Maialino, NYC

This is the third Danny Meyer restaurant I've eaten in this year. The first two being Blue Smoke (fabulous BBQ) and The Modern (within the elegant confines of the Museum of Modern Art). Both were wonderful. I have not yet dined at the flagship, Gramercy Tavern, or Eleven Madison Park; I expect those will also live up to the Danny Meyer standard of fine food and top-notch service. But in my humble opinion, Maialino is outstanding. Maybe it was the warm, gracious, never intrusive service, combined with exquisitely prepared dishes. Or maybe it was the fact that I was celebrating my birthday on a once-in-a-lifetime date (10/10/10) surrounded by fabulous friends. Maybe it was the perfect, early autumn night in New York City. Who knows? 

For those of you unfamiliar with the Danny Meyer restaurant empire, Maialino (translation: "little pig") is Danny Meyer's homage to the rustic Italian trattorias he experienced as a youngster in Italy. We purposely arrived a bit early to the restaurant, which is tucked into a corner of the Gramercy Park Hotel (an Ian Schrager property), to enjoy a cocktail at the bar before dinner. Passing by the bread station on the way to our table, I was mesmerized by the beautiful, hearty loaves ready on standby for delivery to tables. A basket brimming with three different breads was sent almost immediately upon seating. It was hard not to taste all of them but I had to save myself for the approaching meal. 


I, of course, had studied the menu on-line in advance (many times) in preparation for the event and had my meal all planned. But I was thrilled when our server announced a special appetizer of fresh porcini mushrooms. It is almost impossible to get fresh porcini outside of Italy, but October is the season for porcini and Maialino had them. Sliced roughly, sauteed lightly, seasoned with just coarse sea salt and lemon, we were transported back for a short while to beautiful Firenze. Those are the beauties in the picture at the top of the post. A delicious Villa Simone Frascati was the perfect accompaniment for the mushrooms.


And just like in Italy, the next course had to be pasta. Maialino makes all their pasta in-house, and it shows. We chose three to share and there was not a strand left when all the plates had been passed. We sampled the perfect al dente Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe (Pecorino and Black Pepper), the silken Pumpkin Ravioli, and the Bombolotti alla Norcia (Sausage & Chard “Al Modo Mio”). All were incredible.

But the highlight of the meal was yet to come. The restaurant's namesake dish was a must. They present the prize to you before finishing it off and then it arrives in all its glory - roast suckling pig served over seasoned potatoes and onions. Juicy, fragrant, with velvet shards of meat, covered with the crispiest pork skin you've ever had. And all of it sitting in juices so luscious we were fighting each other to soak hunks of that glorious bread so not one drop would be lost! Bottles of Fattorio di Sotto Rosso de Montalcino from the hills of Tuscany, earthy and not overly fruity, went down so easily with the pork.  

Needless to say, on a night of lovely excess, we went overboard on Maialino's fantastic desserts: Vin Santo and Biscotti, Olive Oil Cake and Vanilla Bean Mascarpone, and Crostato di Cioccolato (chocolate and almond tart), with espresso and cappuccino all around.


I am not prone to gushing, and I have eaten in some great restaurants (including a Michelin starred venue in Vienna), and this has to be one of my top five all time best dining experiences.  So was it the food or the service or the company? Was it the magic of New York? Was it the auspicious date? Who knows? No need to dwell on unanswerable questions. Whatever it was, it will be very hard to replicate. 


Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue
New York City
212-777-2410
maialinonyc.com

A Very Culinary Weekend

Whew! I am exhausted. What a busy weekend it was, culinarily-speaking. I've got two restaurants for you AND two recipes! What more could you ask for? And how about that photo above of the gorgeous maple tree that lives down the street from me? Every year when it starts to turn that deep, beautiful orange, and the ground around it is blanketed with the fallen leaves, I think, "I should really snap a photo of that tree." Of course I never do. Until today. And I'm so glad I did because it epitomizes the fall season for me, and now I've captured it for posterity.

On to the food! The weekend began with dinner at LuNello in Cedar Grove, NJ. Some of you may recognize this restaurant from an episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey. Those of you who don't, count yourselves lucky to have missed it (the show, that is). But don't let LuNello's association with this show deter you from enjoying a fine meal.

