BryanZ

Nice, thoughtful post. I kind of feel where you're coming from when you comment on Due's more handmade feel. With that said, I prefer Giordano's drier crust.

Unless of course they cancel your reservations for you.

There are still a couple things I have to write up, so the fun's not quite over. And there's a chance I may come back full-time next year. The pull of New York is strong, but Chicago has been pretty cool too. Tonight, I'm going to Boka. Have to see if all this hubub about today's three-star review in the Tribune has merit.

Yeah, tried going here tonight. Reservation people weren't all that friendly. 5:30 was all they had.

To say that Schwa has been annoying me is the understatement of a lifetime. Those following this thread have known that I've been trying to get reservations here since like March or April or something. After being closed for July, I had a reso for the 7th of this month. I get a call on the morning of the 7th by a dude name Blake who claims that the cooler broke the night before and they would not be opening on that night. I explain my situation and how badly I want to eat there and that I'll be leaving Chicago on Friday morning and he offers to fit me in at 9:30 tonight, Thursday. Not ideal, but I take it. I get another call from Blake this morning telling me they're still not able to open today, thus crushing my dreams of eating at Schwa before I leave Chicago. Sadness.

I started a Hampton's thread a couple years ago. It's here somewhere, you can find it pretty easily I think. There's not a ton there, but it may be helpful. There is some good produce around. One farmer's stand I like out by Amagansett offers a free herb garden, a nice touch for those only staying a few days and don't want to buy bunches of overpriced stuff from Citarella.

That's quite the ridiculous meal. Although I'd argue that the use of powders seemed a bit excessive, the lofty ambitions of the restaurant are plainly obvious. It all looks great.

Didn't know you could order off the Topolo menu at Frontera. Good idea.

Make sure they know you want to do the Tour in advance. ETA: I think the standard wine pairings were $150.

Since reopening after its July closure, Schwa has revamped its website. For its nine-course menu, however, it presents no meat dishes. In fact, everything looks strictly vegetarian. I'm going next week and am kind of scared. Is this a major frame-shift for the restaurant, an experiement, a joke? Anyone have any information?

I've been cooking with my g/f for several years now and am probably around the same age as you. You have the opportunity to teach him a good deal about basic cookery, and hopefully he will be receptive of that. In that context, being anal and neurotic isn't necessarily a bad thing. Or you could just have him wash dishes as you cook and do other prep/support work. Washing and drying lettuce is another wonderful task that I love pushing off to others.

Alinea is currently doing bacon powder wrapped in a hard pineapple candy skin. I don't think the powdered brown butter is the same, however. The texture are different, if I recall.

Rolled up to The Violet Hour just as they opened at 8 yesterday. The experience was an interesting one to say the least. Very good, yes, but the word that first comes to mind is interesting. First of all, they really like to do up the whole speakeasy theme. No sign, no easily visible door, very dark interior. This seems to be the trend in high-end cocktail bars. With that said, when you get inside, The Violet Hour takes this to a whole different level. Cell phones are to remain on silent, patrons lounge at tables surrounded by dark chairs with the highest backs I've ever seen-- the whole place exudes this very refined, cooler-than-thou vibe. I'd actually hazard that it borders on pretentious--and coming from me that's saying A LOT--but I suppose everything does "fit." The space is also much larger than I thought. I suppose it's a function of the greater amount of space in Chicago, but TVH dwarfs similar establishments in New York. This is a place one could easily lounge and feel comfortable in. Turning to the drinks, I was only able to sample one, as I had dinner reservation at 8:30. Per Alchemist's recommendation I sampled the negroni; my drinking companion had the summer sangria, which I did not try. It may be a knock to say this, but I honestly enjoyed watching the drinks being made perhaps more than I enjoyed drinking them. The whole craft really came through at this early point in the night where our bartender was able to take his time and make each drink in front of us. Small things like the cracking of the ice and stirring were dutifully undertaken and much appreciated. I even received a bit of pyro theatrics to finish my drink--a piece of orange rind was warmed over a lighter then was squeezed through the flame to give the drink a faintly bitter burnt orange aroma. Since this was my first negroni, I don't really have anything to compare it to. It was very good, but I'm not entirely sure the flavor profile is for me. Perhaps with time, as I freely admit that my knowledge of cocktails is effectively nonexistent. The cocktail was exceedingly complex, warranting that I taste it much like wine. On the front end the drink was sweet, on the back end the herbaceousness of the gin came through along with more bitter notes. Definitely a learning experience to say the least. I'll certainly do my best to return, but I will admit that it's probably not the place for everyone. Even our bartender conceded that some people weren't "getting" the craft aspect of the establishment and just wanted their drinks. My friend also seemed somewhat uneasy about the seriousness of the place. To each their own, but I thought it was pretty cool.

