Fiorini

Fiorini Restaurant



209 East 56th Street
(Between Second Avenue and Third Avenue)
New York, NY 10022


(212) 308-0830




http://www.fiorinirestaurantnyc.com/




When Hippocrates said, "Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food", for sure, he wasn't specifically saying that a good dining experience can cure one's dreadful memory. Well, its been almost three months since I attended Fiorini's Press Dinner and my memory, as selective as it oftentimes could be, the "selective" part evaded me as I write this piece.

Fiorini is a new venture by acclaimed Restaurateur/Chef Lello Arpaia of restaurants such as Lello, Scarlatti, Cellini, Bellini has combined his deep understanding of food and the business with Executive Chef Xavier Quispilema's crafty menu of eclectic selection of classic and regional, yet modern Italian dishes.





First of all, Mr. Arpaia is an individual that is hard to forget! He has the "cool, calm and collected" demeanor down pat. His attentiveness and alacrity to answer our questions embodies the atmosphere of Fiorini. The food is memorable, the atmosphere is cool and calm and the service is attentive. It is no wonder that I do not have a hard time in remembering and writing about Fiorini. This place is no "little flower", rather it is amply ambrosial.

POLPO AI FERRI – a very tender and grilled to perfection octopus and is lightly dressed in olive oil, caper berries, black olives, arugula and red onions. If you are not a fan of octopus, this dish might get you to sing a different tune.

Pan seared diver scallop, caper berries, lemon, white wine, fresh parsley and asparagus. The scallop was cooked to perfection!

Ladies and gentlemen, here is the BRANZINO "acqua pazza". This European seabass is fresh, mild yet savory and even a bit nutty taste to it. A recommended must order!

PASTA FRESCA - Fresh homemade pappardelle with jumbo lump crabmeat, basil, cherry tomatoes in a light lobster broth.

The pasta is fresh and the crabmeat, there's a reason why it was described "jumbo lump", because IT IS.

BURRATA - Very creamy imported mozzarella, roasted peppers, asparagus, prosciutto di Parma. This transported me to Cloud nine. Big fan of mozzarella. Big fan of prosciutto!

At Fiorini's you will also appreciate wine director, Stefano Conenna who saw to it that we are provided with a variety of wines (predominantly Italian) and are also available by the glass. In addition, some must try specialty cocktails such are: Fiorini (Prosecco and Fresh Strawberry
Puree), Melograno (Absolut Citron, Reduced Blackberry Puree, Hint of Triple Sec, Fresh Mint), and L’Amore (Southern Comfort, Muddled Pomegranate and Apple Compote, Fresh Lime Juice).

MORSO

MORSO

420 E 59th St(between 1st Ave & Sutton Pl)

New York, NY 10022

(212) 759-2706
http://www.morso-nyc.com/

Morso celebrates the sweet joy we take in savoring those little bites of life. Enjoy! - Pino Luongo

Just right under the Queensboro bridge is one of Pino Luongo's restaurant, Morso. A casual, retro atmosphere, with a menu that combines Pino's classic italian and Mediterranean flavors.

A picture of Morso's playful wall is aptly inscribed with the phrase, "Take a Bite"

I was delighted to see the variety in menu selections and also the idea of half (morso!!) and full (tutto) portions. The price range are reasonable, Morso (Small Main Dish): $14.00 - $16.00
Tutto (Large Main Dish): $24.00 - $30.00.

The Press Tasting that I was invited to, are all in the bite sizes, which are still very generous portions. We started wonderfully with splendid combination of Gorgonzola, fritters, roasted pears, endives (yeah! gotta eat as much endives while still in season), frisee, spiced walnuts, apple cider vinaigrette.

The press dinner will not be the same without a classic Pino, of course.

This picture does not give justice to the dish which is definitely one of my favorites from the menu. The spaghetti, which is fresh and cooked al dente, is superb with carbonara, onions, eggs, picorino cheese and guanciale. Ahhh, Morso, you had me as guanciale! Leaner than most pork bacon products, this little baby still boasts so much and so rich of flavor. I am going tutto on this one.

The agnello is another favorite, and unfortunately the attached image is also an injustice. A delicious dish of grilled lamb chops, crispy eggplant & lamb roll, white beans, mint sauce.

Well there's only one solution for these not so great pictures. I may have to go back to Morso for another meal, may it be morso or tutto!

SPEED PLATING - Are you freaking serious ??

