Babbo (First 6 Years)

[jordyn]

I frequently end up at restaurants late.  Part of this is I'm bad at planning, so often end up with the 5:30/10:00 dilemma; part of this is that I often have things to do earlier in the evening; and part is that I'm young and like to pretend I can still stay out late.

So, I appreciate the option of a 10 or 10:30 or 11:00 seating.  I'll almost always opt for one of these over an early (anytime before about 7:00) seating.  However, this can often be a frustrating experience:  specials (and other dishes) are often not available; like Cabrales, I find myself reluctant to order multicourse tasting menus; and at some places I do feel like I'm being rushed out the door.  If restaurants are going to bother to offer these late seatings, they ought to be able to adequately accomodate them.

[cabrales]

Among the places in NY serving diners arriving at 11:00 pm: db bistro moderne, at least on certain nights of the week (?).

[jordyn]

Among the places in NY serving diners arriving at 11:00 pm: db bistro moderne, at least on certain nights of the week (?).

There are many many places that take reservations *very* late.  I just did a search on OpenTable for June 28 (a Friday) at 11:45 PM to discover the following restaurants with either 11:45 or midnight seatings:

Artisanal

B. Smith's

Brasserie

Cafe Mozart

Chicama

China Grill

Compass

Decade

Hudson Cafeteria

Jane

Justin's

Lundy's Time Square

Mirchi

One C.P.S.

Opia

Park Avenue Cafe

Pescatore

Pipa

Rain East

Red Cat

Sazerac House

Shelly's

Sugar Hill Bistro

Sushi Samba

Tamarind

Tangerine

Thom

Village

Triomphe

More places served as late as 11:30:

AZ

Barolo

Brasserie 8/12

Cafe Spice

Estiatoria Milos

Felidia

Fontana di Trevi

I Tre Merli

Lola

Nirvana

Ouest

Peasant

Rainbow Grill

Redeye Grill

Revolution

Trattoria Dell'Arte

Via Oreto

Open Table offered me reservations at a total of 127 places.  Excluding The Screening Room and the Rainbow Room as not really restaurants, that leaves 125.  Of these, only 39 (not even one third--31%) did not offer a table to me for 11:00 or later.  My quick count of the above list indicates that 52 (41%) offer seatings at 11:30 or later, with 20 (16%) offering midnight seatings!

Speaking of keeping the kitchen open late, last night in search of the elusive good restaurant open on Memorial Day that I don't need a reservation at, I dropped by Babbo at about 9:45.  They indicated that I could wait an hour and be seated at one of their tables out front.  10:45 seemed like a surprisingly late time to be taking orders from people on a weekday night, but I guess this is the City That Never Sleeps.  We ended up at Patria; we sat down at 9:55 and had to place our order before the kitchen "closed" at 10:00.

[Jinmyo]

Sage advice, Christopher.

[Felonius]

This thread brings up some interesting thoughts about reservations policies, and since we're already down this road I thought I'd add my two cents....

I've eaten at Babbo probably 10 times this year, yet have never had a "reserved" table.  I have found that if one shows up at the right times when tables are turning over (at least on weeknights) there is usually no more than a 10-25 minute wait for a table in the bar area.  Granted, this lacks some of the ambience of the main dining room, but I have never been able to get a reservation before 10:30 or 11pm even when calling a few weeks in advance.  My line of work precludes me from making plans months in advance, and I don't have the time or patience to sit and hit re-dial fifty times just to get through to a reservationist anyway.  I find it all rather annoying and ridiculous, but what can one do?  Babbo serves food the equal or better of other top restaurants in NYC at a far lower price than the competition (and marks its wine up by about 50% rather than the 200-300% markup at most of the competition), so it's no wonder that it is probably the toughest table to get in Manhattan.

