On Sunday night, my parents and I were wandering the West Village and stumbled upon this little hole-in-the-wall Italian place.
Just kidding. My mom made reservations a month ago. To get a reservation, you have to call exactly a month to the day you want reservations when their reservation line opens at 10am. (You can also make reservations on OpenTable or walk in.) We started discussing coming here to celebrate my finishing the NYC Marathon, so by the time we made it, we had quite a few things to celebrate.
The food was amazing, but the service was exquisite. Any time any of us got up to use the restroom, they picked up our napkins from our seats, refolded them and put them back on the table. They were so incredibly attentive, though it did sometimes feel like that attentiveness was to get us out and the next table in, but whatever.
They brought us a chickpea bruschetta to start, which was delicious and had a little kick.
For our appetizer, my mom and I split the mussels. Thank you for just putting the bread in the mussels, because that is what I was going to do anyway.
Hi Mom!
Hi Dad!
My parents do not like fancy ingredients, so they were joking about the menu before we went. “I’m going to get the oxtail,” my dad said.
“No, wait, that actually sounds good.”
I got the gnocchi with the braised oxtail and completely cleaned my plate. You know, just to make sure each bite was as well-made as the first.
My mom got the fettuccine with pancetta and radicchio. I tried a few bites, and I think they took a few years off my life with the richness.
I mean, we weren’t going to not get the Brussels sprouts. They were also made with pancetta, so even my dad liked them.
We also got a side of roasted potatoes with rosemary. (Anything cooked with rosemary will now forever remind me of my friend Mary’s HappySnax, which are the best nuts you will ever have.)
I am still dreaming about that gnocchi with oxtail.
Tell me about your favorite restaurant or your best meal ever.
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Mmmmmmmmm I want to go to Babbo one day! I ate at Blue Hill a few years ago and it was so amazing and delicious. Definitely a stand-out. And living in Jersey City, I'm lucky to have two incredible restaurants that would be impossible to get into if they were in Manhattan - Thirty Acres and Razza Pizza Artigianale.
Oh yum this meal looks incredible! I love your writing style, the sarcasm about being able to just walk right in and also the bread in the mussels anyway, YES I got calamari as an app last weekend and they put the bread in the sauce for me, I was like thank you for doing what I already was going to do. Chickpea bruschetta and Brussels, I'd be in heaven! I don't think my dad would ever even try the Brussels, not after I asked him to try a roasted chickpea once and he hated it.
Can I just say it's too funny that I have eaten in, like, 3 restaurants in New York, ever, but one was Babbo? So somehow I beat you to that one. Let me have some central Pennsylvania gloating.
It. Was. Fabulous. And I'm so glad you and your mom and dad had a good time!
@Joan: That is impressive! You don't mess around, clearly :)
Looks DELICIOUS. When I stalked the menu (ihaveaproblem) I had settled on the gnocchi in my imagination so I'm glad one of us actually had it!
Best meal ever: French Laundry.
Enough said.
I ate there for my birthday a few years ago. It was SO good (although definitely pricey for us at the time ... er, and still). Loved our meal and how helpful the waiter was in crafting a menu for us since my boyfriend doesn't eat beef or pork!
@Jen: Aw, that is really nice. The lady next to me was apparently a vegetarian and got all pissed when something came and she tasted some sort of beef stock in it. They seemed so accommodating that I'm sure they would have helped her find something else if she'd mentioned that upfront...
Babbo is on my list of places to try. I just went to Pure a few weeks ago and I loved the lasagna. I'm trying ABC KItchen next month (FINALLY got a reservation), so I'm looking forward to it. :-)
Oh I loved Pure!
If you want to go to Babbo with less lead time, they post cancellations on their Twitter feed daily, and there is almost ALWAYS something for a party of 2. (Other party sizes vary.)
My best meal was at Jean Georges two years ago, although the ending had a bit of a service flaw.
The best meal I ever ate had to be in Napa Valley at La Travigne. The homemade mozzarella was beyond perfect!
I lucked out and went on a (no so memorable) date a few months ago there, and had a very memorable meal! Salivating at the thought of it and I am not a girl who likes to go out to eat or gets excited by restaurants much!
I am going to NYC in April with my husband, I am adding this to the list of places to go to!