carnevino

las vegas, nv

website

i wonder if jenny and i are the only people who go to vegas for the food and shopping. it's a nice option for me because most of the great nyc restaurateurs have opened up outposts in las vegas. as we walked along the strip, jenny (the native new yorker) was surprised to see the names of familiar restaurants - mesa grill, carmine's, tao, and the list goes on and on. of course, the restaurants are not completely authentic - the food is generally a small step below in quality compared to the nyc originals. but i was very happy to see a batali restaurant and the pasta was almost as good as the pasta you get at his nyc restaurants. batali's pasta is simply the best. i recommend carnevino to everyone who goes to vegas. don't get the steak, get the pasta!

pacifica del mar

del mar, ca

website

after outlet shopping in carlsbad, derek and i stopped by del mar on the way back to san diego. there were some cute restaurants along camino del mar, but we decided to go to del mar plaza for easy parking in the multi-level garage. del mar plaza has several restaurants (and very random expensive shops). we really wanted to try flavor del mar, but they were no longer serving lunch at 2 in the afternoon.

we tried pacifica del mar, which was right next door. we got great seats on the patio with a nice view of the ocean. we were still looking at buildings across the street, but you could see the ocean beyond the buildings. the food was good, but not great. my pasta with clams was good, but covered with too much cheese. there's an italian custom of not putting cheese on seafood dishes, which i know many people ignore. it would have been preferable to have cheese as an option rather than a requirement.

vero

palo alto, ca

website

oh vero. the first time i walked by your white table-clothed, dimly lit restaurant, you reminded me of the amazing italian restaurants that i used to frequent in manhattan. i dragged derek through your doors, desperate for a bowl of classic linguine con vongole. and you dazzled with freshly steamed clams, in a winey buttery sauce, perfectly al dente pasta, and an unexpected hint of fire from calabrese chili peppers. service left much to be desired, but that only heightened the manhattan-like experience. i was thrilled and convinced that you would be a frequent destination.

i similarly dragged my dear friends vanita and tina on a second occasion, expecting them to be similarly dazzled. oh vero. how disappointed we were. tina and i ordered the linguine con vongole. clams were filled with sand. the sauce was okay, but the calabrese peppers (which really made the dish) were missing. we vacillated over whether or not to complain, but i had such high hopes i wanted to give you a chance to redeem yourself. we discussed whether or not the peppers were supposed to be there. you insisted that they weren't. we insisted they did. you finally checked the menu and realized they were and apologized for the "new" chef, handing me a pepper on a plate. sigh.

gemma

bowery & bond

link to yelp

jenny, derek, and i were wandering around noho looking for a good spot to try for dinner. walking along bond street, we noticed a corner restaurant lined with christmas lights and what looked like a nice outdoor deck. turns out it was gemma, a restaurant that jenny heard was good. in fact, it was great. it was a lovely space - lots of tables, nice outdoor seating. it was a cozy italian hideaway in a rather industrial-looking neighborhood.

the bread basket was some of the most delicious focaccia bread i've had in a while, served with excellent olive oil for dipping. we ordered appetizers to share - a cheese plate with fresh grapes and polenta fries. my favorite cheese was the caciotta al tartufo - flavored with black truffles. for the entrees, jenny had pasta with zucchini and shrimp, while derek had the homemade pappardelle with oxtail ragu - both of which were far superior to my boring scallops. next time i'll stick with the pasta.

bocca

19th (park/bway)

website

i think we might have found a new place for sunday night supper. i haven't blogged in a while because we haven't been trying new places. but derek managed to find a fantastic italian restaurant just a few blocks away from our apartment. not a lot of people go out to dinner on sunday nights, but derek and i like to have a nice dinner out because we know that the week will probably be busy with work.

fortunately, on sundays, bocca offers half-off their excellent bottles of wine. to accompany our bottle of wine, derek ordered the veal meatballs and the spaghetti with smoked tomatoes. he absolutely loved it. the meatballs tasted like they were made by someone's grandma. i had the black linguine with lobster and smoked bacon in a corn crema sauce. delicious. the entrees are pricey, so i think we're going to limit our visits to the half-price wine sundays. but derek and i have a hard time finishing a whole bottle, so who's coming with us next time?

