The Inspiring Italian at Vinateria

I often walk by many of the restaurants in my neighborhood, headed to other areas to explore and eat, but it's always nice to find new tasty places so close to home.

Most of the restaurants in Harlem have tables that spill out onto the spacious sidewalks, filled with gaggles of excited eaters, and Vinateria is no exception.

The staff is warm, attentive and friendly; the menus adorable, printed on elementary school handwriting paper.  Oh, nostalgia.  

The lemonade is freshly made and perfect for a warm summer evening.

The crispy baby artichokes, served with lemon-anchovy sauce, were lightly battered and completely tender.  The sauce was bright, savory and just wonderful.

The pastas are all homemade here. The spaghetti with slivers of asparagus, tomato confit, ricotta and sweet corn, took no effort to eat, so light and absolutely lovely.

The black spaghetti with octopus and breadcrumb was a bit heartier, pitch black strands wrapped in toasted crumb and chive with meaty medallions of octopus.

Each plate was almost too perfectly portioned in that we easily finished each plate, cleaned it up with our tongues, and wished we had more, but honestly, it was just enough to keep us satiated while planting a seed for a future visit.

Han's Nonsensical Rating: Vinateria brings a seasonal twist to the traditional Italian - it's lighter, it's lovely and I'd definitely recommend it.

Vinateria

 2211 Frederick Douglass Blvd, New York, NY 10026

The Adorableness that is Briciola

Sometimes you find yourself in a place like Hells Kitchen wanting just simple, delicious Italian food, and somehow you'll uncover a tiny little space that looks like a wine shop, with its warm wooden shelves, softly lit by small votives, filled with glossy bottles of beautiful wines and one narrow stretch of a white tiled table perched with content, chattery eaters.

The menu is remarkably well-priced, in the sense that when you look at the menu, you will remark, "This is very reasonable [for Manhattan/Hells Kitchen/New York]!"  The waitress, with the husky, cigarette-fueled voice, will mention a couple specials, a beauiful burrata, a warm octopus salad.  The words mentioned are just too casual for how exquisite and delicious the dishes really are.

The salad is plentiful to share for two with thick chunks of the most tender, grilled octopus with its fat little suction cups, glazed with olive oil and drizzles of tangy balsamic.  Roasted potatoes and herbs round out the surprisingly spectacular plate.

Our perfectly portioned plates of pasta also did not disappoint.  A plate of tortellini with feather-thin strips of prosciutto and green peas in cream sauce was chewy and delightful.  The only downside was that it needed more cream sauce because how else can you eat more of their wonderfully crusty bread?

The linguine and clams is something I'd get again and again.  The pasta slippery and hard to wrangle under fork, but you'll find a way to maneuver the deliciously al dente strands into your mouth, savoring the light, flavorful broth and tossing in those clams for a nice briny finish to each bite.  The broth is plentiful and makes it easy to eat a whole basket of bread on your own (and you will).

We grabbed scoops of Jeni's amazing ice cream from Gotham West's summer pop-up shop for dessert, but I have a good feeling the desserts at Briciola would be just as satisfying as each bite of our meal was, so I can't wait to return soon to find out!

Han's Nonsensical Rating: It feels like a hidden gem, and it almost is, until now.  Delicious, delightful, an absolute charmer.

Briciola
370 W 51st St, New York, NY 10019

A New York afternoon dabbling in doughnuts, fine breads and The Met

Not dead.  Just lazy.  And obsessed with playing computer games.  Hours and hours of computer games on Steam.  I somehow regressed into the lifestyle of a 12 year old boy this winter, and it's hard to stop !  I hope your progress with your New Year's resolutions are going much better.

Thank goodness for Jamie to motivate me to actually get dressed, brush my hair and check out our fine city - this time the Upper East Side!

From the owner behind Earl's Beer and Cheese comes Dough Loco, an artisan doughnut shop with funky flair and flavors to match.

The doughnuts are tall with bright thick glazes.

Fun flavors include raspberry sriracha, maple miso, blood orange, cinnamon sugar and chocolate.

