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Showing results for tags 'House-Made Pasta'.
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ARLnow.com is reporting a new "gastropub" (I hate that term) named The Green Pig Bistro is coming to this space. -
You could have knocked me over with a feather. After an excellent meal at Ghibellina, I was strongly swayed that there may be a new king of the 14th Street Shuffle (the Dining Guide Shuffle, that is). Further proof that DC's Italian Renaissance is in full-swing. People are talking about this-and-that neighborhood, but the biggest change in DC's dining scene of late has been the explosion of high-quality, moderately upscale Italian restaurants. And Lupo Verde, at least downstairs at the bar, positively screams Italian. If you've never had a Na Biretta beer, get one, and if you like a lot of malt, get the Na Biretta Rossa ($9) - this is like Moretti La Rossa, but better, and on steroids. Excellent quality, and a very cool-looking bottle to boot. I would get this again in a heartbeat, but there are four Na Birettas on the menu, and I'm eager to try the other three. It took forever for me to get my appetizer, probably close to half an hour, but when it arrived, I knew what took so long: I cannot imagine the labor that went into the Torta di Cozze ($9), and they've got boulder-sized testicoli offering this on a 14th-Street menu. Nominally a "Mussels Cake," this was an incredibly elegant little plate of warm, shelled mussels, sandwiched between two small wafers, with a half-melted scoop of Burrata, a little Parmigiano, and a drizzle of leek sauce. While not a large dish, and perhaps more delightful than delicious, this was not a nine-dollar plate of food; get it now, or pay more later - assuming it can possibly remain on the menu. Lupo Verde has a nice little wines by the glass list, but I went straight for the house white: Pinot Grigio on Tap ($8) from Piemonte, and it was a solid (not perfect, but solid) match with the Torta di Cozze - ideally, you'd want something a bit fuller bodied and bone dry. I recently had a very good spaghetti carbonara at Rose's Luxury, so I thought I'd try Lupo Verde's Carbonara ($14) to compare - there was no comparison. Lupo Verde's is made with homemade paccheri, guanciale, eggs, and Pecorino(-Romano?), and the paccheri is a wonderful vehicle for this classic Roman dish. This was, without question, the finest carbonara I have ever eaten. Like the Mussels Cake, it was a fairly small portion, but it was also a fairly small price - my server came down and almost apologized that the dish, served in a metal bowl, is presented merely warm, not steaming hot, because "that's the way they eat it in Italy," he said. Maybe, but the dish was plenty hot enough for me, and I was entranced by its execution. Lupo Verde's house red is also from Piemonte: Sangiovese on Tap ($8), and while this was a perfectly nice wine, especially for the price, I would counsel having it with a less-delicate, perhaps tomato-based dish, or charcuterie, and I would again recommend a full-bodied, bone-dry white with the Carbonara. Although I was getting somewhat full, I knew I hadn't eaten very much - these were not large courses - and since it was early, I knew I'd be wanting something later. So I got a plate of Three Cheeses ($13) to go which came with slices of bread, walnuts, and apricots. I apologize for failing to note the cheeses, but if you'd like, you can piece the order together yourselves: Lupo Verde is currently offering a total of four DOP (Denominazione Origine Protetta) cheeses, and I got the three that weren't Castelmagno. That was about the most non-helpful thing I've ever written, but the portions were fair, and although the cheeses are stored in plastic wrap, they were in perfect shape (on a similar note, my beer had gone several months past its expiration date, but it, too, was in perfect shape). It is important to recognize that I have now tried only two cooked courses at Lupo Verde, and I am not reviewing the restaurant; I am reviewing the individual meal. And I'm going to come right out and say that these were the two most refined dishes I can ever remember having on 14th Street. Needless to say, coverage is initiated, strongly, in Italic, and Lupo Verde, based on this one meal, is a legitimate contender for the 14th-Street crown. Yeah, you could have knocked me over with a feather.- 28 replies
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I first noticed this place after my last visit to Nectar. We were walking to the Four Seasons for drinks, and passed by what looked like a beautiful dinning room with most of the tables filled. The menu looked interesting, and not too pricey. But I had never heard anything about this restaurant, and still have not found any mention of it on this or other boards. I figured I would have heard something about it if it were either good, or horrible. So should I take the absence of any mention as being a sign that it is painfully mediocre? -
