13th and Wolf's Florence week

I suspect many of you have found me through my brother's blog 13th & Wolf. For those of you who don't know 13th & Wolf yet, it is a superlative vision of men's style. This week, he branches out a bit with a very thoughtful series of posts regarding eating and art in Florence, Italy in honor of the fact that so many of his friends are making their first visit to our shared favorite city fr Pitti Uomo. His choices will be familliar to readers of this page, as tastes run very similar is our family. However, his choice of images and prose is worth a look if you long for a brief virtual holiday, or you happen to be in Florence right now. If you're in the latter category, I am supremely jealous.

In a related vein, today would've been my Dad's 69th birthday. In honor of that, and of the focus on Florence, I want to sing the praises of Trattoria Cammillo, 57R Borgo San Jacopo in the Oltrarno, just a quick right turn and a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio.


I raise it both because it is an excellent example of a true Trattoria frequented by fiorentini, and because it's where I had the last meal my Dad and I ever ate in Italy. I was in Florence for work (rough life) and he was similarly at a Board meeting in Rome, but -- true to form -- took the train up to spend the day with me. It was a Sunday, which meant finding a restaurant open for lunch was tough. After a couple of strikeouts, we walked past Cammillo. I had eaten there once before about ten years earlier, and remembered it as very good, if a bit pricey.


After scanning the menu, we both settled on the questionably named tagliatelle fresca con sugo di castrato. It turned out it was a ragu made from a neutered lamb, and hence much sweeter than traditional lamb ragu. It was absolutely delicious. Man, did my dad love his pasta. So guys, if you're stuck for lunch this Sunday, try Camillo.

Happy birthday, pop.

Freedom Tower

The Freedom Tower is red, white and blue tonight. It's quite moving.

Location:Ground Zero

Rao's part two

I feel spoiled.

I got a call two weeks ago today:

"Would you like _______'s table at Rao's next Wednesday?".

I said yes without checking my calendar, without calling my wife to see if we could get a babysitter. When asked that question, there's only one possible answer.

I knew I had four seats, so we had room for one other couple. Lots of contenders, but only one Obvious choice if he was in town. My brother and his wife. A treat like this has to shared first with family.

I didn't tell him where we were going until that morning. Awesome.

We got there promptly at 7, and sat down. A round of cocktails at the table from Nick the Vest, and then we started eating. The food, as you'll see from last review, was good to great the last time. I'd say almost the same this time, except more of it was truly great. The seafood salad and the mixed salad didn't disappoint. The mixed salad in particular was exactly how my grandmother's used to taste. We followed this with penne a la vodka, and lingune with white clam sauce. Now, I have to tell you that the ONLY kind of pasta I generally don't like is linguine -- the texture just doesn't work for me. But this linguine was stupendous. As I remembered From my last visit, their dried pasta dishes were perfectly al dente. The vodka sauce was the savory, tomatoey, vaguely cheesy way that vodka sauce is supposed to be. The clam sauce was garlicky with some pepperoncino, the perfect amount of heat, and a combination of whole and chopped clams. It was awesome. This course came with the requisite four meatballs. I ate two of them. Even better than last time. You can taste the percorino in them. They manage to be crusty on the outside and medium rare on the inside. They are divine.

For entrees we ended up randomly ordering the same two as my last visit. This time, I had the opposite reaction. The chicken scarpariello which was the most memorable part of my first visit, was good, but the chicken was a little bit dry and the peppers weren't hot enough. The shrimp oreganata, however, was superb. Large, moist shrimp in an intensely garlic and oregano sauce. Unbelievable. We also had a side on sauteed escarole, in honor of my Dad. He loved escarole, and used o always say that the Romans called it the "green of life." He might have made that up. The escarole was not very popular at our table, though I liked it.

This time we had dessert, the famous cheesecake and the coffee ice cream, both of which were unusually delicious for staple items. Three bottles of really excellnt chianti, and some after dinner drinks, and we rolled out full and happy, as the photo below documents.

