Il Corallo Trattoria

I've been to Il Corallo Trattoria twice already within a month. And yes, J and I are quite addicted to this place.

It was first introduced to us from our hair stylist (and yes, we go to the same salon and have the same hair stylist also), we actually sat at his salon for a good 10-15 minutes trying to find the place he was talking about on our phones, it was quite hilarious. Immediately after finding it, J and I had to go try it. According to our hair stylist, the price was cheap compared to city prices and the food was delicious. I pulled up the menu and saw they had endless amounts of pasta dishes - I need my pasta fix!

Il Corallo has a similar vibe to Bianca but a lot more laid back and casual. We got there around 2pm (for both times) and got seated right away.

The bread with olive oil and balsamic was really good. I like how dense the bread is so it can soak up the yummy oil. Each table had their own bottle of olive oil and balsamic so you can just pour away.

I ordered the Elderflower and Lychee Spritz which was very refreshing. Felt like I was cleansing myself - internally, it's nice to steer away from alcohol once in a while.

J had the Grapefruit Spritz which was good also, not a bit bitter and you can't really tell it was grapefruit.

Appetizer was the Bocconcini, a really nice light salad. The mozz was amazing, thank god we get to have two to ourselves. They also have prosciutto somewhere inside and pieces of shaved parmesan, one of the best starter plates I've had in a long time.

As for entree, we each had our own pasta. J ordered the Fusilli Tiberio because he likes fusilli, this dish wasn't creamy but it had a nice heavy flavor and aroma with it. What I liked was the lamb chunks, generous amount with nice artichoke hearts also.

I had to get the green noodles just because our hair stylist was raving about it. It was good but too creamy for me. The Fettuccine Molisane was filling and I really liked the texture of the pasta, a bit chewy and interesting to eat. There were a lot chicken chunks, my complaint would be that the mushrooms were sliced too thin, I can't find them!

After everything, we were stuffed but when the waiter came over and told us about dessert, we couldn't say no.

Oh my god, the Homemade Tiramisu was absolutely the best dessert I've ever had. So light and perfect. The mascarpone cheese was so fluffy and not too overly sweet. The cocoa on top didn't stick to the roof of my mouth, the lady fingers were entirely soaked in espresso leaving it un-soggy. Amazing! This is a must get, must!!!

So our meal, which was lunch literally felt like dinner. We had food coma after stepping out of the restaurant but that didn't stop us from coming back 2 weeks later.

We saw fresh pizza being made in the back and had to order it. Went with Pizza Napolitana because it was simple and we sort of learned from our lesson from the first time we were here. It was a decent size and it's enough to feed a person and have him/her be stuffed. We shared this (although I didn't really want to) and it's a lot better to eat it quick because it gets cold fast. The pizza had a really thin crust so it was really easy to just down like 3 pieces in less than 5 minutes.

Besides for pizza, we ordered the Cappellini Limone to share because we knew 1) the pizza wasn't enough and 2) if we ordered 2 pasta and the pizza we would most likely die. The pasta was so lemon-y good. Really light, a lot better than the creamy sauce. Wish I could've ate this all myself (haha, I hope J doesn't see this) and the pizza also...

I really don't want to rave so much about this place because we really want there to be less people coming here, we need tables for ourselves! But because I want to share the love, this is definitely a spot to go if you're looking for a place to take a date and you're a sorry broke ass person. It'll work, the lady will be impress.

Il Corallo Trattoria
172 Prince St
New York, NY 10012
(212) 941-7119

Bocca Lupo - glass windows throughout but it didn't make up for it

It was one of those nights again where J and I don't know where to go for dinner. This time we decided to try out Brooklyn. Since we always eat in the city, a change of scenario would be good. I really wanted pasta and somehow searching on the internet, Bocca Lupo came up. Menu didn't seem too bad so we gave it a shot.

Presentation was nice but I found it a bit hard to take the rope off. J just slid it off while I literally sat there and undid the knot.

The drinks weren't too bad but it felt a bit watered down. I would rather stick with their wine selections than order these cocktails again.

We had two appetizers, the Misti Antipasti (lower left) and the bruschettas (upper left). The bruschettas were a bit disappointing, the flavor was dull and there wasn't much excitement to the taste palette. The Misti Antipasti was pretty good. For once, I didn't really care for the meats, but the cheese really stood out, especially the brie, really creamy and delicate tasting and worked really well with the candied walnuts.