Awesome looking meal.

Marooned on an obscure wall at a lonely table in Sepia's lounge I settled in for dinner tonight. I arrived shortly after 8 to find a bustling restaurant. Although a bit brown and dim for my tastes, Sepia has an uplifting buzz to it. And though the clientele skewed toward the douchey, all types were represented, from a group of older ladies to a couple families. A good proportion of diners were eating the bar/lounge, preventing it from becoming too much of a scene. The cooking at Sepia is quite accomplished, if the two dishes I sampled tonight are any indication of the restaurant's broader talents. The menu reads well, if a bit boring, with an ample selection of foodie favorites--octopus, veal breast, and artisanal cheeses--and standbys--grilled chicken and salmon. Since my tastes generally trend toward the more unique, I tried the octopus and veal breast. The octopus, served with grilled bread and a bright tomato sauce, was well-cooked, if quite underseasoned. This was a good dish but nothing memorable. My veal breast was at another level entirely. While this is far from light cooking, it was deeply satisfying. Hunks of slow-cooked veal breast sat atop mint noodles, peas, and carrots. The veal was like a grassier, more subtle pork belly and benefited from a wide range of textures: silky fat, crispy exterior, pleasantly chewy muscle. This was quite the ample portion too, bordering on being overwhelming given the rich meat and buttery sauce. I should also note that bread service here is rather amusing. Although I was not offered bread, upon asking (and waiting, but more on that later) for bread I was served a super dense whole wheat roll on a wooden platter with a metal cone of butter resting on what seemed like fresh watercress to garnish. I was quite amused with this bit of elegantly rustic showmanship for something as simple as a single roll. So while the food has potential, the service was disorganized to say the least. Again this was in the lounge, but while the restaurant was busy it was not packed to capacity. As overeager and efficient as the staff at Otom was on the night prior, the staff at Sepia was, well, not those things. I was waited by no fewer than four individuals over my two courses, none of whom made a particularly strong impression. The captains/floor managers/wine stewards/dudes in suits seemed polished but were far too scarce. For both courses, silverware was placed after my dish had arrived. My water glass ran empty for stretches. And after my main was cleared I was cast off to a lala land of neither receiving dessert menu nor check nor check-in. For a restaurant with so many staff bustling about this felt almost awkward. So much was going on yet it seemed like not that much actually getting done. All in all, I think this place has two star potential. On a good night in the main dining room, maybe at an off-hour I can see myself having a really solid meal here.

No, the review was right on. Even more positive than I would've surmised.

Completely, entirely, wholly predictable.

In timely fashion, I sampled a few courses at Otom tonight. I came away feeling very meh about the place. It has the potential to be good but as of now borders on unremarkable. First of all, this was my first visit to the area. All I can say is wow. It's like a 21st century Meatpacking District that never quite gentrified. Surroundings aside, Otom is not an unattractive restaurant. Sure it takes advantage of some of the most overused trends in restaurant interior design, but it's certainly a step up (for those who know, there IS pun intended there) from the outside. As wide as the cocktail list is, the menu is narrow. I believe there are six app choices and maybe seven-ish mains. These apps include such culinary modern marvels like bacon Caesar salad with black pepper, grilled cheese, sliders, and soup of the day. Mains include mac-and-cheese, chicken pot pie, apricot-glazed ribs, breaded cod, and things like that. I have no problem with comfort food, but the modern touches promised on earlier preview menus were completely absent. Besides the name and location, there is effectively nothing that links the two restaurants. Those expecting Moto-lite will be severely disappointed, and those like myself expecting American comfort food with a bit of modern technique will be duly let down. I sampled the brasiola, arugula, and apple salad. I usually never order salad, but this was honestly the most interesting of the starters. It was fine but nothing special. Pine nuts and the thinly sliced meat gave the salad a bit of warmth and depth. I also had the mac-and-cheese, served in a cute Staub-like crock. This had andouille and fennel and was quite tasty if a bit runny. The cheese bechamel was more thin sauce than rich and creamy binder. The flavors were on, however. To finish, I had the banana split, the most creative dish of the night. Here were three caramelized pieces of banana encased in a crisp chocolate shell, topped with nuts and classic split accompaniments. One banana skewer was topped with pineapple, one with caramel, and the last with minced marashino cherry. While quite sweet, I enjoyed this dish; it's actually evocative of David Burke's cheesecake lollipop tree. Service on the whole was extremely solicitous, sometimes to a fault. I have no problem if multiple staff members ask me how I'm doing, how I'm enjoying my food, how I enjoyed my food, if I enjoyed myself. That part was fine. The fact that the waitstaff seemed eager to fire everything at once was a bit overkill. The restaurant, not even counting the empty front bar/lounge, was not even half full, yet my salad was out in about three minutes and my mac-and-cheese placed in front of me by the same server who was at the same moment using his other hand to clear my salad bowl. The mac-and-cheese was too hot to eat anyway, so a few minutes of intermission time would not have been a problem. My dessert followed about two to three minutes after I ordered. I was almost shocked the cooks could physically assemble the dishes so quickly. I'm all about efficiency, especially as a solo diner, but this was a bit much. For a restaurant that's been open for a week, I can see this place surviving. I do think, however, the menu, if it remains this simple, needs to be expanded. Or better yet, follow the course of the banana split dessert and infuse a bit of whimsy and creativity into classic dishes for a more unique value prop.

