BABBO (D)

Monday, January 21st - 10:00pm

I love Babbo. I was a bit bummed out by a 10pm reservation, but upon my arrival I was pleased to get a nice table on the ground floor. (I am not sure if the two tables by the front door are considered bar tables or part of the regular seating, but I hope it's the former and not the latter. Either way, I was glad I didn't get those.)

We had decided before arriving we would not do the tasting menu so we can enjoy the food portions in full. I wanted to try the salumi here, and there was also the pig foot Milanese and steamed cockles to start. In the end, the allure of the tasting menu drew us towards that. While we had sampled the Pasta Tasting Menu on previous visits, we decided to go with the Traditional Tasting this time. After the insane prices of Jean George and Le Bernardin, the Babbo menu with Wine Pairing seemed almost pedestrian. Almost.

After the usual serving of chick peas on crostini, our first course arrived. The Babbo Culatello with Pumpkin "in Scapece" was so simple yet incredible. In short, it is like prosciutto, but better (you can read a wonderful description of it on their website: http://www.babbonyc.com/in-culatello.html) with chunks of par cooked pumpkin. I made a point of getting both items in a single bite and it was quite the journey... at first all I could taste was the pumpkin. It was firm and fresh tasting. Then I could taste the culatello which was extremely buttery and savory. BUT THEN when the two combined as I was chewing, the taste became something entirely different. It elevated this relatively simple dish into something magical. We realized it has to be this kind of thinking, this ability to combine flavors to create something you just don't get everyday (or at least everyday outside of Italy). This is why we pay for dining out and especially dining at a place like Babbo - it is to experience something new out of something that might seem ordinary.

The next dish with the pappardelle which reminded me why this is my favorite place for pasta. It is perfectly and consistently al dente.

Of my three Duck Tortelli pieces, I only discovered the delectable gizzard morsels in one. While that was disappointing, it hardly kept me from enjoying every last bite. My s.o. was much luckier as he had them in each one.

This was my first time having venison. I had heard it was gamey, but these pieces were not and they were much more tender than I expected.

I have recently discovered the pleasures of a cheese course. Coach Farm's Finest, this evening, was a hard goat cheese accompanied by an amber colored honey with fennel seeds. I usually like a soft goat cheese but, again, this tasting has opened my mind.

The two desserts were fantastic, and I wanted to have that cake as a daily muffin version because it was so light and fluffy, but this time the wines really stood out. Our waiter had done a great job of explaining each course and each wine upon serving us throughout the meal. (The only negative was catching every details over the din of the room.) We learned that our last two wines were made from grapes that have been dried and then crushed which creates a sweeter wine. Each glass, though differently flavored, was intense and very sweet.

I know my reviews of any Batali place make it sound as if I am on his payroll but I have no such affiliation (sadly). I am a huge fan, I do root for him on Iron Chef America every time, and I want to try each of his restaurants. Yes, I know he doesn't actually cook nor is at every location, but as I said in my review of B&B Las Vegas, I think he and Joe Bastianich seem to know how to hire a very good team to recreate his vision just as if he were there.

Here is hoping that Mozza will also live up to the hype.