Saturday, October 6, 2012

Saturday morning was again sunny and relatively warm, although as the day progressed, we could feel the predicted cold front moving in. We did our morning routines and then walked to Columbus Circle, where we had an 11:45 brunch reservation at Asiate.

We discovered the Asiate brunch compliments of my brother Curtis, who gave me a gift certificate for my sixtieth birthday. The brunch was so unique and the food was so good, we've come back every visit since.

The restaurant is on the thirty-fifth floor of the Mandarin Hotel overlooking Columbus Circle and the city below through floor-to-ceiling windows. We usually start with a Bloody Mary and then move on to a glass of white wine, this time a recommended Gavi.

The menu starts with four dishes, all served together. Today's starters were a butternut squash cappuccino, a pastry pocket with mushrooms, smoked trout, and a foie gras mousse.

They were all delicious. The butternut squash cappuccino was perfect; not too sweet. The trout was sushi grade melt-in-your-mouth.

There were seven second courses to choose from. Diners are instructed to select two, which are served together. Three leaned towards the breakfast side and four towards the lunch side. We each ordered the same two "breakfast" items — the eggs Benedict with smoked bacon and basil hollandaise, and the Belgian waffles with apple compote, maple syrup, and soft maple butter. Yummy!

As I was trying not to finish the waffles, I asked Marlene if the waffles were the dessert, knowing this was not the case. The brunch also includes two desserts, again served together. We were served a cinnamon rice pudding and a chocolate green-tea torte.

The chocolate on the torte was wonderfully rich and the cake was good, but it was difficult to discern the green-tea. On the other hand, while I would never order rice pudding, it was delicious and I ate every bite.

On our way out the door, we were instructed to fill to-go boxes with various sweets. What a way to start the day!

We needed to walk. We set out for the Metropolitan Museum on 82nd and 5th Avenue, where we were going to see their Warhol exhibit. But when we arrived, the museum was packed and very warm, so we turned around and walked back to our apartment. Time to rest.

It was then time to set off for our final dinner; one we had been looking forward to. Our taxi took us to Chelsea on the Lower West Side at 16th and 10th Avenue.

Del Posto is another of Mario Batali's gems. We had dined there twice before. It's a swank venue out of a 1940's movie; dark and elegant, with live piano music accompanying dinner. It's very romantic.

Our sommelier was knowledgeable and helpful. She chose a glass of white wine for each of us to pair with our antipasti courses and a wonderful 2001 Barolo for the rest of our meal.

We decided on the five course menu. We each chose antipasti courses, selected two primi pasta courses to be shared, and then chose secondi and dessert courses.

Marlene started with the vitello tonnato and I had the charred octopus. Marlene's veal dish was good, but heavy; she had had better at Niche in St. Louis. And while my octopus was very good, there was nothing special about the preparation.

VITELLO TONNATO, Olive Crostone, Caper Berries, Parsley Stem, & Lime Cells

Charred OCTOPUS, Umbrian Garbanzo, Celery Hearts & 25 yr Aceto Tradizionale

Our first pasta dish was a calamarata with shellfish in a spicy marinara sauce and the second was an orecchiette with a lamb ragu. Both pastas were very good, particularly the sauce on the first. But they could have been served hotter, and neither quite reached the heights of the pastas we had had at Lupa.

Lidia’s Spicy CALAMARATA with Frutti di Mare alla Marinara

ORECCHIETTE with Lamb Neck Ragu, Orange Carrots, Rye Crumbs & Toasted Sage

Marlene followed with lamb chops and I had the Dover sole. The lamb itself was spectacular, but again the preparation was not. And the sole was not a good dish. The sole had just been added to the menu; our waiter had not served it before. It was prepared with radicchio and an emulsification of anchovies and capers. The preparation rendered the sole dry and tasteless. It was probably a mistake on my part to order it; on the other hand, it should not be a mistake to order anything at Del Posto.

Sardinian LAMB Chop, Roman Artichokes, Bruised Mint & Saffron Potatoes

Dover SOLE, Radicchio, Anchovies & Capers

A young waiter suggested a delicious dessert wine; we split a glass. The thin long stemmed glass was as much fun as the wine.

For dessert, Marlene had the sweet eggplant with ice cream and chocolate drizzle and I had the butterscotch semifreddo. While both were good, neither approached the desserts we had had the night before at Annisa.

MELANZANE e Cioccolato alla Napoletana with Sheep's Milk Ricotta Stracciatella

Butterscotch SEMIFREDDO Melon Agrumata, & Crumbled Sbrisolona

We had a good meal at Del Posto, but not a great one, and that was a disappointment. The ensemble waitstaff was terrific, but the overall quality of the dishes did not meet our expectations. We'll probably go back and we certainly recommend it. But on this night our meal was not nearly as special as the two times we had dined there in the past.
 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Sunday morning was much cooler than it had been the rest of the week. We packed and then walked to Bice for a final lunch, splitting our traditional salad, with radicchio, endive and arugula, and pappardelle, with mozzarella in a tomato sauce.

And after three plays, fourteen meals, and over forty miles of walking, we took a taxi to the airport and flew back to St. Louis.

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