When you’ve eaten as much steak as I have, it takes a lot to achieve memorable, lasting impressions of a meal. QI delivered in spades. This was by far the best regular menu item steak I have ever had. I say “regular menu item” because, of course, when I dropped $94 on a 32oz wagyu rib eye at Del Frisco’s I got a better steak. But for $46??? Holy shitbags my friends… It’s $10 cheaper than most rival restaurants, and for that price you get the most delicious tomahawk style rib chop you will ever sink your teeth into. And it’s a nice big 28oz fucker to boot.
Juicy all the way through, from fat cap to bone. Perfectly cooked pink all the way through. Soft, tender meat even in the roast portion. The fat was delicious – not too oily or greasy, and all of it soft and edible. Seasoning was just right – not too salty to the point where you get the meat sweats afterward (hate that). Simply put: the thing is fucking fantastic. But not only is the steak incredible; everything else is too. My wife had the lemon chicken (pic below in “other meats” section); it was a generous portion size and really tender and juicy – even in the huge tit area (large breast) where things can tend to dry out. Apps, sides and desserts were some of the best I’ve ever had as well. Read on, assholes.
rib eye before and after
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10
Everything is prime and aged, and they cover every type of cut possible. They even offer some steaks for two, and a bunch of different types of filets for assholes who eat filets. Every base is covered, and then some.
Portion Size & Plating: 10
The plating was amazing here, just like it was at their sister restaurants Quality Meats and Maloney & Porcelli (Smith & Wollensky not so much). Little touches like herbs for garnish, interesting little porcelain cups filled with coarse salt, mortar and pestle containers for the fresh sauces, and just the way the food was decorated as well – not just slapped on the plate but artfully done. Portion sizes were all very healthy – healthy meaning big – not healthy meaning pussy-sized small dishes for losers on diets. The tartare was the size of a big burger. The sunchokes were two potatoes worth. The pasta side was enough for two no problem. The steak was huge, and the chicken was, I think, a half chicken (thigh, drum, wing, tit, still articulated).
Price: 9
I was a little surprised that the bill only came to $175 and change. For what we had, I was expecting over $200. Everything is extremely fair in price, especially when you take into consideration the PRIME real estate they have. Right on 6th avenue, overlooking the street, and just below the park. Are you fucking kidding? And steaks are still under $50 each??? Wow.
William Price
Bar: 10
There are two bars to mention here. First you are met with a really nice little bistro style open air/semi-outdoor bar at the front door. Great place to hang out for some negroni on tap, or house made white peach bellinis (also on tap) and watch the people whiz by on their way home from work.
signage and outdoor bar area
Upstairs there is a big bar at the top of the steps. Nicely decorated, modern, sleek, but not pretentious. They make great drinks. My martini was perfect, and was garnished with the best olives (castelvetranos). My wife had a great drink called “the midtown,” which was made with bourbon, vermouth, sour cherry, orange peel, and burnt sugar. Nice ice cubes too for those who care (you know who you are).
half drunk martini and “the midtown”
Specials and Other Meats: 10
The waiter read off some delicious sounding off-menu specials, and highlighted a few featured menu items that were considered house specialties. One dish they have already become instantly famous for is the chicken parm. It is pounded flat onto a pizza dish and topped with sauce and cheese, then baked. It seriously looks like a pizza. I might have to go back to try this. Anyway they have all kinds of meat on tap here. Beef (of course), chicken, veal, pork, lamb. Everything is covered. One thing to note here – truffles on demand. What? Yes. You can have them come over and tick off a few shavings of truffles on anything your little heart desires (for a fee, of course). Fucking brilliant idea. Below is the lemon chicken dish I described above:
chicken alan
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10
We started off with the steak tartare and the grilled octopus saltimbocca. Both were fucking incredible. I liked the tartare at Quality Meats better, but it was still really great here. Underneath the patty of chopped beef there was a little pool of mushroom aioli, which was really great when you folded it into the meat and mixed it all up (with a squeeze of lemon too). They even had some shaved cheese on top for a salty crunch. The octopus was perfect. They swapped garbanzos (chic peas) for the cannolinis. I think this is a common thing in Italian food culture, because whenever my mom ran out of cannolinis she used garbanzos for our pasta fagioli. Either bean is fine. Both are great.