I would actually suggest, however, that the downstairs feels a little bit disconnected from the "rest" of the restaurant. There are also kind of like three rooms upstairs. One to the right, one immediately to the left, and one further to the left. I probably like the one to the right the most. The middle is nice and bright but feels like a hallway. The far one is more private but is darker and in the same room as the entrance to the restrooms and kitchen support area (i.e. plates, glasses, chairs, etc)

I went standard on the pairings. I don't have all that much experience with pairings but was most impressed with the variety of what I was served.

To speak to the lack of stabilizer, you're not allowed to bring chemical additives or other special tools into the kitchen during the main competitions. That's why Marcel couldn't easily cook sous vide and had to wait until the finale to bust out the hydrocolloids and various other starches/sugars. I will concede that it's foolish for the cheftestants to call what they're making a foam if only because the judges don't like the word. To serve a sauce or broth that's been whipped with a hand blender to give it lightness and the ability to cover a dish elegantly a foam does not make. Yes, this is a smart, fine-dining technique but not one that needs to be called out so explicitly. We can thank Marcel for that and adding to the negative foam stigma. It's totally messed up that Lia went. She was certainly among the top five cooks there, if not higher. Her elimination seemed really out of the blue, especially considering that they rarely base eliminations off of a single challenge, despite what the judges claim otherwise. She said it best herself when she admitted she was disappointed and was a better cook than what she had the opportunity to show.

