Barbuto ~ Birthday Celebration 2

Celebration Number Two – Spoon, Knork, Spork, Olive Fork, Olive Spoon, and Cake Fork were gathered with Fork for Birthday Celebration 2 at Barbuto. Barbuto is owned by the colorful and talented chef, Jonathan Waxman, author of A Great American Cook and the soon to be published Italian My Way.

Again, pardon the pictures. Far too much celebrating to have been paying attention! They looked great at the time! Perhaps it was the Cosmopolitans!

Barbuto is located in at the south end of the meatpacking district in a converted warehouse and garage. The space is definitely what you would call industrial chic.  In the warmer months the garage doors are rolled up for outside dining and better people watching.

It’s loud and vivacious. It’s funky and chic. It’s welcoming and fun. There is a private dining room and a chef’s table in the kitchen for parties of 8 or more. Seems like a lot of fun, maybe next time!

There were so many people and so many choices! The menu is local and changed almost daily depending on what is fresh and available.

For starters both Fork and Spoon ordered the Polenta with Wild Mushrooms. We were going to share but then we started eying each other in that mischievous I don’t want to share way and ended up ordering 2 portions. And what a good decision that was! The polenta was soft and creamy, the mushrooms were just delectable. They had earthiness and a meatiness and a certain wonderful tang. This was the perfect beginning to a fabulous meal.

Knork had soup. Knork doesn’t share. But Spoon ignores this irksome habit and just eats right off Knork’s plate with a smile. Knork wasn’t sitting close enough to me to see what kind of soup was had, his tines are little bent and he can’t remember much! We know it was a vegetable soup. We know he was quiet for quite some time so he must have enjoyed it immensely!

Spork on the other hand loves to share. Spork loves to share because Spork wants everyone to share in return! Spork shares so much one of the crostini were missing before I could take a photo. Spork ordered the crostini  of the day, which on this day was with pureed butternut squash. A sprinkling of grated cheese and a drizzle of balsamic made this the perfect few bites to start off.

Olive Fork and Olive Spoon shared an appetizer of beets, black forbidden rice, frisee and grated dry goat cheese. This was really yummy. The forbidden rice had a nice texture, slighty crispy, slightly chewy. The beets were tiny and nicely roasted. The dressing was light and unobtrusive. Really refreshing and delicious.

If you want bread, you have to ask for it. A little strange. Then again, the iced tea, while very good, was not bottomless. Fork and Spoon will never understand how $1 (maybe) of iced tea can cost a diner $12.00!

Now, the main course is so much easier. Fork, Spoon and Olive Fork had the infamous Pollo al Forno - roasted JW chicken with salsa verde. Yes, we’ve all had roasted chicken before, but I guarantee you have never had roasted chicken like this! Crispy, salty skin, moist tender 1/2 chicken that you are more than happy to take home what you cannot finish. THe salsa verde was a nice compliment to the chicken. The chicken is roasted in one of the brick ovens to absolute perfection. Again, we could have shared, but friendships would have ended over the sharing! This chicken alone is reason enough to eat at Barbuto!

Spork had Lumachine - a shape almost like a shell, almost like an elbow, but not quite. The Lumachine was served with a fantastic sauce of roasted cauliflower and cream. Rich, creamy and delicate all at the same time.

Guess what Knork ordered? Steak. How’s that for a surprise. We go to a place with a signature dish and Knork will have anything but that dish.  The hanger steak was beautiful. Perfectly cooked. Perfectly seasoned. Nice sized steak. The steak was served with grilled radicchio. Imagine the bitterness of radicchio with a smokey char. Delish!

Olive Spoon ordered the Lamb Loin. The lamb was served over a rutabega puree. It wasn’t earth shattering, but it was good. Quite frankly, everything was over the moon good!

Potatoes. We need to seriously discuss the potatoes. The name should be changed to Crack Potatoes. Totally amazing. So amazing in fact, that while eating them and fighting over the plate, we ordered more. Fortunately for me, Spoon is generous soul and let me have what was left on the first plate – while ordering the second, mind you – because it was my birthday. The Patate are first boiled, then smashed a bit and then deep fried. Oh, no, that isn’t all, they are sprinkled with salt and pepper and grated pecorino cheese and rosemary. They are totally amazing.

We also had a side of wilted greens with garlic and chilis and roasted brussel sprouts with hazelnuts and colatura. Colatura, or garum colatura, is an ancient Italian condiment – for lack of a better word. It’s made from fermenting fatty fish like anchovies or sardines. The fish is layered in with herbs and salt and left to ferment. The end result is a golden liquid used to give an oh so subtle je ne sais quoi to the brussel sprouts. Fork is not a fan of the brussel sprout, but these were pretty good.  The wilted greens were just sautéed quickly so they were still bright and green and still had a texture to them, lotsa garlic and a nice hint of chilis.

