Our Tuesday night routine is a class discovering "Film Noir" at the 92nd St Y. The 7:00pm start time requires an early dinner so consequently, we're always looking for someplace to eat an early dinner. The good news is that it allows us to explore some of the more popular places that are usually booked solid at the hours past "the early bird special" times! This week we went to a great new Italian place on 81st Street near Second Avenue, whose name we're not going to divulge because, it's small and we don't want anyone to know about it because we want to go back!
It's a small, relatively simple. room that feels almost French. Comfortable, but not cozy. While it has the "neighborhood" feel of a Canaletto or a Jubileee, the bare tables and bustle make it feel a little bit more like you want to eat and leave.
On the other hand, the food is outstanding. I started with "Open Ravioli" with duck confit and foie gras. It was the best new pasta dish I've had in a long time. I had to fight Christina for my fork! She started with "Asparagus with Prosciutto and Figs" which were also quite good. Not a bad beginning--we did see at least three other things that we would have liked to start with (gnocchi, grilled octopus, a variety of interesting salads and the special soups).
For the entree, I had grilled "Baby Chicken with Polenta" that was fabulous. Chris had "grilled Barramundi" a very tender white meat fish, stuffed with greens and sun dried tomatoes--it was delicious, sweet, tender cheeks and crispy skin. We had an assortment of sides, including mixed cauliflower with browned bread crumbs and butternut squash with toasted pecans, I thought the squash was great and Chris liked the cauliflower- that's why marriage is so great. We had an undistinguished "Vino Nobile de Montepulciano (Derose)
Overall, we thought the restaurant was great and are looking forward to going back.
Spigolo
1561 Second Ave.(81st St.)
Manhattan, NY 10028
212-744-1100
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