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“Aldea”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Mediterranean	Flatiron	Moderate	Great

ed salads I’ve ever had. It’s so easy to just have a throw away salad on the menu that when a chef takes this much time with it, I am impressed.

Like his mentor at Tocqueville, Mendes likes to cook with eggs. You’ll find a Dr. Seuss-like sunny side up egg topping a fantastic Creekstone Farms hanger steak with a bone marrow marmalade and oxtail-potato terrine that would taste great even if it were paired with a dusty two-by-four. A Knoll Crest farm eggs also shows up on Mendes’ small bite menu, partnered with bacalao, black olives and potatoes ($6). And then there’s the appetizer to end all hopes of heart health: Paffenroth snap peas and slabs of thick and smoky Tennessee bacon—a fantastic pairing on its own that also involves a soft poached egg and spring truffles ($15). How can you go wrong?

While egg-free, one of my favorite main courses was the diver scallops with farro risotto, cucumber and orange ($27). The scallops were plump and sweet, and the farro has a wonderful warm nuttiness that was brightened up by the orange citrus. It was the perfect summer entrée. The only mediocre dish was the monkfish with tomato and chistorra sausage ($25), a take on a Portuguese fish stew that was fine, but to my taste, a bit bland.

To pair with our dinner, we had a bottle of Portuguese white that was green and young, bright and acidic. I had a glass, but passed on the second, knowing that I needed to feed Emily when I got home. And then the old me got lost again. My respite from reality was over.

While the meal was great, I was not. Sure, I dressed up, and I loved catching up with the girls. I missed them. But I had changed. I was different. As much as I wanted to erase the person I had become over the past six weeks and return to my old self, even for just a few hours, I couldn’t. I was changed. Permanently altered. I had become a mom and there was no going back. I could not let go and just relax. I could not get my mind off Emily. I kept thinking about her and wondering what was happening at home and what the rest of the night would hold for me. Would she sleep a few hours straight or would we be up all until all hours of the morning trying to calm her? How had Craig been doing with her while I was away? Was I missing her already? How could that be? I had only been away two hours. Did she take the bottle? Was she mad that I wasn’t there to nurse her? All of these t ... [more, click below]

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Posted: July 12, 2009

Other restaurants in Flatiron :
+ Suenos   + Amuse-- Closed   + Dos Caminos   + Lucy-- Closed   + Gramercy Taver   + Veritas   + Fleur De Sel   + Bolo -- CLosed   + City Bakery   + Shake Shack   + Kalustyan's Cafe   + Devi   + BLT Fish   + Sugarcane   + BLT Prime   + Barca 18-- CLOSED   + Beppe   + Barbounia   + Boqueria   + Eleven Madison   + Lonesome Dove-- CLOSED   + Hill Country   + Olana   + Wildwood   + Primehouse   + Allegretti   + Bar Breton   + Aldea   + SD26 by Bao Ong   + ABC Kitchen   + Ciano   + The NoMad   

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