I almost choked on my coffee this morning when I got to page 34 of my Women’s Health Magazine. Almost choked, really irked and made me laugh in disgust. Speedplating? Really? What is the world coming to?

Speed Plating as described in WH, is a speed dating for foodies, where singles are paired off with a different date for each part of a four-course meal. According to the magazine, these food-focused flirt-fests are now taking place in New York City and will be expanding to more cities.

Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer letting happenstance do it’s job when it comes to the matters of my heart. I like the idea of someone catching my eye before I let him catch me in all of my glory, sharing and devouring a four-course meal, that is. I prefer it when I meet that special someone because he was courageous enough to introduce himself to me, asked my number and calls to invite me for dinner. To you guys out there, this is not high maintenance, it’s called dating.

Yes, we live in such a fast-paced world; it’s a necessity to multi-task. But let’s not bring multi-tasking into the dining table or the bedroom – worst of all, trying to combine the two in one sitting. Seriously, what’s the next concept in line after this? Mail-order-spouse with your Amazon order? Combo #9 with Date #2??

To all my single ladies out there, please let this concept fail. I think this was inspired by George Costanza, eating a pastrami sandwich while watching a portable TV during foreplay. And guess what, George’s girlfriend was NOT happy. I'm just saying.......



xoxoxo

Sunda

http://www.sundachicago.com/

http://www.thefoodbuddha.com/

Dear Food Buddha,

Last month, I discovered your show, thanks to my inability to sleep while I’m up in the air, en route to DFW. I was flipping through Continental’s In-Flight Entertainment channels, hoping to look for something boring to help me doze off. And then I flipped through TLC and saw two guys occupying a table (or maybe it was a couple of tables) just filled with food. I thought at first it was an eating competition, but the two guys (I learned on later that it was you and Fireman Mike) were not inhaling the food, but rather pleasurably taking your time in eating. That caught my attention, goodbye in-flight nap, hello Food Buddha !!!!

In this episode, you were in New Orleans, in search of an inspiration for a dish that you will create for your restaurant. You already caught my eye by being a chef. But when you ordered O.O.E. off the menu, you took my breath and heart away. I was smitten !! You ordered One Of Each Item off the menu on all three restaurants that you visited. WOW. Fireman Mike was one lucky guy. I wanted to be Fireman Mike the entire time I was watching the show!!! That was probably the first and only time that I wanted to be a fireman. One named Mike. But there’s always a first for everything, right? Right.

Towards the end of the show, after you found your inspiration and about ready to create a new dish for your restaurant in Chicago; I found murmuring to myself, “I bet he owns Sunda”. And I was right. When I went to Chicago last August for Lollapalooza, on the second day of the music festival, right after listening to Dan Black, before Social Distortion – I needed to recharge, went to Chow Town North and found Sunda. I couldn’t resist. For $9, I got myself not one or two but THREE!! Braised Pork Belly Bao Buns, with pickled vegetables & Hoison. The bun was moist and soft, and has that sweet taste, reminded me of the siopao’s from NYC Chinatown. I loved that there was a generous amount of veggies in there, carrots, caramelized onions, cucumber and hints of scallions. A little bit salty from the hoisin sauce and sweet from the bun and then the softness of the braised pork, contrasted by the bit of crunchiness from the fresh veggies. I was surprised that I didn’t have to cut other starving concertgoers for these scrumptious buns.

But, I was not surprised to hear that you, the Food Buddha, own Sunda. I wish I had the time for a full sit-down meal but if I promise that I will do so for Lollapalooza 2011, will you promise to bring me along for your next O.O.E. adventure? I think it’s an even exchange =) No doubt about it.



Your biggest fan in the universe,
Gypsy Addie

xoxoxo

Thalassa

179 Franklin Street
New York, NY 10013
212-941-7661

http://www.thalassanyc.com/

If you love olives, olive oil and Greek yogurt as much as I do, chances are, you’ve come across Fantis, a century-old and a very well-respected (Greek and Mediterranean) food importer in America. Fantis is a leading Greek food company which has been importing the freshest, highest quality Greek foods (Kalamata Olives, Feta Cheese, and Ibis (I love these – mixed jelly beans!!). When I found out that the owners of Fantis also own a Greek restaurant in New York City, I was so ecstatic and thankful to have been invited for a dinner tasting.