This is the face of someone who looks like they are about to Dough Loco !

I tried the chocolate, irresistible-looking with its deep brown glaze and skinny minnie chocolate sprinkles to match.  The icing was so rich and sweet, but it's the kind of sugar kick any bad boy with a sweet tooth would appreciate in the morning (like me!).

Jamie got the maple miso, which was my favorite of the batch - the maple flavor reigned supreme and brought me back to my McMinnville cream days of Voodoo Doughnuts (sigh!).

The blood orange, spotted with tiny poppy seeds, is a good offset to the two sweet ones.  It's absolutely bright, tart and tangy.

While the glazes are delicious, the doughnuts do fall short in the airiness of the yeast doughnut itself.  These buggers are incredibly thick and dense, making for a pretty heavy breakfast treat.  I can't help but compare these to Dough, whose blood orange is amazing and the doughnut airy and light.

For our breakfast entree, Jamie grabbed us a loaf of Sfoglia's signature sourdough bread, heralded in the Huffington Post as one of the top things to eat before you die.  Yeah.  Bold stuff.

Sfoglia serves the bread with their meals or you can purchase full loaves in the mornings from their restaurant for $8.50.  There's some confusion with the restaurant staff understanding whether or not bread is sold in the morning, but just remain persistent and stand your ground, and eventually you get rewarded with this:

A huge square hunk of golden brown bread.

Our Verdict: you can safely die before eating this bread without any regrets.  

Still, it's a very solid bread, soft and moist on the inside with very slight sourdough tang, but could use more sea salt sprinkled on the crust, and honestly might be better enjoyed first warmed in the oven with a tasty marinara sauce.

After, we spent a few hours perusing the treasures of the Met.  It's been half a year since I've visited last, but I always forget just how amazing past civilizations really were.  

I mean look at these gold finger caps!

Meticulous hieroglyphic jewelry!

This Egyptian is swaddled by a bird who is wearing a snake !  That's SO cool !

I'm pretty sure I just headed straight home after this lovely afternoon to play more computer games.  Man, I am in trouble.

Han's Nonsensical Rating: Dough Loco and Sfoglia are pretty good, but probably not worth a special trip; if you're conveniently on Park and 98th and appreciate a good maple doughnut, pop your head in for sure.

Dough Loco

1261 Park Ave

New York, NY

Sfoglia

1402 Lexington Ave

New York, NY 10128

Light Bites at Sorella

I worked for this partner at my firm who carries himself as a man with impeccable taste.  Or just very picky.  And very particular.  

And I am not sure if being demanding in the office translates to exquisite food taste, but I was willing to check out Sorella after he described a recent meal there that was so enjoyable that after they finished eating, they ordered more of the same dishes, because they just had to.  It was that good.  

Sorella was surprisingly charming - you open the door, everyone at the bar stares at you like an unwelcome stranger, but the hostess guides you along the dark narrow stretch into a beautiful glass encased patio with simple hanging lights.  Great. Start.

As were the appetizers - veal tartare crowned with fried artichoke chips.  The veal was so soft and light and so delectable with the bright, lemon aioli.

Cool and earthy artichoke hearts were also served on the side.

I cleaned up that pool of aioli later with my tongue.  

The broccoli fritto was the dish that inspired my partner to order multiple, and I could see why.  Verdant broccoli florets have been expertly fried to greaseless perfection - crispy and crunchy and tender all in one.  Doused with hot pepper aioli and basil, the appetizer felt remarkably light and healthy (as much a a fried vegetable can be).

Plates of pasta were good, but not as delicious and satisfying as our starters.  The sausage and banana pepper pasta was fine.  The uneven noodles were slippery and chewy, but while the banana peppers added a nice pickled, spicy element, the texture was a little off-putting.

The lamb and mint pasta was a faithful rendition of a classic flavor profile - gamey, minty and merely fine.

The side of brussel sprouts, bacon, apple and mustard seeds was an attractive plate that elicited envy from our neighboring tables who quickly ordered the side as well.  Though some of the brussels sprouts were bitter, bites with the full experience of thick cut of bacon and apple was fairly enjoyable.

