Po-A Small Staple Powerhouse

Tucked away on the quaint and welcoming Cornelia street, behind the popular names of standout restaurants like Annisa, Pearl Oyster Bar and Cornelia Street Café lies a small staple trattoria, entitled  Po, that I have mistakenly overlooked each timed I’ve dined on this neighborhood street.  After reading such great reviews about this little gem, that has been around for over 15 years, I decided it was time to give it a whirl and took my girlfriend with me for a nice Saturday night out.

When we arrived we were promptly seated for our reservations and the house was packed! The restaurant itself is very small, but welcoming with candles and a few mirrors. It’s cozy, romantic and has enough noise that you can’t really tell what your fellow diners around you are talking about even though you're so close. Our server was great, attentive, knew all the dishes and didn’t rush us during the meal, which I appreciated for a busy Saturday night.

The wine list is huge and offers a true variety of wines. To be honest, I love wine but my knowledge of it really comes down to red or white and what can satisfy my taste buds and my budget! That being said, our waiter was helpful and helped us choose a nice red in our range.

He immediately brought over some crispy, warm bread with olive oil and a tasting of the white bean bruschetta which was actually delicious! I’m normally a tomato, basil based chetta kinda girl, but this white bean one was light, you could taste the freshness of the basil, beans, and zesty garlic served over  toasted crostini, which made a nice combo.

To start we decided to get two apps. The polpetta di carne (meatballs with tomato sauce & caciocavallo) and the roasted autumn squash with fontina fonduta & toasted pine nuts. 

The meatballs were great.  Juicy, soft, flavorful and were swimming in a pool of rich and hearty tomato sauce. A perfect way to start the meal!

Next came the roasted squash with fontina cheese, the squash was moist and the fontina melted in a way it layered the squash ever so gently. It was gooey, creamy and the pine nuts added that extra crunchy texture that really hit it out of the park for me. It was a little on the rich side, but it was perfect for sharing.

Onto our main dishes, I ordered the pappardelle with braised duck ragu and my girlfriend got the gnocchi della casa, homemade gnocchi with lamb ragu & mint ricotta ball. To our surprise, the portions were huge! For a “primi” course the plate is definitely worth the price. Both dishes were filled with beautifully homemade pasta amidst rich and hearty sauces.

The duck ragu was moist and savory and tasted great against the tender noodles. A splendid dish.

The gnocchi was also a hit. The zest of the fresh mint mixed with ricotta cheese, chunks of tender lamb and fluffy gnocchi melded beautifully together. The only issue with both of these is that it was too big to finish!

For desert we opted for the special of warm apple tart with vanilla gelato which was yummy. It didnt  blow my socks off but, a nice flaky crust, warm cinnamon apples and a dollop of vanilla gelato on a cold winter night, surely pleased my sweet tooth.

All in all Little Star gives Po 3 ½ stars.  For being such a little place on such a little street in such a big city, Po delivers the service and fare any great New York restaurant should.

Happy Eating!

Little Star

oxox

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's not too late to score some last minute reservations for V-day tonight. As you know the way into a mans (or woman's) heart is through their stomach so grab your guy or your group of single ladies and head out for some delish grub in this amazing city we call home. Wheter you want a full romantic sit down dinner, a laid back bite or a rowdy party there are still plenty of options available on opentable but HURRY!

Check out my fave mexican eatery Ofrenda for a special aphrodisiac 4 course prix fixe menu in addition to their regular options. They also have a Cello player tonight to help woo your love! The prix fixe includes their delish guac and homemade chips, then Prince Edward island oysters prepared two ways–raw with jalapeno tequila mignonette or baked Baja-style. Next up, a delicious HUGE 3 pound lobster poached hot with dripping butter and served with a yucca fondue and mango-cascabel sauce. If you have any room left after that, you can feed your love handmade chocolate covered strawberries.

Another great low key, romantic spot is Cucina Di Pesce serving delicious Italian fare for a very reasonable price. My fave dish is the monk fish; juicy medallions of monkfish (also known as the poor mans lobster) served with tomatoes and onions in a creamy lobster sauce and vegetables or pasta on the side.

No matter where you choose to dine remember to enjoy the awesome food and last but not least the amazing company you're sharing it with!

Happy Eating!

Little Star

xoxo

Bondst-Restaurant Week Review

Last week my girlfriend and I decided to give Bondst a try for the ever fabulous NYC restaurant week.  I usually tend to pick restaurants that give you the most bang for your buck with the prix fixe and that are on the higher end that maybe I wouldn’t usually pick if they weren’t participating. I also love to check out the eateries menus online that way you know what you have to choose from when you come. After perusing Bondst's menu and seeing it’s  $$$$ marking on yelp...I decided it sounded like a fabulous way to spend a Thursday girls night out.

We arrived promptly at 8 PM and were seated right off the bat which I loved. The hostess was super friendly which I wasn’t expecting from a more “upscale trendy” sushi establishment. The decor was really cool and modern, we were seated on the top floor which was a little crowded and loud but not too overbearing. The server was attentive, friendly and didn’t once rush us even though it was a crowded Thursday night during restaurant week. 

I started with the lychee martini which was really just straight up chilled orange vodka in a pretty glass accompanied by two plump lycees on the side but at $14 a pop I wasn’t complaining. My girlfriend ordered the shisito pepper margarita with shisito pepper agave, alma tequila, lime, yuzu lemon foam and a pickled shisito pepper which was also on the strong side but tasty (minus the pepper…don’t bite the pepper)! Better left as decoration.

