On a recent, warm Wednesday evening, the other Rebecca and I made an after-work trip to
Otto, an enoteca and pizzeria owned by Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. Upon arrival, you enter the restaurant through the enoteca portion, where you can grab a place at the bar or stand at tables and enjoy antipasti and wine.
Bottles of vino encircle the columns that stand around the room, giving the effect that the place is literally held up by wine (an idea that I can get behind).
R and I were more in the mood for a leisurely dinner though, so we proceeded through to the main dining room. Its red and black walls are eye-catching and unexpected, and along with the gleaming wooden tables, they give Otto a vibrant atmosphere that is sophisticated but still friendly.
We had the place largely to ourselves when we first sat down, but, as the evening went on, it filled up quickly and bustled with life. Since R and I were celebrating a few things (the end of a particularly stressful time at work and my one-year anniversary of living in New York), we started things off by ordering a bottle of wine.
We went for the Flor Ros
é Spumante, which turned out to be a great choice for the warm day that it was. Dry, crisp, and bubbly.
It also paired really well with the food. We began on a virtuous note, with the baby spinach, ricotta, and truffle honey salad...
and the cauliflower alla siciliana.
The cauliflower, which was flavored with herbs, lemon juice, olives, capers and olive oil, was very good, but for me, the real standout was the salad. The combination of ricotta and truffle honey gave the greens some depth and an almost nutty taste that made them much more satisfying than your usual run-of-the-mill spinach salad.
Up next was the pizza, of course. We decided to keep it classic and split the Margherita D.O.P.--tomato sauce, bufala mozzarella, and basil.
The thin crust kept things light while the tangy basil provided a burst of flavor that perfectly complemented the mozzarella.
We made quick work of the pizza, but there was still wine to be had and stories to share, so we clearly had to order dessert. I had checked out the menu earlier in the day, and the Black & White had caught my eye. I wouldn't shut up about it for the rest of the afternoon so R kindly agreed to share it with me.
I don't think that either one of us regretted that decision.
Behold: perfection in dessert form:
A layer of milk chocolate chip gelato topped with a layer of creme fraiche gelato, topped with hazelnut croccante (brittle), chocolate sauce and caramel crema.
This was the best part of an already delicious meal for me, and honestly, I think it may have been one of my top 5 desserts...ever. It was that good. I'm getting all hot and bothered just thinking about it again.
If you're in the mood for delicious Italian food (there's pasta on the menu too), I'd highly recommend a trip to Otto, and it would be a good idea to make a
reservation, since it definitely got very busy as the night went on. Round up some friends, order plenty of wine and a bit of everything on the food menu, and share!
Buon appetito!
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And through the tunnel to the river.
