It was a sunny Sunday and my Dad was visiting. The man is probably the handiest person I know, so within minutes of his arrival, we had put him to work moving an electric outlet in our kitchen so that we (err...he) could build a new shelf and we could reclaim one square foot of counter space that had otherwise been hogged by a microwave and toaster oven. He woke up at 4am to do the work, so 'round about noon and after our morning run, it was long past time to get some food. DG and I and, judging by the perpetual long waits to secure a table, the rest of New York City, had been wanting to try The Meatball Shop ever since we caught wind of it's opening.  So, we decided try our luck in an effort to thank my Dad for his handiwork in meatball form.

By the luck of who-knows-what, we strolled right into the restaurant, had a seat at the communal table and ordered up three meatball heroes:

1. Classic Beef + Spicy Meat Sauce
2. Spicy Pork + Parmesan Cream
3. Chicken + Mushroom Gravy

We sliced each sandwich into thirds and dug in. And.  they. were. delicious.  Savory, flavorful and above all, comforting.  Judging by my father's silence (a rare occasion!), these little meatballs were a 'thank you' well received.

*this is a typical waking hour for him

Bar Milano rebranded itself as another 'inoteca few months ago so DG and I had to go back to see how it measured up. Design-wise the place is the same: marble-paneled walls, formal dining room, casual lounge/bar area (where we ate), etc. The menu, however, is a closer cousin to the original 'inoteca located in the Lower East Side, with an assortment of affordable plates. The rebrand seems to be working well so far as evidenced by the steady crowd of patrons, both diners and drinkers.

Our meal consisted of three shared dishes: pasta with pork ragu, a panini with bresaola (air-cured salted beef), arugula, grana (like parmigiano-regiano) and lemon oil and roasted chicken with bread stew. Each dish was delicious in its own right - the pork ragu had large, tender chunks of pork, the bresaola was flavorful with a hint of lemon and the chicken carried a warm punch of flavor (perfect for the rainy night). Our only complaint was that all three dishes were served at once, making the meal feel rushed.

For dessert we had a velvety chocolate mousse topped with cream.

Add on a bottle of wine and our total bill came out to around $110, much more palatable than what we would have gotten at Bar Milano.

My foodie friend, Steph, and I went down to Soho to check out the newest expansion of Sfoglia, one of the Upper East Side's most highly-rated Italian restaurants. The decor was rustic Italian with thick wooden tables, owl statues (the "mascot" of the region in Italy by the same name as the restaurant), marble-topped bars and serving stations and iron chandeliers. It was a nice fall evening so the floor-to-ceiling windows were open onto the street - we were even able to catch a glimpse of the San Gennaro festival happening a block away.

Because the restaurant is family-style, we ordered three appetizers from their expansive list and one pasta course. The appetizers included an escarole and crab salad (seemed more like a Caesar salad - could barely taste the crab), grilled stone fruit with ricotta (delicious with a hint of smoke flavor from the grill) and mussels with a fantastic tomato broth and slivers of salami. We had the rigatoni alla bolognese as our pasta dish which was also quite delicious and creamy (in a no-cream-added sort of way).

For dessert we had bombolini (doughnuts) with either a cream or fruit filling, rolled in sugar and topped with warm chocolate. These were delicious and sinful.

Before leaving we snuck downstairs to the closed bar area. It was a very cool space with brick walls, a fireplace and red velvet seating. It felt cozy and decadent. This would be a good room for a private party in the winter.

Although the reviews have been mixed for this restaurant, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to friends. One thing to note, however, you can hear/feel the 6 train every time it rumbles underground.

April 1, 2010 Update - Kenmare Restaurant took over this space - it's on my list of places to check out!

September 13, 2009 Update: Although this dish was delicious (and quite easy to make), it was not the same Pasta alla Norma to which I am accustomed from Otto.  We modified the recipe slightly by adding chicken sausage (for protein).  We also made a red onion and red pepper foccacia (using fresh dough from the pizza place across the street) with olive oil, thyme, rosemary, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I love the Pasta alla Norma at Otto and will be making this dish at some point this fall.

We went to the North Fork Table & Inn for our third anniversary. It was nothing short of perfect (except that the bartender didn't want to give us a taste of their homemade bacon-infused vodka).

The restaurant itself is very romantic with a small bar up front, wood plank floors and a series of intimaterooms.

We started the meal with a North Fork rosé (I think from One Woman Winery) and a beautiful salad with an assortment of greens and bleu cheese. Our main courses included a paella with halibut, Gulf shrimp and housemade chorizo and a roasted pork tenderloin over a parmesan risotto. For dessert we had "Bees Needs Honey-Pinenut Tart" complete with honey-ricotta ice cream and red wine poached figs.

This meal was exquisite! The dishes were simply prepared and each flavor stood on its own.

We went to Num Pang Sandwich Shop for its opening weekend in March. Here's an excerpt from our review:

Although the sandwiches are tiny, they are delicious! We shared three: peppercorn catfish, veal meatballs and grilled skirt steak. They all had shredded carrots, cilantro and some sort of mayo-based sauce. Needless to say, they were incredibly flavorful and even though the seating was limited, we managed to squeeze into the upstairs bar.

So when I saw this recipe and remembered how much we loved the sandwiches, I had to try it.  I may never go back to the restaurant again : )

Although we didn't use butter, piquillo peppers or cilantro (none of which we had on hand), the sandwich still had tons of flavor!  We substituted low-fat mayo and added grilled chicken and arugula for a little extra veg + spice.