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per Tagliata website. I was drawn in by the squid ink campanelle - with peekytoe crab, sea urchin cream sauce, chili, basil, & breadcrumbs. The pasta was wonderful, and so was the crab meat. The cream sauce had no discernible sea urchin flavor though 😥 The bolognese was also an excellent pasta dish. I would say their small selection of pastas are equal if not better than Cinghiale. The chicken parm was decent. -
I had dinner with friends at Osteria Morini this evening, the Italian joint at "Yard Park" on the right bank of the Eastern Branch between Nationals Park and the Navy Yard. I hadn't been down to that part of town since all of the development of the park and the ballpark, and it's really very interesting and pretty cool. The restaurant is sleek and appealing, though rather uncomfortably noisy. There's extensive outdoor seating, though, which during nice weather, such as we had tonight, is probably very nice, and much quieter than the restaurant indoors. While my friends and I were dining indoors, I was silently wishing we had taken seats outdoors; oh well, perhaps next time. I totally loved the food. My favorite bits: Exquisite, wonderful lardo, very thin slices in a curly tangle, with little slices of toasted bread, just fantastic. I asked the server where it came from, and she said Emilia Romagna, which is a pretty vague answer, but with every morsel I ate I felt closer to heaven (which my cardiologist might agree with, if he believes in an after-life). Charred octopus with "red rice salad": I was less crazy about the red rice salad, which I didn't quite understand, than the octopus itself, which was sumptuously excellent. The lardo and the octopus were the big winners of the evening, to me, but we had a lot of other things that were also smashing. Buttered spinach. Crostini with: smoked trout and goop, which was very nice; finely diced beets and goop, which was also very nice; and a melange of mushrooms and goop, which was rather strangely sweet, and the only dish of the night that I disliked. I had a dish of bucatini with crab and sea urchin, which I adored, and which of course ended up spackling my brand-new white dress shirt, as bucatini will do. There were some other things. Asparagus, which was nice. I forget what else. This place serves up some wonderful food, and the servers do their jobs very well. I recommend it.- 55 replies
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I'm admittedly a creature of habit. Each time I'm in New York, I tend to hit a few places from my list of "regulars" - though I try to squeeze in one or two new ones when I'm there. So it's with that context that I say that I've been to La Pecora Bianca in NoMad the last 4 times I've been to the city. LPB isn't the best italian restaurant in New York. And it isn't the best restaurant in NoMad (which, in my opinion, is the NoMad Restaurant inside the NoMad Hotel). But it fills a gap left by the closing of Craftbar (which wasn't technically in NoMad but close enough). It is a restaurant that serves good food that isn't super high priced where we can meet friends for dinner without a reservation 4 weeks in advance. It's always the place chosen on the dreaded text message chain the day before when someone asks "where should we meet for dinner." From the appetizers, I recommend Whipped Ricotta with truffle honey and country toast ($14) and the Meatballs ($14). Roasted Cauliflower with raisins, pine nuts and mascarpone ($15) is also good, but I'm not a big cauliflower person in general. From the pasta menu, Gramigna with house made sausage, broccolini and pepper flakes ($24) is a favorite, as is the Tagliatelle with bolognese ($24). And the Tiramisu for two ($15) is worth the caloric splurge. Fair warning, they are strict about the wine pours, which can change the glass vs. bottle mathematics.-
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Andy Hayler's Review --- We invited some friends for dinner at Il Portico after almost random restaurant picking. What an amazing bit of luck. Home made pasta, an owner and servers who treat you like family and food that was both beautiful to look at and even more beautiful to consume. We started with Prosecco and asked for focaccia rather than the (home made) thickly sliced bread that was offered. The owner (who also happens to own the pizza restaurant next door) told us that he would be right back because he would have to go to the pizza restaurant to fix it for us. I hate to abuse superlatives, but even the focaccia was excellent. Just the right amount of crispness and perfect chewiness. There was a bowl of olive oil on the table when we arrived and after savoring the focaccia sans oil, we made use of it. A great way to start. I'll try to put the courses in some order of what was served. Because we asked for Antipasti and then a Secondi followed by dessert there was