craftbar

new york, ny

website

we were craving pasta and couldn't get a reservation at basta pasta so we decided to try craftbar instead. it was an excellent substitution. pictured are a risotto ball and some arugula salad - both very tasty. for my pasta, i ordered the cavatelli bolognese. a very large portion of pasta served in a small pan topped with breadcrumbs. it was a little weird (trying to be mac and cheese without the cheese?) but yummy. derek had pappardelle which was also good.

in addition to our pastas, we ordered a very expensive side of ramps. food blogs freak out about ramps and we decided to give them a try. well, they taste like grassy onions. i don't understand what the appeal is - i must be missing something. definitely not worth the $15 for a bowl of charred ramps. another word of warning: they keep the glass entranceway extremely clean. pristine, even. while we were eating, we heard a scream and a slam. some woman had walked right into the door! she was okay and walked away giggling. within 5 seconds, a craftbar employee was wiping the faceprint off the door. so efficient.

accademia di vino

new york, ny

website

i love the atmosphere of the downstairs portion of the restaurant. the upstairs portion is a wine bar and tends to be loud and crowded. the downstairs is spacious and quiet - it feels like we're dining inside a wine cellar. perfect for a girl's night out with jenny and vanita. note - a danger/benefit to the downstairs area is that there is no cell or blackberry service. it's quite nice to get away, but i did have a few urgent emails waiting for me when i emerged from the cellar.

vanita, as always, is our designated wine selector. she did a great job with the red she choose (recommended by the sommelier) - robust, full-bodied, and all those other words that you're supposed to use to describe wine. we started with an excellent cheese plate - a remarkable la tur, a not-very-aged aged gouda, and an unremarkable third cheese. i ordered the pasta tasting plate. it's unfair to compare accademia's pasta to del posto, but i believe that restaurant pasta should be del-posto-amazing, otherwise i might as well just make it at home with a jar of rao's. next time, i'll stick to the small plates on the menu instead.

tanti baci caffe

new york, ny

CLOSED

apparently this restaurant is located in the west village. derek and i have never seen it. it's one of our favorite places to order from on seamlessweb. order online, pay with your credit card, and the food is brought to your door. seamlessweb is daunting - it lists over 300 restaurants serving everything from malaysian to peruvian to dim sum. and that's just the restaurants that will deliver to my apartment. it can be hit-or-miss, so once we find a place we like, we'll usually order from there again.

tanti baci caffe has excellent homemade pasta. i prefer the egg fettucine with bolognese. derek likes the wheat pasta in pomodoro with a side of meatballs. the garlic bread is buttery garlicky goodness with flecks of red pepper flakes. i don't know how they do it, but the pasta arrives perfectly al dente and the garlic bread is crispy on the edge and soft in the middle. why bother cooking when high-quality meals can be delivered to your door?

basta pasta

new york, ny

website

the highlight here is the "spaghetti con prosciutto e parmigiano." they have a giant hollowed-out half-block of cheese that they wheel to your table on a cart. inside the cheese is your spaghetti. on a plate are paper-thin slices of prosciutto and shredded basil. the waiter than swirls your pasta around inside the cheese, collecting small gooey gobs of cheese in the process. then out onto a plate, with one more scoop from the cheese wheel collecting the cheesy liquid and gooey gobs. it's then topped with the prosciutto and basil and served to you. despite all the cheese, it's actually a rather subtly flavored dish - more infused with cheese flavor than covered in actual cheese.

derek managed to catch a nice action shot of the noodle-swirling. his homemade fettucine with bolognese sauce was just as tasty. if it wasn't so darn hard to get a reservation, derek and i would eat here all the time. this is definitely a call-at-least-the-day-before-if-not-a-week-in-advance kind of place. an interesting tidbit - it's an italian restaurant run by japanese people so there's some interesting japanese-italian fusion pastas on the menu which i have not yet tried...

a voce

new york, ny

website

derek and i took his parents to a voce - an italian restaurant near madison square park with lovely outdoor seating (and an awning which was helpful when it started raining...) we got a mix of appetizers, all of which were very good and rather cheesy (i'd recommend the asparagus appetizer). we all ordered pasta, which was also very good. nice service - friendly & fun waitstaff.

but honestly, the reason we went there and the highlight of the meal were these bomboloni -- sugary doughnuts filled with a sweet liquory sauce accompanied by chocolate dipping sauce. gooey sweet goodness.