As for game playing by restaurants in how they fill up their reservations book - I have no idea what exactly the rules are, but I have no doubt that some restaurants in NYC are playing one.  Ouest is a good example.  I live nearby and tried many times to secure a reservation at a decent hour, only to be given the usual 5:30 or 10:30 take-it-or-leave-it routine.  Then one day I simply walked in at prime time on a weeknight and was offered a table that had opened up at the last minute.  I ordered an expensive bottle of wine with dinner, had an engaging conversation with the sommelier and the hostess, and thanked them profusely on my way out.  Ever since, I have never had problems getting a reservation at a decent hour on a day or two's notice.  It makes me wonder if these places have some sort of database (or just good memories) of who is likely to run up the tab.  

Also, at a top restaurant in NYC that shall go nameless here, I used to get the usual run around on reservations.   However, after dining there on a very regular basis for nearly a year (and buying liberally from their wine list), I now can get a table at any hour with little or no notice (i.e. Saturday night prime table with a call on Saturday morning).   So, I know these places must hold some of their tables open at prime hours for regular customers or perhaps the random celebrity or VIP (whatever that means in a city of 8 million people).  I find this all very obnoxious, but as the saying goes "if you can't beat'em, join'em".

[Wilfrid]

Yes, some restaurants definitely have databases which identify you as someone who has dined there before.  I don't know if they are further annotated, but it would seem a waste if they weren't.

Be interesting if one of the pros out there can tell us more about this.

[macrosan]

Just had my third dinenr at the bar on Saturday. I still rate this place as my favorite restaurant in the city.

Starter was "Neci" salad, which was mashed chestnut on a crepe, covered with shredded daricchio and shitake mushrooms. An interesting combination of clean flavors, and a great starter.

Main was barbecued squab. The meat was superb, but my first reaction to the beetroot it was served with was that the beet flavor swamped the meat. I was astonished to discover that after a few more mouthfuls, I had changed my mind and found it a beautifully balanced dish. Amazing!

Dessert was a kind of creme fraiche in a chilled rhubarb soup. Just excellent.

I got to see Mario, who was greeting some guests at a nearby table, famous shoes and all. He is much bigger in profile than the frontal view on his book suggests.  

Service at the bar was OK, but noticeably offhand compared with my previous experience. They weren't busy --- in fact whiole I was there from 6 to 7.30 pm, only two other people were eating at the bar, and at 7.30 I left the bar empty except for two people drinking (and name-dropping like crazy to the bartender). For a Saturday night I was surprized !!!

[tighe]

All I ever hear/see is about how fabulous Babbo is but....

I'm from Seattle and visited NYC around the holidays and was extremely psyched that my wife and I were able to get reservations at Babbo during our visit.  I have to say the meal barely rose to mediocre.  My wife had pasta with cardoons and chiles, but all it tasted was HOT!  I had the brasato, which was OK, but had no depth of flavors.  Frankly I've had much better food at Mario's father's place here in Seattle (Salumi).

I guess my question is, has anyone else ever had a similar experience at Babbo, or should I give it another shot next time I'm in NYC.  Thanks....

[SobaAddict70]

I guess my question is, has anyone else ever had a similar experience at Babbo, or should I give it another shot next time I'm in NYC.  Thanks....

Not in my experience.  Perhaps the level of spicing in the pasta was not quite equal to your wife's palatal sensitivity...it happens.  On occasion, the kitchen is off, but this has rarely occurred to me.

Now, if you were talking about Po...that's a completely different story.

Sounds like another visit is in order.

SA

[SobaAddict70]

5 of us (Wilfrid and his beloved, Nina and a friend and me) went to Babbo last night. For me, it was only the second time I'd been there, in a year and a half, but for the others, it was the first time. For the menu below, anything in parentheses refers to what the others had.

We sat in a corner booth on the ground floor. Babbo is one of those NYC restaurants that took advantage of the two tier seating craze a few years ago when the trend was all the rage in restaurants in New York. For anther example, Tabla springs to mind. The noise level where we sat was somewhat tolerable IF you didn't sit with your back to the bar area, as I was. The sound issue is a HUGE issue in my opinion. My grade would be higher if it weren't for this failing. At least it wasn't as bad as my last experience at Union Square Cafe, where we couldn't get by without shouting. (Note to all: Get seating in the upstairs area if you can. The only downside to this is that you may feel as if you're in the dining equivalent of Siberia, as there is a slight tendency for servers to pay SLIGHTLY less attention to you than if you were in the main dining area on the first floor. The noise level is somewhat lower though.)