LuNello's is more formal in nature, in both decor and food. Waiters in tuxedos are very gracious, and service was very good. They recite a list of about 30 specials and all except one of our meals came from the regular menu. I loved my meal - Short Ribs over Fresh Pappardelle, in a delicious brown sauce that reminded me so much of my husband's outstanding brisket. The minute I spotted Pappardelle with Porcini and Oyster Mushrooms, I knew it would be Barry's choice. Ever since we were in Italy October 2006, Barry has been craving fresh porcini and pasta, which you don't find on many menus in the US. It did not disappoint - tender porcini mushrooms scattered among the fresh pasta.

If there is any area that LuNello's falls short, it's dessert. We ordered the Ricotta Cheesecake and Tiramisu. Both very average. But a nice touch presented during dessert, was the offering of house-made miniature ice cream cones. If you go, skip the dessert menu, wait for the cones.

Saturday night brought me to Fiorino's in Summit. This was the polar opposite of LuNello's in atmosphere, decor, and clientele. A warm, inviting space in downtown Summit, Fiorino's offers outstanding cuisine. My meal began with a Baby Arugula Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts and Goat Cheese - sublime. Everything on the menu sounded wonderful but for my main course I went with the recommendation of my friend and dining companion. Every time she visits Fiorino's she must have the Rigatoni Bolognese (it's not even on the regular menu). Now this may sound plebian to you, but a well made Bolognese sauce is not to be missed. This version lived up to my expectations. Husky chunks of a veal, pork, beef ragu strewn over fat rigatoni, accompanied by a quartino of a deep, delicious Rosso di Montalcino. We shared a dessert that perfectly suited my fall state of mind:

Warm Apple Strudel with Caramel Wild Berry Compote and Butter Pecan Gelato - crisp, firm apples swirled with a very delicate caramel sauce and outstanding gelato. Meals don't get much better than this, my friends.

So after all that dining about on Friday and Saturday, Sunday was definitely a stay at home kind of day. It was rainy and cold in NJ - perfect baking weather. But since I totally indulged at the aforementioned meals, I felt the need to slim down my baked goods. But these certainly didn't taste like "slimmed-down" foods! Cho-nana Bread (from the Chobani Yogurt web site) and Pumpkin Crunch (from Canyon Ranch) were flavorful and easy. The Pumpkin Crunch is a very versatile little treat with only 125 calories in 1/4 cup - it folds very nicely into yogurt, as a crunchy topping to your morning cereal, or just as a mid-afternoon snack. And the banana bread is super moist, thanks to the yogurt and applesauce base; only 210 calories per serving.

You won't go wrong with these two recipes - plenty of taste, no guilt!

Printable Recipe

Pumpkin Crunch

1 C pumpkin seeds

1-1/2 t canola oil

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/4 t allspice

1/2 t sea salt

2 TB maple syrup

1-1/4 C dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with canola oil. In a small bowl, toss pumpkin seeds with canola oil and evenly spread coated seeds on baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes or until almost dry.

Place pumpkin seeds in a medium bowl and mix in maple syrup until coated. Combine spices in a large bowl and add pumpkin seeds. Place back on baking sheet and return to oven. Roast for 15 minutes or until dry. Be sure not to burn. Set seeds aside until completely cool, for about 30 minutes. In a large bowl, combine seeds with dried cranberries.

Printable Recipe

Cho-nana Bread

3/4 C all-purpose flour

3/4 C whole-wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

2 TB butter

1/2 C natural applesauce (no sugar added)

3/4 C sugar

2 large eggs

1 t vanilla extract

3 large overripe bananas

1/2 C Chobani plain 0% Greek Yogurt

1/2 C walnuts, toasted and chopped (optional)

1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Grease large loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, stir together flours, baking soda, and salt.

Peel bananas. Cut each in half lengthwise and then cut each half into halves. Chop quartered bananas into 2-inch pieces. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar into a smooth paste. Add applesauce and vanilla, and mix until combined. Add eggs one at a time, and beat until incorporated.

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients, and mix well. Add chopped bananas, nuts and/or chocolate chips and yogurt.

Fold ingredients in, being careful not to bread up banana chunks. Bake at 350F for 1 hour or until inserted knife comes out clean when removed from loaf.