So, Bubba suggested dinner and a Broadway play for Best's birthday. Date night with the parents - who could resist.
The issue became where to eat. I immediately started researching ethnic spots in the Theatre district -Indonesian perhaps? Maybe some good Persian. Bubba shot my ideas down. For them, pre-theatre dining needs to be safe and not laden with any potential gastronomic anomalies let's just say.
The next consideration was noise, or the lack there of. Best likes it quiet. Bubba likes a scene, or better yet to be seen.
With all of these stipulations, we decided to expand our search and I settled on Erminia on the Upper East Side. Erminia is one of those places that you always hear about, but never go to. It's a tiny, and I mean 12 tables tiny, Italian restaurant, by way of Rome. It's romantic and candelit, perfect for Best's auditory preferences, yet still has an air of exclusivity to it, which met Bubba's requirements.
A 6PM on Saturday night, we found ourselves at one of only two tables filled at the restaurant. Less people meant we had the full attention of the waitstaff and Bubba loved it. She practiced her "Italian" and lingered while making her dinner choices.
Apparently Bubba had a, let's call it, well-saturated evening the night before, so she skipped the cocktails and appetizers portion of the meal. So the three of us worked on the wines by the glass - the three Pinots as the waiter called it - Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir and Pinot Chianti. (Yes, an Italian waiter joke.)
Best and I split a garlic/basil/olive oil Calamari alla griglia appetizer that was light and tasty. JB indulged in the Carciofi Alla Giudia (artichoke) as he usually does when he thinks we are at a real "Roman" restaurant. They lacked seasoning and crunchiness, but they were tasty. What isn't when covered in olive oil. FYI, if you ever go to Rome the best carciofi we've ever had is at Al Pompiere in the Jewish District. Go. alpompiereroma.com. But first, back to Erminia.
For our mains, 3 out of 4 of us went the pasta route. Bubba had the house specialty -
Rotolo di Pasta - which is a rolled pasta stuffed with spinach, ricotta and mozzarella. She generously shared her filling dish which was sweet and delicious. I opted for the Bucatini all' Amatriciana, a thick linguine in red sauce laden with pancetta. And JB's Farfalle alla Capricciosa had too much of an olive taste for me, but he managed to polish off those bowties that also had capers and sun-dried tomatoes.
Best surprised us all by ordering the Scaloppine Di Vitello Con Carciofi E Funghi
since he's usually the two appetizer king. We think he was off his mark since the restaurant was beer and wine only, i.e., no vodka, so he splurged on an entree. He did not surprise us, however, when he didn't offer tastes to anyone (although Bubba managed to steal a bite off his plate).
As curtain time loomed, it was coffee and dessert time. Chocolate mousse pie for JB and me was just OK and Bubba and Best chose the tartufo, which I think received the same OK-grade.
All in all, though, it was an excellent choice for a quiet dinner and I do recommend it.
I also recommend the play - Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike - only on Broadway through the end of June.
Until our next Berger,
KLB
Erminia
250 East 83rd Street
New York, NY
212.879.4284
erminiarestaurant.com
No comments:
Post a Comment