a lot of food on the table. Antipasti: Salumi (directly sourced from small family run butcher shops in the Apennines Mountains) with Coppa and Pancetta with cubed Pecorino. Second dish was butterflied prawns lightly broiled and just brushed with olive oil Third was Parma Prosciutto with Lardon and Pecorrino and the fourth and final antipasti was Pulpo (octopus) gently broiled and finished with olive oil and spices. Primi: Grover decided she wanted Linguini so she had Linguini with squid ink, lobster, shrimp and cherry tomato. This was a huge serving of linguini with almost a half lobster, tons of shrimp and enough cherry tomatoes to ensure the contrasting sweet, tart flavors. The three of us had: A T-bone of Tuscan veal with wild porcini mushrooms, broiled Monkfish, and tortellini. This was three separate dishes as everything was served family style.Suffice it to say, there were four very satisfied (and satiated) people at the table and a number of cleaned plates. The only thing left was some Linguini that Grover was unable to finish. Dessert: Let's just say traditional. Tiramisu, Affogato, Gelato con Balsamico. We all shared in spite of everyone complaining they were full. We finished with "golden Grappa" made in-house which was one of the best grappas I can recall every having. Needless to say there was no room for coffee but it was hardly missed. For wines we had Prosecco di Conegliano and for dinner a red from a region just north of Tuscany which unfortunately I did not get the name of. Just let me say, it like the food, was excellent. This is traditional serious white tablecloth Italian dining and worth every penny. Dinner was approximately £65 a person. Il Portico is located at: 277 Kensington High Street, Kensington, London W8 6NA Phone: 44 2076026262 and is open for lunch and dinner.-
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My wife has a fascination with Giuliana Rancic and is dying to try this place. If anyone makes it here, please let me know how it is. Website. -
Looking at the pictures in this review, I have *really* good feelings about Lilia, and will make a special effort to get over there when I'm in Manhattan. The grilled sardines on crostini look *amazing*. "At Lilia in Brooklyn, Missy Robbins is Cooking Pasta Again" by Pete Wells on nytimes.com
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Sunday evening found us at the Rail Stop Restaurant in The Plains, following a tasting at Chrysalis Vineyards and a stroll through Middleburg. Lacking a reservation, we were seated in the less formal, but cozy, front room. I was a little concerned about how dinner would go, as our dining companions were my SO’s parents who were visiting and previous attempts to impress/please had been less than successful (how could they not like Ray’s?!), Well, it turned out to be a very good meal, even if the service was on the slow side and a bit scattered. We started with a few shared appetizers: A special of seared tuna on a soba noodle salad – the piece of tuna was smallish, but flavorful. The noodles were a bit too cold – room temp would have been better – but fresh and tender. Also, Duck spring rolls with a raspberry sauce – the wrapper was more egg roll than spring roll but the shredded duck filling was tender and full of flavor. The mains were a hit (except for one but that was due to a lack of attention paid to the description) and 3 of the 4 were fish. I had the halibut served with a mushroom risotto and asparagus. This had to have been some of the most perfectly cooked fish I’ve had in a long time. It came out piping hot, moist, and delicious. The same could be said for the grilled salmon, served on a bed of vegetables, and the mackerel fillet special, served over a cioppino that included trout and a few other seafood treats. Somebody in that kitchen really knows how to cook fish! The only dish that left someone disappointed was another special – smoked chicken and fettucine (both the chicken smoked, and pasta made, in-house) with vegetables and garlic oil. The recipient had failed to note the garlic oil in the description and was expecting a more traditional sauce. The bite I had was very good – the chicken had a great flavor and wasn’t the least bit dry and the pasta was fantastic. We wrapped things up with the homemade mixed berry tart and, MM-MM-MM, they were good! Hot and topped with a crispy crumble, the blueberries were huge and sweet and the strawberries weren’t bad either. The only quibble was that there was a very long pause between being seated and ordering drinks and again between the apps and the entrees. I didn’t mind but the men in the party were beginning to get restless My only other visit was for lunch a couple years ago, but I do remember the chili was very good and I had the added excitement of a Robert Duvall sighting. He sat at the table in front of mine and I had a hard time trying not to stare too much!
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