Casa Mono and Bar Jamón

[Bond Girl]

We are officially table of 4!

[herbacidal]

We are officially table of 4!

cool, who's the fourth?

[jogoode]

Coquille's the fourth. I'm excited!

[coquille]

So is she!

[alacarte]

so guys, how was it?

[herbacidal]

so guys, how was it?

well, i wuz gonna give them a few more hours but...

yea, how was it?

[jogoode]

Coquille will post in detail today. But l will say that we were all very happy with the meal.

[Bond Girl]

Eden kept all the notes, so you will have to wait for her "official" version. But, from what I had, which was limited by my neurotic constitution, the Pan Con Tomate reminded me of Cal Pep in Barcelona and was gobbled up by everyone. The artichokes was full of lemon flavors and satified this artichoke lover. The Bacalao Croquets were nice and crunchy on the outside and light within. While the brussel sprouts may not have turned Lauren into an avid lover of brussel sprouts, it was nicely caramelized and made Lauren into a Brussel Sprout convert. The scallops served in its pink shells wowed all of us with its pretty appearance but no one liked it except me. Then again, I like my scallops nice and soft with the scallop mustard. The duck egg was servd over these tiny baby potatoes made me feel like I was having breakfast, and the pieces of meat on top which we thought was ham turned out to be dried Tuna. Everyone who can eat meat was admant about not having any of JJ's tripe and sweetbreads, but everyone ended up taking second bites.

The best part was the dessert. We ordered fried bay leaves, which was good but weird, and ice cream sundae, which was rich and delicious.

All around I think I would not go to Casa Mono for any culinary feats, but I would go there for the simple rustic cooking that is the absolute delight of one's evening.

[tommy]

fried bay leaves? can you tell us more about this??!!?

[Dave the Cook]

fried bay leaves? can you tell us more about this??!!?

Yes, please.

[SobaAddict70]

ok, I'm in (for next time).

ditto on the fried bay leaves. My guess is that it's a dessert digestif of some sort, kind of like Batali's version of Chinese sweet red bean soup.

Soba

[Bond Girl]

fried bay leaves?  can you tell us more about this??!!?

Yes, please.

It's whole bay leaves dipped in Bagnet batter, and when you eat it, you pull the bay leave out, so your teeth and the dough get the bay leave flavor and you don't get the thing stuck in your throat.

[Dave the Cook]

So they tell you not to eat the bay leaf? That's good.

[coquille]

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I've been a bit under the weather -- which did nothing to stop me from having a delightful meal at Casa Mono with the others. Charming place with Batali's signature style all over it, from the signage to the culinary preps to the spot-on service.

Wine service at Mario Batali's restaurants never fails to please me. I've never had a server or sommelier disappoint me with a recommendation, and our waitress on Saturday was true to form. We were going to order dishes that were all over the map, and since the group was interested in red, I asked for a very food-flexible red in a more Old World vs. New World style. Without missing a beat, our server recommended a reasonably priced and very worthwhile workhorse of a wine - a 1997 Rioja that was certainly enjoyable on its own, but also very food-friendly. We had no problem downing it. I also noticed with great pleasure the way "cuartos de vino" (quartinos, for those of you familiar with Batali's other establishments) were served: empty carafe and fine stemware brought to the table with the opened bottle presented for review and then poured, generously, in front of the patrons. Perfect.

And the food... well, we ordered a fair number of dishes, so I think we got a very good impression of the restaurant. Across the board, everything was generously seasoned, which brought out great flavor in all the dishes. I think only 1 dish disappointed me; everything else ranged from "merely tasty" to delicious:

Freebie = dish of addictive olives. We tore through them and sopped up the marinating olive oil with our bread.

Pan con Tomate - well-grilled bread rubbed with flavorful tomato.

Bacalao Croquetas with Orange Alioli - in a previous post, Big E found the alioli "a little overpowering," but I found it quite the opposite. The rich cod and the crisp crust were just really fun.

Fried Anchovies - ooh... delicious! I'm a saltaholic, and these babies are salty! But perfectly fried, and irresistable. Might have liked a squirt of lemon, but that's nitpicking.

Sepia a la Plancha - I wouldn't have thought that cuttlefish would have been one of my favorite dishes, but it was. Perfectly cooked, with a bright sprinkling of fresh herbs... just wonderful.

Scallops with Cava and Chorizo - the one dish that failed to impress. Looked beautiful, but I found the scallops to be on the slimy side, and the sauce seemed not to go over well with our group.

Duck Egg with Mojama - Accurately described in previous posts. A winner at our table. Perfectly fried egg that oozed its richness over itty-bitty roasted fingerling potatoes, and topped with this funky "prosciutto-like" tuna.

Tripe with Chickpeas and Morcilla - considering I'm not a fan of tripe, this was good. Rather cassoulet-like, but tripe is still take-it-or-leave it for me.

Sweetbreads with Fennel al Mono - whoa. These sweetbreads were awesome! Perfectly cooked through - tender, with a great crisp-breaded crust, sweet, and moist. Just delicious. I can't comment on the fennel, though, as that's not my speed. JJ?

Lamb with Preserved Lemons - another winner. JJ's piece was cooked a smidge more than he might have liked, but Lauren's and my chops were done just right -- so flavorful, and the preserved lemons and shavings of crispy sunchokes were fun touches.