(apparently, Cake Fork is under the impression that I have to taste EVERYTHING in order to write about it. Does Cake Fork not understand WHY I eat with other people!)

The Bomba. Now doesn’t that look like the perfect cake for a birthday Fork to enjoy! And, again, thank you dear Cutlery for not singing! Dense, fabulous chocolate cake sandwiched a wonderful cherry semifreddo. Pistachios, cherries, whipped cream and a candle. I could gush and gush and gush about this dessert, but words simply cannot describe this! I was seriously hard pressed to share this, but Spork gave me that puppy look and there went a spoonful! We won’t even discuss the quick spooned Spoon!

Spoon had the Apple Crostata. Spoon will have an apple anything! Wonderful flakey crust coupled with tender caramel-y apples. Always being one to gild the lily, Spoon asked to swap out the vanilla ice cream for maple ice cream. Really good dessert. Really good ice cream.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding. This was our least favorite dessert. Though I am not a big pumpkin fan, Olive Fork is a big pumpkin fan. The comment from the Olive Fork was that it was too light in flavor and too dry. Personally, this Fork thinks pumpkin is for the birds! 

Both Knork and Spork had Affogato. They too opted to switch out the vanilla ice cream for maple. Affogato quite literally means drowned. A scoop of ice cream with a shot of espresso poured over the top. Heaven in a cup!

I, for one, Chef Waxman, am happy that you put down the trombone and picked up a chef’s knife!

Thanks you Spoon and Knork and Spork and Olive Spoon and Olive Fork and Cake Fork for sharing my birthday with me! It was the perfect celebration!

Barbuto ~ 775 Washington Street ~ NYC, NY ~ 212.924.9700

Colicchio & Sons

It’s summertime … and the dining is easy … Sorry, just had to break into a little song for a moment!. The best time of year for Fork to run away with Spoon for Culinary Adventures is summertime in New York City. So many wonderful culinary reasons to be happy - 1) New Yorkers are on vacation, so restaurants are easier to get into; 2) there are two weeks of Restaurant Week; and, 3) a lot of restaurants have lunch specials to lure customers into their restaurants. Check websites while making plans, you’ll be surprised what you find!

Such is the case with Tom Colicchio’s Meatpacking District restaurant Colicchio & Sons.  The announcement of Colicchio & Sons offering a $25, 3-course lunch in the Tap Room for the month of July flew through the NY foodie community like wildfire. It took Fork and Spoon seconds to make a reservation for this special treat.

Before we begin – GO! CALL! Make a reservation! This special, at this point, is only for July and is only for lunch. But 3 courses for $25 cannot be beat – especially not for a lunch this outstanding.

Colicchio & Sons in on the corner of 15th Street and 10th Avenue, across the street from the back entrance of the Chelsea Market and the Highline.  The Tap Room is in the front of the restaurant. The room is bright and airy, and warm and inviting. Brick walls, wood floors, large dark wooden tables, sofas on one side of some of the 4-tops and comfortable chairs on the other and for the tables for 2. There are great rustic paintings on the wall of chickens and ducks and produce. Fork and Spoon sat, taking a moment to regroup out of the sweltering heat, and were instantly just comfortable. You want to hang out there. You want to stay there.

Iced tea is fresh, with lots of ice, simple syrup if you like, and most importantly, bottomless.

Our waiter, Shawn, was wonderful. A little tentative with us at first, but a couple of giggles with the Cutlery and all was well!

Fork really struggled with the Starter. Pea soup? Nuh-uh. Romaine salad with anchovies? No, I don’t think so. Spoon was ordering the Watermelon and Cucumber salad (which, just by virtue of watermelon and cucumber being in the same bowl was a no from Fork. But, you will be happy to learn that Fork as seen the error of this thought and converted).

So, after much difficulty, for starters Fork ordered the Baby Beets with Black Olives, Lovage, Pistachios and Yoghurt. Shawn told us there were red, yellow and candy beets and that it was really very good. Quite frankly, there was no description that would match the beautiful plate set in front of us. Small and delicate roasted beets, quartered. The colors alone made your mouth water. The beets sat atop curried yoghurt. Really subtle and flavorful, and so warm against the sweetness of the beets. You add into this the briny olives and you think perfection has been reached – but wait, there’s more! Add in some wonderful lovage for a bright freshness, pistachios for the crunch factor, and goat cheese -well, just because and you have an appetizer knocked right out of the park. Lovage has a flavor like celery and really added the right amount of brightness and freshness to this dish.

