Babbo...again

[just jess]

jesus friggin christ...i love this place
nevermind that you have to put them on speed-dial and spend an entire morning at work trying to get through to their reservation line only to be able to book a reservation a month in advance to the DAY you want to go lol.

nevermind that they cram tables in the entrance and serve people dinner at the bar, allowing for the loads of people pouring into the restaurnt to shuffle around awkwardly as they wait for their table

nevermind all of that.

once you get a seat ....the place is just amazing- start to finish.

this time we were some serious foodies on a mission--so we shared 4 apps, 3 pasta courses, and 3 entrees between the 3 of us.

apps--
Grilled Octopus with “Borlotti Marinati” and Spicy Limoncello Vinaigrette
Pig Foot “Milanese” with Rice Beans and Arugula
Duck Tortelli with “Sugo Finto” (we ordered special from the tasting menu)
and this spcy cold shrimp dish--which i cant seem to find on the menu online...

everything was delicious---but the highlights for me were that grilled octopus--holy heaven, it was almost carmelized on the outside, and cooked perfectly, so tender.
and ofcourse that duck tortelli---it is just simply the best pasta dish ive had state-side. AMAZING
the pigs foot was interesting, i have never tried it before--it was a bit gelatinous, but they pound it out and bread it and fry it crisp...so you cant really go wrong with that lol


pastas-
Goat Cheese Tortelloni with Dried Orange and Wild Fennel Pollen $19
Lamb’s Brain “Francobolli” with Lemon and Sage $19
Chianti Stained Pappardelle with Wild Boar Ragu $23

all were good--but i could not get that duck tortelli out of my mind
of the 3 id have to say the goat cheese tortelloni was my favorite---the dried orange and fennel elevated the taste of the goat cheese to another level.
and i have to say the lamb's brain was..err..interesting ...but i dont think id try it again

entrees-
Fennel Dusted Sweetbreads with Sweet and Sour Onions, Duck Bacon and Membrillo Vinegar $27
Grilled Lamb Chops “Scottadita” with Sunchokes, Grilled Onions and Lemon Yogurt $29
Deconstructed Osso Buco for Two with Saffron Orzo, Cavolo Nero and Chestnut Gremolata $75

holy heaven, the sweet breads were hands down one of my favorite dishes of the night. The duck bacon should just be illegal in 51 states it was so good. This was the first time i tried sweetbreads when they were not battered and fried--these were braised or possibly poached, so tender and infused with so much flavor. the tartness of the vinegar was the icing on the cake. the lamb chops were also delish, carmelized on the outside and perfect medium rare on the inside. portion was also surprisingly generous, some single chops and some double chops. i was a bit disappointed on their ossobucco, which is known to be their most acclaimed dish. I was just not a fan of the herbs infused within the roast, they were a bit too perfumey and permeated the entire shank.

dessert---(if you can believe we had room for it)
its not on the menu---but it was a cheesecake with maple syrup and marscapone on top and what seemed to be crushed biscotti. If heaven were on a plate, this would be it. we ate every last drop.


if you havnt been to babbo yet---i recommend you go. After all we ordered, including 2 bottles of wine--the bill came out to about $160 a person with tip for the 3 of us. Not entirely bad considering we pretty much ordered for 4 people lol

[LUV2LUVME]

i dont think i am brave enough to try a lot of those things ... esp lambs brain lol

[Mike D]

I will never forget I went to this place when I first joined my company 6 years ago. We had a business meeting with our trustee who was JPMorgan Chase at the time. I was only working at the office for 2 months but I was invited to the dinner since I would be working with them on a daily basis. I had some of the best lamb chops I have ever eaten before in my life, some of the finest wines. Right then I knew I would love my job. I haven't been back since though.

[just jess]

i dont think i am brave enough to try a lot of those things ... esp lambs brain lol

if there is a place to be adventurous...this is it.
quality of ingredients and the flavors they are paired with are out of this world
you would never know that the duck tortelloni is stuffed with a confit of duck gizzards

[TheHipHopBillGates]

What a great meal, finally somebody outside the HB's on my food level. It's great when you have people that enjoy food as much as you do.

I pretty much agree with everything you said, the Octopus was amazing, the Duck Sugo Finto , loved the Goat Cheese Tortellini and even though I didn't really care for the Wild Boar Ragu I thought that the Chianti stained Parpadelle was great. The sweet and sour onions and duck bacon was out of control what a great flavor for the sweet bread lol the lamb chops sliced like butter, again lamb has to be the most tender meat when cooked right and Batali has it down. My favorite dish of the whole night and I'm so glad you guys didn't talk me out of getting dessert.....and I'm not a big cheesecake person but the combination of the marscapone, riccotta and maple was just the perfect ending to the meal

I'd love to know the name of that first bottle of wine, that really grew on me, I'd love to be able to pick up a couple bottles.

