When the Moon Hits Your Eyes...

If you've ever walked around near the Kips Bay movie theater, you may have seen Christina's. But, that is dependent on one thing: what season it is. During the summer, there are dozens of tables set up outside in the courtyard area out front. Tables are filled with people eating dinner or having a glass of wine. It almost feels like a European cafe. During the winter, however, these tables obviously aren't set up. I was slightly disappointed when I realized on Wednesday night that the ambiance is quite different when dining inside the restaurant.

Christina's feels like one of those neighborhood restaurants that's been around forever, and is frequented by a much older crowd. I wouldn't be surprised if these people dine there every week, and order the exact same thing at every visit. There was also a group of grey-haired men sitting at the bar...a very weird site for this neighborhood.

Fortunately, this is where my criticism ends. The menu is very extensive, ranging from pizzas and pastas, to veal and fish. Of course, this makes it really hard for me to figure out what to order. The prices were all pretty reasonable, and the portions were definitely big enough to bring home leftovers.

I decided on a pizza and ordered the Pizza Champion. After it was brought out, I felt like I would have made my mom proud...I was a true vegetable eating champion. For someone who used to be able to name the veggies I ate on one hand, this pizza was definitely evidence that my palate had finally matured!

It was delicious...with mozzarella, eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, broccoli, and feta cheese. The flavor was great, and the crust was nice and crunchy. I brought half of it home, and it made for a fantastic lunch the next day at work.

So, if it's cold and rainy out, stick to ordering in from Christina's, or maybe go with another Italian restaurant all together. But, if you're looking for a great place to enjoy a meal when the weather is nice, Christina's is, well, that's amore!

Christina's
606 2nd Avenue
b/t 33rd & 34th Streets
Menu Pages listing

Grazie for Stuzzichini

As I've mentioned time and time again, I love sharing small plates at dinner. And, on Friday night, there was no exception. I had been wanting to try Bar Stuzzichini since it opened last summer, and was excited to finally be going. Roughly translated, stuzzichini means "appetizers" in Italian. How could we go wrong dining at a restaurant that not only serves Italian small plates, but is also named after them?! The short answer: the restaurant certainly didn't go wrong with the stuzzichini, but where it did struggle was with the entrees. Then again, it is named Bar "Appetizers," and not "Bar Entrees."

You are given the option of ordering the stuzzichini a la carte, or as part of a stuzzichini mista, in which you select five from around 25 choices. They base the portion size based on how many people are in the party. There were five of us, so we ordered the stuzzichini mista for 4-6 people. Unless you are only ordering one or two small plates, it's much more economical to order the mix and not a la carte.

We ordered two crostinis, both of which were delicious. One was topped with a chickpea puree (not like hummus though) and the other with homemade ricotta, saffron, and honey. We ordered meatballs, which I don't eat, but everyone said they were very moist and tasty, and they smelled great. I would skip the eggplant stuffed with ricotta. It was served cold (on purpose), and lost a lot of the flavor that grilled eggplant normally has. By far, my favorite was the fried artichokes. Definitely cannot go wrong with anything fried and salted...but beyond that, these really had a great flavor.

So, the stuzzichini part of the meal was a success, but since everyone wasn't really filled by these small plates, we ordered entrees as well. The portion sizes were very small...and some of them were received with mixed reviews. The pasta e ceci (pasta with chickpeas and tomatoes in an almost broth-like sauce) was very flavorful, but seemed like something I could easily prepare at home. The other pasta dishes were hit or miss, but luckily for Miss Menu, everyone enjoyed the meal overall.

The atmosphere at Bar Stuzzichini is great. It has the feel of an authentic Italian cafe. Large, modern chandeliers hang across the entire length of the restaurant, giving the place a warm feel. The hostess was friendly...and we were seated at the time of our reservation. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful in recommending and explaining dishes. I'll definitely be back to Bar Stuzzichini, but will stick to ordering what its named for next time!

A few things worth mentioning...
- Definitely make a reservation. After being written up a handful of times since its opening, Bar Stuzzichini has attracted quite a crowd.
- This restaurant is perfect for large groups. They have a number of round booths that fit 5 or 6 people. There are also very large tables towards the back of the restaurant.
- It's also great for dining solo. There is a regular bar in the front of the restaurant, but midway back, there are also stools at a white marble-topped counter where diners can eat with a view of large hunk of prosciutto and cooks preparing the stuzzichini.
- From reviews I have read since eating there Friday night, others suggest ordering the gnocchi and short ribs. But don't just take my word for it: Grub Street, Bruni's New York Times review, and Ed Levine Eats.