I'll leave it to Nina and Wilfrid to discuss wines. I limited myself to mineral water for most of the meal, and mint tea for dessert.

Apps

Spicy Lamb Tartare with Mint Crostini and Quail Egg (Grilled Octopus with "Borlotti Marinati" and Spicy Limoncello Viniagrette, Warm Tripe "alla parmagiana", Warm Lamb's Tongue Viniagrette with Hedgehogs, Pecorino Toscano and a 3-Minute Egg, Testa (headcheese) with Waxy Potatoes and Thyme Viniagrette). Nina may have ordered something extra but I can't remember what it was. The tartare worked wonders with the mint crostini -- appropriate flavor contrast but I felt the spicing in the tartare may have been a little too over the top towards the end. Still, not a bad dish conceptually.

Mains

Beef Cheek Ravioli with Crushed Squab Liver and Black Truffles (Nina's friend and I ordered this) (Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage [Wilfrid], Foie Gras Ravioli with Balsamic Vinegar and Brown Butter [Wilfrid's wife and Nina]). In retrospect I should have ordered something lighter or not as earthy flavored. This is one of those dishes (for me anyway) that tastes great the first two or three bites but didn't really surprise me after the initial introduction. It's not something I would order again -- I felt that Wilfrid's choice was a better main. Note that I ordered the love letters on my first visit to Babbo, but after the tartare, that would have been too much mint for my taste).

Dessert

Saffron Panna Cotta with Peaches, Peach Sorbetto and Lemon Balm (Pistachio and Chocolate Semifreddo [Nina], Assortment of Gelati and Sorbetti [Nina's friend], Torta del Sole with Olive Oil Gelato and Citrus Crema). Can't remember what Wilfrid ordered.

SA

[Wilfrid]

Thanks for the details, Soba. Nina ordered both the lamb's tongues and the head cheese to start (there were two orders of Octopus). I believe the ravioli was not actually stuffed with foie gras, but with unfattened goose liver - from my sampling, it had a much grainer, more livery character than foie gras - and that is consistent with the menu description.

I thought the lamb's tongues were the tastiest of the appetizers. But the grilled octopus was excellent too, comparable with the octopus dish Odette Fada prepares at San Domenico, which has long been my favorite version. My tripe was very good, but I should perhaps avoid ordering a dish which (I think) I cook well myself.

It's worth adding that the cheeses were very good, including a very sharp, pungent blue. We drank a Rosso di Montalcino, I believe, which was appropriate for the food. I also ordered one of the little quarter bottles, but I left the choice to the sommelier and have no idea what it was. Incidentally, I thought the service was extremely polished and friendly from both our waitress and the sommelier.

Sadly, there seemed to be a choice between the noisy end of the table or the hot end (my Beloved was melting). I was lucky to be between the two. And note that Mario was present, in his whites.

[Jinmyo]

And note that Mario was present, in his whites.

In the Mario Batali interview online thread I posted, the interview indicates that Mario takes Babbo very seriously and is there most days.

In terms of noise, how was the music?

[Fat Guy]

Babbo is one of those NYC restaurants that took advantage of the two tier seating craze a few years ago when the trend was all the rage in restaurants in New York.  For anther example, Tabla springs to mind.

I think I missed this trend. Is it one that is assumed by those who pay attention to such things (I am not such a person)? I would note, however, that Babbo and Tabla are restaurants that moved into historic/landmark spaces and had to work around the limitations with which they were presented. Two-tiered seating was an unavoidable part of the business model for both, I think.

[Wilfrid]

The music was audible, but relatively faint. Later in the evening, when the restuarant was a little quieter, the Rolling Stones started to get a little intrusive.