Spoon, on the other hand, had no trouble whatsoever picking a starter. Made a beeline right to the Watermelon and Cucumber Salad, which it turns out was a very nice, refreshing choice. Large chunks of summer ripe, sugary sweet watermelon, surrounded by ribbons of cool, light, almost melony tasting cucumber. To go up against the sweetness of the watermelon and the coolness of the cucumber was arugula in all it’s peppery glory. So far the flavors make your tastebuds stand at attention. Invite mint to the party and you could go into sensory overload. Now tie this package of perfection up with a bow of a limey dressing and you are just totally satisfied. What a wonderful flavor combination on the palate, light and bright and fresh and citrusy and peppery in one bite.

That is one thing that always has to be said about Tom Colicchio’s restaurants and the excellent executive chefs in them – they have a way with flavors and combinations of flavors that just make you stand at attention while dining, waiting for the next great thing to arrive on a plate before you!

On to the second course. These choices were only SLIGHTLY easier!

The easiest was the Roast Pork Sandwich. This was the dish from the every day Tap Room menu that we were hoping would be offered on the 3-course special lunch menu. This time we need to work from the outside in. The bread, the bread was fabulous. Toasted perfectly, not so crisp on the outside that eating it is near impossible. Those types of panini are terrible. Now to delve into this sandwich – come along, you won’t be sorry. THe description of this sandwich on the menu in no way does it justice.  Large pieces of juicy, flavorful roast pork is the first thing you notice. These aren’t shreds of pork, but large, tender as anything pieces. The next ingredient in the sandwich you come across is ham – a surprise to us! Salty, meaty, rich in flavor. We were gobbling this up too quickly to take the sandwich apart to see what sort of ham it was! Mea culpa. Surrounding all of this flavorful goodness is provolone cheese. Sharp, slightly salty, melted, and surrounding all of the ingredients in this sandwich. Then there’s a crunch from the pickles. Lovely bread and butter pickles. Sweet with a bit of sour, a lot of crunch and a wonderful instrument to cut back the richness of the meats and cheese in this sandwich.   This was a Cubano sandwich on steroids.

The other choice was not as easy. But in the end the word Pizza was too intriguing to let go. We ordered the Taleggio, Asparagus, Cherry Peppers and Sopressata Pizza. I wish YUMMMMM was enough of a description along with the photo, but this deserves so much more! Fabulous crust. Crisp edges on the crust. The crust under all the goodies was just as crisp. A good crust that holds up to its toppings is really the sign on a good pizza, at least to Fork and Spoon. On top of the crust was a layer of taleggio cheese.  Granted, this cheese is a bit stinky, but it is oh-so-good, especially melted. The cheese at the edges of the crust gets very crisp and nicely salty, but in the center, the cheese melts into a pool of luscious creaminess. Then came the toppings! Rounds of asparagus. It was interesting to see the asparagus cut this way, and made them much easier to eat. Precariously and carefully placed on the pizza were slices of cherry peppers. Seriously hot cherry peppers, that you really only wanted a small bit of in each bite. Shawn warned us. Glad we listened. And entire slice of cherry pepper would have knocked the silver right off the tines! To add the last layer to this pizza was sopressata. Slightly crisp from the oven, meaty, salty, and yummy. Again, the attention to how the flavors played together and off each other was very apparent. Another winner.

Dessert. AH, dessert. There wasn’t anything on the dessert menu that we didn’t want. We were even so cheeky to ask if we could subsitute more dessert for starters! We craned and strained watching dessert after dessert leave the kitchen and arrive on tables. They all sounded so good. They all looked so good. They were just beautiful.

The only clear dessert choice, without a moment’s hesitation, was the Peach Tatin. Was it the lure of fresh peaches, or the anticipation of the caramel-y tatin, or maybe it was the sweet corn ice cream. Yes, that’s right, sweet corn ice cream! Let’s start with the ice cream, as this is the place where our opinion differs. Yes, it was interesting. Yes, it was different. Yes, it was like a total backyard BBQ package, corn and peaches. Spoon loved it, Fork, not so much. Fork liked the concept and appreciated the concept. Fork even got the whole BBQ analogy. And it wasn’t that the ice cream wasn’t sweet, it was. It was even good. But there is something inherently wrong with corn ice cream! Perhaps Fork is a little prudish on this point. Ice cream, sweet cold, caramel, nuts, got it. Corn, maybe, not sure. Spoon, of course, loved it. THought the sweet corn was the perfect foil for the peach tatin. And that’s why Spoon is a spoon and Fork is a fork. But, now back to business, the peach tatin, the star of this dessert. And what a star it was. Lucious, sweet peaches crispy puff pastry, lovely caramel goodness, all make for an interesting dessert. It was gobbled up in seconds. Wait!, Nestled between the tatin and the ice cream was popcorn, just a few kernels, with caramel drizzled over the top. Sigh. Yum.

