Torrisi Chef's Tasting

Of course it was too much food. What surprised me was how impressive it was even after a month of hype. Kevin and I loved that despite how good the food was, we were almost more impressed by the service - impeccable, friendly, well timed and seamless.

The small dishes were the best, including Kevin's personal favorite escargot casino, chicken oysters with candied cashews, clams and oysters with Brooklyn Tabasco, and my favorite quail olives (quail eggs brined in olive juice with perfectly runny yolks). The meal did suffer slightly from the entree drop-off with a less than amazing lamb dish and 2 cheese courses we could have done without. But this could have been because we were so full by that point.

We were seated at 845 and didn't leave until 1215. Oh, forgot to mention there were 2 bottles of wine and that I was completely stealthy in the taking of the below pictures.

Perry St. again

This is the perfect place to go for a West Side sunset. We went there the long weekend of MLK Day, drove through the cold and sat in the sunned lounge area for drinks before lunch. This was our second time here, and though the food is really good, it's something else about this place that tugs at my heartstrings. For one, it's on the West Side Highway, not far from Kevin's and my high school, where for many years we shared hallways and weren't friends. It's on the water. It's quiet, it's almost secret. It's nice to go there with him now.

Food pictures after the jump

amuse of potato soup with truffle drizzle

ode to my favorite flavor duo: passionfruit & chili

avocado and mushroom carpaccio

seared tuna burgers
(spot the fresh pomegranates on the table!)

salmon with sweet potato and spiced chili sauce

butternut squash soup

Five Points on Friday

tablescape

After a long week and before a long weekend we went out with friends on Great Jones St. Before I got out of work, the boys started at The Wren, a new place on Bowery that I all but missed, showing up just in time to slam a melty cranberry vodka and the latter, warmer half of Kevin's Bitburger.

We inquired at Acme, a brand new, increasingly buzzy place before sticking to our reservation at Five Points, which is always a good meal. This winter, the waitstaff has changed out of their short sleeved chambray shirts, which I loved. Good thing though, as Kevin was wearing his chambray also.

Drink: Spicy passion fruit margarita.

Food: Pork belly pizza and the sirloin steak with a celery root gratin and arugula.

Dessert: Apple sorbet, buttermilk gelato, salted caramel gelato, cranberry biscotti.

Before heading home we stopped at Saxon + Parole for a drink garnished with pink peppercorns whose name and nature escape me. The place had a good feel to it, but so far early reviews of the food aren't too exciting.

More pictures next.

January 27th, 8pm

Torrisi Italian Specialties

Visit them here.


Jewish Lamb dish


Table for 4 at Torrisi 2.0
Our second visit to Kevin's current NYC #1
Last time we sat next to Jay-Z

001. The first day

Kevin and I have been going out to eat together since before we could legally order wine with dinner. We were nineteen, we were just starting to build our ties to each other, and we hadn't been introduced to foie gras.

Over the years, food has become a very big part of our lives. It certainly is a huge part of our relationship. It was because of him that I tried, and instantly loved, my first littleneck clam on a half-shell. This was on a dock in Montauk. It was because of me that he went from never drinking wine to tolerating whites to ordering a bottle with every meal. This started with a bottle of Barefoot Moscato in a dorm room in Rochester.

We are people who love food.

As such, we are one of those couples who takes pictures of their plates before tasting them. But that was all we did. And while we love looking through our mobile albums, our underexposed, crappy little pictures don't do justice to what those meals meant to us. We spend too much time tracking down each meal and reading about restaurants to not document them better.


WE WENT TO THIS PLACE

A his & hers food blog. To better remember, to better enjoy.

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2012