tartare and octo
For sides we had sunchokes (a delicious cross between potato and artichoke, with an amazing little dipping aioli), and porterhouse filled agnolotti (little football shaped pasta dumplings/packages) with a brown butter sauce. Also amazing. They don’t offer creamed spinach here, but they did offer sautéed spinach. I was too excited for the sunchokes though, so I didn’t try it.
pasta and sunchokes
For dessert we shared a watermelon, lime, strawberry and basil sorbet. It was so fucking good. Very aromatic from the basil, and they even crystallized and sugarified some basil to sprinkle on top and garnish. Really interesting flavors.
sorbet
So many of the other desserts looked good too. It was so hard to choose. They even had a cannoli cart rolling around where you could have them make and fill cannolis for you with whatever flavors you want. This place takes steakhouse dining to a whole new level.
Seafood Selection: 8
Other than the octo, we didn’t have any seafood. They had some nice sounding fish entrees like grilled branzino, etc. And they offered 4 different types of oysters on special (Montauk, Rhode Island, and two west coasters), a nice seafood tower, and some interesting shrimp based pastas. Next trip I will have to delve deeper into the seafood menu.
Service: 10
John was hands down the best waiter I’ve ever had – even better than the young guy at Keen’s that I was so impressed with. I instantly felt like I had known John forever. He was warm, funny, very nice, natural, and extremely knowledgeable on the menu. He knew it in and out, and he knew just where to go and what to suggest when we had follow-up questions. The management was the same way – all very welcoming and friendly. I had the opportunity to meet a bunch of people on the floor. Scott, Roger, and Mike: thank you for making me feel like such a celebrity! My wife was beaming when we left – we had such a great time and you really made our special night memorable. I only wish we had a little more time to spare. We would have loved to take Roger up on his offer to hang out at the bar for a while and have some after dinner drinks. Hopefully next time! Other awesome things to mention in the service department: fresh hot garlic bread. Bread like that makes me wish I had 4 hands (One for each lump, just like how Benny wished he had 3 hands – one for each tit – in the movie Total Recall).
garlic bread
For larger tables, they have this bigger bread dish:
Also; Kate, the sauce specialist. She made the steak sauce table side, mixing up concoctions of raisin molasses puree, fresh tomato, oregano, and other herbs/spices. It was like watching a wizard make a potion. She stirred it up nice in a mortar and pestle, and boom – we had the most delicious and fresh steak sauce in town. We put it on everything we ate, and even took some home with us.
sauce making
Ambiance: 9
I love the simple, bare and elegant look here. They really made the best of the space. I think a few more booth type seats might be nice to add, but the concept here is a little more open anyway, so it might not fit right to have big private type booths jammed in there. The views out the windows are great. I didn’t expect to like a second floor dining room this much. The lighting was cool and interesting: glass balls held in a clamp or vice; very industrial, but not the meat-locker type of look that Quality Meats has. Even the shitter was nice, with its beautiful arched wooden doors. It smelled like the inside of a Yankee Candle store. You would never know that people shit and piss in there – very clean and pretty. For a second floor joint, tho splice is pretty dynamite.
dining room
the room where shitting happens
UPDATE
I came back about a year later and really put the hurt on some bone-in strip, filet, and chicken parm. Check out the pics. This place still holds up really well after a year.
Thank you Roger and Gaetano for putting up another amazing meal!
We started with an order of prosciutto, and also ricotta cheese with honey, pine nuts and pear. Really fucking simple and delicious.
Next came the chicken parm. Holy fuckbags, this is some blow-your-mind shit. They pound out and chop the chicken into the shape of a pizza and then cover it with sauce and cheese. It’s amazing.
They also offer a brunch version of this baby with eggs and bacon on top. Super tasty.
Speaking of brunch, carbonara pasta!!!
We ordered only the side of mushrooms, but the house sent out some kale carbonara and spaghetti squash too! All were amazing. The mushrooms were a blend of four different types; very earthy and fresh. The kale was really great. This dish beats creamed spinach any day.
I had the bone-in strip. Really juicy and perfectly cooked. I ate every bite like a fat bastard.
The filet stole the show though. My buddy got it with this dumpling that was filled with melted gorgonzola. Perfect!
I almost forgot – the house sent out a free bottle of wine too. WOW!
Some more food porn from a third visit. Man the shit is always on point at this joint.
Doughnuts:
Veal osso buco for two:
Pappardelle:
Porterhouse for two:
Mushrooms and peppers with the steak:
One night my wife and I came here and really just focused on the pasta. Here’s a shitty photo of the really great bucatini with clams (cockles):
The pasta was cooked perfectly and had a really amazing flavor, with a generous heaping of saffron sprinkled on top.
We had a side of artichoke mac and cheese. Really great texture from the bread crumbs on top, and gratuitous amounts of delicious artichoke brewing beneath the surface.
On special was a garganelli pasta (similar to a rigatoni or ziti shape) with pork shoulder and guanciale (cured pork jowls). So fucking good.
They really execute this stuff like no other place. I think my favorite pasta dishes all come from Quality Italian (like the pappardelle that you get with the veal shank, pictured above – fucking amazing).
That night we had the smores ice cream dessert. Burnt marshmallow flavored ice cream and a tart filled with brownie? Yes please!
The drink selection is always on point too. My wife ordered a tricolor margarita. Check out the ice cube, layered with different colored margarita ingredients, so that when it melts you’r just getting more margarita, instead of water:
And I was able to try some really nice beer that I’ve never seen before:
After this non-steak visit, I put this place into a tie with its sister restaurant, Quality Meats. They top the leaderboard right now.
UPDATE 2/20/16
This place is truly amazing. I inserted a few updated photos above, but here is a look at their “bone-in filet” – a really nice piece of tenderloin that’s still attached to the vertebra.
It was cooked very nicely and was super tender and juicy, yet retained a great charred flavor from the grill.
My wife tried the balsamic lacquered filet, which is service with a marrow bone filled with fried hazelnuts and marrow. Delicious as well, and cooked similarly perfect.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every cut of beef available here, and a few specials and steak alternatives as well. I can guarantee you will have a great meal here. My most recent waiter, Michael, and the manager Gaetano, really made us feel like royalty here. A few more shots of the incredible food here.
Corn brûlée:
Sauteed spinach:
Fries:
Assorted gelato: ferraro rocher, coffee and nuts, and blood orange creamsicle.
This place is pretty fucking legit. The burger was a slight bit over cooked, but it was tasty as all hell. I got a bacon cheeseburger deluxe with jalapeños.
My buddy got a fucking chicken salad, the damn quiff that he is… He claims that he had too many burgers and dogs recently. Whatever. At least it was a pretty big size.
The coolest thing about this place though is the $7 PBR 40oz. Boom.
The price came to $30/pp including tax and tip for everything: burger deluxe, salad, two 40s, and a Lagunitas. Not bad.
The interior is small but it gets the job done.
Cool thing is that we finished eating inside, then took the rest of our 40s outside to drink in the courtyard. Sweet.
Some more shots from a second visit are below. Burger still holds up as one of the greats. I kept it simple this time with a single cheeseburger.
My first day out shooting with my new camera brought my wife and I over to 9th Avenue, where we stopped in for lunch here at Bar Bacon. We had walked by a few times and were excited by the menu, so we finally gave it a shot.
We started with a flight of four 5oz beers and four types of bacon.
The beer & the bacon:
Left Hand milk stout paired with jalapeno bacon
Blue Moon paired with applewood smoked bacon
Empire amber ale paired with apple cider bacon
Six Point Sweet Action paired with pepper bacon
My wife had a bloody Mary that was pretty solid, garnished with a piece of thick cut bacon.
Next came the bacon banh mi sandwich. More like steamed pork buns as opposed to a Vietnamese sandwich. The two bites were tasty, but it was extremely small in portion size, and there was not much bacon in it. The BBQ flavored chips and coleslaw were great though.
Then we had the ever-increasing-in-popularity “pig wings” item that was covered with sri-racha BBQ sauce. These were good, but also small in portion size for the price. I like the pig wings over at Iron Bar a little better so far, but these held up nice.
Some atmosphere pics:
In sum: very yummy, but a bit over-priced and very small portions.
My wife is friends with Mark Hannon, who is the chef over at Ca Va. We came in initially to try out restaurant week, but Mark had something else in store for us. Something amazing.
Mark grew up with a chef for a dad, so it only seemed natural for him to follow in his footsteps. He spent some time running kitchens at some of Thailand’s nicest hotels, and he got close with Todd English over the course of about a decade of working for him. He married an Australian chef, and is now back here in NYC, where he was essentially given free reign over the contents of the Ca Va menu (aside from a few things that needed to stay on or be done a certain way). Since taking the helm at Ca Va in the last moth or so, reviews and diners’ reactions have changed in a significantly positive way. When you see what I have to say below you’ll understand why.
First we ordered a couple of cocktails that were really nicely prepared.
Then, before we knew it, this really cool stand of deviled eggs with caviar and winter truffle came out. It was delicious. Creamy, earthy – a perfect way to start the meal.
Next was escargot with fried sea beans, some interesting purees, stuffed snail shells and crisp ham. The crispy ham was a great way to add a little salt into the dish, and the snails were perfect – soft, tender, buttery.
Next was grilled octopus with cannelini beans, chorizo and dehydrated olive powder. We’ve been having a lot of grilled octopus lately, and this dish sits among the best of them. So tender and juicy. I cleaned this plate off so well it was shining like a mirror when I was done.
Next came kale salad with goat cheese mousse, fava beans, dehydrated prosciutto, radish and snow peas. The big star here was the potato chip-like dehydrated prosciutto. Instantly my mind was imagining bags upon bags of them being consumed while watching movies at home on the couch. Fucking delightful.
Then came a scallop dish. It was seared perfectly and garnished with a trail of mushroom dirt (mushroom, shallot, almond flour, dextrose, garlic) and truffles, topped with caviar, and sitting atop asparagus and braised pulled oxtail. Holy shit. This was insane! This represents the best scallop I’ve ever eaten. Mark blew it out of the water.
Next was, by far, the most interesting plate of food of the night and possibly of the year. Duck breast and seared fois gras with toasted marshmallows, chocolate sauce, peanuts, cinnamon, huckleberries and roasted kale sprouts. It was savory yet sweet, but not too sweet, which is what you might expect when you see the stuff listed above. Combining the elements with the duck really made for some taste bud-awakening flavors.
Oh yeah baby – here it comes. Aged New York strip with tangy mustard potato salad and bone marrow powder, drizzled with a bone marrow bordelaise. Let’s just say that the meat man went home a very happy dude. Perfectly cooked to medium rare, sliced and plated beautifully, TONS of flavor and juiciness.
The first dessert was a bread pudding. I have a pic of the ingredients here but I was embarrassed about whipping out the cell phone camera to shoot the plate because Mark was sitting and chatting with us as we ate this course. I would’ve felt like a d-bag sticking my camera in his food instead of just eating it. It was great. Lots of times the texture of bread pudding isn’t right. Either the soak doesn’t hit all the bread and you get some bricks in there, or you are really just eating it for the sauces and toppings. This bread pudding was different. I usually don’t like white chocolate but I loved every bite of it here. The bread pudding itself was very silky and smooth, with really nice texture.
Last came a little plate of cookies and chocolates. The cookies were great, made in-house. The chocolates were pretty good too, nice and rich, but not made in-house.
Jordan, our waiter, was really great. We made sure to give him a good tip seeing as though he had to deal with us for about three hours.
Okay so listen up. I saw this awesome photo on Chef David Burke’s Instagram feed. I showed my wife and we immediately decided that we needed to go.
We made a reservation for an hour or two later, psyched as all hell to dig into that incredible looking hunk of beef.
When we sat, the waiter brought out a little shot of strained cold gazpacho; tomato with melon. Very refreshing.
I had the “rabbit hunter” cocktail: bourbon, lime, ginger beer and mint. It was good; like a bourbon mojito.
My wife had the “antica Manhattan,” which was made with buffalo trace bourbon, antica carpano, maple syrup, bitters and brandied cherry. It was excellent, except for the fact that later on during the meal we found a gnat floating belly up in it. Doh!
We started with a pair of apps. First was the “skin and bones,” which was essentially chicken liver pate sandwiched between two pieces of crispy chicken skin, and served with chicken dumplings drizzled with vindaloo sauce. The cool thing about these dumplings was that they were “bone-in.” The chicken bones were little handles to grab the dumplings. Observe:
Next was octopus tacos (can we call them tactos?) with guacamole, chipotle sauce and salsa. These were excellent. The octopus was nice and charred but tender inside, and the sauces were great. Maybe a few jalapeno slices or some lettuce would have made this dish perfect.
We ordered a side of chic pea fries to go with our steak too. These were interesting. Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. The dipping sauce was more of the chipotle cream from the tacos.
So now for the big fucker. The Bronx filet for two, with bone marrow. The presentation is gorgeous, isn’t it?
Even that first slice up front. Looks delectable, no? Hmm… Maybe just a little too much grey on the edges?
Oh FUCK. After that first, nice looking piece, it looks like whoever sliced this puppy was trying to hide the incredibly overcooked portions!
I kid about the hiding. But, yeah… It turns out that the rest of the steak was really well done. We ordered it medium rare. I guess with these big hunks, lots of chefs have trouble getting an even cook across the meat. The bone still had blood on it. It certainly was an awkward size and shape. What a shame. When it’s done properly it is probably an incredible meal.
When the waiter came around to ask how everything was, I mentioned that it tasted good but that it was severely overcooked. He grabbed a manager and she agreed, though she relayed what the chef said, which was that the edges are over but the middle is okay. Unfortunately that just wasn’t the case. There were about 3 or 4 bites of medium rare combined from all slices, and the rest was hockey puck. The manager generously offered to have the chef fire up another for us, which would be ready in 25 minutes, but we declined because we had to get back home to field some interview calls for a New York Times story that is being written up about the two of us. The steak normally takes 40 minutes to cook, and we were already pushing it on time. So we put on our big-boy pants and ate the dry, grey meat as best as we could. It was still yummy, but really dry and over done. I imagine it to be a great item when properly cooked. 5/10.
The manager was kind enough to send out some free desserts for us, and we were not charged for the overcooked steak. For dessert we had the “Burke-n-bag.” This one is great for photo ops. It is essentially a really amazing candy bar dolled up to look like a purse, and served with a little scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
We also had the frozen yogurt banana split. This was pretty good. The fro-yo was actually delicious, and the pink stuff you see is the sauce that was poured over and then hardened into a shell. Magic Shell!?! Total blast from the past. The banana was just so-so; maybe a little under-ripe. The brownies weren’t really needed, I don’t think.
Last are the cheese cake pops with bubble gum whipped cream. I wasn’t a big fan of these, but I can see how someone could love them. When it comes to all-things cheesecake, nothing can compare to my sister’s cheesecake. MY sister’s cheesecake is so good that it’ll make you want to murder YOUR sister.
So anyway – moral of the story is this: beautiful pics of food can be deceiving. Also the table next door had a wrong item taken to them. Red snapper instead of tuna. So maybe this place was just having a bad night. Our steak was ruined, there was a gnat in my wife’s drink and the table next door had the wrong item delivered to them that apparently no one at any other table had ordered. Ehh, whatever. We all know David Burke is an amazing chef. It’s just too bad he wasn’t actually there cooking for us this evening.
FABRICK
Archer Hotel New York
47 W. 38th St.
New York, NY 10018
My buddy celebrated his 40th birthday out back in the garden here at Butter, and when we got good and hungry, my wife and I went inside to eat some grub at the bar.
My wife had the restaurant week menu, which came with veal bacon, hake (fish), and chocolate cake.
The veal bacon was the real star here, drizzled with a nice mustard seed sauce, and accompanied with a side of sesame oil cabbage slaw.
The fish was better than alright. Nice and clean, good flavor, and pretty tasty overall. Maybe I was just too hungry for my rib eye to pay any real attention to the fish bullshit.
Here’s the “butter cut” rib eye, served with crispy purple potato wedges and a hay stack of onion straws. Really juicy, good fat content, and cooked correctly to medium rare. This would hang with the big boys in the steak house world for sure.
