A gelato nightcap at Capogiro

After my salt fest at Gia Pronto in Philadelphia, I still had a few moments before I had to take off for the train station. And if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time at all, you'll know that that can mean only one thing: time for dessert! So out I went, walking up Walnut Street, until I found the University City location of Capogiro Gelato.

I've actually had Capogiro before, bizarrely enough, at the NYCWFF a few years back. But I've never been to their stores, since they're mostly located in Philly. This time, I plunged into the cafe/coffee shop-type shop and made a beeline to the gelato case.

The guy behind the counter was truly patient with me as I tried nearly every flavor. Finally, I made my way over to the table with a small cup of half Thai Coconut Milk, half Hazelnut gelato. I was five dollars poorer, sure, but I was also happy as a clam.

A tower of tastiness

The Thai Coconut Milk was an intriguing flavor. It tasted like coconut, of course, but it wasn't the bold, in-your-face coconut that a plain "coconut" flavor would bring to your mouth; it was more, well, milky, a bit smoother, a bit subtler. The Hazelnut was all nut, though, silky in texture and tongue-coating in nutty flavor.

The small may be pretty small, but I struggled to finish it-- palate fatigue set in near the last few bites, with all that rich milkiness sating me (for the time being, at least). Capogiro may not be the absolute best gelato I've ever had, but it's good stuff, and their interesting flavors keep the gelato-complacent on their toes. If I'm ever back in Philly again, you can rest assured I'll return.

Capogiro
3925 Walnut Street, between 39th and 40th Streets
Philadelphia, PA
215-222-0252

More gelato at Grom

After an Italian meal at A Voce, what better dessert than some gelato? Unfortunately, the gelato pickins around Columbus Circle are relatively slim, so it's pretty much Grom or bust. To Grom I went.

This time, the Bacio flavor caught my taste buds. It's a smooth chocolatey base punctuated by copious hunks of hazelnut-- the effect combines to produce a nutella-like effect. Delicious. I combined it with a half-scoop of coconut, which wasn't exactly the most harmonious pairing, but the coconut is so delicious I couldn't really resist.

The Bacio was beaten into submission

Ahh, Grom. So expensive for so little. But still... so irresistible.

Grom
1796 Broadway, between 58th Street and Columbus Circle
212-974-3444

Green Apple gelato provides the old standards

After dinner with SL, we took a short stroll around Nolita, and of course my eyes were out for something sweet. We turned the corner and were faced with Green Apple, a tiny combination macaron-and-gelato shop. Sure, that would do. Two tastes of gelato later, and I was on my way with a small cup of half hazelnut, half coconut.

Mmm, snozzberries

Both flavors were smooth, sweet, and true to form-- the hazelnut tasted like hazelnut; the coconut like coconut, and the snozzberries tasted like snozberries. Both textures were uniform; the hazelnut had no crushed nuts, and the coconut lacked any coconut shards (for better or for worse, depending on your tolerance of coconut texture). The portion was pretty ample for a small, and the kind man behind the counter allowed me to pack two flavors into the small cup, which is more than can be said for a number of gelato shops around town. Overall, this was a perfectly satisfactory experience: Nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary, but certainly something to satisfy the cool-and-sweet craving when it rears its ugly head.

Green Apple
202A Mott Street
212-966-5666

Reunion brings surf and sun to Hell's Kitchen

Reunion Bar is a new entrant in the Hell's Kitchen bar scene. It replaced the cool and slightly chicer-than-thou Kemia Bar below Marseille Restaurant on the corner of 44th and 9th. I met up with LM there last week to check out what this new place was all about.

It's billed as a surfer bar, and you definitely do get the surfer vibe. The space is friendly and upbeat, with a bar and a few high tables sprinkled about. There are surfer scenes playing on the flat screens on the wall. The servers wear short shorts and look plucked straight from the Venice Beach boardwalk (is there a boardwalk on Venice Beach? I don't know). Everyone is kind of chilled out, or at least the Manhattan version of chilled out, which is still pretty amped up in the overall scheme of things.

Anyway, how were the drinks? Creative, and really darn good. LM and I both went for their frozen cocktails, which are their specialty, this being something of a tiki bar (kind of). LM chose the Reunion Sunrise, which is like a tequila sunrise but with a twist: tequila, mango puree, fresh lime, grand marnier, and raspberry puree. Delicious, and pretty to boot.