What puzzles me is how anyone can eat at the bar. It was a complete zoo. Like a number of Manhattan restaurants - JoJo, Le Perigord and March spring to mind (and there are others) - Babbo has nowhere to put people while they are waiting to be seated. The people eating at tables in the bar area would have had more space on a subway car.

[LaNiña]

I found the acoustics to be really awful. I couldn't speak to SA at the other end of the table, and it wasn't that far away. The music was too loud for my liking, the whole evening. Unpleasant from that perspective.

I had a glass of sherry at the bar before dinner - but was surprised that my first choice of sherry was not served cold, and the bartender told me that they only serve 2 out of their 6 sherries cold, which is absurd. My friend asked him why that was so, and he had no idea.

The Rosso di Montalcino was a 1998, Flavio Fanti, La Palazetta. I liked it very much. I thought the wine service was superb. They rinse out each glass with a tiny bit of the wine first, and of course that allows the sommelier to open the bottle and make sure it's okay. The sommelier was attentive, interested, and knowledgeable - and quite willing to educate me and answer all my questions. The wine list there is extraordinary, to say the least - quite daunting.

3 of us also had a glass each of a marvelous sweet Asti Spumante, which was recommended as an accompaniment to the foie gras ravioli. A perfect combination - just enough sweetness, and carbonated but not too much, and nicely chilled - lovely.

I didn't love the testa (head cheese) - too tart for my taste, but the lamb tongue was really good. I also particularly loved the oxtail ravioli, the octopus (very flavorful and so tender!), and the foie gras ravioli - although it was incredibly rich, by the end of the plate it was a little much. I really enjoyed the semifreddo I had for dessert.

I'd like to go back and sit at the bar at a less zooey time - it was indeed an insane zoo up there - when is it different?

[Robert Nesta Marley]

nina,

what type of sherry did you have? olorosos are generally not served cold. manzanilla, on the other hand, might be off-putting at room temperature....

[LaNiña]

not to contradict you, but i have been attending lots of sherry tastings and have taken 2 pretty serious sherry tasting classes, and in all of the above the sherries were cold - all the sherries, and i have been told at all of these occasions that all sherries should be served cold. they're white wines.

i ordered an amontillado to start, and when i realized it wasn't cold, i switched to a manzanilla, which was cold. go figure.

[SobaAddict70]

Jin: It was a little disconcerting when they went from classic Italian music to Moby's "18" to the Rolling Stones. It was interesting to say the least. The music did little to contribute to the noise level. I'd say it was more towards the design of the space, the proximity to the bar, and a lack of readily available material with which to act as sound absorbers.

Fat Guy: I don't pay attention to trends but one can't help noticing when there seems to be a similarity of restaurant design in dissimilar spaces over the span of a year or so. Another space that springs to mind is Ruby Foo's (in midtown).

SA

[Wilfrid]

Fat Guy:  I don't pay attention to trends but one can't help noticing when there seems to be a similarity of restaurant design in dissimilar spaces over the span of a year or so.  Another space that springs to mind is Ruby Foo's (in midtown).

SA

Town. Beacon. Union Pacific. Patria. Whatever the reason.

[SobaAddict70]

Town. Beacon. Union Pacific. Patria. Whatever the reason.

Of course, of course.

What he said!

SA

[guru]

I was promissing myself a dinner at Babbo ever since i got the book. I finally made a reservation since i was going to be in n.y. for a few days. My three friends and i strongly agree that we were served the best food of our trip( other restaurants included Blue Hill, Bouley and Gramercy,i will tell about later).

We started with thinly slices of veal tongue with pickled ramps and salsa verde; Wow! I had rarely seen veal tongue so red and so tasty.We were served a Taburno Falanghina by Cantina del taburno 2001.

Then followed the bacala (cod) mezzalune with half dried sungold tomatoes and scallions.Then pasta dough was so thin it almost dissapeared every time i took a bite leaving the garlic and cod taste covered by the scallion butter.Best "raviolis" i ever had. A Tocai Friulano, Russiz Superiore 2001 went beautifully with that.

