PX This presents THE F&F REVIEW
Hey, sorry we couldn’t make it to "Friends&Family," we were out of town/ had to work/ not invited. We’re really glad we finally managed to come by, though— it’s so nice to see you!
What’s that? You would still like us to take the time to fill out the F&F survey, because you’d love to take advantage of all our vast experience, knowledge, insight, and expertise as long as we’re already here? Because you invited 75 people to F&F, and afterward all you got was 41 "Congrats[es]!" 22 "Awesome[s]!" 3 "Ciao[s]!" and 9 "Best of luck[s]!" ?
Of course, we’d be honored. Oh ha, yesss, we’ll be honest— brutally honest even, ha ha! After all, that’s what friends & family are for!
No no please, don’t send anything more, we’re stuffed, we can’t breathe, you’ll have to roll us out of here, ha ha ha… !
What was your first impression?
Swanky.
Oh no wait, sorry— actually my very first impression was how impressed I was that the hostess on the main level (at the bottom of the stairs) was smart enough to handle multi-tasking the answering of the ringing telephone with us arriving through the door at the very same moment. You would be amazed (or maybe not) how often most homegirls screw that shit up; it drives me nuts. (She’s pretty too.)
Please rate the Bar:
Well, the upstairs bar is more like just a "service" bar, or a "waiting-for-the-rest-of-our-guests-to-arrive-so-we-can-sit-down-at-our-table" bar (standing room only). I get the distinct impression they would rather you attempt your heavy imbibing downstairs.
Please rate the drinks/ cocktails/ wine:
Opted for wine— and huh; the list looks kinda expennnnsive. Sigh, welcome to the Meatpacking District… Tourist.
Please rate the Dining Room:
Beautiful. Very well done. Elegant, accommodating, and smart. Really. (It’s Cyril Durand-Behar, if anybody happens to be curious.)
Please rate the BOH:
Oh, get serious.
If you go quickly enough, you just might get Fabio Trabocchi himself. (I did. How much do you wanna bet he sticks around at least until Sifton rolls through?) You can catch him one last time before he’s off back to Washington.
:(
How was the staff?
Very good. Super attentive, gracious, and conscientious.
I even told the captain the wine list is very "expensive" and he suggested a lower-priced bottle "of good value" without so much as batting an eyelash. Imagine that.
What did you eat?/ How was the food?
Tuna tartare : Excellent. Fresh, clean, simple. But how come no one at the table knows "the English name" of this one particular somewhat-striking herb? Pssh, some food-professionals we are.
Melanzane parmigiana : Nice. Granted, the portion size makes you want to raise an eyebrow at the $16 price tag, but then you recall how so few restaurants somehow can’t manage to turn out a decent eggplant parmesan— and so you taste this one again as you’re snuggling into the comfy sofa cushions (cradling your glass of "good value" wine) and suddenly it’s totally worth it.
Tortellini with black truffle : Oh, my… And this is where you think of all the other pasta chefs around town, and you want to slap most of them across their faces for some of the crap they dare to dump on a plate.
Veal chop : Wow, perfect. And this is where you think of a certain verrry popular eatery (which shall remain nameless) and the $50+ per person chunk of tough cartilagey garbage they served you last week, and you want to go immediately and suicide bomb yourself in their dining room.
Cotechino with lentils : Oh, eh. Hmm, is this an old traditional Pacri recipe or something? Cuz I noticed awhile back it’s on the Gazzetta menu downstairs too. Just a tad too salty. And sorta oddly conceived, considering the rest of it.
What did you like?
That pasta was amazing— so light and delicate. To think of the way it must have been meticulously hand-rolled…
What did you dislike?
The wine list is pretty pretentious, come on now. I knooow, everybody wants to be The Waverly/Lion but gimme a fucking break already.
What was your last impression?
Holy cow, 8PM on the nose— and this room filled up fast.
Would you come back?
Yes. But I have absolutely no qualms admitting I have a bit of a crush on Chef Trabocchi. Nice haircut, dude!
Thank you, and hope to see you soon!
Thank you, it was really lovely.
Tags: F&F REVIEWS, MEATPACKING
= "personne extraordinaire"