Rebecca H.
Yelp
Just the name of this place attracts me if I'm being completely honest. I ADORE pasta and I had a good feeling that this place could deliver something memorable.
I was looking for reservations about 10 days in advance and the only things available was 4:30 and 9. After some hum and hawing and looking into other shit, GF and I eventually decided to pull the trigger on this reservation.
We arrived a lil early, as we tend to do, and we could tell from a mile away that our table would likely not be ready. This was communicated to us in short order by the host but, and I can tell this is probably a common occurrence, they had plan B rehearsed. They seamlessly provided us their menu and suggested we stand by one of the high top shelves in the bar area to order a drink while we wait.
Don't mind if I do. The host also mentioned the return of their holiday cocktails, one of which is the panettone and again, they sold me on the name alone. With vodka, sherry, spiced cranberry, amaretto it was the hard version of the classic holiday bread. My toddler pallet would have preferred some more sweetness but GF says she "thought it was good".
5 min or so after our reservation we were brought to our table, drinks in hand. Our server was excellent, knowledgeable, and prompt. He made suggestions for ordering due to the unique nature of their menu.
We mostly followed his recommendations and ordered a bread, starter, 2 pastas, and a side. I was intrigued by the ricotta but ended up ordering (we think) "the dunk" with an oil, vinegar, herb accompaniment. The bread was DELICIOUS and a very unusual shape (a literal sculpture in bread form) but was a pretty small quantity of actual bread considering we paid almost $10 for it. I like the artistry but I'd rather just get run of the mill bread if I can have more of it. The dip was enjoyable but nothing to write home about. It was a touch too vinegary for my personal taste.
We also ordered the cucumber starter, about probably 1/4 of a cucumber of less sliced into half moons and covered in a heavenly sauce and their homemade ricotta. This was fantastic. I wish there was more of it but due to how wonderful it was, I won't complain. The ricotta was also so good that it made me regret our bread choice.
We wanted the beans and greens side (talk about a laxative..) but they had run out for the evening. UGH. We ordered the broccolini instead which was cooked to allow for some remaining bite. It was covered in tasty breadcrumbs. This was a great side.
For my main, I went with our server's suggestion and ordered the spicy vodka sauce which is certainly something you don't see every day. It was excellent. It was ORGASMIC. The sauce was spicy but not prohibitively so. The pasta was also flawlessly al dente. I would love to recreate that at home, such a nice bite. I could've eaten a vat of that stuff.
GF ordered the lobster with squid ink pasta (in the shape that looks like the pasta has a Mohawk lmao). She, "liked it, it was creamy".
Server admitted they don't have desert which was disappointing but a relief at the same time. They do provide complementary cookies with the check which is a nice touch.
Something else that is worth noting: the food took a very long time to come out, specifically the mains. We had been there for probably almost an hour before receiving them. The server apologized, mentioning that they had a 40 person party in the other room and the kitchen was "getting behind" which is understandable but it was a struggle due to our anticipation.