Not shown are the two dreamsicle housemade sodas I guzzled down.  The soda was clear, slightly effervescent and creamy smooth like the ice cream, but refined !  Delicious !

I wish we had a chance to try their housemade gelato, because I'm not sure if I would come again anytime soon.  Though if you want to watch awkward dates, I think this spot attracts them plenty !  We got to hear how this lady handled losing her cell phone on the first date - absolute train wreck.  So fun (and painful) to experience third-party.

Han's Nonsensical Rating: Pleasant but not extraordinary.  Skip the pasta and go for small plates only - they're more interesting.

Sorella
95 Allen
New York, NY

Dine in Brooklyn 2013 - Italian @ PT

Man, I went back to Williamsburg last weekend, after a month hiatus, and I can only say that I am not sure how I lived in that hipster haven for so long.  I can't say that I miss the scene all that much (or at all), but the restaurants were good.

PT was a recent discovery, a cozy basement restaurant serving up homey Italian cuisine.

Check out this crazy bread basket with crunchy crostini, flaky sheets, and soft sourdough bread.  So much to choose from and so little time.  I like that.

The calamari, dusted with paprika, were crispy, lightly battered rings served with warm marinara sauce.  Decent, but boy I missed the tentacle pieces.  I am such a tentacleface.  I would eat a whole bowl of tentacles if they let me.

Tanuja ordered spaghetti, which came heaped in a bowl, crowned with fresh tomato sauce and basil.

She cleaned this plate up easy and joked with the waiter, "You don't even have to wash it!" but his face clearly indicated that he was still going to wash it.

I ordered the lasagna alla bolognese, made with layers of bechamel sauce that the waiter insisted made this lasagna a lot lighter than the norm, and hence you can eat more.  I always like the sound of that.

The serving was fat and thick, but the dish did go down easy - delectable burnt edges, chewy noodles, and flavorful little layers of meat sauce and bechamel.  I did not clean up my plate as easy (but sure enjoyed having it for lunch the next day!).

To top it all of, this tiramisu sundaesque confection was borderline amazing.  Espresso soaked ladyfingers mashed with the creamiest marscapone filling.  Guh. So good.

I liked this meal ! She did too !

Han's Nonsensical Rating: There's a few Italian places in Williamsburg, but PT is a notch above the rest.  The service is weird (is it friendly or is it snarky?  Who knows!), but the food tastes pretty fine!

PT
331 Bedford Ave
Brooklyn, NY

Italian Comfort Food @ Balena

Balena in Lincoln Park is one of my new favorite spots in Chicago. Serving up classy italian comfort food, the space has the warmth of those beautiful weddings-in-a-barn. Not pretentious at all, but definitely rustic-trendy. 

Just look at how inviting this place is:

Why yes, I will sit and eat for hours, thank you.

The wine list goes on for miles, and the cocktails offered are super interesting. I went for the Strawberry No. 1: with dimmi, grey goose, fragoli, la marca prosecco, and wild strawberry.

My kind of drink: sweet, refreshing, and smooth. The little blobs you see? Mini strawberries that have been soaked in fragoli. Sooo delicious. I could eat a vat of these little strawberries.

We started with the mushroom bruschetta with marsala onions and cream.

I loved the thickness of the bread, and the creamy goodness of the mushroom topping. Want. More.

I ordered a pasta for my entree, which the waitress had warned me would not be very big... but to me, it was just the right amount.

Orecchiette with kale, lemon, bread crumbs, and chili. Loved the al-dente, the tartness, and the crunchy bread crumb+kale combo. I finished the whole plate (which, as I said, was the perfect size).

Dan ordered the spicy pepperoni pizza with mozzarella and tomato.

It was huge! And soooo tasty. It was definitely spicier than we had both guessed, but in fantastic way, and the tomato sauce was super fresh. The dough had good texture, and the crust was just dense enough (not too chewy!).

Balena, we will definitely be back!

Balena

1633 N. Halsted St.

Chicago, IL 60614

312.867.3888