Review: Babbo Has an “Off” Night
Babbo is my favorite restaurant in New York, no question. It has become my special occasion destination, and I’ll never forget the giddy excitement of my first trip there. I remember almost all of the details from three years ago, including what I ordered — a roasted beet salad and the goat cheese tortelonni (both were excellent). Since then I have discovered the wonder that is the pumpkin “lune,” which is my favorite dish on the menu, and the delicious garganelli with funghi trifolati. I always order a side of “Babbo greens,” which are salty and lemony and come with roasted shallots. The service has always been attentive and impeccable, from the servers to the bus boys to the sommelier. I must admit, I’ve never been blown away by the chickpea bruschetta served before every meal, but the bread is always amazing.
On my most recent visit, Babbo finally showed a chink in the armor. Service was indifferent (though the sommelier was helpful) and took much longer than it seemed like it should. There were awkward moments as well — a few of my friends had ordered three courses, and when the “middle” course was brought out, empty plates were placed formally in front of those of us who had not ordered. As Donny noted, they probably were intended to let us share the food, but it was a strange moment. It put me in mind of my experience at Cafe Boulud and the strange service we received there. And so too did the food. My braised fennel appetizer was underwhelming — the fennel and cherry was too one-note sweet, the gorgonzola too one-note salty. The dish was missing the balance and depth of flavors I have come to expect of Babbo. I was excited about the “special” bavette with cardoons. I have eaten cardoons before at a thoroughly underwhelming meal at CraftBar, but I was convinced that this relative of the artichoke held great flavor. The cardoons themselves in the pasta was delicious, but the pasta itself was under-seasoned, and the breadcrumbs that “the chef recommends” over the top added exactly nothing to the dish. Even the Babbo greens were a disappointment — I think someone forgot the lemon.
It wasn’t all bad. The rapini with roasted garlic was quite good, the bitterness of the greens was nicely controlled and the seasoning was dead-on. My “baverese” dessert, a play on a Bavarian cream topped with warm fruit, was intriguingly sweet and savory. The Chianti suggested by the aforementioned sommelier was quite good and very reasonably priced.The real star of the meal was the crusty, chewy bread served between courses. I gorged myself on it, even when others at my table were giving me (and the mess I was making with the crust) funny looks.
Babbo will always hold a special place in my heart. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone has an “off” night. It was disappointing to see that Babbo is no exception to this, but I won’t hold a grudge. I can’t wait to go back and let them prove their greatness to me all over again.
Babbo — 110 Waverly Place
Posted by Howard
Related Posts:
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment