Alma 33

Imagine a culinary combo of Italian and Argentinean.  Sounds good doesn’t it?   Go to Alma 33 and taste how delicious that combination can be.  The chef, Enrico Primarti,  is from Florence and spent time studying cooking in Argentina.  The combination is delicious and you will be delighted with every bite.

Alma had a soft opening last week featuring only items off the tapas menu.  They opened this week for dinner and will be serving lunch beginning the week of January 10^th.  The wine list by the glass is lovely featuring mostly Spanish wines.  I had the Priorat and it was a great value.  We then moved on to Tapas.  The Tartaf de terriera (beef Tartar) with a  raw quail egg is out of this world.  

The portion was huge, although I must say I could have eaten it all night long.  We then moved on to the Sardines on a crostini with goat cheese and pistachio cream that was possibly my favorite thing we ate all night.  

They were fresh, not too salty and none of the flavors overpowered the others.  We then tried two different types of empanadas, the chicken and the short rib.  We finished our meal with a delicious vanilla panacotta with a raspberry sauce that was so light that I didn’t feel once ounce of guilt.

The prices are right, the deco is sophisticated and beautiful and the food is sublime.  It is great for groups or just a quiet drink with a friend.  Go and experience all the flavors that happen when Italy meets Argentina.  It can really be quite something.
Alma
33 West 8th St. between 5th and 6th

9th Ave – the real restaurant beat of Times Square

Times Square is a tourist destination, and let’s face it a restaurant trap.  Most of the restaurants that are a stone’s throw from the glamour and lights are not worth the trip.  However, when venture a little East or West you walk into an oasis of great restaurants.  That is what 9^th Avenue is.  One of my favorite haunts is Bocca di Bacca.  

It serves up Italian cuisine and offers 45 Italian wines by the glass and over 500 hundred by the bottle.  You can choose to go all out on their “reserve list” by the glass or just go for the regular list.  Both are exquisite and the bartender or server will help guide you through the list.  Ask for a taste before you commit.  They also have a full bar if wine isn’t what you are in the mood for.

The food there is fantastic.  I brought my friend from Italy there and he loved it.  I recommend getting the Bruschetta al Funghi with Truffle oil.  

It will melt in your mouth.  I have on many occasions had their cheese and meat platters and they should be on the top of your list as well.   Last night we had the Scallops with celery root puree

and the Garganelli Ossobucco.  

They were divine!  The pasta was cooked to perfection and the scallops and celery root were just lightly seasoned so that you were able to taste all the flavors in the dish.  I recommend the risotto if they have one available.  The décor is rustic and cozy and the service is great.  The prices are very reasonable (especially the wine list).  If it is good Italian you are after and you are in Midtown, don’t miss out on this fantastic gem.  It will not dissapoint.

829 9th Ave betweeen 54th & 55th

212-265-8828

Great Italian for an unbeatable price

Sometimes you just want a great dish of pasta.  You want to go all out, screw the low-carb diet and indulge.  But you want it to be good and fresh and worth it.  When I get that urge and I want to stay local, I go to Celeste, on 84^th and Amsterdam.  They don’t take reservations and there is always a line out the door, but eat there once and you will know why.  Chef Giancarlo Quadalti hails from Italy and the food is so authentic it makes you feel as if you were in Italy and not the upper west side of Manhattan.  The pastas are made fresh daily and you can taste the difference in every mouthful.   Each dish is full of flavor and cooked to perfection.  Two of my favorites are the Linguini Vongole:

and the Arrabiata:

I ventured out and had Salmon when I was there last week and it was fantastic.  And if you like pizza you can’t go wrong with the thin crust pizza from their wood burning oven and what Italian meal would be complete without a little homemade gelato?  (Yes I went all out and had the dessert too – but real gelato?  So good!!)  We also had the Lemon Pie.  It was fantastic!

The wine list is very good and the prices are more than reasonable, as are all the prices on the menu.  It is probably one of the best values you will find in Manhattan.  The portions are huge and the prices are small.  They are no longer a secret (at least among the upper west siders) so be prepared to wait a bit, but if you call ahead they will let you know how long the wait is.    Also it is cash only.   It is small, but cozy and the service is warm and friendly.  They pack them in every night, but boy do they get it right.  Every night.   Now that’s amore!

502 Amsterdam (Between 84th & 85th)

212-874-4559

The best coconut cake in New York City

When I am on vacation (especially if it is the holiday season) I tend to indulge, but it has to be worth the calories!   Coconut cake is one of my favorite things.  When it is good, it is amazing and when it is not amazing I find myself asking why did I bother?  Having searched high and low, I found that there are two places in NYC that you should not miss if you love coconut cake.  They are both different in style, so I recommend you try both.

