remarked that I'd often seen this place but had never been nor heard much about it. And so we were off; sidling into a sidewalk table, we scanned the menu for something delicious for AV to eat and something delicious for me to drink.

To start: the drinks. There was a mojito on the menu, and there were drinks with mango in them, so I asked if they could make me a mango mojito. Unequivocally, without even a moment's hesitation, our server said no. Oooohkay. So I went with a mango bellini, which was quite delicious. AV settled on a beer from Brooklyn, which was beery. I presume.

As for the food, AV had chosen the calamari. He does love a good order of calamari, but unfortunately, he did not love this order. It came with a dish of aioli, and after a couple of dips, AV asked our server if he could have a dish of marinara instead. At the same time I asked for a bread basket. For a while, neither was forthcoming, and AV and I sat as the basket of calimari cooled and turned from potentially-yummy-fried-food to gummy-and-cold-fried-blech. A few minutes later, the marinara arrived. A few minutes-- and a few more requests-- after that, so did the bread. The verdict on the calimari: The batter was weird and the marinara was too sweet; all in all, something of a disaster, and only half the order was consumed.

Eewy

But the verdict on the bread was much more positive. Huge hunks of delightfully chewy French bread went down like water with the somewhat odd red-pepper-infused butter. We polished off the bread basket and our drinks and headed out into the night.

Enormous tasty carbs

When the check came, we learned that Maison was part of the illustrious line of restaurants that includes Pigalle and Cafe d'Alsace, all of which have subpar food and incredibly "French" (read: indifferent) service. It all made sense. I can't really rate Maison, since I didn't technically eat anything except (the admittedly delicious) bread, but unless you're starving in the wastelands of Midtown, don't settle for Maison; there are much better options nearby.

Maison
1700 Broadway, at 54th Street
212-757-2233

Vong: Thanks for being in my life

In my experience, when you are fortunate enough to eat a five Offset Spatula meal, you know what you're getting into. At least, you have a suspicion on the way in that this could be the Big One, or at least one of them. But sometimes you have a dining experience that completely blindsides you, that you didn't see coming. This past weekend, AV and I experienced just that: a sleeper five OS restaurant.

It was Saturday night, and I'd spent all day at the Billy's Tribeca opening. I was exhausted, to say the least. Both AV and I wanted an early night, so we decided to make dinner our "entertainment" for the night. I browsed around Opentable and finally settled upon Vong, one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurants. I've never been to any of his places, which is a surprising and relatively shameful admission for an NYC foodie to make, and while I've wanted to go to Spice Market and Jojo for a while, I chose Vong because a) its menu looked decent, and b) there was a reservation available. So we traipsed across the city in the drizzle to our final destination.

The dining room itself is beautiful. Everything is vaguely Asian-ish, sleek, and chic. The tables are somewhat low to the ground, and the chairs deposit you in a semi-reclining position. Our no-nonsense waiter took our drink orders (tap water, thank you) and our food orders. Nothing special so far but no deductions either.

And then the first punch: our appetizer arrived. We had chosen to share the vegetable and avocado summer rolls, which usually come with raw tuna but are also available in a veggie version. One bite of the roll with its accompanying ginger dipping sauce left us both reeling. The rolls had all different textures-- the chewy rice paper, the crunchy asparagus and carrot, the smooth shiitake mushrooms, and the creamy avocado. The sauce had approximately 1,000 different flavors, all of which combined for an incredible pop. After we each downed our three bites, we contemplated ordering about 40 more orders, stuffing them in my purse, and running for the hills (after paying, of course). I could live happily on those summer rolls for weeks if not months at a time.

Unassumingly superlative

But we weren't done. A tiny dish of papadums landed on the table, which we dipped in the peanutty sauce. A perfect interlude between courses. Strike two.

Simple and perfect

And then the third punch: our entrees. AV had selected the crispy salt-and-pepper calamari with the sriracha dipping sauce. One bite and he declared, "This is pretty much perfection." Not relying on the batter and oil for flavor, the calamari was high quality, seasoned, and enhanced by the spicy sauce. Excellent.

Seasoned and tasty

My choice was the green papaya and apple salad. This was one of the most incredible things I've ever eaten. There was green papaya, shredded apple, cashews, fried green beans, cranberries, tiny tomatoes, shredded lettuce... everything was just so incredibly flavorful and texturally accurate, if that makes sense, that I nearly swooned. The combination of the summer rolls and this papaya salad was pretty close to the perfect meal.

