Il Buco

[Wilfrid]

I recently read a NY Observer review of Il Buco which was a few weeks old.  It was a generous review, and I was attracted by some of the menu items, monkfish liver and baby eels in particular.  But I am nervous that it might just be a bedlam full of Village trendies with no skill in the kitchen.

Anyone been?

[Liza]

Haven't been for while but always liked the room, an odd collection of for-sale furniture.  They did serve a fabulous wild board sausage but again, that was a few years ago. Also, I always went in winter, when the room felt cozy and warm. Wondering what it's like on a 90+ April day!

[Wilfrid]

Yes, I am very bad at eating seasonally.  On a day like this, I usually find I've got a reservation at somewhere like La Cote Basque, or that I've bought all the ingredients for a cassoulet.  I want to go and lie on the grass with a chilled flask of negroni.

[mogsob]

Il Buco is one of my absolute favorite restaurants in NYC, if only for their wine list.  The food is very good as well.  The menu is essentially a list of tapas that change with the seasons.  There are also daily specials in the more familiar starter, main course variety.

I have been going to Il Buco for years.  I have always found their staff to be warm and generous and the chef to be quite serious.  The food has improved with every visit, even to this day (I was last there in February 2002) and despite the somewhat recent departure of their chef (to Tappo).

A few suggestions:  the octopus tapas (no matter how it is prepared, always a crowd pleaser), the carpaccio with truffle tapas, and any rissoto.

As for the wine list, the wines from Paolo Bea are fantastic, but ask for them to be decanted -- they need serious air time.  The only other places I've seen them are GT and Etats Unis.  The sagrantino secco is the most perfect expression of that varietal.  They also have a very reasonably priced wine from Mas Daumas Gessac in the Languedoc on the list (about $50, I think).  Fantastic wine made from cabernet and about 10 other varieties.  And use the sommelier, as his list is very personal.

[Wilfrid]

Thanks, mobsgob, I'll put it on my list for sure.

[Daniel]

I went to Il Buco last night and had a terrific meal. Me and my date split 4 appetizers and one entree and every thing was terrific. Last night through the help of the waitress, I discovered a drink called acqua di cedro (a lemoncello grappa cousin) so I might be leaving some things out.

To start we had these cod empenadas and pizza with some type of vegetables. Cod thing was in like a puffed bread pocket. The bread was cooked perfectly and the cod was this delicious salty cod salad. The pizza too was done really well. The flor de sal and the olive oil the provide was a great addition to the pizza. Then we had this fig salad with bitter greens, ricotta salata, crisp pieces of serano ham, in like a vanilla flavored dressing. The figs were ready to burst, just so so flavorfull. I think this was my favorite thing of the night. We were also served a summer truffle lamb carpaccio. Life is good.

For an entree we had a beautiful stuffed ricotta ravioli in another truffle sauce. It was surprisingly lighter then i had anticipated. The pasta was home made, the cheese was super fresh.

For dessert we had this cake made with orange zest and olive oil served with a fennal gelato. It was really refreshing, and the gelato was fantastic. After inquiring about lemoncello, the waitress instructed us that the owner is really into freshness and didnt like most lemoncello's that put sugar and additives into the drink, so we should try the acqua di cedro. Regardless of me not buying the lemoncello quality nonesense, i tried the alternative. Well, 4 glasses each later, I began to buy her story.

[mikeycook]

I love Il Buco as well. We live just a few blocks from it. One of my only complaints is that usually we wind up seating near the front, which can get very loud as the bar begins to heat up. In 4 or 5 visits, I have never sat in the back room, which seems the better place for conversation.

[Daniel]

I luckily didnt have that problem. I also just walked in. I sat at this long bench table and it was really pretty. The only problem i had was over hearing this obnoxious guy on a blind date trying to impress his date by telling her about his boat and parents money. I think this shmuck was wearing an ascott. The bar was crowded however.

[ned]

But I am nervous that it might just be a bedlam full of Village trendies with no skill in the kitchen.

Anyone been?

There is lots of skill in the kitchen and the restaurant will be full of Village trendies. Engage in a discussion of Umbrian wine. You'll likely end up drinking well for a bargain.

[SobaAddict70]

Cumin-scented goat, tender and mellow but not bland, went beautifully with an earthy purée of celeriac, strewn with pomegranate for periodic bursts of refreshment. The flavor of equally tender short ribs was brightened by the sharp accent of a sort of parsley pesto.

...a dish of radishes bathed in olive oil with mashed anchovies was resolutely balkanized, never cohering, while grilled octopus had been cooked to the dreaded point of rubberiness.

Il Buco (Eric Asimov)

Related discussion regarding Frank Bruni, his colleagues and the New York Times star system can be found here.

Soba

[Luckylies]

I luckily didnt have that problem.   I also just walked in.  I sat at this  long bench table and it was really pretty.  The only problem i had was over hearing this obnoxious guy on a blind date trying to impress his date by telling her about his boat and parents money.   I think this shmuck was wearing an ascott.   The bar was crowded however.