Entrees were disappointing also. I wanted pasta and the only pasta they had was their special, which was the Swiss Chard Dumpling. Tasted very much like gnocchi but literally looks like miniature cucumbers. Didn't really like the texture much but the flavor of the sauce was good. That goes the same for J's dish, the Tuscan Spareribs Stewed in Tomato Sauce. This would've been perfect over a simple pasta like spaghetti.

Overall, not a flattering meal. Most likely would not return but I do like how the place looked.

Bocca Lupo
391 Henry St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 243-2522

Spina - Riesling Wine Tasting Dinner

J and I are back once again. I feel like we give a lot of love to Spina.

Riesling is my favorite type of white wine and once I knew that Spina was going to do a tasting menu with this specific type of wine, I immediately checked my email every day to see when they might host this event.
I made the reservation right away when I knew the date. The manager of Spina remembered J and I, excellent memory and customer service.

J got a tattoo for the event. Hahahaa
Actually, the manager, Matthew, gave us a temporary tattoo so we can be in the "spirit." I have to say, it was a pretty nice tattoo there.

There were 4 dishes on the menu, each paired with a Riesling that was carefully selected by Matthew.

First was the Tuna Tartare, I absolutely love this dish. J and I really enjoy anything tartare and this was one of the better ones. There was a sweetness to the dressing and the pepper flakes on top really balanced out the entire dish. The chips were a plus, wish there was more!

The next dish was a more refreshing, a nice palate cleanser. The Watermelon & Ricotta Salata Salad was really light. Watermelon was sweet which balanced the bitterness of the arugula, the brined watermelon rinds was really appetizing, a little sweet, a little bitter, a little sour...perfection.

Ricotta Cavatelli reminded me of gnocchi. Ever since I had the gnocchi at Spina at the last visit, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. This was so similar in texture but made with ricotta cheese. So delicious! The pasta was dressed with some fennel sausage and broccoli rabe, excellent texture and taste.

The last dish of the tasting menu was the Oven Roasted Chicken. It was over a bed of fregola and corn, lovely texture. The chicken was very moist with a nice crisp skin, that doesn't happen often when you roast chicken. Also seasoned really well, a great dish to end the meal with.

But we didn't exactly end at that, which we should've.

Tiramisu was a bit dry, too much cocoa powder on top. Definitely should pass on this.

Otherwise, the entire meal at Spina was ever so perfect. I'm actually looking forward to their red wine tasting menu if they're thinking of having one...I should probably email Matthew...

Spina
175 Ave B
New York, NY 10009
(212) 253-2250 

Spumoni - Chef's Table to cure my deep and uttermost hunger

J's cousins came to NY to visit, dinner was always on the cousin so we really didn't care where we ate. We also know that the cousin likes Spumoni. No reservation for 5 people, waited around an hour for a table. Crazy packed and busy on a Friday night but definitely worth the wait.

The cousin chose the Chef's Table, better for us since we all don't have to decide on any dishes. Just keep it coming...

I was insanely hungry, waiting that long really got me grumpy. Good thing the bread and butter came, but the butter was rock hard. So glad my boyfriend's hand is so warm, he warmed up the butter in no time. Love me some salted butter with bread. They took it away from me after 3 slices because they were afraid I would get too full...

I never thought I would enjoy Artichokes this much, the lemon-y sauce was so good. Too bad each person only gets one...

This dish was really different. The Mozzarella in Carrozza pan-fried with mozzarella cheese in the center, covered in sauce-y and tomato-y bed. Oily and unhealthy but extremely delicious.

Moving on to the Chef's Salad so we don't feel too guilty. It was a simple salad with greens, tomatoes, onions, cheese and olives in a vinaigrette dressing. Good palate cleansing dish.

So much for cleansing 'cause the next dish was Shrimp Two Ways. The shrimp cocktail was really good, big pieces of meaty shrimp. I think I actually prefer the fried shrimp with tartar sauce, so good...couldn't really speak at this moment cause everything was just amazing so far.

J's favorite Baked Clams. I love it also, with some lemon on top it was so perfectly summery. The breadcrumbs didn't over-power the delicate clam meat. J and I can probably eat endless dishes of this.

And if that clam dish wasn't enough, the Linguine in White Clam Sauce came. So effin' good. Pasta cooked al dente which is how it's suppose to be. Sauce was light yet flavorful and so many little clam meats. I would totally be a happy camper if I can have this all to myself, I wouldn't need anything else...just this dish and me.

So, that wasn't even the entree. The entree for the night was Grilled Steak, 2 plates of that sucker above. Could've been more on the rare side but it was good, like meaty carnivore goodness. All it need was a bit of salt and pepper, perfect.