Definitely top 10 of all time

It was clear by this point that we had a five OS contender on our hands. But you can't really earn five spats without dessert, so we pressed on to the final punch. I chose caramelized pineapple with vanilla and coconut sorbet. AV had said he didn't really want to share it, but once it arrived he changed his mind. The pineapple was syrupy-sweet and perfumed with vanilla. The berries were showered with tiny bits of mango, which I love. The coconut sorbet was cool and delicious, and the bonus macaroon cookies were a total delight. Overall: very impressive, not to mention beautiful.

Fruity and sweet... the best combo

It looked as though Vong's fate was sealed, but just as we were about to ask for the check, our waiter brought over two tiny complimentary mignardises: mint ice cream lollipops encased in chocolate. One bite brought a cool, if a teensy bit icy (I'm nitpicking here) finale.

The cherry on top

It would be an understatement to say that Vong took us by complete surprsise. We were woefully unprepared for a five OS night-- which, in truth, made the experience all the more delightful. That night, I ate some of the best food I've ever had, in a cool and chic dining space, and at a relatively reasonable price. I can't recommend Vong more highly, and I also can't wait to try J-G's other restaurants. Who knows what other surprises they have in store?

Vong
200 E. 54th Street
212-486-9592

Favorite wine and food aplenty at Cavatappo grill

Many moons ago, AV and I went for a post-Valentine's-Day dinner nightcap at Cavatappo wine bar on the UES. I had a glass of lambrusco bianco, a wine I'd never seen before (lambrusco is a sparkling red wine, and I'd never encountered a white version). It was so delicious, I've been craving it ever since and haven't been able to find it anywhere else. So this Saturday night, we headed to Cavatappo Grill, the restaurant version of the wine bar, to slay (guzzle) my white whale.

The restaurant is small but cute, decorated with a pervasive wine-cork motif. We sat at a small table by the window and pored over the paper-placemat menus. I already knew our wine order, so we asked for a bottle of lambrusco bianco straightaway. The waiter brought the wine quickly; it was, as I had remembered, powerfully delicious: crisp, not very sweet but not bone-dry either, with tiny effervescent bubbles that make it go down like San Pellegrino. Exquisite-- and my new official Favorite Wine. Along with the wine, our waiter brought over a basket of bread and a small dish of olive oil and vinegar. The bread was serviceable, a little hard on the outside (indicating it had been sliced many hours earlier and left in the open air) but good for sopping up the oil. Unfortunately, try as we might (and we did), the balsamic vinegar at the bottom of the olive oil dish was pretty much inaccessible.

Boat of sliced bread

When we were about half a glass in, we placed our order. There was so much on the menu we both wanted, it was difficult to make a choice. But we finally settled, and the food arrived after a reasonable wait.

AV had gone with a starter (not to be confused with an "appetizer," a separate section on the menu) and a side dish. He reported that the fried calamari was delicious, full of lightly fried rings and none of the castoff bits that tend to populate lesser orders of the app. To balance out the meal, he ordered a side of sauteed broccoli rabe. I tried a few bites and it was really good-- not too oily, fresh and green. Overall, two winners.

Bands of gold

And greenery for balance

My selection was a salad of cremini mushrooms, pears, walnuts, fontina cheese, and mixed greens with white truffle oil. It was very, very good. The mixture of ingredients was creative, and the serving size was very generous-- there were even a few cherry tomatoes thrown in for good measure. Especially with the addition of the white truffle oil, this salad was eminantly craveable, something I won't forget for a long time... which presents me with a conundrum: when I return to Cavatappo, do I get this delicious salad again? Or do I order one of the other several items on the menu that I wanted to try? I do not know, dear readers. I do not know.

A bowl of creative deliciousness

Food (and much of the wine) dispatched, we decided to throw caution to the wind and order dessert. We shared the tiramisu, which hit the spot-- creamy and spongy with a strong espresso syrup on the bottom. Definitely not the best tiramisu I've ever had, but at that moment it was perfect.

Sooooooupy

By the time we were done, the place had filled up with happy, chatty patrons, and we paid the reasonable bill and stumbled out into the night. The service at Cavatappo is what one might call "brusque"; the waiters are friendly enough but they're clearly there to get the food to your table in the most efficient way possible. The atmosphere is pleasant, and the prices are reasonable. But if you're there for the food and the wine-- and we most certainly were-- Cavatappo is the perfect neighborhood restaurant. You can get a table on a weekend night with only a few hours' notice, and you can have a very enjoyable meal there and leave happy. So even though it's not the pinnacle of fine dining, Cavatappo Grill deserves four Offset Spatulas and several more visits from this hungry blogger.

Cavatappo Grill
1712 First Avenue, between 88th and 89th
212-987-9260