Fuck the chocolate cake. I didn’t take pics of it. it was really good though. Dark chocolate, very rich but not too sweet.
A shot of our drinks from earlier at the birthday party. I had the Alagash, and my wife had the pink lemonade thingy.
I was recently invited to a press dinner at Larb Ubol. What grabbed my attention about the written invite was that it spoke about authentic Isan Thai food. Different from the more well known Thai food scattered throughout the city, their Thai food focuses on northern flavors like coconut milk, and southern cooking techniques like fusion cooking. Their mission is to introduce people to traditional Northeastern Thai food, which is really spicy and fresh, and known for saltiness. This is not the sweet, Americanized crap you might find in the burbs.
The place was crowded by 7pm. This is a good sign, because it means people are interested in REAL Thai food. It’s wisely located in a very vibrant food area on 9th avenue between 36th and 37th. Pretty decor, casual fun atmosphere.
We started with some Thai iced tea. It was delicious and refreshing, topped with little flower made from the straw wrapper.
My wife and I shared the larb duck (ped larb). It was crispy, spicy, fresh, and savory. Really great crispy duck skin was sprinkled in with the ground duck meat. It was served with fresh herbs, like mint and cilantro, chili, onion, fish sauce, cabbage and celery.
That was pretty spicy and salty, so I cooled down with a Lao lager.
We also shared grilled squid (pla muk yang). This had a good char and was perfectly cooked, clean, and simple. Add some fresh cracked pepper on it, and it’s a star dish.
My wife ordered the red snapper for her entrée (larb pla kra pong). Unbelievable presentation. It was a gorgeous full fish, fried crispy with scallions, chili, onion and herbs. The skin was so crispy that it reminded us of baked chicken wing skin. So tasty.
I had the crispy pork with Thai eggplant (pad ped moo krob). The pork was belly meat, and was like thick chunks of spicy bacon candy. So fucking good. And this was a steer in the right direction, by the way. Our waitress pointed us to the jewels of this place when she realized what we were after as we ordered: crispy duck, crispy pork. Initially I was going to order duck stew with Chinese broccoli (broccolini) for my entrée and pork larb to start, but she pointed me to the larb duck and this pork dish instead. Well done. This was great, especially with the sticky rice that we ordered on the side.
For dessert we tried coconut ice cream and Thai shaved ice. Both were garnished with corn kernels and sweet gelatins. The shaved ice reminded us of the dessert drinks in Vietnamese cuisine, only more solid. However the strawberry bubblegum-esque sort of flavoring was a bit off to us, but it was still refreshing and contrasted nicely after all the salty and spicy food we just ate. The coconut ice cream was smooth and creamy, and had coconut shavings in it.
Also worth noting: the food portions are big here. I even noticed the noodle dishes at neighboring tables were big enough for two to share. And, most importantly, the food was so good that I found myself looking forward to eating the leftovers for lunch.
My wife had a pretty great deal for this place. Basically one of us ate for free, is how the deal worked out. Two burgers, two drinks. No complaints on price, that’s for sure.
I had bison meat in my “Southern Burger,” which was pepperjack, applewood smoked thick cut bacon, pickled green tomatoes, fried onions, and whole grain maple horseradish mustard – with a fried egg on top. It was good and everything, but there was just ONE green tomato that didn’t cover the burger circumference. Also the bison that I chose for the beef patty was too dry. My thought was to add the fried egg for the runny yolk to add fat back in, but they overcooked the egg.
Southern Burger with a fried egg on top
My wife had a lamb burger with a shitload of stuff that she custom picked (not a burger listed on the menu). The lamb meat tasted pretty great, as I recall, but she wasn’t blown away either. We’ve both had better burgers. Fries weren’t crisy enough either – a little sog going on. What a shame.
I was recently invited to a press dinner at Da Marcella Mediterranean Taverna in midtown. This place has an Italian- and Spanish-inspired menu that showcases high quality ingredients and expert preparation. Owner Manuel Moreno has two Da Marcella restaurants. The original taverna is in Greenwich Village, is small, and has a very comforting, mom & pop neighborhood feel with very affordable prices ($10 pastas). It’s been open for two years. The goal since the midtown opening in November is to recreate that atmosphere, despite the challenges of the area being less of a neighborhood.