Sides were mashed potatoes and broccoli rabe. I totally devoured the broccoli rabe, love it! Mashed potatoes lacked some flavor tho...

This moment, we were done. Hoping there wouldn't be more and just carry on to the finale.

Massive dessert. I don't even know if there's a name for this, Chef's Dessert will be the name. There was like 3 scoops of spumoni ice cream, those wedges of ice cream wrapped with chocolate, 2 slices of cheesecake (which I didn't care for - me no like cheesecake), and whip cream! We were all in the stage of comatose and had to struggle to lift ourselves off the seats to leave.

Excellent meal. It's even better when you don't need to pay for it...well we did pay for tip but that was probably nothing compared to the bill.

L&B Spumoni
2725 86th St
Brooklyn, NY 11223
(718) 449-1230

Spina - Rose Wine Tasting Dinner

J and I never had a wine tasting dinner before and this was a first that definitely didn't disappoint. Spina was one of the places we loved and when I got an e-mail from them about a tasting menu with wine, I immediately made the reservations.

We came a bit earlier than our reservation, but the manager of Spina was extremely nice and had us seated right away. He also asked us if we would like to start and we eagerly said yes.

Starting off...

Each dish was paired with a delicately selected rose wine to match the taste of the dish. I wasn't able to take a photo of each glass but know that it was paired perfectly. Rose wine is one of the more difficult wines to pair because it's a mix of white and red.

Delicious foccaccia that was made in-house along with the ricotta cheese. I never love cheese this much and this is on the top of my list. Creamy and light, I can eat this every day.

First up was the Fluke Crudo. Simple but extremely well done. Thinly sliced fluke with olive oil drizzled over, the sea salt really brought out the freshness of the fluke and the chives added a great crunch. Love anything crudo.

Second was the Heirloom BLT Salad. Pretty much what it is is what it sounds, fried tomatoes, bacon and some arugula. Tomatoes were really fresh, there was two kinds - heirloom and regular.

Third, the Goat Cheese Gnocchi got me a little worried because it was gnocchi and it had goat cheese. I had a bad experience with gnocchi and I'm not a big fan of cheese in general, mix them together and I start to get a bit skeptical and panic a bit. But, surprisingly the dish was really good. I can find myself really liking goat cheese gnocchi...haha

Fourthly, the main entree was the Scottish Salmon. Got some mushy peas there and more bacon! I can really learn to love these kind of tasting menu if majority of the dishes got bacon in it. Salmon was a bit bland but it was good, since the bacon totally offsets that with its saltiness.

Ending the rose wine tasting dinner was the Passion Fruit Panna Cotta. Absolutely perfect to end the meal with. Had a nice melon puree around the panna cotta and it was paired with a sparking rose, one of the hardest to pair.

It was a great evening and a superb meal. Spina can definitely host a fantastic wine tasting dinner. The manager was extremely knowledgeable about his wines and the staff was attentive and friendly. They know exactly when to bring out clean glasses and help us move onto the next dish.

J and I came to Spina the first time with no high hopes, but Spina seems to surpass our expectations each time. I can see myself really loving this restaurant.

Spina
175 Ave B
New York, NY 10009
(212) 253-2250

Cafe Orlin - we left but came back for more

Yes, we returned. It was gonna be sooner or later and this was the chance to get our hands on their delicious foods again.

It's something about Cafe Orlin that makes me like it so much. Maybe because of the great food and the fact that we don't have to wait too long for a table. I mean, they're usually packed for breakfast/brunch but for dinner, they don't fill up until around 9ish and we get there way before that.

The last time I remember, we started with a bottle of red and here we are starting our meal with another bottle, but of white. Went for a Riesling ($32) this time, nice and subtle.

I think it's official that we love ordering things from the Specials Menu. The Black Sea Bass Ceviche ($11) was delicious. Just enough lime, onion, tomato and spices. It was quite the gamble that we ordered it because we usually only order ceviche at Mexican restaurants.

I've been hooked onto calamari lately. The Grilled Calamari ($11) was excellent. Spritz some lemon on top and it's the most perfect appetizer. I really like the watercress that came with the dish, balances out the spices that the calamari gives off.

For entree, J had the Hanger Steak ($18). Same thing as last time because it's that dam good. Always comes with fries and some greens, just do you feel a bit healthy. Steak is great as usual, add some tabasco and ketchup to really bring out the flavor and tenderness of the piece of meat.

This time around, I ordered something different. Actually, last time I wanted pasta but their fish special totally steer me off to the other direction. The Linguine with Shrimp ($13.50) was interesting. The sauce was a bit on the heavy side but very aromatic, lots of garlic in it. It was good, I enjoyed it but I got extremely full from the carbs.

