Stuffed
Funny things happen when you go to restaurants that chefs, cooks and gourmands frequent.
Yesterday, on a little Lower East Side adventure, I was taken to Falai Panetteria, one of a small empire of restaurants owned and operated by Iacopo Falai, the former pastry chef for the veddy fancy Italian institution, Le Cirque.
My host took me there because there was a huge line outside the Clinton Street Baking Company, a place famous for brunch, and because Iacopo is a friend.
The chef has a thing for white. Every one of his restaurants is outfitted the same way — tile, hammered tin ceiling, walls — all are kitted out in the color of fresh snow.
When I met Falai, a slight, energetic man with some incredible Pacific Northwest tattoos on both arms and a cute Florence accent, it seemed bad form to ask, especially since he clicked his heels and nodded as he shook my hand.
The poached figs with ricotta and honey-glazed almond slivers were thoughtfully done. I'm not sure what the figs were poached in, but they tasted of alcohol. Good thing there was fresh orange juice to go with it. (Screwdriver, anyone?)
A walk around the Lower East Side helped to burn it off. My host and I passed by the Blue Moon Hotel, a former tenement building in what was once a predominantly Jewish neighborhood.
We walked in just as the post-service oneg was finishing. The hotel's lower level is being converted into a jazz bar that's slated to open in January.
This evening, feeling triumphant after doing a ton of laundry, I went back to Casellula for a bit of wine and cheese.
Todd was there again and I asked him to pour me what he liked. In the meanwhile, I ordered a flight of cheese and meats including smoked goose breast, sweet duck sausage and wild boar cacciatorini served with a stone-ground mustard. The meats were highly recommended by the patrons around me, one of whom was regaling two sisters he'd just met with tales of the restaurant life.
He tried to rope me in with whispers of a new nearby South African wine bar. Though tempted, I got his card instead and promised to call. It was Todd's last night as a full-time staffer and therefore my last opportunity to talk with a fellow Angeleno involved in music, theater and food.
We exchanged food industry gossip: I passed on information about Modern Spirits Vodka while he tipped me off to some of his favorite restaurants as well as the opening date of the much talked-about Bar Boulud in the space next to Cafe Fiorello near Lincoln Center.
Todd hinted that he was considering a "cameo appearance" as a staff advisor during the first six weeks. A couple years ago the location was an overpriced grocery store carrying products from Europe. Hopefully Chef Daniel Boulud will fare better.
Four short glasses of wine, three cheeses, three meats and a cup of coffee later, I headed home with a full crop and a pocketful of phone numbers and business cards, my head abuzz with the names of still more restaurants to explore.
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