MitchW Posted June 19, 2024 Share Posted June 19, 2024 Oh, how the mighty have fallen - even though it has taken a long time (about 25 years, actually). Once, one of our favorite restaurants, with fine service, cooking Roman/Italian food just about right, then falling out of favor for reasons maybe not totally related to food. So, before a show at The Bitter End (!!), we decided to pop in for a few bites, as it's just around the corner. The apps we started with were pretty good; baccala croquettes and marinated artichokes. No complaints there. I ordered a special pasta (linguini with Jonah Crab) and here's where things started to go awry: Now, I have no problem paying $38 for this pasta (I think they may feel a little guilty about charging so much, but then they've basically doubled the portion size), but enough with the bread crumbs! And so much Jonah crab - which was basically tasteless. Kind of a hot mess, as was Significant Eater's ricotta gnocchi, which lacked both sausage and fennel in the sauce, at least to our taste. We didn't order secondi, as how can one eat another full plate of food after so much pasta? So maybe the play here is to order apps and secondi? Oh, lest I forget - don't order the broccoli rabe...this is how it is served: And this is how it ended up: Impossible to eat, as it wasn't cut into any sort of pieces, which if you are going to not cook broccoli rabe as they do in Rome, is a necessity. I could not cut this broccoli rabe into pieces with the knife I had on the table. Oy. Note how I cook and serve it at home, if I want it to remain bright green: Either that, or cook the hell out of it! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted June 19, 2024 Share Posted June 19, 2024 That reminded me that the broccolini I brought home from Foxface got reheated in bacon fat. Always another level 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted June 19, 2024 Share Posted June 19, 2024 I think I was last at Lupa with the Johnsons, years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted June 19, 2024 Author Share Posted June 19, 2024 31 minutes ago, Wilfrid said: That reminded me that the broccolini I brought home from Foxface got reheated in bacon fat. Always another level 😄 I often cook broccolini without cutting it up as I find it not anywhere near as fibrous as rabe can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted June 20, 2024 Share Posted June 20, 2024 The dandelion greens I made with dinner tonight didn't look particularly good. But they looked better than THAT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieL Posted June 20, 2024 Share Posted June 20, 2024 I went on a MF outing years ago (I think Simon was in town), and I remember having raw Brussel sprouts for the first time there, as a kind of slaw. Blew my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SethG Posted June 22, 2024 Share Posted June 22, 2024 We went last summer - first time since before the pandemic. Pastas (maniche & spaghetti pomodoro) were both borderline inedibly salty. Oddly, the rabe was the best part of the meal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted June 22, 2024 Author Share Posted June 22, 2024 10 hours ago, SethG said: We went last summer - first time since before the pandemic. Pastas (maniche & spaghetti pomodoro) were both borderline inedibly salty. Oddly, the rabe was the best part of the meal. Oh, you got the old rabe chef! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve R. Posted June 22, 2024 Share Posted June 22, 2024 Two or three years ago, Ginny & I made the rounds of places we used to frequent in "the old days". We walked out of Lupa shaking our heads, as nothing tasted like anything we'd want again. On the other hand, Babbo was a pleasant surprise. As for the saltiness, I remember discussing that with Dennis (the bartender at Otto) while eating Carbonara at the Otto bar. Although quite a few people here and elsewhere (& my wife) seemed to not mind the saltiness of the food, it was pretty much agreed that they (Lupa) served things saltier than their siblings. I always preferred the less salty versions at Otto and Babbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orik Posted June 22, 2024 Share Posted June 22, 2024 I was told "the chef likes it that way" so I sent the food back for the chef to eat. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted June 22, 2024 Share Posted June 22, 2024 6 hours ago, Steve R. said: On the other hand, Babbo was a pleasant surprise. You just reminded me, I was headed past Babbo last week on the way to a performance at Judson Church. Boy has that micro-neighborhood changed but I couldn’t tell you how recently. A high concentration of desperately down and out street people, nodding junkies. It was like a slice of the Tenderloin (or East 125th on a bad day). Thirty years ago, Washington Square was a night time drug mart, but I hadn’t seen anything like this in daylight before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backyardchef Posted June 26, 2024 Share Posted June 26, 2024 So many overrated Batali restaurants. Glad I sidestepped them all these years. Never once have I ever gone to Eataly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
small h Posted June 26, 2024 Share Posted June 26, 2024 9 minutes ago, backyardchef said: Never once have I ever gone to Eataly. I've shopped there a few times - produce is very good. And eaten there once, at the seafood restaurant, which was pretty nice if you don't mind eating in a store. (Best eating-in-a-store experience: the Alan Wong restaurant in Macy's in Honolulu, across from the Liz Claiborne section.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evelyn Posted June 27, 2024 Share Posted June 27, 2024 The Pineapple Room was good for lunch. I like Alan Wong Restaurant for dinner. If you are ever in Honolulu, I highly recommend MW. It belongs to a husband and wife chef team who grew up working at AWR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted June 27, 2024 Share Posted June 27, 2024 But Lupa was good, Otto was good apart from the pizza, Del Posto was very good, Po was okay as far as I can remember. My one meal at Babbo was weird, but not the restaurant’s fault. It’s a thirty year arc. I drink espresso at Eataly, shop for seafood for special occasions. I did once eat in the fancy meat restaurant part. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted June 27, 2024 Share Posted June 27, 2024 Wine at Otto was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted June 27, 2024 Author Share Posted June 27, 2024 5 hours ago, backyardchef said: So many overrated Batali restaurants. Glad I sidestepped them all these years. Never once have I ever gone to Eataly. Certainly, Batali was a douche. But you can’t deny that Lupa, Otto, and Babbo were sorta groundbreaking in the NYC restaurant scene, early in their day. nor can you deny the great, early FoH teams at Lupa and Otto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
small h Posted June 27, 2024 Share Posted June 27, 2024 1 hour ago, Evelyn said: If you are ever in Honolulu, I highly recommend MW. It is likely I'll be in Honolulu in August, so thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backyardchef Posted June 27, 2024 Share Posted June 27, 2024 11 hours ago, MitchW said: Certainly, Batali was a douche. But you can’t deny that Lupa, Otto, and Babbo were sorta groundbreaking in the NYC restaurant scene, early in their day. nor can you deny the great, early FoH teams at Lupa and Otto. I can't? ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voyager Posted June 27, 2024 Share Posted June 27, 2024 I never think of Otto without lovingly thinking o Meredith Kurtzman. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve R. Posted June 27, 2024 Share Posted June 27, 2024 Yeah, I wonder what “wingding” is up to these days. Our favorite bartender at Otto, Dennis, was at Anton’s in the West Village last I looked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted June 27, 2024 Author Share Posted June 27, 2024 If wingding is Meredith, Meredith moved up to Connecticut, and seems quite happy tending to a garden, amongst other things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve R. Posted June 27, 2024 Share Posted June 27, 2024 yes, she is. I lost track after she came back from Italy (honing baking skills i think) & then was helping a friend out in an artisanal ice cream place in Brooklyn (Cobble Hill). Several years ago at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongo Posted June 28, 2024 Share Posted June 28, 2024 there are so many people whose current whereabouts and doings i wonder about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell101 Posted June 28, 2024 Share Posted June 28, 2024 On 6/26/2024 at 10:39 PM, MitchW said: Certainly, Batali was a douche. But you can’t deny that Lupa, Otto, and Babbo were sorta groundbreaking in the NYC restaurant scene, early in their day. nor can you deny the great, early FoH teams at Lupa and Otto. And Esca. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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