Even though I said I was full, once I glanced at the menu I knew I wanted the Tres Leches Cake ($6.50). Such a fatty! It was just mediocre, definitely could do without it but everything we had was just exquisite.

Cafe Orlin
41 St. Marks Pl
New York, NY 10003
(212) 777-1447

Spina - a little spot that holds a lot of goodies

Spina was a spur of the moment dinner date with J. It was one of the place we saw when we were walking to Kasadela that had a good deal on happy hour. Sure enough, a couple of months later we remembered about it and went there spontaneously.

Spina was empty when we arrived about 7pm. Got seated pretty quickly and was given the wine list. I was a bit puzzled because I didn't see the menu until a god 5 minutes later...started to get a bit worried haha.

I really like how big the wine glasses are. Because it's so much bigger, it looks as if there is a lot less wine but that's not the case. It's just how you perceive it. I rather have a bigger glass because then I can take a good sniff at the wine every time I drink it.

Their in-house Focaccia and Ricotta was amazing. Different than your average bread and butter which can get quite boring. The focaccia was soft and fluffy and the ricotta was just so dam good. Creamy and light, I can use this spread every day if I can.

We ordered our appetizer which were both on their happy hour. Spina's HH starts at 5:30 and ends at 8pm, love the time! They also have $6 glasses of wine which is really affordable.

The Meatballs ($5) are only worth it when it's HH because they're so tiny. The flavor is great and I don't remember when was the last time I had meatballs. Let's just say it hit the spot and it would've been great with a plate of spaghetti.

Our favorite was the Mussels ($5) and during HH, these suckers were only $5 which is a total steal! Flavor was good, be great if we were given some bread to soak up the yummy broth. Mussels were tender and plump, really like the little cherry tomatoes in the dish also.

At this point, we were really satisfied already. As our entree, we ordered pasta. Spina has a pasta bar where fresh dough of pasta is made on the spot. It's pretty amazing knowing that your pasta isn't frozen.

The Asparagus Fettucine ($18) was really light. The asparagus were cut thinly but still held that crunch, the duck confit was a bit on the chewy side but still quite flavorful.

J's Squid Ink Fettucine ($22) was different than what I had imagined. The pasta was made of squid ink and it wasn't covered in squid ink sauce, nice! There's a slight tingy and spiced taste to this dish which makes it that more interesting and quite addictive. Certainly do recommend this one.

The portions might look small but when you're dealing with pasta for one, you don't want to serve too much. Plus, there's actually a lot under that bundle of pasta.

For dessert, we had the Chocolate Souffle ($8) which was not what I expected. I'm starting to think that souffle has a whole new different meaning to it. The chocolate souffle was good, chocolate-y and warm with a light thin crust on the outside. Pair it up with some cold vanilla ice cream and nothing can go wrong.

Spina has 1/2 off their wine bottles on Sundays and Mondays which is another reason to come. J and I adore this place and just couldn't wait to return for another round of date night.

Spina
175 Ave B
New York, NY 10009
(212) 253-2250

Randazzo's Clam Bar - Getting my white and red on for the night

One of the few times I ever had dinner at 9pm. I was starving waiting for J to come and pick me up. I was actually on the verge of being grumpy. Good thing he took me somewhere close, plus the service was quick also.

We always pass by Randazzo just because we would crazily walk to Roll N Roaster which is a couple of blocks down. We said to ourselves that we would go to Randazzo soon but that never happened until now.

The waitress that served us is such a doll even though she could be my mother. J ordered an appetizer, pasta entree and house wines.

The house wines are so adorable! I want a whole box of those bottles to myself!
I had the Chardonnay ($5) as he had the Merlot ($5).

Mmm bread. We actually didn't have any of the butter...

The appetizer was delicious! The Combo ($22.95) which consist of scungilli, mussels, shrimp and calamari was perfect. The size was just right and everything tasted really good. The mild marinara sauce complimented it really well, good thing we didn't get the spicy one...

Lastly, the pasta dish. No it's not that small but I was just too hungry and totally forgot to snap the dish as a whole so I just ended up taking a photo of my dish. The Shrimp Randazzo over Linguine ($23.95) was delicious! Shrimp, clams and mussels in a lemon, garlic, butter and wine sauce was just over the top. This is where we use the bread, to soak up all the yummy sauce.

I would just come back for that pasta dish, all to myself. It was on the smaller size but it was good. Definitely quality over quantity here.

Randazzo's Clam Bar
2017 Emmons Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11235
(718) 615-0010