Mia Dona
We recently went to Mia Dona, a new restaurant from Donatella Arpaia that opened recently in our neighborhood on East 58th Street. It was recommended by our neighbors, the Schaffer's. It's moderately sized with a comfortable bar area and two small dining rooms. The overall decor is a little severe for me - boldly patterned wall paper, bare wooden tables and no carpets. Service was good, if a little intrusive at times. Hopefully, they'll improve with time. Prices, moderate for the neighborhood.
The menu is eclectic Italian with an emphasis on pastas and interesting game and grills. A lot of interesting combinations. The portion sizes seem a little erratic. Chris started with the "Crispy Rabbit with salt & vinegar fingerling chips. It was delicious but we could easily have shared it. The portion was huge. My "Grilled Calamari & Caponata Salad with pignoli nuts, currants, pickled eggplant, and tomato" was not quite as good and the portion was more traditional.
For the main course (I am still a traditional starter/main eater) I had the "Roasted Pork Chop with frisée, lardons, Gorgonzola and a farm egg" (adding an egg to everything seems to be this year's craziness!). It was excellent, although the portion seemed much smaller than Chris' rabbit. I particularly liked the combination of cheese and bacon to flavor the pork. The small portion was not a problem. I prefer smaller portions, but seemed irrational. Chris had a very nice "Butternut Tortelli with dried cherry, walnuts and asiago". She liked her pasta better than my pork chop. They have a nice wine menu by the glass.
Atypically, we had dessert and shared a "Cannoli with ricotta ice cream and candied orange". It was really delicisious. But maybe we're spoiled by not normally having dessert.
Overall, an excellent neigborhood choice but not yet a "destination". We'll be back.
Dona Maria
206 E. 58th St. (bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves.)
212-750-8170
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