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“Del Posto”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Italian	MeatPacking	Break the Bank	Off the Charts

t live piano music. Not that piano is bad, it can be exquisite. But the tunes played the night I was there were dull and generic and made the place feel a bit like a banquet hall somewhere in the Five Towns, with the Weinstein Bar Mitzvah to the left and the Goldberg wedding to the right.

But once you get to the food you won’t really care. Yes, about that food, the reason we are here. It’s serious, and seriously good at many points, but it’s also Mario Batali, so it’s got a jolt of personality.

It is divided into antipasti, primi (pastas and risotto) and secondi, a selection of entrees for one, two or for the table. (As you no doubt have heard, the menu at Del Posto is pricey, but since the opening days, the prices on the dishes for the table have come down significantly.)

Like obedient diners, we started with antipasti. The vegetable fritto misto with bagna cauda ($15), a compilation of fried vegetables, is clearly the work of a fry-station genius. The batter is golden, puffy, slightly sweet and utterly greaseless, almost like a tempura crust mixed with a funnel cake, and those vegetables, cut in large flats, are perfectly al dente. No mushy veggies here. The bagna cauda, an anchovy dipping sauce, was terrifically seasoned and a great accompaniment, but totally unnecessary as the vegetables were flawless on their own.

The salumi misti ($18) is also required eating, a selection of fantastic cured and dried meats served with a surprise—a spectacular pastry crusted tart filled with Swiss chard, minced meat, raisins and topped with testa. It’s not even mentioned on the menu description, but the tart is miraculous, and I hope it gets top billing. The cauliflower sformato ($15) was also wonderful—a savory creamy custard that was light and silky and served with a clever salad of skate tossed with supremes of grapefruit for a bright bolt of sweet-tart acid.

The veal sweetbreads ($16) are actually not plural. You get one veal sweetbread, and it is a bit sad to look at, a lone crispy pan-fried gland on the plate. But it does get a fine caper sauce with it, which, while it does not help if from looking so little and lonely on the big plate, does the trick in your mouth. That was one great gland.

As you might imagine, dining at Del Posto is also the food world’s see and be scene. It’s our Chateau Marmont. The bar is elegant and civilized and gets a nice crowd for cocktails (the men ... [more, click below]

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Posted: January 13, 2006

Other restaurants in MeatPacking :
+ Paradou   + Florent   + One   + Bivio   + Spice Market   + Ono   + 5 Ninth   + Fatty Crab   + Del Posto   + Morimoto   + Los Dados   + 5 Ninth   + Merkato 55   + Scarpetta   + The John Dory   + The Standard Grill   + Bill's Bar & Burger   

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