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“Del Posto”

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

n Jerome, one of the managers, came over to see how we were enjoying our hen, Sam asked where the feet were. Jerome told him they were in the kitchen, and when Sam asked for them, they were promptly fetched and presented to Sam on a small printed China saucer. He ate them, crunching away with a far off look of glee in his eyes. I think he and that woman’s husband might be a great pair.

While you may be tempted to leave without dessert, do try and squeeze a few in, or at least do not miss the complimentary cookie cart. T’ai Chopping is the pastry chef at Del Posto, and while I am still thinking about that quince granita from Telepan’s Larissa Raphael, her desserts were also magnificent. Many have an Austro-Hungarian influence, like palacinke ($15), chestnut crepes with persimmon sauce (a bit too sweet for me), but I loved her apricot cassata ($15), a meringue crust enclosing an almond cake set in a delicate apricot sauce, and her warm fig pudding with pomegranate sorbet, zabaglione and salted caramel ($15). Lidia Bastianich, who is one of Mario’s partners in this venture can often be found at the dining room’s central finishing table, whisking up pots of ethereal zabaglione ($15). But the best part of the dessert experience is the dessert trolley, a wheeled cart topped with glass pharmacy jars filled with assorted cookies and confections: anise biscotti, chocolate amaretto cookies (YOU MUST HAVE THESE), gelees, pignolli, rosemary cookies, white chocolate roche (ALSO AMAZING), and on and on. The final amazing touch is the fregolata, a crumbly cookie cracked at the table to eat with your hands, the perfect partner for dessert wine or espresso.

It was 1am at this point, and I was stuffed and thrilled that I had chosen pants with a good amount of Lycra in them that evening. But we were not leaving yet. We needed to discuss our meal. So over cookies for twenty, we talked about our dinner and the experience that is Del Posto. As my friend Kate pointed out, when it feels like every restaurant is comfortably in the one or two-star range, it is thrilling to see someone aiming so high, clearly shooting for the moon in every element, from design to service and food.

I agreed, but I wondered if we were wired to think of four-star cuisine as precious and petite and artful—more French in style than the earthy, rustic and comparatively simple cuisine of Italy. The menu at Del Posto does not attempt to fit an Ital ... [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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