Armed with my newly legal ID, my sister's new digital SLR camera, and my father's credit card and generally curmudgeonly attitude about dining out, we made our way to Alinea. Walking into the unmarked door and down the shrinking hallway, the excitement was apparent. This would be my father's and sister's first visit, my mother's third but first Tour and first meal with me, and my third visit and second Tour. With our varying experience with this type of cooking and diverse expectations, my family's overwhelmingly positive response to the meal is yet another testament to how accessible Alinea actually is. As I've stated before, Alinea is certainly cutting edge both technically and philosophically but retains a fundamental elegance that is difficult to criticize. With that said, now we get to the good stuff. As with my other meals, we opted not to look at a menu and just had the servers start things off immediately. I'll add comments where applicable, highlighting my favorite and least favorite dishes of the night. On the whole, however, this was unquestionably a most excellent meal. I should also note that the vast majority of these photos were taken with a new camera, one that my sister hadn't quite learned to use. The room in which we were seated--up the stairs, all the way to the left--had relatively low light and with our inexperience with the camera some of the pictures aren't quite as sharp as they could be. The menu Artichoke Surf Clam I enjoyed the surf clam version of this dish more than the earlier octopus version. A common theme throughout this meal was the evolution of dishes I had sampled previously. Often times these changes were distinctively for the better. Monkfish This dish was similar, if not identical, to the monkfish dish I was served in March. This one appeared to be plated in a new abstract bowl that I enjoyed very much. Oh Luna! consistently has some of the coolest service pieces out there. Sardine This dish was almost nostalgic for my sister and I. We grew up eating the semi-dried sardines that made up the outer shell of this one-bite course. The sardines are a staple topping for rice in homestyle Japanese cuisine. Porcini Before and after shots. This was one of, if not the, favorite course of the night. As good as the chanterelle version was from earlier this year, the porcini puree is much richer and the dish on the whole even more successful. The wide variety of textures and temperatures really floored me. Apple Another group favorite and, in my opinion, the biggest "game-changer" in the Aliena arsenal. This dish remains completely unique; it's the one I talk about and show pictures of to people unfamiliar with what Alinea is all about. Duck The most striking thing about this dish was the pillow. It appears that the kitchen is filling the bags with more assertive smoke/vapor. This is one of the most classically tasting dishes and presents a wide variety of tastes and textures in small, harmonious package. Black Truffle Recent discussion about the saltiness of this dish prompted me to pay close attention on this second experience with the Black Truffle Explosion. I can see how it may be interpreted as salty, but, to me, this was more savory. Although the two flavor profiles are similar, this dish doesn't have a "high' note of salinity but rather a deeper savoriness that I find very appealing. Short Rib Honeydew This was probably my favorite of the savory-sweet one-biters. The cylinder of gelee was filled with a thin piece of rolled-up melon which was then filled with a few drops of vinegar. Rhubarb One of my party remarked, "I didn't know rhubarb could taste so different." I wholeheartedly agree with this assessment, as this dish showed great creativity and highlighted the diversity of a relatively humble ingredient. Strawberry While this was an improvement over the frozen and chewy yuzu, we all found this to be probably the least favorite dish of the night. Neither the strawberry nor the garnishes were enough to take center stage from the frozen block's unique texture. I concede that this is a textural dish but one of two--the other is upcoming pineapple--that tasted vaguely chemically. Tuna Our server described this as sturgeon and I've seen both on the online menus, so I'm not entirely sure what we ate. Regardless, this was an interesting approach to a fish course that was distinctively not "fine-dining." Pineapple The only dish we didn't get a picture of. This was effectively a lozenge of pineapple-flavored hard candy encasing a bacon powder. An interesting approach to sweet and savory but we weren't fully buying it. The dish is very interesting texturally but the powder does taste like tap maltodextrin. Lamb Critics of modern cooking complain that many dishes lack terroir or seasonality This dish countered that claim by speaking explicitly to the summer and for allowing classic flavor pairings to blend seamlessly with modern technique. My favorite part of the dish was the lamb-pea gelee, and on the whole this was probably my favorite meat course of the night. Hot Potato A classic. Kuroge Wagyu While this undoubtedly was an excellent piece of meat, I've yet to have Wagyu in this country that lives up to what I've had in Japan. Perhaps there is something to be said for eating certain foods in certain contexts that makes the overall experience hard to duplicate. I enjoyed the smoke component to this dish and did not find it overpowering. It was perhaps the yuzu that overwhelmed the subtle unctuousness of the beef. I very much enjoyed this dish but still find the lamb and possibly even duck courses more creative and compelling. Junsai This dish tasted so intimately like Japan that it was transporting. I've had many a broth of this nature in top ryokan, so I was very impressed with Chef Achatz's ability to get the flavor right on. This also served as a nice palate cleanser from the rich, assertive flavors of the previous dish. A special shout out should be made to junsai, a plant I've rarely seen in the States but is common in Japanese cuisine. The texture of this stuff is still weird to me, so I can only imagine what it must be like to the uninitiated. Bison The main flavor combination in this dish was daring to say the least. Here you had a piece of tender, ever so slightly gamey bison encased in a sweet granola shell. Again, there was a clear dichotomy in texture and between sweet and savory. While I wasn't as into this meat course as the others, it was unlike anything I've ever had before. Foie Gras A "gift" from the kitchen, this was a nice one-biter that challenged the notion that foie gras is supposed to be served early in a meal. Between the light meringue-like shells and fruit filling, this was a perfect segue into dessert. Guava My favorite dessert I've had at Alinea. This dish took a wide assortment of ingredients ranging from the sweet to the creamy to the acidic--the key lime centerpieces were used here--and made them into one highly focused dessert. The carbonated guava soda that was poured tableside made the dessert especially refreshing. Coconut This dish offered a few different, and diverse, pairings with coconut. The most interesting was a mochi cake that sat atop the coconut puree ribbon. Licorice Cake Chocolate This was yet another example of how dishes at Alinea continue to evolve, often for the better. I had enjoyed a previous version of this dish but had heard complaints both here and from others that claimed the soy component was simply too strong. This time, the soy is significantly toned down and also enjoyed in the form of marshmallows. A citrus ice served as a well-conceived palate cleanser. Birthday Cake A chocolate shell holds liquified birthday cake. A hot cream is poured tableside, melting the shell and causing everything to mix together. For all the interactive presentation, the dish still tasted like birthday cake, making it a solid success. Caramel A rich, satisfying end to an excellent meal. Service throughout the night was consistently very good, with all parties fulfilling their roles quite admirably. As I learn more about wine I hope to engage the sommelier slightly more, but I was very pleased with what I drank and was able to pick up on clear differences across the grapes. There was little, if any, redundancy between pours. I've read that some people have found the amount of wine overwhelming, but I didn't have an issue with that at all. While I'd be lying if I said I hadn't enjoyed the occasional drink before my birthday, I hardly felt the wine at the end of meal and easily finished all my selections. Perhaps a little more direction as to how long each wine was supposed to last would've been useful--I naturally assumed two courses per wine and this generally served me well--but found both the pours and overall amount to be right on overall. I feel like there are hardly any skeptics left, but if there are, just go and check your baggage at the door. My father (at least before seeing the bill) repeatedly remarked as to how intricately the food was prepared and how creative the chef must have been. From him, this is like witnessing pigs soar across the sky in a hell that has in fact frozen over. Alinea again made for a memorable evening, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I think we both need some help reading the calendar. 7/29 is in fact a Sunday, but, you are correct, 8/1 is a Wednesday. July DOES NOT in fact have only 29 days. Clearly news to me.

