Il Buco
Il Buco is ”First class farm-to-table Italian in a rustic setting.” You can walk one block down the street to Gemma and enjoy Italian in a similar setting. The difference between Il Buco and Gemma is authenticity. Smaller Il Buco started from the ground up and has a history to back up its rustic look and feel. Gemma, much like the connected Bowery Hotel, appears to be constructed to look authentic, much like the Italian restaurants in a newly constructed hotel in Las Vegas. You may get good food at the significantly larger Gemma, but for me, there is something more authentic about Il Buco which is what dining is all about in NYC.
With a little digging on the internet, my appreciation of Il Buco and what the owners achieved increased. Upon entering the dining room, you are immediately transformed from the big city to an intimate dining room with clever lighting fixtures, brass pots, butcher block tables, and fresh flowers. In a city where restaurants come and go, Il Buco has withstood the test of time. Founded in 1994, Il Buco didn’t start as a restaurant…it evolved into a restaurant from an antique shop! This explains the charming rustic decor. Here is an interesting passage on Il Buco’s history from ilbuco.com:
“It was a modern day trading post dedicated to the exchange of crafts and culture between the Old World and the New. Shoppers would often join them for their midday “pranzo” prepared in their tiny back kitchen. Soon they transformed the rustic antique store into a charming enoteca with an eclectic menu – part Italian, part Spanish, part invention, dedicated to local ingredients with a wine list made up of small boutique producers.”
As I write the review the morning after dining, knowing this story makes me appreciate the menu and the dining experience even more. Il Buco was farm to table before the term was coined. Enough history… now to the food!
The menu had four pastas and four main course items. As you may have expected, the menu changes nightly based on what the chef gets from the farm that day. Upon first glance at the menu, I was convinced of my entrée. The Spanish mackerel with golden beets blood oranges segments, green olives, accompanied by a slice of lemon and a dollop of sour cream. The fish, which would be used for sushi more often if it were bigger, was simply prepared with just the right amount of light seasoning, maybe just salt and pepper. I loved how the salty fish and olives combined with the sweet beets and blood oranges to achieve that always appealing and ever popular “salty and sweet” juxtaposition. As someone who’s on a diet these days, I appreciated this healthy option. The rest of the table ordered and enjoyed creative and freshly prepared mushroom risotto, rigatoni with a chicken ragu, gnocci and chicken.
Top the food off with with an attentive servers who provide thoughtful recommendations and an excellent wine list, featuring small batches from unique purveyors and we have a winner. I highly recommend Il Buco.
Rating:
Food – 9/10
Ambiance – 10/10
Service – 9/10
Category:
Food Type – Italian
Style – Cozy
Price – Expensive
Wanna go?
Address/phone –47 Bond Street (between Lafayette & Bowery)
Web – http://ilbuco.com
Chin Chin
According to Wikipedia, Chin Chin is A toast used when drinking, similar to cheers; most often used in Argentina, Portugal, and the United Kingdom; spelled cin cin or cincinin Italian. I think it is particularly funny that a Chinese place is named this way, especially since the owner’s name is Jimmy Chin!
We were greeted by Jimmy Chin. He has a reputation as “one of NYC’s most gracious hosts.” He has a presence and seems to be a very nice and accommodating guy. It was obvious that he spent a lot of time training his large crew of servers, who were also very accommodating (more so, when it was less busy at the beginning of the meal).
Our waiter said….“if it’s Chinese, we will make it for you, whether it is on the menu or not.” I get the feeling that they would get to know me on a first name basis if I dined there frequently. I liked the special formal touches like splitting dishes table side or making your mu shu pancakes. They are fancy Chinese but the ambiance is not as stuffyas Shun Lee or Mr. K and the prices are not as ridiculously high (don’t get me wrong, this is not an inexpensive place).
Moving on to the food. We had soup, chicken with broccoli and beef chow fun. All were prepared in the traditional American Chinese fashion. I personally prefer Szechwan spicy style from places like Grand Szechwan but I appreciated the freshness of the ingredients.
The free string bean and sprout starters were a nice touch.
I particularly enjoyed the traditional sauces placed on the table. The mustard, seemed to be recently freshly blended with bubbles (of freshness).
Loved the large piece of real crab meat in the sweet corn velvet chicken soup but needed to ask for hot sauce to perk it up.
The broccoli, the carrots, the large pieces of chicken and the tender pieces of beef were very fresh and high quality. However, I was glad I still had the hot sauce from the soup to kick the entrees up a notch.