Manuel also endeavored to bring his Spanish heritage to light as well in the midtown location, as he is half Italian (mom’s side) and half Spanish (dad’s side).
The downtown menu is fully Italian, but the midtown menu shows off some tapas, paella and other Spanish staples. All recipes were handed down from his grandmother to his mother (the restaurants’ namesake), so you know you are getting something authentic when you eat at his restaurants.
Our host for the evening was Ernesto, who is manager but also the wine expert. The downtown wine menu is Italian, but the midtown wine list is thoroughly Mediterranean, with choices from Spain and Greece a well as Italy. There are 18 wines by the glass, nine of which change frequently.
As you can see from the tasting menu, he picked some really great wines to pair with each dish, all of which seemed to get increasingly better as the meal went on.
So we started with the marinated octopus with caperberries, and Scottish salmon tartare with avocado. Both were absolutely amazing. The octopus was hands down the most tender I have ever eaten. The only thing that would have made it better is if it were grilled to give it a little char. The tartare was perfectly balanced between acidic, savory and even sweet. The wine paired here was a nice dry but floral white from Riax Baixas in the north part of Spain. I enjoyed it, and I typically don’t really like whites all that much.
Next were the veal and pork mini-meatballs and a plate of burrata with prosciutto and truffle sauce. The truffle sauce was just the right amount of earthiness to bring out the other flavors and make them all pop. And the meatballs, well, they were soft and flavorful. It’s always tough to impress me with meatballs because I am spoiled by having good Italian mom and grandma meatballs, but these were excellent. The wine here was a really nice light Chainti. Well paired.
The tagliatelle pasta was perfect. Fresh made, al dente, properly sauced, and really delicious. The bolognese sauce is highly complex without being heavy, which in itself is a feat. It contains 18 ingredients, a few of which are meats. They really make grandma proud here, as this is clearly a signature item at the restaurant. With the pasta we had a Cabernet-Montepulciano wine, which was my favorite of the night. Robust and flavorful, but not heavy or too acidic.
Next we had the seafood and chicken paella, which contained chicken (of course), clams, mussels, calamari, string beans and peas. I haven’t had many paellas in my day, as I tend to like Asian rice dishes better for the crisp texture, but this was pretty damned good. I was amazed at how they got each separate ingredient to be perfectly cooked. For example, I imagine they have to throw in the calamari at a different time than the clams, and at a different time than the chicken, string beans, etc. Each component was just right, so that must be a real challenge. The wine for this and the beef course (next) was a rich Temperanillo. Full bodied, well aged; a no bullshit kind of wine. Probably quite costly too had we been paying customers.
Our last savory course was the wine-braised beef short rib with creamy polenta. This was awesome. The meat was a bit salty, but when you took a bite with the polenta (which was amazing on its own too) it really balanced it out nicely. I was a happy meat man when eating this. So tender, soft and flavorful.
For dessert we had a sampling of three items: pannacotta, tiramisu, and ricotta cheese cake. Owner Manuel is a baker by trade, so all desserts are made in house if not brought in from his personal Long Island City bakery called the Bakery of New York. The pannacotta was my favorite here. It was perfectly textured – creamy yet firm. It had herb notes of sage or tarragon as well. Very inventive. The tiramisu was very nice as well, but the consensus of others at the table was that the cheese cake was the big winner. Not too heavy, really nice flavors.
To sum it up; I really enjoyed the meal here, and I plan to go back soon, especially since it’s so close to my office. I’d also love to get down to the original location in the village to try out some of their very affordable and highly rated pastas (if I can get a table – the place is now generating big lines from what I understand, because there is a lot of demand).
I recently became aware of Capizzi when I was invited for a couple of press dinners. It is situated right between my wife and my work places, so it was an easy spot to try out on a whim.
This cozy little joint is tucked away under the bridge on 9th Avenue at Port Authority.
When you walk in, you feel like you’re at someone’s house that has been temporarily transformed into a dining room. The old tube TV and the floor-standing, old timey radio have been moved aside to make room for guests. They even have and old school fridge and ice box along the cabinetry on one side of the room…
…and dried peppers hanging from the ceiling, just like at grandma’s house.