I can't say enough about this place. The hype about the exclusivity aside, they do everything right. The service was great, as was the atmosphere. Less sceney this visit, it felt like every table were old time regulars, not celebrities. Maybe it's so good because with only a clientele of regulars, they can't ever let anything slip. I think it probably has more to do with the perfectionism of the hosts, who really make you feel at home.

What a special place.

Lightning Strikes, Not Once, But Twice...

The end of a fantastic evening, courtesy of Mr. Pellegrino and the crew at 455 East 114th.

A quick San Francisco post

I found myself recently in San Francisco for two meals with very little time for planning. The first was breakfast, and the spot chosen by my host, my old friend was Brenda's French Soul Food at 652 Polk Street in the Tenderloin. It was jammed for breakfast, even on a Friday morning. We started with a "flight" of four beignets: Chocolate (molten ghiardelli chocolate center), Apple and cinnamon, plain, and crawfish with cheddar and scallion. After half of each one, I was full. Each one was perfectly crisp on the outside, and perfectly balanced and delicious on the inside. Even the plain one had a deliciously airy center.

Of course, the meal did not end there. I had to continue with an andouille and cheddar omelette with mushroom, potato hash and a fresh, enormous southern biscuit with butter and homemade jam. I practically needed to be rolled out by the end of the meal, but man! What a delicious meal.

Not surprisingly, i didn't feel the need to eat again until dinner, where I found myself downtown, alone and with time to kill until my redeye home. A quick ipad Zagat search (the wonders of modern technology) confirmed the hunch I had walking by Tadich Grill on California street and peering in the window. It claims to be California's oldest restaurant with the strapline: "the original cold day restaurant 1849." I have no idea what that means, but The place oozes character and tradition. The long cavernous room is largely occupied by a huge rectangular bar - one of my favorite ways to eat solo. There are some tables nestled into cubilcle-like nooks built into the left wall. Also, the seven or eight seats at the bar facing the front window are reserved for those drinking only.

At the eating portion of the bar, old world waiters with eastern european accents, white coats, and a familiar surliness greet you and offer suggestions as requested. Cold beer is plentiful. I started with the suggested dungeness crab cake which was not over fried, With a healthy amount of meat to filler. It appeared to have roe in it. Two sauces, one tomato based (like a thousand island) the other akin to a tartar sauce. While it was tasty, it was not particularly notable. That was in stark contrast to the main course, the Cioppino.

They apparently are famous for it, and it's easy to see why. A huge bowl of pungent vinegary broth accented with tarragon and loaded with fresh seafood, garlic bread perfectly saturated with oil and garlic right amount of crunch. The scallops in particular, which are notoriously easy to overcook, were firm and plentiful. It was nothing short of superb. There was an upsell side of steamed asparagus that was average and should be missed. I'd get the Cioppino and a salad if I did it over again. And I undoubtedly will.

My new favorite hotel room

I'm been spending a bit of time in Washington, DC again of late - it's amazing how much the city has changed since I lived here seven years ago. Collections of sparkling new high rises dot formerly blighted areas everywhere, loads of new restaurants (including the second US outpost of my friends Gianni and Stefano's beloved Acqua al 2 from Florence which has replicated the amazing convivial atmosphere and delicious food of the original perfectly. Bravo to Ari and Ralph).

But the purpose of this post is to sing the praises of something that hasn't changed -- the reliablity of the St. Regis Hotel on the southwest corner of 16th and K. It is still a relatively quiet part of town. It's near the White House, and there's now a P.J. Clarke's across the street (which is good and reliable). The hotel is everything a hotel should be. It is not too big, so you never feel overwhelmed with other guests. It is elegant, the design is that of an Italian Renaissance palazzo. The Staff is extremely professional, friendly and attentive. The rooms are very well kept, cleaned and comfortable. In particular the x25 line is quite spacious and quiet. While it faces an internal courtyard, it has southern views so it gets plenty of light. The perfect room for a business trip. My new home away from home in DC.