Bar Stuzzichini
928 Broadway
b/t 21st & 22nd Streets
website
Menu Pages listing

A True Iron Chef

I'm sure you have all seen the Food Network show Iron Chef America. And you probably also know that many of the Iron Chefs have restaurants in New York and around the country. I have been to one of Bobby Flay's restaurants, Bar Americain, but had never been to any of Mario Batali's. Lucky for me, that all changed last night. I had heard of Otto since I moved to NYC, but had never been there before. So, I was very excited when it was suggested for dinner last night. (And I have to say, as much as I love being the one who always recommends or decides on a restaurant, it was so nice to have someone else pick for a change. Just tell me when and where, and I'm there!)

I didn't know much about Otto, except that it was Mario Batali's more casual restaurant...a "pizzeria," the website calls it. Once we were seated and given menus, it quickly became clear that it was much more than just a pizzeria. It was essentially an Italian version of Spanish tapas...with inexpensive, small plates. I was sold! I love sharing and being able to try a lot of different dishes on the menu, versus just ordering an entree.

I had begun to notice this "Italian tapas" trend creeping up around the city, and apparently I wasn't the only one to pick up on this. While Otto wasn't specifically mentioned, Adam Platt of New York magazine (my alma mater!) devoted an entire section to The Italian Small-Plates Invasion in the recent Where to Eat 2008 issue. I guess Mario was a few steps ahead of the trend, since Otto opened in 2003.

It was hard to decide which small plates to order because so many sounded great. After a little debate, we ordered a specialty bruschetta, a plate of three cheeses that we selected, two vegetable antipasti, and one pizza. It was the perfect amount of food for three people. The cheeses were all very good, and were served with a trio of dipping sauces to accent the flavors of the cheese. The pizza was cooked in a wood-burning oven, which always makes it taste so much better. They were all great choices.

Some suggestions:
- The bruschetta is del giorno (makes me think of Jim Carey's "soup du jour" comment in Dumb and Dumber!). On Tuesdays, it's the white bean and olive oil one that I had last night. Each day's sounded great though.
- The best dip was the honey with black and red pepper flakes. Sounds weird, I know. The only other time I eat honey is when I dip apples in it once a year! But, trust me, it was delicious.
- Don't hesitate to ask the waiter/waitress a lot of questions. Most of the menu is in Italian, so there were a lot of cheeses and meats I wasn't familiar with.

Otto
1 Fifth Avenue
@ 8th Street
website
Menu Pages listing

Mamma Mia

When my cousins invited me to join them for dinner, I was really excited to hear that we were going to Nero. I had always seen it when I've been out in the Meat Packing district, but had never been. At first glance, it was hard to tell if it was a trendy Meat Packing restaurant, or if it was an authentic Italian restaurant. Let's see which it turned out to be...

The atmosphere at Nero is very cool...feels like a dark wine cellar with exposed brick walls and most of the lighting coming from candles scattered around the restaurant. 1 point for "authentic Italian restaurant." The music got a little louder as the meal went on, which is when I noticed that all the sudden Kayne West was playing. 1 point "trendy Meat Packing restaurant."

Nero has a great list of Italian wines to choose from. Each glass comes with extra wine in one of those mini-carafes. Just like at Snack Taverna, I butchered the pronunciation of the wine I wanted to order, when the waiter corrected me with a heavy Italian accent. 1 point "authentic Italian restaurant."

The food itself was fantastic. The appetizers we shared were great...and the pasta dish I ordered was even better. 2 points "authentic Italian restaurant."

Turns out I shouldn't have questioned how good the food would be just because of the restaurant's location. "Authentic Italian restaurant" is the clear winner! We were 9 people, and they had our table ready and seated us immediately. Definitely a great restaurant pick for a big group. But because of the ambience, especially with the candle lighting, it would also be a great place for a date.

Some suggestions:
- Be sure to try (or ask for) the white bean salad that they bring out with the bread basket. Nice change of pace from the usual olive oil.
- Going back on what I said about the philosophy that everything fried is good not always holding true, the fritti mista (I think that's what it was called) appetizer was to die for. Fried artichokes, fried zucchini, and fried shrimp, and fried calamari. How can you go wrong?!

Nero
46 Gansevoort Street
@ Greenwich Street
website
Menu Pages listing

HAPPY NEW YEAR!