Then pappardelle with chanterelles and thyme surprised us by the simplycity and precision.After all we were just eating pasta but like we had never tasted them before.A Lazio Petit Verdot from Casale del Giglio 1998 impressed us a lot.We would have drank some more.

Lamb followed with a caponata and some Brunello from Col d'Orcia 1996.Once again simplicity and precision.

We were given some cheese from Coach farm and a magnificent watermelon mostarda.Now that cheese really rocks! We received a glass of Franciacorta brut rose.Unusual but great with the mostarda.

Then two desserts; the first one was a spuma of lemon with huckleberries served with a Prosceco di Valdobbiadene by Ruggeri and the other, a chocolate hazelnut cake with an orange sauce. I was given a dense almond cake with some almond ice cream since i'm allergic to hazelnuts.We finally drank a Le Passule, Librandi 1998.

Sorry if i sometimes misspelled the wines name. I wasn't familiar with a lot of them.

Considering that the menu was only 55$ and that the wine pairing to match it was 45$ we returned to our hotel room extremely happy.The service was very efficient and quite fast. We even had a chat with super Mario who had spent the night at the bar talking to a very nice looking girl. We never expected to see him there on a sunday night specially at ten o'clock.We enjoyed it so much that on our next trip, we are already planning to go back.

[robert40]

BUT HON! He loved the cheese.

[bean]

but we had quite a meal a few nights back...i think that i still have a headache (can you say: too much red wine?) but i will try to do a fast summary of our dinner: i must say that it was an incredible dinner. i've been to babbo once before but this time really concentrated on the food - we were a foursome rather than last time's more chatty sixsome.

we started out with cocktails: i had a blood orange cosmopolitan! soo good! up at the table, we were given a sort of amuse bouche of toasted bread with sauteed chick peas. then we ordered and went forward into the night!

apps were 'necchi' - a chestnut flour pancake with sauteed chanterelle mushrooms topped with shredded sauteed raddichio. a pasta of absolutely exquisite small orange tomatoes (every one of them almost the same size - like a large pea and the same color) that were whole but maybe roasted on a very thin liguini and garlic. a perfect example of simple pasta done extremely well. and a 'salad' of warm tongue vinegarette - my mom used to make us this awful boiled tongue when we were kids ... vile stuff -- this was NOTHING like that. this was small pieces of sauteed beef tongue with shallots and teeny husk tomatoes (the husks were still attached), a sunnyside up egg (i think a quail egg) on top with 3 large strips of an italian cheese that when all was mixed, melted into the dish. it was incredible.

then 2 pastas shared by the table: gnocci with oxtail sauce and beefcheek ravioli with squabliver and truffles. i think, in retrospect, that we should have picked one dif. pasta. both were perfection but too close to each other with the meat and we ended up eating meat for main course so it was a tad too heavy. i think we should have had a dif. pasta or a fish dish for the main course. oh well.

main courses were two orders of beef shortrib on polenta and then jess and i shared 'deconstructed osso bucco for two' which was roasted off the bone and served with bone and marrow on the plate with a saffron orzo risotto and sauteed spinach. for overkill we ordered (but turned out didn't need) braised endive. it was amazing.

dessert was a duo: a saffron panna cotta (a custard no eggs) with pears and cardoman - a very white very quiet intense dessert and a stunning cranberry crostada (made with dried cranberries) served with a ricotta gelato. we all practically fought over who finished the plate!

2 bottles of red wine...one good -- one of sheer perfection rounded out the evening. they were both montefalco rossi wines from umbria. the wine steward was a bit abrubt at first but came by and suggested the second wine - a much more expensive version of the first and we went with it. turns out it was a wine i'd had before - i think it was a neal rosenthal wine that is wonderful. my husband said he knew it was an amazing meal because he was still thinking about it the next day. i went to bed and dreamed of the possibilities of deconstruction!

bean

[spqr]

Mario rocks. One of these days I hope to taste his cooking.

[tommy]

i can never get bored with reading about babbo.