Artichokes a la Plancha - bright and zingy from lemon; well-prepared. The sprinkling of mint on top was a treat.

Brussels Sprouts a la Plancha - simply caramelized and dressed, even a non-Brussels Sprouts person could enjoy these.

Desserts, in my opinion, weren't as tempting as I might have liked (nothing along the lines of a new olive oil gelato, for instance...!). We ordered:

Bunuelos (Bay leaf fritters) - small, beignet-batter coated bay leaves. You eat them like an artichoke, scraping the fried dough off with your teeth. Considering how flavorful everything else was that we'd had previously, I was surprised this lacked a little oomph. Even a topping of confectioner's sugar would have zipped it up a bit.

Mono Sundae (Prune armagnac ice cream with Arrope and Almonds) - 3 scoops of subtley pruney ice cream with heavily candied pumpkin that seemed quite molasses-y, sprinkled with nearly micro-planed shavings of almonds and a pinch of sea salt. This was a bit tastier, but really, the best combination was to have one of the bay leaf fritters in conjunction with a spoonful of this dish.

This place has a charming vibe, great food, and super value. I'll happily go again, and often. And next time, when I'm felling better, I'll check out the sherries, which sounded very appealing.

[Pan]

Armagnac ice cream - love it!

What were prices like?

I hope you're feeling better, Eden. I think this is day 12 of my flu, but I'm losing count. Time to order some more chicken soup.

[jogoode]

Tripe with Chickpeas and Morcilla - considering I'm not a fan of tripe, this was good.  Rather cassoulet-like, but tripe is still take-it-or-leave it for me.

Sweetbreads with Fennel al Mono - whoa.  These sweetbreads were awesome!  Perfectly cooked through - tender, with a great crisp-breaded crust, sweet, and moist.  Just delicious.  I can't comment on the fennel, though, as that's not my speed.  JJ?

Lamb with Preserved Lemons - another winner.  JJ's piece was cooked a smidge more than he might have liked, but Lauren's and my chops were done just right -- so flavorful, and the preserved lemons and shavings of crispy sunchokes were fun touches.

The tripe was a great dish and its likeness to cassoulet was a good call. I believe everything else was served on a plate while the tripe came in a small earthen bowl with chickpeas, blood sausage (I only saw one small black disc) and pieces of another

sausage. Tripe was cooked nicely -- very tender, not at all mushy -- and the dish was sweet and deeply flavored.

Ditto on the sweetbreads. They were very well done. And the fennel was nicely caramelized and in appropriate ratio with the breads -- three crisp sweetbreads and about four sizable strips of fennel.

I was the last to pick a lamb chop and got the short end of the stick! Mine was slightly overdone but had a fine and tasty crust and was great with the lemon, preserved in salt and sugar. And I thought that our three chops for $14 (one of the most expensive dishes on the menu) was a deal.

I might have been slow to act, but when I got to both the cuttlefish and the pan con tomate, they were not as warm as I would have liked. But both were still quite good.

I thought the brussel sprouts were a highlight, roasted tender ("a la plancha", so I suppose grilled) and covered

with those taste-giving dark spots I always hope for when I roast sprouts.

I think we were all very happy with everything except the scallops. We saw someone eating them at the bar and they were so beautiful served in their shell we had to get them. The ones I had weren't mushy but lacked flavor, as did the indistinguishable "broth" they were piled upon.

The bay leaf bunuelos were strange -- you got a punch of bay leaf in your nose if you inhaled while you bit. With a more sugar and a bit less grease, they would be a good freebie.

We had about thirteen dishes, including desserts, which was certainly enough for four, though after dessert I might have stayed for the cap i pota fria and the cock's combs. And possibly the oxtails with pequillos.

[jogoode]

Pan,

Another member posted this in the old Casa Mono thread. (Do I smell a thread merge?) Prices are $3-$15. For the quality, I thought it was a very good value.

[herbacidal]

ok, I'm in (for next time).

yup, ditto aqui.

[KatieLoeb]

Armagnac ice cream - love it!

Oh. My. God.

This sounds like something that would require either a cigarette or scratching my butt and rolling over and beginning to snore afterward...Maybe both!

[Pan]

I'd like to go next time, as well.

Katie, you're an earthy one, aren't you?

[KatieLoeb]

I'd like to go next time, as well.

Katie, you're an earthy one, aren't you?

Consider me a girl with a healthy appetite and a brutally honest streak !

[alacarte]

Excellent report, thanks for sharing. Though I'm a little disappointed you didn't try the cock's combs, I was curious what that would be like.

[jogoode]

Excellent report, thanks for sharing. Though I'm a little disappointed you didn't try the cock's combs, I was curious what that would be like.

Me, too. I believe coquille asked what they were like and our waitress told us that they were slightly chewy.

[jogoode]

Just remembered a Ducasse dish that Jeffrey Steingarten mentions in his latest book: "creamed and truffled macaroni with sweetbreads and coxcombs".

[Suzanne F]

That sound great except for the macaroni. (The most disappointing dish we had at ADNY was some sort of "macaroni" with lemon sauce. I contend that the French should not attempt pasta.)