The prix fixe lunch menu is lamesauce. You're not even getting steak, and, last I checked, Primehouse was in fact a steakhouse. As a general rule, I don’t eat at steakhouses. I think my last true steakhouse meal was at like Ruth’s Chris—coincidentally, in the Chicago 'burbs—five years ago. Sure, I order the occasional steak when dining out, but the steakhouse thing doesn’t really do it for me. With that said, when it was brought to my attention that my family would be staying in the James Hotel, a visit to David Burke’s Primehouse seemed fitting. We were able to secure a Saturday evening reservation with just a few hours notice, so after touristy drinks at the John Hancock we made it back to the James and Primehouse. Although but a few of the tables were occupied at this relatively early hour, we were first seated at a table directly next to a party with a baby in a high chair. I’m all for bringing kids out to restaurants, but the restaurant should not have tried to seat us here with so many open tables. After asking for a booth on the other side of the restaurant we were briefly led back to the host stand before finally being led to a comfy booth. I’ll also add that the red leather table coverings are rather amusing—cow is literally everywhere. After receiving the whole schpiel on their signature steaks, the cow the restaurant owns, and the salt cave, we set out to order. The four of us sampled the following dishes: Popovers A nice, warm way to start the meal. The butter, topped with what I'm sure was Himalayan rock salt, was wayyy cold though. It flaked more than it spread. Apps Surf and turf dumplings Two lobster and two braised short rib. A successful dish but they weren’t particularly hot when we received them. Another minute or two in the steamer would’ve made the dish even better. Lobster bisque Not the best picture, but this was a really nice update on the classic. The “foot-long lobster spring roll,” despite being gimmicky, actually provided a nice bit of textural contrast. We all really enjoyed this dish in a fashion similar to the Caesar salad. Something we wouldn’t normally order but made interesting, or at least worthwhile, with the David Burke touch. Caesar salad prepared tableside Sorry, no picture. This salad was particularly delicious, however. I can’t think of the last time I ordered a Caesar salad, but this was what other Caesars should be. The dressing was creamy, salty, with just enough citrus to add balance. Get over your foodie superiority complex and order it. I did. Meats All steaks were ordered med-rare Petite, bone-in filet This was a special and the right size for a diner with a moderate appetite. It obviously doesn’t have the same hulking appeal of the full-size cut but still allows one to sample the bone-in filet that’s become a signature dish here. This was obviously the most tender but also the least interesting in terms of flavor. I generally don’t like tenderloin as a steak but this was quite good. 40-day reserve ribeye Notice the artful chive garnish. That's what we're paying the big bucks for. Nevertheless, this was a very nice piece of meat. The eye of the ribeye was good if not great but the deckle is what really shined. The fat was particularly luxurious and made for great eats with the meat from the cap. The most distinctively flavored of the steaks I sampled. Porterhouse for two, post-slicing This was perhaps the best of the bunch. Of course, it’s nice to get two cuts of beef in one, but the appeal of this steak was its balance. It managed to be noticeably more tender than the ribeye but not so devoid of interesting flavor as the bone-in filet. Obviously this is expected, but it was really clear in this steak. I would say this was cooked closer to rare, not a problem for us, but those with a significant attachment to true medium-rare might’ve been somewhat perturbed. We also got some sides and an order of the truffle mousse. The mousse is kind of like a super whipped truffle butter. We applied this to everything, steaks and sides and fingers, in copious amounts. The sides of asparagus with shallots and hashbrowns were also quite good. Nothing to complain about there, and I’d probably order them again. Hashbrowns Dessert Cheesecake lollipop tree Yeah, I gave in. I’d never order this in New York, but here it just seemed right—steakhouse, Caesar, and a gaudy lollipop tree. It was tasty but not so much that my enjoyment of it overcame the extreme gimmickry of the thing. I would’ve preferred a bit more differentiation between the types of the cheesecake on, or is it in, the tree. In general, they got us the food mighty quickly. We had plans for later in the evening so this wasn’t a problem, but it’s quite clear that they’re trying to turn tables and do so quickly. If you’ll notice, a few of the dishes would’ve benefited from just another minute of cooking/reheating just to make them hotter. Even ordering three full courses and wine, we were out of there in just shy of 1.5 hours. With that said, I really liked the place. The steakhouse thing isn’t so much for me, but Primehouse does a good job of blending the boring old school steakhouse with the depressingly trendy new age steakhouse. I’m not sure if Primehouse is the best in Chicago, but I enjoyed myself thoroughly. A few minor changes and it would’ve been an excellent meal.