We both began our meals with the ginger salad that at first appeared boring and undressed, but was in fact delish! Crispy tempura on top a bed of green leafy lettuce in a ginger dressing really got the evening off to a good start.

The prix fixe menu came with a choice of 3 pc sushi rolls (spicy tuna and salmon avocado) or sashimi (tuna, yellowtail, salmon) and either the broiled sea bass marinated in saikyo miso or the NY strip steak with 12 year balsamic as your main dish. We decided to both get the sushi rolls and then one sea bass and one steak and share. Also on the plate you received a "bento box", a tasting of 3 appetizers including about four of the Spicy Crispy Shrimp with chipotle aioli, a steamed yuba dumpling which is a chicken dumpling with sesame tofu and a piece of Age Dashi Tofu which is crispy tofu in a vegetable soy broth. The crispy shrimp were AMAZING! So crisp and coated with the chipotle aioli sauce made it ten times better! The chicken dumpling was fresh tasting but couldn’t really stand up to the shrimp. I have to say I was not impressed at all with the dashi tofu…it tasted very bland and had an extremely weird texture I really wasn’t a fan of.

The spicy tuna roll was good…I usually don’t like the black seeds that cover your rolls on occasion but I thought it added some nice texture this time. The salmon roll also tasted very fresh which is a feat as I’ve had my far share of fishy salmon in NYC and that was not the case here.

The sea bass with the miso marinade melted in your mouth. So tasty with the miso marinade and perfectly cooked; my favorite part of the meal. 

The steak was also prepared very well, served medium and was juicy and flavorful. It had a bed of steamed kale underneath that really added a nice touch to the essence of the steak.

For desert I was sold on the lychee panna cotta with a strawberry rhubarb compote…anything strawberry rhubarb and I’m there with bells on! I thought it was simple and creamy yet delicious with the compote.

My girlfriend ordered the chocolate meltdown with expresso ice cream and fresh cream. As you can see from the pic it looked lovely! I thought the ice cream was creamy with hints of expresso throughout each bite but the meltdown let me down…tasting a little dry and like I could have got it out of an Entenmann's box.

Overall Little Star gives Bondst 2.5 stars, I thought the food was good with some hits and misses, the service was great and I would go back for a restaurant week experience. However, for the normally price menu I don't think its worth it as a sit down dinner...perhaps for some rolls and drinks at the bar with the girls.

Happy Eating!

Little Star

oxox

NYC Winter Restaurant Week Extended until Feb 27th!

Good Morning my fellow New Yorkers…

Happy Monday! Feeling a little rough today after Super Bowl Sunday Funday yesterday? Yea me too..but luckily I just learned that NYC Winter Restaurant week is extended until February 27th and now I'm feeling a bit better!

So if you still haven't made it to some of my faves listed in my original post, you still have time! More than 200 of the same restaurants have agreed to extend the promotion another three weeks leaving plenty of time to recuperate and get to tasting some of NYC finest at half the price! The full list of participating spots is here. 

Stay tuned for my review on restaurant week participate BondSt!

Happy Eating!

Little Star

oxox

Osteria Morini

There are few other restaurants that open in NYC with such hysteria like those operated and own by Chef Michael White. His newest adventure is Osteria Morini in Soho which has now been open for a few months and is dedicated to the food and drink of Emilia-Romagna, in the north of Italy. 

I made a reservation for a special occasion while my girlfriend was visiting. The atmosphere is very laid back seems as if it’s trying to feel like an old Italian farm house but has an eclectic music selection including 80’s pop which is somewhat confusing. However, as soon as we walked in we were greeted by a friendly hostess and immediately seated.  The service was decent but nothing to rave about.  Now moving on to the good stuff!

Each table comes equip with a beautiful clay bottle of olive oil which was absolutely amazing! Fruity and perfect for dipping the warm bread. 

We started with three appetizers (I know I know..but we had too) including the trio of fried cheeses, the meatballs and the seafood salad. The salad is made with calamari and fresh scallops and tossed with capers, olives, and plenty of lemon juice. The cheeses were good, but didn’t knock my socks off. I really enjoyed the béchamel one but the other two didn’t measure up. That being said the meatballs were very good! Juicy and delish, you could taste the mixture of pork and veal which went splendidly with the rich cheesy sauce. After devouring the balls, the sauce made an excellent choice for dipping the hearty Italian bread in. I have to say we could have done without the seafood salad, it was bland and left us wanting more.

Luckily the entrees more than made up for the lackluster  appetizers. We shared the cappelletti which are pillowy little numbers stuffed with truffle-scented mascarpone and topped with garlands of wispy prosciutto served over a puddle of melted butter....how good do those sound?!  These were out of this world! So fresh and tasty, and a must have here.

We also split the tagliatelle dish which was wide ribbon pasta served with classically dense veal-and-pork ragù. This reminded me of the traditional delicious tasting ragus I’ve have the honor of tasting in Italy. It was a really solid dish but the cappelletti stole the show!

We capped off the evening with a chocolate hazelnut tartufo which was absolutely divine! Chocolaty, creamy with a crunchy layer of hazelnut on the bottom what more could you ask for?

All in all Little Star gives Osteria Morini a solid 3 stars…there were dishes that were mind blowing while others just didn’t measure up. So you may ask...is it worth a visit? Most definitely just be sure to order the pastas!

Happy Eating!

Little Star

oxox