Isola

Isola, located in the Mondrian Hotel in Soho, is stunning.  The restaurant is located on the street level of the hotel, which explains the impressive high ceilings.  It looks like on warmer days (hopefully only a month away), Isola plans to offer outdoor seating.

Isola's dining room is encased in glass and features draped twinkling lights.  The lights give the dining room a slightly romantic ambiance but not so much that you need to dine with your significant other.  In fact, the bar area and/or long communal table make for a perfect spot to catch up with a friend.  For a Thursday night, Isola was only 2/3 full which was surprising for a restaurant that is constantly on Page Six.  Perhaps  the holiday week or the blistering cold weather kept diners away.

For a trendy restaurant, the portions at Isola were well sized.  Sometimes trendy Italian restaurant only send out a handful of twirls of spaghetti, but not at Isola.  And our service was impeccable throughout the night.  Our meal was evenly paced and our server frequently checked in on us to ensure we enjoyed our dishes and wine.

Isola's predominantly Mediterranean wine list offered several solid options by the glass.  In fact, I was so excited by my wine by the glass options, I forgot to peak at the wine by bottle list.

What to Eat:

Isola's Taleggio Focaccia is reason enough to visit this restaurant.  The warm, doughy focaccia bread is generously topped with caramelized onions and a thick layer of taleggio cheese.  The decadent appetizer is accompanied by a thin fig jam for you to spread onto the focaccia, creating the perfect sweet to salty ratio.  Isola's focaccia was so good I caught myself day dreaming about it the next day.








People that read my blog know that I'm a sucker for a good Chitarra.  Isola's chitarra easily met my high standards.  The night we dined at Isola was one of the coldest nights this winter but the large bowl of homemade chitarra noodles and cheesy tomato sauce managed to warm me up quickly.

Focaccia lovers?  This is the place for you,

Your foodie friend

Insider tip: Skip the dry meatballs and bland bread (accompanying the meatballs).  This was the only disappointment of the night.

Fornelleto

Road Trip!  Ok readers, you asked for destination dining reviews, here's the first: Fornelleto.

Fornelleto, located in the Borgata in Atlantic City, is one of my top 5 Italian eateries in the US. That's right, top 5.  I've never had a bad dish there.  The service is always stellar and you can't beat the ambiance, for upscale casino dining.  After walking down a winding stair case (carefully in four inch heels), you find yourself in the bar area, which is a great alternative if you don't have a reservation.  Fornelleto offers several dining rooms, each surrounded by a wine cellar.

Truthfully, it is hard to tell people what to eat at Fornelleto because everything is so damn good.  My four fellow diners allowed me to order for the table (one of my favorite things to do), which is an easy task at a place like Fornelleto.  The only minor disappointment for the night was that the Osso Bucco was not on the menu.

Order family style at Fornelleto if your dining companions are cool with it because this Italian food is meant to be shared.  That, and you'll have a tough time narrowing down what to order.  The portions are generous so keep that in mind as well.

Fornelleto offers an extensive wine by the glass and wine by the bottle menu. There are wines from every region and at a somewhat reasonable price points (given you are at the Borgata in AC and at a high end restaurant).

On this visit, we were served by the charming Guissepe, who even plated our pasta and dessert course, ensuring our delicious meal did not wind up on our party clothes.  Guiseppe was attentive throughout our meal, ensuring our respective wine, cocktail and water glasses were always replenished.  Guissepe was quick with suggestions, ensuring we ordered the right amount of food for the table (and smartly guiding us with his dessert recommendation).

What to Eat:

 Start with the garlic whipped ricotta.  The creamy, homemade ricotta is served with slices of Italian toast but it tastes just as good with the focaccia bread Fornelleto provides.  The hint of garlic in the freshly made ricotta makes Fornelleto ricotta superior to most.  The portion is large and can easily be shared among four diners.

For an entree, the Chicken Parmigiana.  The chef perfectly executed the ratio of chicken, breading, sauce, and cheese.  The moist white meat is lightly breaded and then coated in a sweet tomato sauce and finally topped with melted mozzarella cheese.  This is a great base for those intending to consume a large amount of alcohol while in AC.

Next go with the Spaghetti Chitarra.  Instead of meatballs, we asked for rock shrimp, which was immediately accommodated.   I am a big believer of having pasta with chicken parmigiana.  This pasta works on its own or with the chicken parm.  The homemade chitarra noodles are tossed in a light and garlicky tomato sauce.

