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

We stopped by Pulino's for a snack during our walk home from Korin Japanese Knife Shop Tribeca. The red awning and wrought iron/glass doors made it immediately obvious this was a Keith McNally spot. At 4pm on a Saturday, the restaurant was abuzz with patrons and what seemed like just as many waiters. We were able to snag two seats at the copper bar and took a moment to look around. The space is one large room, complete with exposed brick arches, reminiscent of some pizzerias. In the far back corner about half a dozen cured ham legs were hanging from the ceiling. A trip to the downstairs restroom was eerily similar to Schiller's Liquor Bar on the Lower East Side.

Our "snack" consisted of two beers, mine called White Lightning something or other and Dan's an IPA. The restaurant was so busy that the bartender didn't have pint glasses, so we sipped on little milk glasses instead. We ordered a pizza margherita, which proved tasty, but not dreaming-of-it-the-next-day delicious.

Overall, I'm sure this place will do well, if for no other reason than McNally's ability to turn everything into gold. To me, it didn't have the unique character or panache of some of his other hot spots, namely Minetta Tavern and Balthazar. To be fair, we only tried one pizza, and a simple one at that, though my first inclination is that I'd rather spend my pizza indulgences at Artichoke or Motorino...or, if I'm really ambitious, Spumoni Gardens.

What's your favorite NYC pizza haven? What do you think of Pulino's?

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!