Rao's, yes, Rao's

Ask 10 New York foodies what table they'd love to try once, and I'll bet you get more than three Rao's. The old-school Italian-American restaurant on the corner of East 114th Street and Pleasant Avenue is a highly coveted meal first and foremost because most people can never eat there. You see, the 10 tables are "owned" on an annual basis by particular patrons, who have the right to occupy the table one night a month (or more) for the whole night. Rao's is only open for dinner, and only Monday through Friday. The "owners" of these tables, it is said, run the gamut from long-time neighborhood regulars (the neighborhood used to be Italian Harlem), to New York political honchos, celebrities, law enforcement, and the like. There's also the unfortunate and ubiquitous speculation that, as all things popular and Italian-American, there are men with "connections."

Interestingly, despite the exclusive hype, the food has always been reputed to be excellent, not always a sure thing for a celebrity hot-spot. The one indication most of us have is Rao's jarred tomato sauce. Growing up in an Italian-American home a jar of tomato sauce was sacrilige, but I will confess gladly that I have Rao's in my kitchen because it is truly excellent, and we don't always feel like cooking.

And Rao's sauce was as close as I had gotten until last Wednesday.

It turns out a long-time friend of mine has had a table for 10 years. I didn't know this until about a week and a half ago, though if I told you who it is, you'd say "of course he does. " In any event, he invited me for dinner with his son and a colleague late the week before. I must admit that I could think of little else from the moment he said it. It was a bit like looking forward to Christmas morning, as a kid. I spent a lot of time reading posts about the place, trying to figure out what to order, as this might be my only trip to Rao's.

Having read that the neighborhood could be a little rough, I took a cab. When you pull up, Rao's is the brightly lit, shiny Red and white corner beacon on an otherwise dark and drab Harlem block. People were huddled outside smoking and talking loudly. You can see most of the restaurant through the windows in the front. It was actually bigger than I expected, with more room between tables. The bar is long, and actually open to the public - though I don't believe you can eat there.

The place has an incredible festive energy. Everyone there seems to be enjoying it as a treat. The Negroni I had at the bar was very well made, for starters. We sat at our booth, and I surveyed the room. There were some notable, but low-key people there. The walls are covered with framed celebrity pictures. A man in a suit jacket came and pulled up a chair and explained what he had for dinner that night - he was the menu. He explained that the food is served family-style. I surrendered to my host - the only thing I knew I would chime in was if he didn't order meatballs.

We started with Rao's famous seafood salad, their home roasted red peppers, baked clams oreganata, and a simple tossed salad. The seafood salad had big chunks of lobster meat and squid, shrimp and crab in a light olive oil dressing. It was excellent. The roasted peppers were good. The baked clams acceptable but not memorable (to be fair, I had chosen them), and the salad was surprisingly tasty. I reminded me of the salads that my grandmother used to make, with oregano and red wine vinegar on chopped iceberg lettuce and tomatoes.

For pasta we had rigatoni with broccoli rabe and sausage and ravioli in marinara sauce. The rigatoni was cooked perfectly al dente, with plenty of broccoli rabe and pork sausage, but the sauce was a little thin. The marinara is excellent, and the ravioli were good (a little soft to my taste). Accompanying the pasta came the meatballs - one big one each. They're about the size of a baseball. They are incredibly moist, and indeed, medium rare on the inside. They have this excellent, garlicky, romano cheesey flavor. I fully understood the hype on these meatballs from the first bite.

It would have been easy to quit there, but we weren't finished. Jumbo shrimp oreganata and chicken scarpariello, chicken braised in white wine with hot and sweet sausage, and hot and sweet peppers. The shrimp may have been great, I couldn't honestly tell you because the chicken was absolutely delicious. It had exactly the right mix of salty, savoury and hot. I could've eaten another full tray.

By the time we were done, the place was really jumping. A notable celebrity had taken the table next to us, all the other tables were full, and the famous juke box had been turned up. The owners were making the rounds of the room - it was truly delightful. I didn't want to go home (and the difficulty finding a cab up there almost ensured I didn't).

Bottom line: the food runs the gamut from B+ to A+ - and there really is some A+. When coupled with the atmosphere, it is an unparalleled New York experience. If you have a chance, you should definitely go. With any luck, I'll have an opportunity to post on it again some day. P.S. they take only cash, and I have no idea what the bill was, though my sense is that it ain't cheap.