Aquavit, Midtown East, NYC

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

Food: ☆☆☆½

Service: ☆☆☆½

Ambiance: ☆☆☆½

Cost: $$$$

Must try: Holland Herring, Scandinavian Bouillabaisse

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Circo – Bollito Misto Week, Midtown West, NYC

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest to this establishment. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

I was recently invited to attend a media dinner at Circo, the whimsical, circus themed Italian restaurant run by the legendary Maccioni family.

The menu at Circo offers elegant, home-style, Tuscan fare inspired by signature recipes from the kitchen of Maccioni matriarch Egidiana Maccioni (aka Mamma Egi). The newly appointed Executive Chef Alfio Longo does a fabulous job of helming the kitchen at Circo with his signature contemporary flare.

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Mozzarella & Vino, Midtown West, NYC

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

(I was invited as a guest to this establishment. All opinions expresses in this review are my own.)

I was recently invited to review Mozzarella & Vino, a brand new spot opened by veteran restaurateurs Gianfranco & Paula Sorrentino of Il Gattopardo and Leopard at des Artistes fame.

Located in the old Il Gattopardo space, right opposite the MOMA, Mozzarella & Vino is housed in a chic, inviting space that is filled with warmth and authenticity.

Mozzarella & Vino distinguishes itself from it sibling restaurants by offering a seasonally inspired small plate menu with an emphasis on Mozzarella di Bufala Campania DOP, Italian cheeses and affettati.

This affordable enoteca style restaurant also offers a full bar and an extensive wines list. This is one of the first spots in New York City to use an Enomatic wine serving system, which allows them to store unique high-end wines.

The kitchen is supervised by Chef Vito Gnazzo of Il Gattopardo and The Leopard and helmed by Antonio Savino. The menu at Mozzarella & Vino is quite simple but the flavors are truly authentic and the quality of food really shines. The best of ingredients are flown in twice a week from small artisanal farms in Italy. One can tell that in this kitchen there are no short cuts – everything is made fresh from scratch and is all really delicious.

Mozzarella & Vino is open everyday from 11:00 AM to 10 PM. The genuine affection and care taken of anyone who walks through the doors of Mozzarella & Vino is palpable. Its almost like you are welcomed home when you set foot in here and are pampered the whole way through with great food and wine.

Here is some of what we ate:

Bread Basket

Zucchini and Calamari fritti with spicy tomato sauce

Affettati & Fromagi

Smoked Mozzarella with Cherry Tomato Suace

Baked Rigatoni with Eggplant and Riccotta

Meatballs

Apple crostata with smoked mozzarella gelato

Mascarpone chocolate mousse cake

Restaurant Information

tabelog.us

	* Overall
	* Restaurant Name
	Mozzarella & Vino
	★★★☆☆
	* Neighborhood / Cuisine
	Midtown West / Italian
	* Street Address
	33 West 54th Street (b/t Avenue Of The Americas & 5th Ave in Midtown West), New York, NY 10019
	* Phone
	(646) 692-8849

Shopsin’s General Store, Lower East Side, NYC

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

Food: ☆☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆ ½

Ambiance: ☆☆

Cost: $$

Must try: Poutine, Mac and Cheese Pancake

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ABC Cocina, Union Square/ Flatiron, NYC

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

Food: ☆☆☆ ¾

Service: ☆☆☆

Ambiance: ☆☆☆☆

Cost: $$$

Must try: Grilled Maitake Mushrooms, Raw Shaved Fluke, Guacamole with Grapefruit Salsa

ABC Cocina is Jean-Georges Vongerichten and executive chef Dan Kluger’s endeavor at inventive, Latin inspired, tapas style fare.

Housed within the stunning ABC Carpet & Home Store, this hot spot is fashioned in abcmkt’s eclectic style – an aesthetic I love (of course everything is available for purchase on the shop floor).

The menu consists of seven sections with choices that range from a “Raw Bar” to “Light and Bright” to “Wood Burning Grill” and more.

The cuisine is based on flavors from Latin America and Spain and is for most part executed rather well. Dishes that blew me away were the “Raw Shaved Fluke with Green Chili Dressing” and the “Grilled Maitake Mushrooms”. Other such as the “Fish Taco” felt lacking in clean flavors and brightness as is was unnecessarily doused with some kind of creamy heavy Russian type dressing. The “Short Rib Tacos” though are a clear winner!

Service was very pleasant but uneven. We were kept waiting for fairly long spells between certain dishes.

I didn’t fall in love with ABC Cocina the way that I did with ABC Kitchen….but the small plate fare piqued my interest enough to make warrant several revisits.

Here is some of what we ate:

Guacamole with Grapefruit Salsa

Raw Shaved Fluke

Shrimp with Sizzling Garlic and Chili Oil

Short Rib Taco

Fish Taco

Grilled Maitake Mushrooms

Salted Caramel ‘Impossible’ Flan

Soft And Crunchy Almond Cake

Restaurant Information

tabelog.us

	* Overall
	* Restaurant Name
	ABC Cocina
	★★★☆☆
	* Neighborhood / Cuisine
	Flatiron / Latin American other / Tapas/Small Plates
	* Street Address
	38 East 19th St. (Between 5th Ave. & Park Ave.), New York, NY 10003
	* Phone
	(212) 677-2233