Good morning, sunrise

Mine was a twist on the pina colada: the Coco Loco. Rum, fresh lime juice, coconut cream, pineapple, cherry heering, and amaretto made up this snow-white concoction. It was scrumptious, tasty but a little bit more nuanced than your typical straight-up-coconut pina colada. While you could certainly taste the booze, this ended up not being all that strong in the end, which is good or bad, depending on your mindset (and body composition).

Gotta love the glassware as well...

Reunion also offers a line of creative small plates, from fish tacos to fried cheese to riblets. We didn't partake, but the plates parading past us looked pretty good. Most of the small plates are around $12, and even the frozen cocktails were only $10-- which in this city qualifies as a gen-u-ine bargain. Reunion is a spunky addition to the neighborhood, and I like that.

Reunion
Corner of 44th and 9th
212-582-3200

LWF&D finally goes to Grom...again

After my foray into Bouchon Bakery's savories, I needed something sweet. And preferably cold and creamy. What to do, what to do... Well, hello, Grom! You just happened to be nearby. And though I could no longer use my "first-time visitor" excuse, I stopped in anyway to shell out $5.25 for a small cup of gelato.

And would I do it again? Absolutely. This time I went with two flavors: coconut sorbet-- incredibly creamy, with a smooth texture and a heady coconut flavor-- and crema di grom, a light cream base with big hunks of biscotti. By big hunks I mean huge pieces-- there was pretty much an entire gingersnap-sized cookie in one of my bites. This was one of the best flavors I've tasted at Grom.

Oh so dear

Alas, like everything that's a little too expensive and a little too small, it was gone too soon. But the powerful memories linger on...

Grom
1796 Broadway, between 58th Street and Columbus Circle
212-974-3444

Small plates and big wine at L'Artusi

Usually those miserably rainy, truly soaking days like the ones we had last week encourage me to stay inside, even if there are tempting things to do out in the world. But even last Monday's Noah's-ark-style deluge couldn't keep me from venturing down to the West Village to meet my former employers, M and W, for a long-overdue celebratory dinner at L'Artusi.

My soggy self found them sitting at the bar (at really comfortable chairs, mind you, extra points there) having a drink; we were soon shown to our table right opposite the bar to get the food started. We didn't get to venture very far into the deceptively large space-- there were more tables on the main level opposite the open kitchen, as well as a whole upper level packed with diners. The decor was modern but unobtrusive, and the place was buzzing but not deafening. Truly comfortable overall.

After a relatively involved ordering process, we began to taste the fruits of our labor, beginning with the bread. We had already started on the wine, a delicious crisp and full white from J. Hofstatter in the Alto Adige region of Italy, so I needed at least something to start sopping it up in my empty stomach. The bread, a relatively unobtrusive flour-dusted white loaf, did nicely, primarily as a vehicle for the intensely herbal and spicy olive oil.

Bread to begin

And then a round of small plates began to land. The crudo started things off-- I believe M and W had gone with the scallops. I abstained, but they devoured the delicate slices of fish.

Almost translucent

Then we were on to some vegetables. First up: sweet, rustic beets with a surprisingly rich and creamy yogurt sauce, all offset by peppery watercress.

Buried beets

Then, my main attraction: butter lettuce with an assertive dressing, accompanied by hazelnuts and bits of olives. This was truly, truly delicious and about as hearty as a plate of mostly lettuce can get.

Usually topped with gorgonzola, but I declined-- it was plenty rich anyway!

On to the pastas. M and W shared the delectable pici, a tangle of thick noodles bound with a lamb ragu and showered with pecorino.

This portion was actually smaller than it looks here

They also dove into the grilled octopus, which came German-potato-salad-style with potatoes, olives, and pancetta. When the runner placed the dish on our table, he stated that "the chef recommends you squeeze the lemon on top." Oh really? Then we shall! (Ahem.)

Tentacles 'n' taters

We then attached the dutiful green veggie, a side of vibrant broccoli rabe flavored with garlic and chiles.

Roughage

And finally, perhaps the sleeper hit of the evening: the unassumingly titled "Mushroom Ragu." This was an almost stew-like concoction of creamy polenta topped with lovingly caramelized mushrooms, which themselves bore a jaunty dollop of robiolina cheese. Take a scoop of polenta and mushrooms, swirl in the cheese, and you have yourself a bite of the most decadent, stomach-filling Cream of Wheat possible. If you're a vegetarian in search of comfort food, you've found your holy grail.

