04.04.08
Review of San Domenico, Restaurant Week, Wednesday January 2008
240 Central Park South & 7th Ave., 212-265-5959
Great for: simply wonderful food, grown-up dining
I was not having a good day, but some of San Domenico’s great food and service cheered me right up. We were late for our 8:15 reservation and they were so friendly about it while we waited for another table to open up, I was almost sorry to sit down. The dining room is gorgeous, understated and elegant.
We weren’t quite sure what to make of the canister of fresh raw vegetables waiting for us on the table – they were giant and included fennel. They reminded me of those Bunnicula children’s books, about the vampire bunny who sucked all the color out of vegetables in the dead of night. Bunnicula probably would have enjoyed these ones very much. The Boyfriend nibbled a bit on the carrot, which was good, and I attempted to make headway with the celery, although I didn’t get very far as it was almost the size of my forearm. Fortunately our first course arrived soon and delivered us from our perplexity.
In the interests of trying more than one appetizer, I got the Prince Edward Island mussels and cannellini beans in parsley broth, which was very bean-y but pretty good. I would probably have enjoyed it more if I liked beans and mussels. It is a testament to how well they cooked the dish that I quite liked it anyway. The Boyfriend got to have most of the homemade soft egg yolk-filled raviolo with truffled butter. Later I discovered that that’s their signature dish, so it was very cool of them to put it on the Restaurant Week menu. They are justifiably proud of it – it was fantastic. Every aspect of the dish was beautifully executed and delicious.
Next, the Boyfriend was very happy with his seared scallops and braised endive in lemon parsley veal sauce. It started out sweet and got even better as we ate more of it. It was interestingly tasty. My veal fillet alla bergese in light pancetta-cream sauce with braised endive and cippolini onions was also great; I think the sauce was my favorite part. Everything we ate was just so good. I’m excited to come back and try the regular menu.
For dessert we had warm polenta, hazelnut and dark chocolate soufflé over white chocolate sauce with crème fraîche on top. We were surprised to find it wonderfully light and refreshing, especially the crème fraîche. I was also pleasantly surprised at how nice everyone in the restaurant was. I’ve had Restaurant Week experiences where I was treated with disdain for ordering off the cheap menu, and I am very glad to note that here, they were just as attentive and courteous to us as to the next table ordering bottles of Perrier-Jouet. We are definitely coming back soon.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Our cost: $105 (1 cocktail each plus espresso)
Noise level: happy hum
Chance of walking in: low.