Which they crush into their own house crushed red pepper, served alongside dried oregano that is still on the stems. Just like home!
By 6pm on the Friday before Memorial Day, when people are itching to vacate the city, this place was already jumping WITH A LINE OUT THE DOOR AND DOWN THE STREET. Completely full. Wow!
The plates mirror this cozy home feeling, and it’s no wonder Capizzi was jammed up from such an early time… because everything was awesome. And it boasts an extensive Wine selection for all you wine drinking folks out there. In my two visits, I got to taste pretty much all their wines by the glass. The montepulciano, nero d’avola, lambrusco, chianti, and muscato were all great.
Our waiter Andre started us off with a couple of glasses of sangiovese on our first visit, which is one of my favorite varietals. The cool thing about the second visit was that he was there again, but this time just visiting on his off-day to say hello to friends, which I thought was pretty cool. He remembered us too! Great guy. On the second trip we had the pleasure of being served by Sami as our waitress, and Javier as bus boy. Service here is impeccable! Javier was fast, attentive, and very nice. Sami was a sweetheart, and made excellent suggestions for what to order. The people running Capizzi definitely know how to choose good quality staff.
We had a plate of soft, tasty burrata cheese that was garnished with basil, artichoke hearts, sliced grape tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and prosciutto – all lightly drizzled with olive oil. It was excellent. Simple and delicious.
Next came the antipasto misto: a plate of Italian meats, cheese, olives, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and eggplant. A nice way to double down on our starter plate. As you can see in the pic, Andre again served us from the main plate. Top notch service here!
The antipasto came with a basket of toasted, lightly cheesed flatbread. Naked pizza, if you will. Really airy and crispy. We took this home with us since we couldn’t finish it all, and wanted to save room for pizza.
On trip number two we tried two salads – HUGE portion sizes. Definitely can split these. These were both very simple dishes that showcased incredible, fresh ingredients. In the first case, cucumber, roasted red peppers, and really top quality olive oil.
The other salad was a simple, refreshing fennel and orange salad. Again massive portion size, and very tasty.
Then comes the pizza. We ordered a regular Margherita pie with some arugula and prosciutto on top. The pie was doughy yet crisped and lightly charred on the surfaces and crust. This kind of perfection can only be achieved with an authentic wood burning brick oven.
The sauce was deftly applied with just the right volume and ratio to the crust and cheese. It had a very slight sweetness to it, which was cut nicely by the peppery arugula and salty prosciutto. The cheese was fresh and melty, and on top there was some fresh grated parmesan cheese for that earthy kick. We devoured every bite of this masterpiece.
On a second visit we tried two pies. First the margherita pie – your basic cheese and sauce pizza. It was fucking PERFECT. Words escape me right now as I try to describe it. It was crisp, yet soft. It was savory, fresh, and juicy from point to crust. Honestly this is now my favorite pizza in New York, and I grew up a spoiled pizza brat.
The other pie we tried was on special for the night, and was topped with speck, prosciutto, arugula and mozzarella. This was really great. In fact, pretty much every pizza on the menu sounds enticing. My wife and I plan to move back into the city this summer, and this area is one of or top choices for location. Needless to say, Capizzi will be our go-to pizza joint, no question. Look at how amazing the pizza is…
We finished off the meal with my wife’s favorite classic dessert, tiramisu, on our first visit. It was good – nice and light, not too boozy; a great ending to a wonderful meal.
On the second visit, we took advice from our waitress Sami to try the Oreo truffle cannoli. She hit the nail on the head. It was just the right amount of sweet without being overpowering. It was flavorfully unique, but with enough tribute paid to the classic cannoli dessert not to offend any traditionalist sensibilities. And as always, the plating was beautiful to boot.
As a pizza aficionado, I definitely recommend this place to those looking for a great pie (no single slices here – for that you need to go to Saluggis). Do yourself a favor and go here ASAP. I think for sit-down, full-pie pizza, this is absolutely my new favorite place to go.
An interesting side note about this place:
“They got an old-fashion’ toilet… You know… The box, and, and, and, ah the chain-thing… We might be able to tape the gun behind it.”