So it is quite fitting that the owners had named the restaurant, Thalassa “The Sea”, as the establishment’s menu focuses on contemporary Greek seafood dishes. Thanks to its Fantis link, the diners can expect that unspoken guarantee that they will be getting a selection of fresh and unique variety of imported Mediterranean and Greek fish straight from the source.

When I arrived at the restaurant with my friend Christine, we were greeted immediately and seated in the main dining room with impressive 18-foot high ceilings, open-faced brick walls, Greek urns, shiny hardwood floors, with blue mood lighting and white leather chairs surround each dining table (a candle on every table). The atmosphere is impressively sexy, pretty, and uncrowded, even with a party on the lower level (wine room).

While browsing through the menu, the bread Basket came around and from the fresh selection, we opted bread with rosemary and olives. They brought then brought some Melitzanosalata (which was chunky and tasty dip made of eggplant and tomatoes and scallions usually with olive oil and sea salt), taramosalata (another dip which was made from salty roe, bread crumbs, lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil), some Greek olives and extra virgin olive oil with fresh rosemary.

The menu is seasonal, simple yet sophisticated, ranging from Greek peasant salad to Lamb Shank Ravioli, it was tough to pick as every item sounded very enticing. The wine menu is equally impressive (12,000 bottles) with award winning selection of domestic and international wines. I was both excited and intimidated, so we just asked to pour us some Greek wine (white for me and red for my hot date). That was a good call as the wines were great complement to our meal.

They’ve brought us a dainty amouse bouche, made of shrimp salad on top of cucumber slice with Greek yogurt and fish eggs. A refreshing bite-sized deliciousness.

After much thought, we decided to try:

Appetizers

Maine Diver Scallops, $17
Fresh scallops, wrapped in kataifi (shredded phyllo dough soaked in syrup) with sheep’s milk butter (tend to be pungent but was beautifully tempered by the capers, and Kalamata balsamic reduction), sprinkled with some diced scallions, tomatoes and capers. The texture and flavor were utter delight, it was buttery, and the soft, light and flavorful mollusks were contrasted with the crunch of the phyllo. My friend Christine, who was not a big seafood fan, raved this dish as a “winner”. In fact, she liked this so much that she even ordered the snapper for main dish!!

Dolmas, $14
Very savory grape leaves, carefully stuffed with veal and rice in a delicate avgolemono sauce.

Portugese Octapodi, $16
Grilled octopus with micro organic greens, olive oil and red wine vinaigrette. The octopus was tender, tasty and seasoned well. The char grilled flavor was simple but tasty.

Seafood Sausage
This is not on the regular menu, so please check with the staff for pricing and availability before ordering. It is the chef’s special appetizer. A sausage made of crabmeat, shrimp, lobster meat and scallops, spread on top of a lemon buttery sauce and sprinkled with fresh diced tomatoes and fresh greens. It was quite enjoyable to have four delicious seafood combined into a sausage. It should be added to their regular menu!

Main Entrée

Lavraki, $33.00
Lavraki is a lean white fish with wild, moist, tender flakes. It is from Greece, the whole fish is supposed to be for 1 person but it is big enough to share. It was grilled whole, filleted and topped with capers. The fish was fresh, delicate and light.

Hawaiian Lemon Snapper Fillet, $
The snapper fillet was grilled, and served with trahana and asparagus. The fish was thick and mouth-watering juicy.

After the main course, we were treated with glasses of Greek dessert wine and a very nice ice cream sampler. The sampler was bite-sized samplings of pistachio, vanilla, pumpkin and coffee ice creams served in a waffle cone with fresh strawberries, raspberries and a mint leaf. It was adorably delectable, my favorite was the pistachio.

Since Thalassa make their desserts on site, I had to try their:

Valrhona Chocolate Crepes, $
Crepe filled with the luxurious Valrhona chocolate, served with rice pudding (generously sprinkled with cinnamon) and Fresh Berries

Toasted Greek Almond & Walnut Baklava, $
This was a delicious layering of the sweet and crunchy phyllo dough and then filled with chopped almonds and walnuts, then sweetened with honey. It was incredibly nutty, sweet and luscious. Great way to end a delightful meal.

Our meal was a never-ending medley of seasonal and fresh ingredients, healthy flavors of the Mediterranean diet and the warmth of Greek hospitality. Needless to say, it exceeded my already high expectations.

Thalassa’s motto is “Eat Fish and Live Longer”. After this meal, my motto is to live longer to eat more at Thalassa.


xoxoxo