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chorizo

Pescatore- Traditional meets Delicious meets Happiness

by Ryan Shea

Credit to: Pescatore Restaurant
Credit to: Pescatore Restaurant

Pescatore and great food go together like Peanut Butter & Jelly.

I am the first person to admit that fish to me is never the first thing I am looking to order when I go to a restaurant that has a meat or pasta option on the menu.  So when I first heard of a place called “Pescatore” I had to mentally change my game palate up due to thinking that everything on the menu was fish related.  I was wrong, yet at the same time pleasantly surprised with the entire meal (which included some of the best fish I have ever had, more to come later).  My friend and I went there a week ago and were treated like kings in so many different ways.  Here is more about our great experience.

Credit to: Charles Devigne
Credit to: Charles Devigne

 

Pescatore itself has such a warm and friendly vibe to it that is nestled in the heart of Midtown East.  The service was spectacular throughout the meal, and I got a chance to talk a little more with the owner Charles Devigne, who is celebrating the restaurant’s 20th Anniversary this year (Congrats!).  He started us off with a bevy of appetizers, all of which were unique in their own right but had great depth of flavors to them.  My personal favorite was the risotto balls with the truffle aioli sauce, something that we got a sneak peek of because they aren’t currently on the menu! Hooray for behind the scenes access!  We were told this was something that was being placed back on the menu eventually, to which I agree with that decision.  Better yet, do it sooner because my mouth is watering thinking about how damn good they were.  One thing that my friend was a big fan of that didn’t really work for me was the ricotta cheese with chives, pease, hazelnuts, honey, and mint.  It might have been a bit much for my palate but it was still tasty to say the least.

Credit to: Charles Devigne
Credit to: Charles Devigne

 

We also were treated to two different types of pasta dishes. One was Linguine alla Vongole which included steamed little neck clams with Chorizo, green onions, toasted garlic and fresh parsley.  The other was Spaghetti Carbonara with pancetta, caramelized onions, pecorino and egg.  Once again, my friend and I had a difference in opinion as I thought the latter was better than the former, yet both were equally delicious.  It was just a matter of our taste buds.  Out of all the dishes that we had, hands freaking down the best thing from the entire night was the Chilean Sea Bass.  Chilean Sea Bass is one of the few seafood that I really enjoy personally, as it is foodporn to the umpteenth level.  I can say this was the best Sea Bass I have ever sank my lips into, and that is because the supporting cast really made the star shine.  The bass was surrounded by peas, porcini farro and brown butter vinaigrette with a cauliflower, currant and almond condiment.  So amazingly yummy.

Credit to: Charles Devigne
Credit to: Charles Devigne

 

After all of that, the last dish that we had of course was dessert, which was a homemade cheesecake.  Delicious and then some.  Overall, an 8.5 out of 10 in my book.  Great place to go to if you want some hearty Italian cooking with an edge and an overall great environment.  Check out Pescatore’s official website for more information on menus and location.  Definitely worth the visit!

Pescatore

955 2nd Avenue

New York, NY 10022

212-752-7151

Filed Under: FOODIE, LIFESTYLE Tagged With: anniversary, chorizo, fish, Manhattan, midtown, midtown east, New York City, pescatore, ricotta

Soothing Lunch after a rough Super Bowl Weekend~L’Ecole International Culinary Center Restaurant

by Jaime Kohl

Cranberry Linzar Tart Dessert at L'Ecole International Culinary Center

After Super Bowl weekend, Monday is always a rough day to get started. But, with lunch at L’ecole International Culinary Center it was a lot easier to roll out of bed and to get ready to start the work week all over again.

After 5 days in New Orleans enjoying the food and festivities the first thing that I asked about were the teas to sooth my scratchy throat. There was a very nice assortment of teas available. Lavender was featured a few times, and that happens to be one my favorite tea flavors that you do not see too often. The Yellow and Blue Tea hit the spot.

With the final days of restaurant week approaching I could not hold back from ordering a fatty pork belly appetizer. and the scallops with squid ink risotto.

The meal opened with a nice amuse bouche of yellow squash soup, finished with a smoked oil and chives. Exactly, what you want when walking in off of the frigid NYC streets and into the nicely lit and comfortable scenery of L’ecole has to offer. The soup was light and creamy. I would have greatly enjoyed a whole bowl of that.

Braised Pork Belly with Prune Glaze, Bulgur and Tomato vinaigrette
L’Ecole Braised Pork Belly Appetizer

The pork belly was fatty and succulent. My favorite little kick in the dis was certainly the small and flavorful bits of chorizo was was in the bright tomato vinaigrette. It was a nice surprise and helped to balance the dish. The pork belly was very tasty but could have been much tastier with some more of the fat rendered, and a crisp finish to contrast the other textures. This was easily with the crunch of the baguette that was already on the table. The acid from the vinaigrette and freshness from the herbs were not overpowered by the pork.

Seared Sea Scallops andLemon Jam, Squid Ink Risotto and Royal Trumpet Mushrooms
L”Ecole Sea Scallops Main Course

The main dish was the most disappointing point of the meal. The scallops were delicious and delicate. The lemon jam or lemon creme on tope of the scallops was just lacking some real punch or just some more of it. The lemon was delicious, just lacking. The trumpet mushrooms did not add anything to the dish. If anything they took away from it. They were hard to cut through. The grapes were bright and strong, and needed to be broken down further, but they really combined incredibly with the lemon on the scallop. They just needed to be broken down further to keep from taking away from the rest of the dish. I would have enjoyed the dish much more if that is were the description ended, but the squid ink risotto was just not good. The rice grains itself were undercooked and were not pleasant in my mouth. This risotto stiffened up very quickly and became a bit of a chewy paste.

Cranberry Linzar Tart Dessert at L'Ecole International Culinary Center
Cranberry Linzar Tart Dessert at L’Ecole International Culinary Center

The dessert was a cranberry linzer tart with a hazelnut ice cream. The ice cream was so creamy and decadent that I would have loved more, but thankfully the chef students provided portion control for me. The crusting on the tart was what I really enjoyed most, it was hearty while complementary to the tart berry compote filling. But my favoriate part of the dessert was not even a piece of what I ordered. It was the lemon bar that was served complementary.

L’Ecole is the restaurant extension to the International Culinary Center. The International Culinary Center is the educational home to many celebrity chefs tonight. And remembering that all of the food that left the kitchen was prepared from start to finish by students, it was quite enjoyable. The culinary  pastry and bread departments all combined for a great lunch. Although if this was a competition between the three departments. I would declare the bread department the winner. With the classic baguette being crisp and chewy all at the same time, it also added to one of the savory dishes.

Filed Under: BREAKING NEWS, FOODIE, LIFESTYLE, NEW YORK, OPINION, REVIEWS, uncategorized Tagged With: baugette, chorizo, hazelnut ice cream, International Culinary Center, L'Ecole, lemon, pork belly, scallops, Student Chef, Training center of Celebrity Chefs

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