Barbuto, West Village - He says...

Our friends and family know that we love to eat at expensive, upscale restaurants.  We are seduced by ingredients like foie gras, truffles, and caviar (see Caviar Russe post as an example).  But restaurants like Barbuto defy all that.  Our dinner at Barbuto reminded me that it’s not always about the ingredients.  Even with the most common ingredients, exceptional dishes can be made.

We originally decided to eat at Barbuto to help our friend score some AMEX points (3x worth; check out his hustle blog for points and travel tips).  From there, it somehow grew into an 8-top affair.  It worked out for the best because it let us reserve a private back room with a special chef’s menu served family-style.

The first dish we had was burrata over sliced bread.  It didn’t look like much; kind of like cottage cheese on bread.  When I took my first bite, I was surprised by the wonderfully creamy texture and a cheesiness that was slightly more pronounced than typical mozzarella.  It was so addictive and we all wanted more.  It’s amazing what a little cream and olive oil can do to cheese.

Our second course comprised of a plate of salumi and several plates of salad.  For people who know me (and as I may have mentioned in previous posts), I only eat salad during lunch to be healthy and not really for pleasure.  But these salads were definitely meant to be enjoyed.  My favorite one was a melon salad, an explosion of flavors and textures that I wasn’t expecting from a salad.  There was sweetness from cubed melons, crunch and a mild bitterness from julienned fennel, smokiness from slices of speck, and acidity from the vinaigrette.  With everything in the salad, it didn’t feel like some random array of ingredients; the flavors blended harmoniously into a balanced dish. 

The next course had my favorite dish of the night: a bowl of spaghetti in meat sauce.  When I took my first fork full, I knew it was special but I didn’t immediately know why.  I think we all had to take a second to break it down to really understand it because of our preconceived associations of pasta in meat sauce.  The flavor started with a tartness, typical of a tomato-based sauce, but immediately turned a little savory from the ground meat.  It followed with a mild umami note from the cheese and finally ended with the taste of the perfectly al dente pasta, mellowing out the tart and savory sauce.  In the split second of a bite, it had all the flavors we expected from spaghetti in meat sauce.  It took another second to understand that it was the flow and cohesion of the flavors that made it taste so delicious.

Ever since seeing it on Top Chef Masters, she and I were definitely looking forward to Jonathan Waxman’s signature roasted chicken with salsa verde among our main courses.  The chicken had unbelievably juicy meat and crispy skin.  The salsa verde was an herbal mix that tasted of chopped rosemary, tarragon and parsley.  I learned from his cookbook that the magic ingredients are the mashed anchovies, capers, and garlic, which explains the pronounced saltiness and tanginess.  All in all, it’s a perfectly cooked chicken with some bold flavors that I really liked.  It seemed so simple; I wonder if I can cook it at home...  The only problem was that I was so full by the time the main entrees came around.

I definitely want to go back to Barbuto to eat in the main area and try the rest of the menu.  If it’s as good as what we had that night, I’m all for it.  I still love my foie and truffles, but I definitely appreciate places like Barbuto that don’t need them to be successful.

Barbuto, West Village - She says....

Our approach to trying a new restaurant is two-fold: sample as many dishes as you can and, more importantly, be sure to try that particular chef's signature items. In most instances, this translates into our ordering way too much food for two people. This is why, in very special restaurants, we opt for the chef's tasting menus. Another way to accomplish this is by eating with a large group. For our trip to Barbuto, we combined methods. Instead of our usual two-top, we came as a party of eight and treated ourselves to the chef's four course, family style tasting in a more private part of the restaurant. Considering the restaurant is Italian-inspired cuisine by chef Jonathan Waxman, the communal set up was very appropriate.

There's always at least one delicious dish in a tasting that you would never have chosen to order on your own. For me, it's usually a vegetable or soup dish that my eyes naturally gloss over on the menu. At Barbuto, it was the burrata, a fresh Italian cheese similar to mozzarella. As the amuse, it was served on a crostini and dressed simply with extra virgin olive oil and grated black pepper. In a bite, the burrata was slightly warm, chewy on the outside and creamy on the inside, while the crostini was perfectly toasted and crunchy. It was so well balanced and portioned - the perfect introduction to our meal.

The appetizer course came with four options the best of which, in my opinion, were the most seasonal dishes - the heirloom tomato salad and the melon salad. The tomatoes were topped with a balsamic vinaigrette, basil, and shaved ricotta. While the tomatoes, both yellow and green, were clearly the stars of this dish, the balsamic brought out the sweetness of each juicy tomato wedge, and the ricotta and basil were the perfect garnishes. It was a twist on the traditional caprese salad, with the quality of the ingredients elevating this simple dish to another level.

The melon salad was a more complicated dish - shaved raw fennel, celery, summer melons, and slices of speck tossed together in an herb vinaigrette. At first, the licorice flavor of the fennel was a bit harsh for me, but gradually it matched well with the sweet melons and herb dressing. The melons were delicious. Other than yellow watermelon, I couldn't tell exactly what types were included, but their sweet juices mixed with the vinaigrette to create a fresh and perfectly acidic salad. The incorporation of speck now and then added a textural contrast and the delicious rich smokiness of cured meat. The colors in both dishes were beautiful and vibrant. By the end of the appetizer course, both salad plates were clean - very impressive for a table full of meat-eaters.

The pasta came next. Although there were only two options for this course, they were enough to prove that Waxman is simply genius when it comes to pasta. The first could loosely be called spaghetti with tomato sauce, but it was the best spaghetti and tomato sauce I remember having in a long time. The flavor profile is difficult to describe - sweet and clean at first, which gave way to a more complex finish and a hint of heat. To be honest, I couldn't tell what type of meat was ground in the sauce, but it didn't matter. This all coated a perfectly al dente spaghetti. The bowl was barely enough to serve everyone in our group. The other pasta was gnocchi with sweet corn and cherry tomatoes. The gnocchi were perfect pillows of course, and the corn and tomatoes made the dish light and summery. Again these seasonal components seemed to be the highlights of the dish, while the gnocchi acted as the perfect complement in each bite.

The meat course consisted of seared flounder, skirt steak where cherry tomatoes again made an appearance, and his famous roasted JW chicken. All of the entrees were tasty, although I found the appetizer and pasta courses more interesting. The chicken was certainly memorable. It had a nice, slightly crisped skin covered in herbs, and the meat was moist and flavorful. It was simple but delicious, a theme throughout the meal. The only low point of the dinner was the dessert - an almond tart topped with raspberries. The tart was so mundane and out of sync with the rest of the meal, I was shocked. A fresh fruit salad would have made more sense.

All in all, this was a great meal. The family style service was fun, and we were all able to try several dishes for each course. The food was marked by bold, seasonal flavors that were light and refreshing. And while the presentations of the ingredients were simple, all of the plates were visually stunning with natural reds, yellows, and greens. The combined effect of effortless taste and beauty was truly impressive.