Rating:
Food – 7/10
Ambiance – 8/10
Service – 8/10
Category:
Food Type – Chinese
Style – Fancy
Price – Moderate
Wanna go?
Address/phone – 216 East 49th Street , 212-888-4555
website- chinchinny.com
menus – chinchinny.com/menu.html
Park Avenue Spring
It’s Springtime, and you know what that means? Time to go to Park Avenue Spring, the restaurant that changes with the seasons. According to Park Avenue Spring’s website, this Spring’s decor was “inspired by a classic English garden with wild, raw vegetation and materials.” This is a perfect special occasion restaurant, though I got the feeling that some of the people dining at the restaurant didn’t need a special occasion to go.
In my past Park Avenue reviews I focused on the use of fresh seasonal ingredients, for this review, the theme is taking traditional recipes and making them better. If you’ve always wanted to try the “twists on traditional recipe” challenges on Top Chef come to Park Avenue Spring.
I started with Thai Minestrone with spring vegetables, lemongrass, and tapioca. The broth had all the flavors of a Thai Tom Yum soup, but the heat wasn’t as overpowering as this is not your neighborhood Thai restaurant. Also, it was clear that the “young” spring vegetables were much fresher. The tapioca, was the perfect end to the bowl of soup, which was designed to be scooped up in the last couple spoonfuls. The use of tapioca was a clever play on the noodles.
Another special dish was the shrimp scampi. Normal “Italian” presentation takes a bunch of shrimp mixed with garlic, butter and white wine, over pasta. Park Avenue Spring shrimp scampi was served on a plate with large fresh shrimp, head on (if you don’t want the heads on, ask and they will take them off) topped with a crunchy pan fried noodle crust instead of your typical bowl of noodles. The pleasure of the dish was the power and flavor of the shrimp without all the typical distracting ingredients. The 3 shrimp included in the appetizer portion was the perfect sampling for us.
In addition to making traditional recipes more modern and desirable, they also do a great job at delivering on the traditional favorites like rack of lamb, filet mignon, burgers, chicken, halibut etc. The Colorado Lamb Chops with rhubarb panzanella were delicious. Cooked exactly as ordered.
Halibut with Black Truffles brioche-crusted poached egg, though cooked perfectly, was a little too salty for my taste.
I hate to say it, but I enjoyed my friend’s halibut preparation with lemon and breadcrumbs more. She also gave a more generous portion, sides, and seconds!
The meal always starts out with one of the best bread baskets in Manhattan. It included flatbreads, corn bread, and a salted herb roll.
The service, as always, it friendly and efficient. We enjoyed sitting in the more intimate section all the way in the back (to the left) of the restaurant as opposed to the larger room to the right.
In addition to the high quality food and presentation, the ambiance and the people watching really kick it up a notch. Prices are inflated, but this is Park Avenue and you have to pay a premium for a chance to bump into Gossip Girl. XOXO (my wife makes me watch).
Four Seasons Restaurant
According to the Four Seasons website, the pool room is “one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the world.” I had the pleasure of being treated to a dining experience around this serene white marble pool surrounded by trees that change with the seasons. In addition to the impressive pool, I was particularly captivated by the cascading window treatments flowing from the high ceilings.
I got the impression that being a part of the staff here is a coveted position. They were very knowledgeable and the meal was perfectly executed.
Food was excellent.
I started with Brandied Lobster bisque. The soup bowl was presented with several large chunks of lobster. The waiter then poured the broth tableside (I would expect nothing less for $18). It was as good as a soup can get.
My entree was Venison. It was prepared with brussel sprouts and a cranberry sauce over a potato puree. Some may say Venison is “gamey” but this was cooked to perfection (medium rare). I also enjoyed the sweet sides that came along with it.
The table also enjoyed everything they ordered – from the Oregon farm raised Salmon and tableside filleted Dover Sole to the Lamb Chops.
We capped off the wonderful dining event with the peanut butter mousse bar, creme brulee cheesecake and of course the special cotton candy ice cream birthday surprise (even though we weren’t celebrating a birthday). The peanut butter mousse bar was rich yet light and pleased all the chocoholics at the table. The assortment of truffles and shortbread cookies at the end of the meal was also a nice touch.
The Four Seasons Restaurant is perfect for any special occasion.
Rating:
Food – 9/10
Ambiance – 9/10
Service – 9/10
Category:
Food Type – American
Style – Formal
Price – Expensive
Wanna go?
Address/phone – 99 E 52nd St, New York, NY 10022, (212) 754-9494