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“Accademia di Vino”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Italian	Upper East Side	Moderate	Good

MY DINNER AT ACCADEMIA DI VINO

The other day, I was having lunch with some girlfriends on the roof at Soho House (a friend is a member, they still haven't let me in) and the issue of sharing food came up. One of my friends was recounting a lunch meeting with a work associate (someone she has known and worked with for many years), in which he ordered three bowls of pasta for lunch at A Voce. (This is understandable because the pasta there is so good there, that you really should, if possible, order them all.) In any case, she had ordered a beet salad and some scallops and at some point during the course of their meal, she had asked if he wanted to try some of her food. He declined her offer, and promptly went back to work on his buffet of pastas, neglecting to offer her a taste of any of Andrew Carmellini's Grandmother's ravioli.

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "That's practically criminal! How could he not share?" My friend nodded in agreement, "I know!" she said. "I was dying."

Her story opened up a discussion about eating in New York City, and how common and almost ritualistic sharing has become. I started to say that I could not remember the last time I had dinner where I didn't share what was on my plate, but then it did jar an old memory of a blind date I had years ago at The Red Cat. My friend Court had set me up. The guy was nice looking, and from what I could tell from our dinner conversation, he was smart, and interesting, so I was happy about that. He was having steak frites, and I was having some sort of fish. I took a bite and commented on how good it was, and offered him some. He shook his head no, and returned to his steak, the juices pooling under it, the hot, golden fries seducing me more than he was. "Do you mind if I try your steak and have a fry?" I asked, reaching over to pluck one off his plate, and smiling. He was not smiling. "Actually, I'm really not into sharing my food," he said, shooing my hand away and returning to his beautiful steak and fries. "Hope that's okay." No, it was not okay. How could he deny me a fry? I practically recoiled in my seat. And if this was the way he was at the dinner table, I certainly didn't want to take it to a place where sharing and giving might be more important. That was our first and last da ... [more, click below]

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Posted: September 24, 2007

Other restaurants in Upper East Side :
+ Sfoglia   + Zoe Townhouse   + Accademia di Vino   + T-Bar Steak and Lounge   + Parlor Steakhouse   + Le Caprice   

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