Believe it or not, Mesa Grill has one of the most outstanding cakes I have ever had.  It is not Bobby Flay's throwdown recipe, but a version of it that his pastry chef Clarisa Martino has perfected.  (Sorry to disappoint you Flay fans)

The desserts she has created are ridiculous.   If you like dessert, you should go there and give yourself a treat.  I also recommend the Mexican Chocolate Pudding.  I don't even like pudding, but this will blow your mind.  However, the coconut cake is possibly the lightest and most flavorful coconut cake I have ever tasted.  The cake is moist, the frosting is light and the taste is mmm mmmm good.   I'm not sure how she did it.  When it arrives you will think that there is no way that you could ever finish this either by yourself or with another person.  However I found myself looking at an empty place and was wishing I had some to take in a doggie bag for later.  It will melt in your mouth and you will feel as though you have just gone to heaven.   Clarisa is an extremely talented pastry chef and Bobby Flay is very lucky to have her.

The second place that you should go to if you like coconut cake is on the upper west side.  Good Enough to Eat is a great place for lunch or brunch.  They have one of the best Turkey Clubs ever.   It also has one of the two best coconut cakes in the city.  It is very different, stylistically speaking, from Mesa Grlll, but it is delicious and worth the calories in every bite.  The frosting is like a cream cheese/butter cream frosting with coconut on top.  It is exquisite.

It is also something that you should expect to get a doggie bag for, as it is rich and probably not something you will be able to finish by yourself, especially if you have had a meal there before hand.  The cake is moist and delicious and will linger in your dreams for weeks.

As I said, I love dessert, but it has be so good that I don't care that I have cheated on my diet.  If you go to either of these places, I can almost guarantee that your visions of sugarplums dancing in your head will include some coconut cake.

Italian tapas in an upper west side gem

I think one of things that I enjoyed most about going to Barcelona was the tapas bars.  It is really nice to go with a friend or 2 and taste a bunch of things and still not feel overly full like we so often do here in the states.  At Salumeria Rosi that is what you will get; the Italian style tapas.  They have an AMAZING selection of Italian wine and cheeses that will knock your socks off.  It is small and cozy, yet sophisticated.    

We started with a sette fagioli (a 7 bean salad in a light dressing).  All the portions are small so we each got just enough that we didn’t feel to full.  We then had a chickpea crostini with 

broccoli rabe and a Torta di porri (A leek torte with pancetta and parmegano reggiano).  Both were exquisite.  Next we had a farrottto del risotto ( a risotto that is made with faro instead of the traditional risotto rice with pumpkin and sunflower seeds) that was to die for.

And unlike getting a risotto for yourself, it didn’t make you feel like you needed to walk 7 miles home before you could lie down because it was small and you split it!  We then finished with a selection of meats and cheeses.  

Salumeria Rosi is small, but they do take reservations.  I suggest making one, especially if you are planning on making a trip on the busier Thursday, Friday or Saturday evenings.  The atmosphere is delightful and the servers very knowledgeable and friendly.  It is a slice out of an Italy (plus you won’t have to deal with the weekend crowds of Eataly to get some authentic Italian food).  If you are looking to see where the Upper West Siders eat, then hit Salumeria Rosi.  You will get to taste a lot, not spend a fortune and have a great meal! 

A great New York City wine bar

I am pretty much a wine drinker.  Occasionally I will be enticed by a cocktail or even a beer (I like the good, rich, highly caloric beers), but for the most part, you will see me drinking wine.  That said, I believe that life is too short to drink bad wine.  So when I meet up with friends and we are deciding where to go, I often suggest 8^th St. wine cellar.   It is a cozy little nook on 8th between 5th & 6th, just below ground level.

The food is great; the wine is great (an not overpriced) it has a cozy, yet elegant atmosphere and service that is A+.  Owned and run by 2 veteran Union Square Café bartenders who truly know their stuff, this place is a real gem.  Yes, they do have a full bar and not just wine.  The beer list is cockfull of  fantastic artisinal beers.  The menu is small but what is on it is done really well!  They support local perveyors whenever possible so you are getting good quality there as well.  The Mac & Cheese is amazing, the meatballs are to die for and the small plates like the meats & cheeses or the bruschettas are delicious.  The kitchen stays open late (after 11pm there is a smaller late night menu) and the bar gives last call around 4am.  You will not find a friendlier staff anywhere.  It is one of my favorite bars in the city.  If you are looking for a bar with great atmosphere and wine that will agree with even the fussiest wine drinker,  check out 8^th St. Wine Cellar.  You might just keep going back.

28 West 8^th,, between 5^th & 6^th.  (It is downstairs so make sure to watch for the number so you don’t miss it)