Ladies who Lunch

Bottino for Delicious Italian

One of my block 3 mates, Lilian, thought of organizing a lunch for some of us during Senior Week. She had the great idea and I contributed by thinking of a place to eat on the West Side (we were going to the Frying Pan after). I ended up on Bottino (http://www.bottinonyc.com/). Check out the open-but-enclosed seating area. We had a lovely corner table.

You can enjoy the outdoors without being outdoors!

I was intrigued by a cocktail on the menu, so I absolutely had to order it! The Grey Gardens Martini is made with Organic Black Tea and Grey Goose, St. Germain, Preserved Lemon Syrup and Honey.

Grey Gardens Martini

This was a fantastic cocktail! If you come, you MUST get it!

There were so many options on the menu, I struggled with what to order. Luckily, Jillian and I were interested in the same two entrees, so we split them. Problem solved!

Lasagna al Forno with Homemade Pasta, Bolognese and Bechamel 

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Boar Sausage

Each dish was very different and I'm glad we split them. Initially, I was a bit scared of the boar sausage but it was delicious! The lasagna was also so great - much heavier than the pasta but very tasty. Lilian also got the Orecchiette. Kate got the Sautéed Shrimp with Lentils and Garlic, White Wine and Herbs.

Shrimp!

After we finished our meal, we ordered a coffee and got dessert. Jillian and I got the Warm Tuscan Bread Pudding, Kate got the Pecan Tart and Lilian got something with Biscotti...I believe Affogato.

Cappuccino

Bread Pudding

Pecan Tart

Affogato

Usually I LOVE bread pudding, but this one was a bit too custardy. The custard was very eggy and almost looked scrambled, so it was a bit of a bummer. I'd recommend getting a different dessert if you go!

Cheers,

Liz

 

Dinner in the Garden

La Lanterna di Vittorio Offers Excellent Italian in Greenwich Village

I love spending time with Aish - we met in a class we had together last semester with our mutual friend Michelle.

Michelle, Aish and me!

We all caught up briefly at beer blast (the weekly happy hour Stern hosts in the building basement) and then Aish & I headed to dinner. I am currently reading a great book (Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan) and two of the main characters are professors at NYU! In the book, they were set up by a mutual friend and had their first date at La Lanterna di Vittorio (http://lalanternacaffe.com/), an Italian restaurant with an enclosed garden right near campus.

I am a huge fan of reading (especially guilty pleasure books such as this one) and even a bigger fan of exploring new restaurants - I knew I had to check this spot out! We each ordered a glass of red wine: the Carmenere Cab. It was delicious and under $10.

Let there be wine and no whine

We decided to split two items: pizza and lasagna. Since Aish is a vegetarian, we stuck to items both of us could enjoy and ethically enjoy :)

For our pizza, we ordered the Pizza con Cipolla e Caprino (topped with goat cheese, caramelized onions, walnuts and extra virgin olive oil).

Nom-a-thon!

Do not be deceived - those slices that LOOK like sausage are caramelized onion! The pizza was super delicious EVEN without meat! It was thin-crust and made to order. I'm glad we split it so we could try two different items.

The other entrée we split was the Lasagna Quattro Formaggi with Black Truffle Paste! NOM! It was like a cheese explosion accented with truffle yumminess

See that truffle goodness? Are you drooling yet?

The lasagna was delicious! I took a bite and burned my mouth off - so be cautioned food is served HOT here. Also, I didn't realize this had no tomato in it so when compared to the pizza dish, there wasn't much contrast (cheese vs. more cheese). Next time, I would order the pesto one or meat sauce (damn vegetarians! hehe).

The garden were we sat is beautiful - the rest of the dining space seems a bit dark/cramped, so the outside area is wonderful.

Enclosed Garden with HUGE lamps

I highly recommend this spot: the prices are right (most pizzas are $12-$14 depending on toppings) and the ambiance is awesome.

Cheers,

Liz