Droooooool

Phew. You'd think by this point we would have been slumped over, clutching our stomachs, but no! We were ready for dessert. (Note: This go-get-'em attitude was aided by a second bottle of wine, a robust ruby-colored red that I completely forget the name of.) M chose the olive oil cake with raisin marmaletta, vin santo, and creme fraiche mousse. I stole a tiny bite when he was distracted, and the cake was incredibly delicate and tightly-crumbed in the manner only olive oil cakes truly achieve. The wine-soaked raisins were a boozy treat.

A generous wedge

W and I went straight for the caramelized pineapple sundae, anchored with coconut gelato, topped with coconut mousse, and studded with chunks of almond cake and a piece of almond brittle. This was a hot (cold?) mess in the best way possible. I love coconut sorbet or ice cream, and this coconut gelato was mild and silky-smooth. The coconut mousse sat like a marshmallow beret on top of the ice cream, pierced with a triangle of almond brittle. The chunks of stewed pineapple and the pieces of delectable almond cake provided necessary textural contrast. And needless to say the whole thing was gone in under 2 minutes.

Went down like water

Phew. By the time we had finished and stepped out into the world, it was pouring in earnest, but I didn't quite feel the drenching rain as I walked to and from the subway-- I was too absorbed in my food and wine coma. I had been meaning to go to L'Artusi for quite a while, and golly I'm glad I finally went. The food and wine are incredibly thoughtful, and the ingredients are impeccably fresh. The space is appealing, and the service is solicitous if a bordering on a bit pretentious. However, it's worth noting that a blowout meal at L'Artusi can get quite expensive-- for the most part the portions are truly small, and that's coming from someone who eats tiny portions as a matter of course. If you're a hearty eater or you're coming with a group, ordering a number of small plates will cause the bill to add up rather quickly. Even with that caveat, though, L'Artusi is a solid four Offset Spatula restaurant and a fantastic destination for any lover of Italian food and wine.

L'Artusi
228 W. 10th Street, between Bleecker and Hudson
212-255-5757

Back to Vong for twists on greatness

Two weekends ago (I'm a bit behind...) AV and I made our way back to Vong. I'd received a gift certificate there for my birthday, courtesy of my delightful parents, and though I'd enjoyed it thoroughly with both AV and my mother on two occasions in the same week, I hadn't yet found the time to go back. But finally the time had come, and we were back, hoping for the same bursts of greatness we'd witnessed the last time around.

As with last time, we started with the papadum chips with peanut sauce. Incredibly savory and compulsively popable, we both could be satisfied with a huge bowl of these chips, a vat of sauce, and perhaps a couch and a football game. But I digress.

Papadummmmmmm

For his entree, AV went with the vegetarian version of their summer rolls, but instead of the standard dipping sauce, he requested the spicy sriracha dipping sauce that usually accompanies the salt-and-pepper calimari. He was exceedingly happy with his decision.

Mash-up!

I was sad to see that their green papaya and apple salad, which I had enjoyed so thoroughly last time, was no longer on the menu. But it was replaced with "Mango salad, lime and chili dressing," which looked promising. I ordered it. And I was glad I had. It had thick strips of mango along with the same delicious odds-and-ends that had made the papaya salad so delicious-- cashews, fried green beans, cherry tomato halves. There was also a bizarre hunk of iceberg lettuce. Sure. Regardless, it was one of the better salads I've had in a while-- not quite as good as the papaya version, but certainly worth returning for.

A medley of savory and sweet deliciousness

On to dessert. Our amazing caramelized pineapple treat from before was also gone from the menu, so we were left to our own devices. AV overheard another table order an off-the-menu molten chocolate cake, and he followed suit. With vanilla ice cream, it was a solid rendition of the classic.

Gooey inside

I ordered just plain coconut sorbet. With that order, I got three large scoops of flaky, chilly coconut sorbet-- delicious-- and a long cookie-- forgettable. It was so much sorbet I almost couldn't finish it. Well, almost.

Coconut fabulosity

Even with all that food, we were still left with more than half of my $100 gift certificate left over. So, Vong, we'll be back-- for more four Offset Spatula action and whatever other delicious surprises you can throw our way.

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