NYC Dinner #1: Otto

Two Fridays ago, the 22nd, I took the train down to the city for the primary reason of meeting Carrie's parents at the airport Saturday morning. It was also an opportunity to hang out with my friend Shane, who happens to be living in the city as a summer associate at a law firm. After debating where we should go for dinner, he decided we make the short walk from his apartment to Otto, Mario Batali's pizzeria.

We started with a cheese plate. There were ten cheeses on the list, and we took the "5 for $14" option, selecting: Fiore di Maremma (sheep), Pecorino di Fossa (sheep), Aged Peppercorn (goat), Taleggio (cow), and Gorgonzola Dolce (cow). The cheeses were served with black truffle-infused honey, sour cherries in a thick syrup, and some preserved apricots. The cherries and apricots were great on their own but didn't add a whole lot to the cheese; the honey was wonderful and went well with most of the cheeses.

We were a bit disappointed by the gorgonzola, as it wasn't quite as funky (in that good, blue cheese sort of way) as we might have liked. This is not to say it wasn't a good cheese, however. My surprise favorite was the pecorino, which was nothing like the dry, hard pecorino-romano I was expecting. The texture was more like a dry feta, with a wonderful earthy, grassy flavor. The aged peppercorn was a close second. A week after the fact I don't remember much about the Fiore or the Taleggio, other than that I really liked one and the other not so much.

Next up, pizza. We ordered four (there were four of us, and the pizzas are definitely meant to serve one or two people):

Otto Lardo (Lardo is cured and smoked pork fatback)

Pane Frattau (Tomato, Pecorino, Egg)

Asparagus & Goat Cheese

Quattro Stagioni (Tomato, Mozzarella, Asparagus, Mushrooms, Cotto, Peppers)

By mistake they also brought us a Pizza Bianca, which has only olive oil and sea salt, which was much better than it sounds and made for a nice break between pizzas.

I know, the Lardo probably sounds weird. But boy, is it tasty. It's a bit hard to describe, though, as it doesn't really taste like pork... it just tastes... rich, but at the same time, lighter in flavor than you might imagine. Like I said, hard to describe. But highly recommended. The Pane Frattau was my choice, as I've been wanting to do a breakfast pizza with a whole egg on it, then baked in the oven. My only complaint is that it's hard to split one egg between six slices of pizza. I'm definitely on board with the concept, though. The other two pizzas were certainly good, but not mind-blowingly so. I'd like to try a mushroom pizza next time (we unfortunately had a non-mushroom eater in our party).

This would be a good time to discuss Otto's wine list, which contains over 700 bottles -- every single one of them from Italy. We had a terrific Sangiovese (for I believe $42) with some of my favorite red wine characteristics, tobacco and leather. I know, that probably sounds crazy to some of you, but I also know there are a few of you out there who know exactly what I mean. All around a wonderful bottle of wine.

For dessert, I went with Affogato -- vanilla gelato over which a shot of espresso was poured at the table. Very simple, but a great way to end a meal. Otto's gelato list includes the following flavors: vanilla, caramel, black mint, olive oil, mint chocolate chip, strawberry, lemon lavendar, black raspberry, chocolate, pistachio, hazelnut, and goat's milk ricotta, as well as lemon and canteloupe sorbetti. Yes, you read that correctly. They have olive oil gelato.

All in all, a very good meal. Otto has a pretty hip, casual atmosphere, isn't stuffy at all, and the staff were very good. If you're in the neighborhood I suggest you check it out.

Tune in tomorrow, when I'll have the recap of Luke's birthday dinner.