My team at work was kind enough to give in to my wishes and schedule a team dinner at Spiaggia. This would mark my birthday and first time I could legally drink with them. Certainly an occasion worth celebrating. As others have mentioned, the savory dishes at Spiaggia are mad expensive. I wish I could offer another key takeaway from my meal there but really its cost shocked and has stuck with me. I’m sure I’ve paid far more per dish in a tasting menu or prix fixe setting, but Spiaggia’s a la carte menu is something of a wake up call. One doesn’t usually see $29 appetizers or expect to pay $24 for a single moderately sized scallop in this country. Granted, this isn’t that expensive compared to some formal French restaurants in New York or Las Vegas and doesn’t even register on the European price scale, but for Chicago and for Italian cuisine the prices are quite high. The portions, while not explicitly small, do not help one feel a sense of value. Over a couple thousand internet message board posts on food I don’t think I’ve ever made comments of this nature. With those issues out of the way, I’ll do my best to objectively report on my meal. The dining room itself is quite attractive. I liked the light fixtures, sparse foliage, and terraced layout with enclosed-but-visible kitchen. As far as modern Italian fine-dining goes, I can’t imagine a better setting. Sure, the view could be better but that’s really splitting hairs. I started off with a peach bellini made from local peaches. Very nice, not too sweet. The wine list actually has some tasty selections in the $55-$65 range that are quite tasty. The two selections I made with the help of my captain were thoroughly enjoyable—I will confess, however, that my knowledge of Italian grapes is severely lacking. The standard moscato d’asti, available by the glass on the dessert menu is rather one-dimensional and uninteresting, however. The selection of breads is wide for an Italian restaurant even if they are not of particularly high quality. They’re good but nothing evoked starchy ecxtasy. We started with an amuse of poached lobster with tarragon and a citrus puree. A nice beginning if somewhat perfunctory. My first course was probably the highlight of my meal, lobster spaghetti. It wasn’t so much that the lobster or spaghetti were particularly good, but the sauce that bound the two was excellent. I could’ve eaten an entire bowl of the lobster sauce as a course in itself; I didn’t even need the distractions of pasta and poached lobster meat. I also shared the pane frattau--a sort of layered pasta/flatbread dish--with another companion but found this to be uninspiring. Not a bad vegetarian option but somewhat overwhelmed by the acidity of the tomato sauce. For my main I had the grilled veal chop with morels and crispy sweetbreads. I selected this dish because I wanted sweetbreads and was drawn to the morels; the veal was kind of an afterthought. The dish followed in much the same fashion: the sweetbreads were nice if somewhat dry and the morels flavorful and crispy. It was the rather large veal chop that was somewhat stringy and underdone. Medium-rare was definitely rare and blue on the bone. For dessert I had the baba rum cake with poached cherries and whipped cream with the aforementioned moscato d’asti. The baba was a somewhat light on the rum but as far as simple desserts go I can’t really complain. I tried a companion’s honey goat cheese gelato and enjoyed it very much. So all in all a very good meal, one that I can’t objectively complain too much about. Everything I ate was at least good, but, besides the lobster, nothing really moved me. I can see the appeal of Spiaggia—as an Italian restaurant it’s truly unique, there’s nothing quite like it in New York—but it just didn’t quite live up to the hype.