The Tasting Room NYC

I wanted to give an oenophile friend the perfect birthday dinner. After mulling (no pun intended) over the excellent Veritas and I Trulli, I instead brought her to The Tasting Room NYC, which features a visible wine cellar. What a wonderful choice this turned out to be!

We sat at a cork table in one of the large back rooms. Although there was an intriguing cocktail menu with exotic ingredients like Ceylon cinnamon, we each ordered a glass of wine. My friend ordered a woodsy Flying Vine red and I went with a glass of Gruet.

The menu at the Tasting Room is somewhat misleading; portions are available in both "tastes" and "shares," but a "shared" entree is really only enough for one person. We were quite hungry and knew that we'd each need both an appetizer and a large entree! I chose the creamy, rich Jerusalem artichoke soup with a small floating island of green garlic. In between bites, I poached from my friend's lemony mache salad, which included the fanciful addition of popcorn.

Our entrees were creative and comforting at the same time. My crispy-skinned ivory salmon arrived atop a bed of fluffy barley in an almond sauce. Although I couldn't taste much of the almond and initially thought the sauce was some sort of root vegetable puree, there was definitely butter in there - and I can never have too much butter!

My friend ordered the sturgeon, which was served in a bacon-accented broth of lentils de Puy and green lentil sprouts. The hefty slab of sturgeon was luscious and moist, and the green sprouts added crunch and lightness to the dish.

On the phone, I'd alerted the hostess to the fact that our table was a "birthday table." However, when we arrived at the restaurant, I neglected to tell her which one of us was the birthday girl! So, when the waitress came by with the dessert menus, I mouthed "birthday" as discreetly as I could, hoping she'd realize that the surprise was meant for my friend. Fortunately, everything went perfectly; a festive candle adorned my friend's warm chocolate cake with dulce de leche ice cream. Once again, I poached from her selection; my jar of chocolate-topped butterscotch pot de creme was excellent, but what I was thinking, not ordering the warm chocolate cake?!

The Tasting Room NYC: 264 Elizabeth St., (212) 358-7831. (NOTE: This location is closed as of June 2008. The original wine bar at 72 East 1st St. will stay open.)

Hummus Place

I had no idea that hummus and pita could be such a sensual experience. Today, I was on the Upper West Side debating whether I should pop into Fairway. I went one block over to Amsterdam, where I enjoyed an incredibly satisfying lunch special at Hummus Place: shakshuka accompanied by mint lemonade, puffy, hot fresh pitas and a hummus as sinful as peanut butter. Silky, warm, dusted with paprika, drizzled with olive oil and topped with a little heap of chick peas, the hummus was simply amazing!

The shakshuka was quite nice as well: two eggs over easy in a stew of tomatoes and green peppers, with sesame seeds and oregano liberally sprinkled. I ordered mine with the addition of salty halloumi cheese... I can't get enough of this stuff and would have appreciated even more of it!

How on earth did I miss this place?

Hummus Place: 305 Amsterdam Ave., (212) 799-3335 (Two Village locations as well).

Random Snacks

Here are a few items I always seem to be craving these days (no, not for any particular reason!):

• Newtree Chocolate Napolitains: I especially love the "Young" cherry dark chocolates. There's been a sale on them at Really Cool Foods (3rd Ave. @ 63rd St., 212-605-0900), the gourmet shop which is a cross between Whole Foods and a public prep kitchen.


• Kyotofu's Miso Chokos: These were touted in NY Mag's Best Of New York issue, which neglected to focus on what I believe is the most unique thing about these fudgy little cupcakes: the miso! If you've ever enjoyed a drizzle of balsamic vinegar on your strawberries or your panna cotta, you'll enjoy the same slight astringence that miso brings to this chocolate treat.


• Brookfarm Snacmacs: Oven-roasted macadamias dusted with Kashmiri chili and sea salt. Available at Citarella!
(I got mine at the 424 Ave. of the Americas location.)

And finally...


• A stroke of absolute genius: the sea-salt espresso cookies at Cheeks Bakery (378 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, 718-599-3583). If you appreciate fleur de sel caramels, you'll just eat these up.

Happy munching!

Brunch At Baci & Abbracci

Get me near a plate of complimentary biscotti, a brick oven, perfectly grilled seafood, and homemade torta della nonna, and I can't stay away. This weekend, a friend and I fell in love with a restaurant which fulfilled all of the above characteristics: Baci & Abbracci. (We also fell in love with Paolo.)

A wealth of possibilities lay before us as we sat down in the backyard patio this afternoon: sweet (omelette stuffed with Brie and apricot jam!), savory, brunch or lunch? We couldn't just choose one thing, so we started with butternut squash soup with two plump grilled shrimp and a salad with white beans, grilled scallops, calamari and shrimp with sweet red peppers. We also enjoyed slightly warmed walnut raisin rolls with apricot jam ("Great! Now I don't miss the apricot jam," said my friend, who had agonized over whether to try the aforementioned sweet omelette.)

We diverged in our entrees; I went with lunch: chewy, toothsome little beet gnocchi with sprigs of arugula in an intensely rich, creamy cheese sauce. My friend delighted in the asparagus frittata, served with large potato wedges and a small salad.

Now it was starting to grow chilly outside, so we retreated inside near the oven, where tiny chocolate coconut cookies were coming into existence. Naturally, we were compelled to order dessert. Paolo brought us over a plate of complimentary biscotti and cookies, but we also indulged in a healthy slice of custardy, pistachio-laden torta della nonna which was cross-hatched with chocolate cream. Yum!

Baci & Abbracci: 204 Grand St., Brooklyn, (718) 599-6599. Open for brunch on Saturday as well as Sunday.

Curly's Vegetarian Lunch: Chocolate-Chip Cookies Made To Order

Have you ever wanted to bake a batch of chocolate-chip cookies, but you couldn't stop yourself from eating all the dough? Or maybe you knew you were going to eat all the dough anyway, so you didn't even let yourself get as far as mixing the ingredients together. If you're not a raw dough fan, maybe you stopped yourself from making the cookies because you worried you'd eat them all.

Well, here's your perfect solution. The next time you have a craving for freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, but you just can't bring yourself to prepare them, go over to Curly's Vegetarian Lunch in the East Village. Curly's will bake you a minibatch of three cookies, so you don't have to feel guilty, and what's even better, you'll be served a small bowl of cookie dough while you're waiting for the finished product. (Vegans rejoice: if you don't want your cookie made with butter and eggs, just tell the server, and Curly's will happily make you a vegan cookie served with vanilla soy ice cream.)

Curly's Vegetarian Lunch: 328 East 14th St., (212) 598-9998.

Free Goodies!

Tonight, you can support Brooklyn's independent business community while enjoying treats from Williamsburg's own Cheeks Bakery and Baci & Abbracci! Where? At a free-admission party thrown by the UNSCENE Urban Navigator, held at 213 N. 8th @ Driggs from 8-midnight. (This should be fun; there will be Brooklyn Brewery beverages!)