Guiseppe was able to convince us to order the Dark Chocolate Budino (as you can imagine, it did not take much convincing).  The budino, a somewhat moussey pudding, was topped with a hazelnut butter crunch and was placed on top of a hardened chocolate crumble.  The scoop of marscapone cream on the side perfectly lightened up the rich dark chocolate flavors.

Looking for a break from the black jack table?  Fornelleto will make sure you leave full and happy,

Your foodie friend

Insider tip:  Make a reservation!  That might not seem like much of a tip but once you have a reservation, you are more likely to be able to move the time around to accommodate your schedule then if you do not have a reservation at all.  Fornelleto books up.  Sure the Borgata offers other restaurants but all are a distant second to Fornelleto.

Toloache

The owners of Yerba Buena, one of my favorite restaurants on the Lower East Side (see review here: http://forthefoodieinallofus.blogspot.com/2012/01/yerba-buena.html), have a sister restaurant called Toloache, located in the theater district.  When I lived near the theater district and needed a Mexican food fix, Toloache was my go to spot.  I am a Mexican food snob, but that's just how it is when you grow up in Los Angeles.

I love Toloache.  BUT I think some of there dishes are overpriced.  I understand Toloache is located in the theater district but the portion of rice in the Paella was incredibly chintzy.  When you are charging around $30 an entree, why skimp on rice?  Rice is a dirt cheap ingredient.

Back to what I love about Toloache.  All of Toloache's margaritas are delicious. Also make sure to order Toloache's freshly made guacamole, which I like as much as much as mine (my recipe dates back from my childhood housekeeper and is therefore priceless).

What to Eat:

Start with the Camaron (shrimp) Tacos.  The rock shrimp is marinated in a garlic chipotle sauce and then served on top of corn tortillas with a hearts of palm slaw.  Make sure to try the tangy tamarind sauce they bring you on the side.  The appetizer is small but if you are ordering table side guacamole, the combination of both items is probably enough to get you (and one dining companion) to your entree.








For an entree, order the Carne Asada (skirt steak).  This grilled skirt steak is incredibly tender and flavorful.  Equally important, Toloache consistently cooks the meat to perfection, The skirt steak is accompanied by guacamole (my theory is you can never have too much guacamole) and a few other less exciting items, like a bland potato gratin and cheese enchilada.  Luckily, by this point in your meal, you have filled up on enough chips and guac that you won't be too distracted by the gratin and enchilada.

If you want something lighter (don't eat Mexcian food, just kidding, kind of), go with the Seafood Paella.  I know paella typically is not associated with the phrase "light" but the dish is not a large portion of rice.  What the dish lacks in size it makes up for in taste.  The dish is filled with marinated shellfish, like shrimp, scallops, and mussels.

Need a bite before or after your show in the theater district?  Make sure your credit card has room on it,

Your foodie friend

Tre

American Express Platinum failed to secure the reservation I wanted (Perla), so I took their recommendation for Tre, a tiny Italian restaurant in the East Village.  In retrospect, I have no clue why I took their recommendation, especially when I have a list of places I am dying to try but, I figured, why not? 

Tre is very casual and lacks a discernable decor.  The wine list boasted varietals from around the world at a budget friendly price point.  None of the bottles really jumped out at me but I appreciated Tre's conscientious pricing.  This cozy, narrow restaurant is probably better suited for a double date than a triple date but we squeezed into a tiny, high top table nonetheless. 

The dessert menu was disappointingly small (tirmisu, chocolate mouse and one other option) so we took advantage of the local neighborhood deli treats to satisfy our sweet tooth. 

This is one of those restaurants that was very average so it's a bit tough to write about. My advise for Tre if you go: Stick to the pastas. Several of the non-pasta items (e.g. the over cooked short ribs with flavorless risotto) were down right bad. 

What to Eat:

Start with the Spaghetti Pomodoro.  This simple, homemade spaghetti noodle is tossed in a San Marzano sauce, packed with large, chunky tomatoes and fresh basil leaves.  I ordered it as an app intending to share it with the table but could have easily kept it to myself.

The pomodoro was only slightly bested by the Parpadelle al Ragu.  Tre's ragu sauce was heavy on the tomatoes and vegetables (like carrots) and somewhat lighter on the beef which was a refreshingly welcomed take on an old staple.  On a chilly NYC night, Tre's parpadelle al ragu did a great job of warming me up.

More Italian reviews to help keep you warm? I'll keep them coming, 

Your foodie friend

Insider tip:  Monday night at Tre is all you can eat Spaghetti & Meatballs and Sangria for $22, definitely a steal! (90 min max)