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“Morandi”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Italian	West Village	Moderate	Great

ottles we used to melt candles in at Bar Mitzvahs. (Remember those?) As we start in on the red, I can feel my cheeks getting pink from the wine. It’s a Friday night at the end of a long week. It’s a great feeling.

The carne section of the menu really highlights Jody’s sincere Italian approach to cooking—simplicity rules. There’s a rabbit roasted in lardo with fennel pollen ($23), a chicken grilled with chiles and lemon ($22), and a hanger steak topped with anchovy and garlic ($26). We’ve decided on an order of Jody’s signature Sicilian meatballs ($18), the veal chop ($45), and a few contorni—salt-roasted fingerling potatoes and a serving of escarole cooked with olive oil, lemon and chile flake—a brilliant threesome.

The meatballs are as good as they were at Gusto—oversized pups the size of peaches are moist and meaty and stocked with currants and pine nuts that give them a slight Moroccan flair. But the roasted veal chop is something to behold. It’s massive—probably a foot in length, roasted on a 14-inch bone, and looks to be about three inches thick. It is juicy, pink, and incredibly well seasoned, and crowned with a melting layer of fontina cheese and ribbons of proscuitto. Oh yes, this lily is gilded.

“Oh, baby,” Craig says as he takes a bite. “This is serious.” He cuts a juicy-pink slice for me. I’m not sure I’ve ever had such a strong reaction to a veal chop. In fact I know I haven’t. Steak? Yes. Veal? Not on your life. But all that changed last night. It was flawless. Now, let me add that I don’t often spend $45 on an entrée, and we didn’t realize that is was so pricey when we ordered it. If we had, we would’ve skipped it for sure, but we both agree that it was worth it.

But in our fever over the veal chop we realize we’ve broken our pledge to leave something behind. We look down at the plate and all that’s left is the bone. But then I recall the story about McNally at 17 years old eating the entire melon including the skin. And I take a look again at the lonely shank on the plate, and I think, yeah, we did the right thing.

Morandi is located at 211 Waverly Place, corner of Charles Street, 212-627-7575.

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Posted: March 5, 2007

Other restaurants in West Village :
+ Jefferson-- Closed   + La Palapa Rockola   + Sumile   + Babbo   + Tasca   + AOC Bedford   + Home   + The Spotted Pig   + Barbuto   + Numero 26   + Mas   + August   + Alta   + Cru   + Blue Mill Tavern-- Closed   + Employees Only   + Lassi   + Metropol--Closed   + Turks and Frogs   + Bellavitae   + Yumcha-- CLOSED   + Gusto: SEE EARLIER REVIEW; THIS CHEF HAS LEFT GUSTO   + Perry Street   + Home   + Ditch Plains   + The Little Owl   + Cafe Condesa   + Cafe Cluny   + Gusto   + The Waverly Inn   + Morandi   + P*ONG   + Perilla   + Soto   + Market Table   + Centro Vinoteca   + Barfry   + Dell'Anima   + Bar Blanc   + Smith's   + Commerce   + Elettaria   + Bar Q   + Cabrito   + 10 Downing   + Minetta Tavern   + Braeburn   + Scuderia, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Bar Blanc Bistro by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Joseph Leonard   + Bar Henry, by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Kin Shop   + Monument Lane   + Wong   + Bin on Bleecker, by Dara Pollak   + Ristorante Rafele   + Cole's Greenwich Village by Guest Reviewer Claire Jaffe   

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