The second choice was between three with no ability to make a choice in sight. Shawn to the rescue again! He virtually picked for us, told us we should order his favorite dessert – Zeppole. Fried dough, could there be anything wrong with that? These zeppole were not like any street fair zeppole. There was ricotta mixed into the dough, making these zeppole light and fluffy. Zeppole has a tendency to get very heavy and doughy, not so with these fluffy beauties. Perfect size, too. Two bites and gone. Covered in confectioner’s sugar - as any decent zeppole would be! - and tucked into a napkin. Served with the zeppole was a small ramekin filled with a dark chocolate hot fudge sauce. Very nice, made these zeppole even more decadent than they already were. Served along side of the zeppole was a quenelle of mint ice cream. This was so bright and refreshing, perfect to cut through the richness of the sugar coated zeppole and the dark chocolate.  Atop the ice cream was a tiny bit of sugar candy – thin, crisp, minty and nice. Fork isn’t even the biggest mint fan, and Fork was swooning over this ice cream.

All in all – one word – amazing.

This 3-course lunch special is running through the end of July.

By the way, the entire restaurant is lovely. The dining room is beautiful and polished, fabulaous light fixtures, much of the same warmth and coolness of the Tap Room, just amped up a bit. They also have a beautiful private dining room.

Are you still reading? You have three weeks left! Don’t just sit here and read about Colicchio & Sons! Go. Call. Make a reservation.

Colicchio & Sons ~ 85 10th Avenue ~ NYC, NY ~ 212.400.6699 

Fig & Olive

Fork, Spoon and our darling Cheese Plane met up for the NYC Lab School’s annual Tastes. Great cause, great way to try new restaurants. Sadly, even after 6 tastes each, the cutlery were still hungry for more, too tired to walk far, and decided to give Fig & Olive‘s Meat Packing District’s location a try.

Fig & Olive is on not too busy West 13th, just up the street from Spice Market, across the street from a fabulous gallery – other than that, there is nothing on this block.

There is outdoor seating in the front, but it was SO hot,we wanted the coolness that only air conditioning can bring. Fig & Olive is a cavernous wide open space. Light, bright, but not cold in feeling. By the hostess desk there are shelves filled with olive oils from around the world, over the crostini bar shelves and shelves of wine.

Let’s start this way - it was 3:30 p.m., the restaurant was empty. Not slightly full, not a little full. Not slightly empty. Completely and totally empty. The young lady at the hostess desk inquired as to whether we had a reservation. No, we didn’t have a reservation – well, now except for the reservation about being here. We looked around the empty dining room and looked at her as she scanned the floor plan on her computer. Really? And then she asked us for a name – as if we were going to be relegated to some space to wait for a table to open up. Really? Perhaps for a mailing list? No, she only asked for a first name, no email address. Didn’t write it down or type it in anywhere, didn’t even use it. Seriously odd. She showed us to a table, dropped the menus, turned and walked away without uttering a single word.  This is not starting off well.

First, Bus Boy A came over to the table. Would you like tap water or bottled water? We would like tap water, please. Away he went, never to return. Our waitress came over. Would you like tape water or Pellegrino water? Tap water, please. And away she went. She actually did return to take our order, but without water. Bus Boy B came over to the table and he asked – and I kid you not – would we like tap water or Pellegrino water. Really? And away HE went, never to return. We realize the restaurant was empty, and they were happy to have something to do, but at least bring the water at some point! Coordinate things, people! You would think that at least one person would have come back with water.

While we were looking over the menu – mostly to see if the choices we had made looking at the menu online were still available – we asked for bread. One of the intriguing things written about Fig & Olive online is their bread basket and olive oils. How the waiter comes over with a beautiful bread basket and a partitioned plate with three different olive oils, their origins and tastes being explained in great detail.  Trying the olive oils was one of things that drew us to Fig & Olive. 