[just jess]

I will never forget I went to this place when I first joined my company 6 years ago. We had a business meeting with our trustee who was JPMorgan Chase at the time. I was only working at the office for 2 months but I was invited to the dinner since I would be working with them on a daily basis. I had some of the best lamb chops I have ever eaten before in my life, some of the finest wines. Right then I knew I would love my job. I haven't been back since though.

lucky you..
a free babbo meal ..id go nuts lol

[Mike D]

yeah it was all pretty surreal to me...I had no clue wtf anyone was talking about...corporate bonds, semi-annual returns, performance fees, basis points...it was like a different language to me at the time. I tried to be as sociable as I could be without sounding like an idiot. I just drank my wine and enjoyed whatever food they were bringing out to me. Ahhhh those were the days when we were creating new deals, the money was flowing, meeting with brokerage firms and getting shit faced on their corporate cards...I wish I could go back to it :(

[just jess]

What a great meal, finally somebody outside the HB's on my food level. It's great when you have people that enjoy food as much as you do.

I pretty much agree with everything you said, the Octopus was amazing, the Duck Sugo Finto , loved the Goat Cheese Tortellini and even though I didn't really care for the Wild Boar Ragu I thought that the Chianti stained Parpadelle was great. The sweet and sour onions and duck bacon was out of control what a great flavor for the sweet bread lol the lamb chops sliced like butter, again lamb has to be the most tender meat when cooked right and Batali has it down. My favorite dish of the whole night and I'm so glad you guys didn't talk me out of getting dessert.....and I'm not a big cheesecake person but the combination of the marscapone, riccotta and maple was just the perfect ending to the meal

I'd love to know the name of that first bottle of wine, that really grew on me, I'd love to be able to pick up a couple bottles.

lamb was outstanding , i was so surprsed with the portion sizes too
and the sweetbreads LOL ..aww mike fgdfgdfg

that first wine took a while...but it def grew on me towards the end of the pasta course

[TheHipHopBillGates]

lamb was outstanding , i was so surprsed with the portion sizes too
and the sweetbreads LOL ..aww mike fgdfgdfg

that first wine took a while...but it def grew on me towards the end of the pasta course

I knew there had to be something funny with that sweetbread dish to be on that menu, that's why I had to get it lol

[BabyDee]

[TheHipHopBillGates]

So what if you can't show up for a resv......at least you entertained me while I was at the pound, send anyone that calls you flakey my way

[BabyDee]

So what if you can't show up for a resv......at least you entertained me while I was at the pound, send anyone that calls you flakey my way

you def owe me a big mac

[just jess]

mike did everything work out ok in the end??

diana we did not get to play footsies

[BabyDee]

mike did everything work out ok in the end??

diana we did not get to play footsies

I know, I wouldnt have even remembered dinner had you not texted me

our footsie plan will have to take place another time

[Aspano]

This place was def a great place for me, with my love of organ meats hahhh

Favorite app was def the octopus - Jess you described it perfectly, it was cooked in such a way that made it incredible, and the caramelization and the sauce with the aftertaste of the limoncello made it superb, i thought

Favorite pasta was the duck tortelli as well - while i generally prefer my tomato sauces to not be as thick, this sauce was fantastic with the concentration of the tomato flavor
As for the lamb brain francobolli, i enjoyed them, but to be honest i was expecting a little more - i think the sauce sort of masked the flavor of the filling a bit, but regardless, still a very good dish

Favorite entree was def the sweetbreads - texture of them was definitely good, and the duck bacon really put them over the top, i thought
The lamb was also incredible, especially because im a huge sucker for lamb
The osso buco was good, but like you said, Jess, i wasn't the biggest fan of the herbs or whatever that were infused into the meat - still very good tho, altho i was fiending for the bone marrow from the osso buco bone hahhhhh

And also, something has to be said for the two wines that we had - the contrast between the two was incredible, and unexpected, and paired with the food we ate they went EXTREMELY well together - the advantages of a sommelier i guess, hah

This was def worth the trip, especially since Im STILL full hahhhhh

[TheHipHopBillGates]

mike did everything work out ok in the end??

diana we did not get to play footsies

We'll just say 2 NY transit people can now goto Babbo on me, I was however out of there in like 15 minutes.

[just jess]

i have not eaten at all today

oofffaaa

[antknee]

everything sounds great!

[CHR!ST!AN]

wat is babb o rama

[just jess]

kid is definitely in the desert on payote