Oh, Olana!

Last week's NYC Wine & Food Grand Tasting was packed with people. I was tripping over wineglasses and bumping into briefcases while I tried to grab all the goodies. There were Kobe beef hot dogs, cups of carrot ginger soup, truffled pizzas... in my excitement, I tried to take a butternut squash root beer float before it was ready, evoking a stern rebuke. "This stand is all about please and thank you!" "I'm sorry, please," I mumbled.

But then I saw the welcoming face of Al Di Meglio, chef/co-owner of newcomer Olana. He was dishing out pumpkin tortelli with crushed amaretti. The delicious pasta, and Mr. Di Meglio's charming manner, convinced me to check out the restaurant. I brought a friend there just a couple days later.

The service was just as welcoming as Mr. Di Meglio had been. "We've been waiting for you," smiled the host. We requested a table in the back, away from the noisy, sceney bar.

Olana is located in the former Mad 28 Italian restaurant. It was completely renovated; the pizza oven's stone wall was knocked down to make way for a pretty private room that seats 35. The bar features elderflower mojitos, little bites like crispy onion rings and lamb burgers, and plenty of people-watching! But if the bar is Dos Caminos, the restaurant is Blue Hill. All ingredients are sourced from farms, and the butter, ice cream and pasta are homemade. Right now, the menu includes all those wonderful autumn tastes: butternut squash, chestnuts, celery root, nutmeg and spiced pears.

Although my friend and I were tempted by the trio of pasta (mint tacconi in lamb sausage ragu, cauliflower ham risotto and squash tortelli with shaved Grana Padano), we decided to go with the $48 prix fixe. Our server brought by four different rolls and two different butters, and then we went at our pork shoulder terrine amuse-bouche.

My butternut squash soup was a delightful little spectacle. The server produced a flask of bright orange puree, and poured it into my small glass dish, which contained mushrooms, bits of mushroom flan and a flourish of smoked cinnamon cream. My friend chose the ricotta-stuffed chestnut crespelle in a sauce of sage and brown butter. The crepe was moderately sized but deliciously rich.

"Is this nutmeg?" asked my friend as he tasted the spaghetti squash that came with his roasted free-range chicken. The chicken had been completely deboned except for one decorative drumstick. I dug into the roasted local brook trout... crispy on top and meaty, it lay next to a little pile of herbed baby artichokes, little red onion curlicues, black kale leaves, baby carrots, and a surprise: shrimp dumplings the size of small scallops.

Mr. Di Meglio came over to inform us about a special event on Oct. 27 where he'll host the upstate farmers that provide Olana's ingredients. He also talked about his upcoming Thanksgiving menu. Mains will include slow-cooked turkey breast and leg confit, roasted prime rib, spice-glazed heritage ham with quince mustard, and herb-crusted salmon. Diners will be able to order the side dishes (pecan candied yams, black truffle mashed potatoes, orange-cranberry sauce) family style. (If you come with my family, you'd better make sure you get some of the potatoes before we finish them all.)

My friend and I then attacked our intensely butterscotchy sticky date pudding. The warm pudding arrived next to a scoop of bracing pomegranate sorbet - I imagine the sorbet is supposed to help you get through the rich pudding! The final touch was a plate of homemade mint marshmallows, a cute ceramic pot of dark chocolate fondue, and some butter cookies.

I never get enough of the local/seasonal food craze, and Olana's elegant yet comforting cuisine will have me coming back for more.

Olana: 72 Madison Ave., (212) 725-4900.