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| - Good: The place is cozy and romantic in a rustic way - fantastic if you're lucky enough to get a table. We called ahead for the chef's table and were seated at the bar close to the prep area, so we could see some of the kitchen action.
Better: The wine and cocktail list were fun and approachable, although a bit hit-and-miss. The Manhatten was excellent (described as "strong and urbane" by the BF. I don't know what that means either), while the other was not nearly as smooth. The wine list has many local choices, and some nice earthy reds from Italy as well.
BEST: The food! Hands down, this is the one of the best value chef's tables in the entire city. They didn't skimp on anything, and the food was rich. We were served incredibly sweet tomatoes in pulled mozzarella, a huge salumi platter with caponata, bison short rib ravioli with chantrelles... and by this point I was full. However, when a plate of chard and ricotta stuffed pasta with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and crackling pork cheek was placed in front of me, I obviously tucked in the gine and kept on eating. It was incredible! Those mushrooms are sinfully meaty. The main course was perfectly cooked lamb on polenta with tarragon and more hen-of-the-woods mushrooms (yay)! I lapsed into a food coma two bites in. Dessert is just a blur.
Truth be told, this is a 4.5 star rating, only because we didn't have any interaction from the chef aside from confirming our dislikes and this differed from the description on the website. Service was efficient but not particularly personable. But these are just minor 0.5 star worthy criticisms; I would definitely eat here again.
Dollars: Our bill came to $200 for two chef's tables, a big bottle of bubbly water, two cocktails, several glasses of wine, tax and tip.
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