I've been working on my post for a few days and then this thread popped up. Outstanding!
4 of us stopped in for dinner last week and had a very positive experience.
We started at the bar with a few cocktails. My favorite was the sweet and slightly effervescent Stilleto (Brachetto d’acqui, Carpano Antica, bitters). I also tried a Bello Vechio (Four Roses bourbon, Carpano Antica, Amaro, maraschino) that I liked but not as much. I really liked the bar manager, Daniel Casteel. He's got an interesting and distinctive program, and was very enthusiastic to share his thoughts about it.
After drinks, in the dining room, our meal started out with a tremendous sequence -- some of the best food I've had in a long time. I mean these plates were downright phenomenal. There are so many talented chefs in town but we all have those certain chefs whose palates match up with our own. Mike Sheerin's food has always spoken to me over the years. It's inventive but also homey and comforting. His dishes are filled with little touches -- things no one else does -- that make you say "of course!" It was a refreshing joy eating these dishes. We started out with several items from the 'Antipasti & Cicchetti' and 'Insalate' sections of the menu:
Aged Hanger Steak Carpaccio | crispy cauliflower, sorrel, raisin caper aioli
This was a delectable combination of flavors that just worked great together. Aged hanger was a great, intensely flavorful foundation for the dish.
Charred Baby Squid | squid ink, black garlic, creamy polenta
The menu kind of buries the lead here because as tasty as the squid (charred and cooked in its own ink) was, the star of the dish was the creamy polenta that, again, had intense flavor. There was a sharp cheese in it that just sent it over the top.
House-Cured Sardines | horseradish gremolata
These sections of firm, meaty fish were insanely delicious, and not mentioned on the menu were the 'crackers,' which were actually pieces of pumpernickel that had been sent through the pasta roller to thin them into wide, curled ribbons, and toasted. Amazing stuff.
Handmade Pizza | aged provolone, pancetta, pickled red onion
A very nice crust and deliciously pungent cheese.
Shaved Root Vegetable Salad | light parmesan vinaigrette
A great salad in which the vegetables were truly accentuated by the well-balanced dressing.
We also had a few other dishes from these sections of the menu that I liked, but not quite as much.
Pork Cracklings were very tasty. They were in a form that almost resembled funnel cakes and were dusted with a light coating of parmesan and rosemary. As Siun posted, they were quite light and not dense at all.
Pancetta & Brandade Croquettes with Pickled Aioli were also very good. I though the aioli was spectacular.
Nonna's Meatballs (pancetta tomato sauce, ciabatta) were really interesting but not necessarily for me. The sauce was intensely clovey and clove is just not my thing. A trio of
Bruschette ranged a bit. The one topped with Tuna Conserva (pickled shallot, parsley) was sensational. The fish was fresh, firm and delicious. The pork bellly bruschetta (fennel, golden raisin agrodolce) was a little too sweet for my palate and I found the one topped with Duck Liver (cocoa nibs) very salty.
Next up was one of the pastas . . .
Squid Ink Orecchiette and Lamb Soppressata (brussels sprouts) - I loved this dish, especially the way the chewiness of the pasta matched up with the denseness and funkiness of the soppressata.
The rest of our meal, which included a couple more pastas, was also solid but a few of the dishes, while thoughtfully conceived, were too salty for where I was on this particular evening . . .
Braised Short Rib Ravioli (house tomato sauce)
Scrambled Egg Agnolotti (parmesan broth, guanciale, freshly shaved black truffle)
Venetian Seafood Stew (Madagascar prawns, lobster, mussels, octopus, in a piquillo pepper tomato stew, Italian couscous, puffed wild rice, fresh herbs, ciabatta loaf.
Desserts, for the most part, did not disappoint. Even though we were pretty full, we tried a few.
Reverse Affogato (coffee ice cream, malted creme anglaise, seasonal doughnuts) - the coffee flavor of this ice cream was
intense and I loved it, in combination with the rest of the composition.
A trio of
Gelati -- Vanilla, Pistachio and Cherry. The vanilla was my favorite. It was very judicious on the sweetness. The pistachio had a great aroma and a nice level of salt to bring out the flavor. The cherry was a bit medicinal IMO but my tablemates enjoyed it.
Chocolate Sorbet was as rich as a gelato and satisfyingly bitter.
After the meal we were served some house-made
Limoncello, which was tart, aromatic and boozy. It was a great finish to our meal. I cannot recall our server's name but he was stellar. He knew a ton about every dish on the menu, answered endless questions from us, and gave us great advice on how we put our order together. He was no small part of why I enjoyed this experience so much.
I'm really excited to return. There were several interesting things we didn't try, including entire sections of the menu we never even tapped into.
=R=
Same planet, different world