princessre

Yep, I think my heart just stopped beating... ← It felt sacrilegious to me as well. But honestly, I skipped them to avoid returning all of the food. My major handicap is being 95 lb.

Yeah, the entrees I've had so far at Babbo have paled in comparison to the pasta. However, I personally don't mind that Babbo's pastas are stronger, and it certainly does not take away from my impression that it is a phenomenal restaurant. My argument is this- if it were possible to have that quality pasta anywhere else in the US (if it is, I have not run into it), then one might be right to fault them. However, between the pumpkin lune, mint love letters, and braised beef cheek ravioli, I am a big fan of Babbo. p.s.: Not to mention the pastries are phenomenal for an Italian restaurant.

We had a generally great dinner at JB last night. To add a female voice to this, the food was way too much for me and actually took away from what was initially an ethereal experience. We had many of the dishes described, so I won't belabor the $85 omikase (not to mention that the cherry blossom sake somewhat compromised my memory), but if I were to go back, I would attempt to order the following a la carte: 1. All 4 of the amuse bouches which were outstanding on their own and heavenly in combination. Here in order of favorites: monkfish pate with roe and yuzu on top (INCREDIBLE); poached octopus (BEST octopus I've had outside of Positano); fried tilefish marinated in vinegar (oden tasting, but much better); and toro/avocado (GREAT but lackluster compared to the other threre.) We ordered the salad which was overdressed, and for me the greens were too bitter (personal taste) Would not repeat. 2. The fishball soup- good, but kind of a letdown after the rave reviews-- probably because this is a taste I've had alot in Asia in general. The broth was really subtle, though. So this is maybe a repeat. 3. Sashimi- in order of favorites again: GRUNT FISH- never had this even in Japan, but this was STUPENDOUS. A really tender and flavorful fish (almost smoky in flavor). It is amazing that such a relatively "lean" fish could be so flavorful. TORO- pretty great- the best I've had outside Japan AMBERJACK- this was really great, light tasting but creamy. SALMON- pretty good not spectacular. The 2 snappers and live shrimp did not do it for me, so I would have skipped them. 4. Tiger Prawn was amazing (the smell is enough to drive me over the edge.). The mushroom was pretty good (though this is similar to many enoki renditions at yakitori places.) At this point, I am stuffed and really drunk. Now the "entree" arrives. I'm about to explode. It feels like there is an aquarium inside my tummy. Because of this, I manage to have only half of my plate. 5. TAMAGO- Damn, this was so good, DELICATE, perfectly and subtly sweetened 6. ANAGO- Damn, this was so good, DELICATE, perfectly and subtly sweetened. 7. CHOPPED JACK MACKEREL- really great. 8. TORO is spectacular SEARED TORO and 3 pcs spicy salmon maki are good but pale in comparison. At this point, I finally give up on my dinner and give away the fluke, squid, sweet shrimp, scallop (esp. since mine did not arrive with torched uni.) 9. PLUM WINE- as a fan of plum wine, this was ONE DAMN FINE PLUM WINE. 10. Dessert and green tea were really amazing combo. Chocolate mousse cake. Yum. Overall, a great culinary adventure. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could order the above numbered dishes a la carte.

hey yeah, katsuhama is pretty darn good for solid katsu curry and udon fare. about sushi, you guys have to try poke in ues. it is our new favorite and reasonable too. we've been back six times in a month-- both the nigiri and maki are to die for. we also love japonica in union square. both these restaurants are in my humble opinion much better than tomoe, yama, haru, go, etc. also, bond street has amazing yellowtail.

Maybe the music is an upstairs/downstairs thing. We sat upstairs and had a perfectly ambient dinner at prime time 8:30pm. Frankly, we appreciated having fine food in lively surroundings- a welcomed change from quite a few anniversary dates in "romantic" libraries.

Just wanted to chime in since we went to Babbo for the first time last weekend and LOVED it. My favorite was the sweet potato lune-- it was so delicate and melt-in-your-mouth that it rivaled the version I had in Florence years ago. In addition, my husband swooned over the beef cheek ravioli. To top it all off, the peach crostata is easily one of the best desserts I've had anywhere. I had also expected snotty service as some of experienced, but everyone was super nice and even wrote happy anniversary on our dessert plate. My only question is- anyone think the lobster spaghettini is a good choice there? It's one of my favorite dishes, but I dared not order it first time around since I had not heard the greatest things about it.