The bread basket arrives at our table, with a little partitioned plate. But what’s in the basket are muffins and croissant and in the partitioned plate, butter and jelly. Huh? Directly behind us is the crostini station. Sitting on top of the glass shelf is a baguette. We can see it. It’s in plain sight. We asked and were told, they had no bread, would bring no olive oil. Apparently brunch is still served at 3:30 in the afternoon. Fork always though brunch was a combo of breakfast and lunch. Fork wondered what time dinner started. Did it start so far into the future that they didn’t have bread yet? By this time it was after 4:00, does dinner start at 8:00 p.m.? Steeeeeee-rike TWO! 

I guess the odd look that spread across the faces of the cutlery gave our waitress pause and she brought over a plateful of the breads they put the crostini on. This bread is horrible. It has no taste. It was no flavor. It is toast 2×3″ pieces of flavorless toast. But we trudged on.

We decided on small plates to share and started with Zucchini Carpaccio. This was absolutely amazing and has been repeated in Fork’s home a number of time since this meal. Thin slices of raw zucchini were drizzled with Picholine olive oil and lemon juice, toasted pine nuts scattered across the top and shavings of parmesan cheese. Because the slices of zucchini were so thin, they didn’t have a raw taste to them.  They could have brought two or three more plates of this and it would have been devoured. The olive oil and lemon juice made this dish very light and refreshing, the toasted pinenuts giving it a slight creamy warmth, the saltiness of the cheese giving it an extra edge, all of the flavors blending and melding together so beautifully. It needed just a little more lemon and just the slightest bit of salt.

Our second dish was a beautiful plate of figs, prosciutto, and  cheese. The figs we halved and underneath very generous slices of prosciutto. There were only three little pieces of goat cheese, a little chintzy if you ask this Fork. The dish was drizzled with olive oil and minced chives scattered over the top. The goat cheese was warm and gooey. You can’t imagine the flavor of these three items together. This was seriously good. The only thing missing was … hmmmm … bread. Oh, that’s right, they don’t have any.

Funny though, if yo look through the brunch menu so many things are served on or with bread, it makes it unimaginable that they can’t serve bread to you if requested.

We decided to try the Crostini - you can either order three or six. The toppings looked interesting so we decided to order the six so we would have more variety. The bread this was on was awful. The same thing they had brought to the table when we asked for bread. The only saving grace here were the toppings. Crostini 1 – Cucumber and Greek Yogurt. Tasteless. Needed lemon, salt, pepper, garlic, something. Plain yogurt and cucumber are both sort of bland so without help this needed help.  Crostini 2 – Crab and Lemon Cilantro Mayonnaise.  Again, nothing to write home about, but certainly not as bad as Crostini 1. Crostini 3 – Mushroom, Artichoke, and Truffle Parmesan. Pretty tasty. Crostini 4 – Bresaola, Goat Cheese, and Black Olive Tapenade. Again, really good. But, can you really go wrong with bresaola? Crostini 5 – Prosciutto, Ricotta, Fig, Olive and Walnut. Not bad, but too much like one of the other appetizers that we had. The prosciutto here is dynamite. Crostini 6 – Manchego Cheese, Fig Spread and Marcona Almonds. Fig spread excellent. Manchego - can’t go wrong with that. The marcona almond was a little awkward, but that could simply be from sharing it!

The really difficult thing about the crostini was the bread, The bread was simply awful. Without a really good bread as a base for the crostini it really matters not what is put on top.

Last up was a Fig and Gorgonzola Tartlet. Melted gorgonzola, prosciutto, figs, walnuts, arugula and tomatoes. The menu says all of this is on a fine puff pastry.  Nope. And we could hear the umpire calling strike 3. The puff pastry was so soggy it was inedible. There was nothing spectacular about this. Yes, the prosciutto was good, as were the figs and gorgonzola. The salad was limp, the dressing not quite right for the rest of the flavor profile. And, truthfully, all of that could have been forgiven if it weren’t for that puff pastry.  It was shameful. It wasn’t even a misstep that someone just starting culinary school would make. Were they left over and there fore soggy from age? Were they just not cooked enough. Whatever the reason, it seriously spoiled this tartlet.

So, to sum it up – the hostess asked us if we had a reservation for a totally empty restaurant; they don’t have bread at any given time; bread for the crostini is seriously terrible; and someone there can’t bake puff pastry.

Would we like dessert? Heck, NO! If you can’t bake a puff pastry, what are you going to do to an innocent little cake or cookie!?

Fig & Olive has three locations:
420 West 13th Street ~ New York, NY ~ 212.924.1200
10 East 52nd Street ~ New York, NY ~ 212.319.2002
808 Lexington Avenue ~ New York, NY ~ 212.207.4555