Oh, how I love Lidia Bastianich. I am in heaven watching her PBS show on weekends and, then, planning when I am going to try making the dish she is demonstrating. I wish I were a distant cousin that gets invited to her Sunday, family dinners and into the kitchen to help knead the pasta dough. That is what I daydream about on Sunday afternoons, but I digress. I may not get invited to Sunday dinner, but thankfully, Lidia's flagship restaurant, Felidia, has a three-course Prix Fixe lunch. So, here we are, Mee-Ryung and I, to indulge in a highly anticipated three-course lunch.
We were greeted warmly by the hostess, I was hoping for Lidia herself, and then were led past a wood paneled bar and up to the second floor which reminded me of a Tuscan kitchen. We were seated at a two-top with white linens, understated, but elegant, like a Sunday dinner. We received our menus and wine list. We found our Italian Rose' with the help of our sommelier, it just happened to be a Bastianich label and inexpensive and good. In fact, the Italian heavy wine list had quite a few Bastianich wines, no real surprise. The lunch menu, broken into Primi, Secondi and Dolci, also has an option for "pasta degustazione" which is a chef's selection of three signature pastas and a dolci for the same price. I chose cacio e pere, a ricotta and pear ravioli, for my primi; maccheroncini, a sweet and spicy pork ragu over thick spaggheti pasta and palacinche, sweet crisps made of farro with riccota cheese and apricot sauce for my dolci. M chose the capesante, a roasted diver scallop with eggplant puree; the tagliatelle, a bolognese over tagliatelle and the sorbetti for her three courses.
We first received a beautiful selection of breads: herbed focaccia, rustic white and Italian bread stick along with a broad bean puree topped with olive oil. The puree tastes wonderful. It is smooth, creamy and nicely seasoned with salt, some garlic and fresh herbs.
Our Primis were pleasantly presented to us in a timely manner. I could tell my ravioli was hand-made, so beautifully imperfect, like a little Euro shaped bed pillow. It looked light and sumptuous. M's scallop was huge, as big as my fist. The eggplant puree was not very pretty, but they added a nice leaf garnish that draws the eye away. My ravioli tasted fantastic. It was understated. I tasted the pear very sublty in the salty pecorino filling and the black pepper was a nice little punch. The pasta was very thin, but had body. Its bright yellow color indicated to me there was a lot of egg yolk in the pasta dough so it was a sturdy pasta to hold filling. It seemed to me, a perfectly executed, rustic dish. M's capeseante was amazing. The scallop was huge, but perfectly done. It was tender, meaty and nicely seasoned. The eggplant was cooked in tomato juice and cumin. It had a moroccan flair. It was a nice flavor pop, but kept its rustic, Italian character. The Primis were very satisfying.
Our second course came, much like the first course did, pleasantly and timely. Service has been very amiable, not too invasive or distant, perfect to two ladies from two different cultures discussing our world and, more importantly, food. The Secondi came with our high hopes, everything has been great so far. We both ordered a pasta with a red meat sauce. Mine was a pork ragu with long, thick, spaghetti-type pasta. M, had a thinner, shorter, more tender pasta with beef sauce. They were both perfectly al dente. My pork sauce was sweet and spicy, not usually my favorite savory taste choice, but the sauce was not too sweet. I would have preferred a little spicier flavor, but the sauce was nicely and balanced and meaty. M's dish was distinctly different than mine, a little more mellow and rich. It, too, had a meaty flavor and was well balanced, but in a different way. What a contrast. This course didn't knock my socks off, but it was quite enjoyable. Maybe it was just a little too rich for the 90+ degree day we had that day.
We received our final course, me a palacinche, which I have no idea what that is, and M, the sorbetti with berries, which we were familiar with. Once I got my dessert I still wasn't really sure what it was, but have eaten this way before: with abandon. The crispy chips chips were lightly sweet and the ricotto was soft and smooth. I kept thinking it was icecream, but it was more like quenelle of a lucious, smooth frosting. The apricot sauce was a tasty accompaniment. The sorbetti was perfect. A nice, light ending to our rustic, Tuscan lunch.
I would recommend this Tuscany-in-the-city three-course lunch from a real, deal Italian, Lidia Bastianich. Our food was fantastic with a lot more selections to try. Service was well timed, not too fast, not too slow. This experience only strengthens my admiration and adoration of Lidia. Check out a show on PBS or pick up a cookbook. She has a real passion for Italian cooking and how it brings family together. She is not just a talking head (or cleavage, Giada DeLaurentiis).