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that's the one problem with this place at night (for lunch I've never had this problem) the complete twats, and their starved dates... or old men and whores...whatever, the food is really good.

Edited October 22, 2005 by Luckylies (log)

[Sneakeater]

Speaking of old men and whores, I took a date here late Sunday night.

I hadn't been to Il Buco in years. Not since Sara Jenkins was there. I'd kind of written it off. The food was good enough, but I found the whole place too precious, and the clientele too -- I don't know, what's the word for it? -- retarded. Maybe I see things differently now that I'm out on dates rather than dining seriously with my Life's Companion, but Sunday night I found it delightful. (Funny thing, though: that crowd that years ago struck me as young and vapid -- well, now they seem to be even younger. What's up with that?)

The chef is now a Uraguayan named Ignacio Mattos. I don't know anything about him, but he can cook.

I started off with little chunks of fried rabbit confit with a quince-mustard dipping sauce. This was seriously good. The waiter described it as "the best Chicken McNuggets you've ever had," and that sounds right (except that I've never had Chicken McNuggets). I very highly recommend this dish.

I then had a pasta course of taglialini with chanterelles and lots of butter and parmesan. It was just as you'd expect -- except very much on the good side of expectations.

The segundo was a slight let-down (as is often the case). It was a porchetta. Maybe we're all getting just a tiny bit sick of this dish, but it didn't transport me. I found the meat a little bit fatty (this may be the first time anybody's heard me complain about that) and parts of it were a bit tough. Don't get me wrong: this was perfectly good. It was just the only course I could find any fault with.

For dessert, I had a dessert-wine flavored gelato. Very good.

Il Buco highly touts their wine list, and the wine we had was exciting. For whatever reason, when I have rabbit I think of Sardinian wines. This was a grape called Monica di Sardegna; I think the wine or the vineyard or something was called "Chinanta". It was light-weight (perfect for the rabbit and pork), but with a very haunting, slightly spicy flavor that was unlike anything I've previously experienced. This is a banal commonplace, but the great thing about wine is that there's always something new and good that you've never had before.

I did not think my meal at Il Buco was any worse than my recent dinner at Morandi.

Edited March 13, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[Nathan]

the great thing about 22-year-olds is that ever year I get older, they stay the same age.

but anyway, Il Buco has been getting quite decent buzz over the last year or so...I'd probably have gone by now if it didn't have "date cliche" written all over it....but I suppose it at least blows OIBLTIBS in that department out of the water.

[rich]

the great thing about 22-year-olds is that ever year I get older, they stay the same age.

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Funny, I feel the same way about 92-year-olds.

OIBLTIBS - There's great word using those letters!!!

[daisy17]

but I suppose it at least blows OIBLTIBS in that department out of the water.

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what did i miss?

[Sneakeater]

One If By Land Two If By Sea

[daisy17]

oh, right. thanks. have blocked that place completely out of my mind . . .

[raji]

the great thing about 22-year-olds is that ever year I get older, they stay the same age.

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Funny, I feel the same way about 92-year-olds.

OIBLTIBS - There's great word using those letters!!!

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Momofuku Ssam Bar is reportedly planning a late-night menu revolving around BOLBITIS.

bolbitis

noun

terrestrial or less than normally scandent ferns of tropical regions of northern hemisphere

WordNet® 2.1, © 2005 Princeton University

[raji]

the great thing about 22-year-olds is that ever year I get older, they stay the same age.

I should get this joke, right Nate?

If so,

[H. du Bois]

Il Buco was for many years, and right from the very get-go, my favorite restaurant in New York (which I guess makes me one of the retarded clientele). I liked it so much that I stopped telling people about it, because I was afraid it might get popular (alas, it didn't work).

I always found the food very good, and the wine terrific. Given that I was a regular there for years, that said a lot.

Haven't been in a long time - will have to check it out.

* One of my favorite things was drinking post-prandial port down in the wine cellar after dinner - don't know if they still do that.

[Nathan]

for those not up on their stoner comedies....Sneakeater provided the perfect opportunity to conflate Il Buco and Dazed and Confused (probably the first...and last...time that will happen)

[Sneakeater]

Believe me, H.: whatever the retarded clientele was, it wasn't you.

[raji]

Who was chef there 3 years ago? I worked for a company at the time and we had our holiday party there. I was more impressed by the ingredients vs. the preparation. It was like a very good walking tour of rustic Italian markets.

[Sneakeater]

I think that three years ago the chef was Ed Witt, now of Varietal.

[rich]

bolbitis

noun

terrestrial or less than normally scandent ferns of tropical regions of northern hemisphere

WordNet® 2.1, © 2005 Princeton University

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I'm 98 years old and I have never known anyone who knew that word - that's almost a century of stumping people.

I'm utterly impressed Raji - WOW!!!!!!

Edited March 14, 2007 by rich (log)