Veritasty: Truthfully Delicious

After several trips to Paris over the years, I was eager to see more of France so one weekend in early December, we planned a very last-minute low-key trip to Nice.  It was so brief (arrived Saturday, departed Sunday) that I just brought my Jansport with one change of clothes (if at all). When we first got to Nice from the airport, our destination became...Monaco.  The tiny principality of Monaco is just a handful of miles away from Nice, and even uses Nice's airport/helipad since it doesn't have its own.  High rollers of course go to Monaco by helicopter from the Nice Airport and head to the Monte Carlo casino, luxury shopping, and Formula One racing.  Alex and I went to Monaco on a public bus. As cheap as that sounds, the bus ride was one of the most amazing experiences.  The water on the Riviera was a gorgeous cerulean blue and the mountainous land rises steeply up from the coast, where terra cotta-tiled houses are studded into the landscape.  ...

Ciao amici! Yesterday we felt the warm hospitality of Italy at the Ospitalita'Italiana: The Authentic Italian Table.  The event was hosted by the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce at the Metropolitan Pavilion.  We had an amazing and classy evening and we got to witness all the best of Italian culture all in one room without having to hop on a plane. When we entered, the first thing I saw was a dimly lit room full of beautiful and beautifully dressed people.  Certainly check the box off for handsome Italian men in suits.  I wasn't too  badly under-dressed, but it had been raining and I looked so silly clomping around in my rainboots.  People were clinking glasses and double-cheek-kissing all around.  It all felt so Italian! I got to sit on a Vespa, so that was fun! Then, we quickly made a beeline for the food, of course!  Imagine if you will all your favorite dishes in Italian cuisine, and chances were they were served at The Authent...

Who does Veritasty vividly and vehemently vouch for on Valentine's Day?  Vitae! After a long struggle to find places to eat in Midtown, we've hit on one that combines impeccable customer service and delicious food, for a really decent price.  Vitae, on 46th Street and 5th Avenue, looks pretty unassuming from the outside.  Once you step inside - past the cute entrance with a wall lined with fragrant apples - it looks a little Art Deco-ish with banquettes and geometric light fixtures.  The dining room beyond the bar/banquette area is dimly lit, mostly from the tea lights on the tables, and cavernous: there's a staircase leading to a small mezzanine level dining room too. That's where our hostess brought us, to a private table in a corner overlooking the first floor.  We were in for quite a treat, and the first indication was the personalized menus she handed us that read "Happy Anniversary Mr. & Mrs. Jagendorf"!  Okay, so that was a little preemp...

In New York City, you often hear the names of hip and popular restaurants being thrown around.  One of these hallowed eateries that I've oft heard but never tried is Locanda Verde.  It has been featured on plenty of Food Network shows and highly rated on Yelp and Eater NY and all that jazz.  It had been on my NYC foodie bucket list for a while, and we finally had the opportunity to dine there!   Dinner at Locanda Verde was a highly cherished occasion for me.  Apparently, reservations at Locanda Verde are also highly cherished, since it was packed on a weeknight and it took a lot of sweet-talking to get us in. We had dinner with Alex's gregarious and wonderful cousin Sam and Sam's beautiful and talented girlfriend, Jenn - both of whom are very dear to me.  It was one of those meals you hope would never end: romantic, delicious, and shared with good company. Locanda Verde rocks a very sexy vibe, if that makes sense.  It's dark inside, eve...

Last week, yours truly and yours truly's co-blogger had a molto romantico dinner at Osteria Morini in NoHo.  You will frequently find me enthusiastic about Italian restaurants ( Otto , Tommaso , Giacomo , etc.) because Italian food is just so gosh darn delizioso (okay, I'll stop), but Osteria Morini is on a whole different level.  Yes, it's a little bit more expensive than the standard Italian fare, and it is probably very crowded on the weekends, but so worth it. We were seated in a nice quiet corner in the back, between one couple who could have been Chinese dignitaries and another couple who could have been Italian celebrities from the way the waitstaff came to ask them repeatedly how they were finding everything.  Meanwhile, we splurged on a meat and cheese plate (speck, bresaola, felino salami, pecorino, and squacquerone) and buttered spinach.  I had the Garganelli pasta dish and Alex had the Grigliata Mista di Carni. The meat and cheese plate...

Tutti a tavola a mangiare! Famous sign off phrase of Lidia Bastianich, Italian chef and TV personality, meaning "everyone to the table to eat!".  (Fun fact: Though her cuisine is Italian, she's from a region of Italy that is now in Croatia.  I dunno, I always thought this trivia about her was so interesting, and an insight into how country borders can change so arbitrarily.) Lidia (I pretend I'm on first-name basis with her) has a very cute restaurant in Manhattan's Theater District.  As you walk down West 46th Street, you realize why it's nicknamed Restaurant Row: dozens of restaurants and bars stacked upstairs and downstairs and all next to each other.  I say "upstairs and downstairs" because most of the restaurants are three steps down from street level and upstairs are beautiful brownstones.  It's all quite romantic in the evening hours, with twinkling lights and the people milling around. Becco is one such restaurant that Lidia o...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX! In celebration of my favorite co-blogger's birthday, and in enjoyment of today's beautiful weather, Alex and I ventured around Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, in search of a suitable place for dinner.  We were content to slowly stroll through the peaceful, tree-lined streets of Bay Ridge, stopping in Middle Eastern bakeries to peek at the baklava and watching in curiosity at eyebrows being threaded. Finally, Alex settled on Giacomo's, an Italian restaurant with a brick pizza oven.  The wait staff was very friendly and the ambiance was inviting and classy.  We were seated quickly and our food came in no time. Since we were in a celebratory mood, I craved something hearty and indulgent: spaghetti carbonara.  My plate had a heaping pile of spaghetti and a puddle of carbonara cream sauce, complete with pancetta bits, onion, and black pepper.  I was a little afraid at first that the pasta would get clumpy and the sauce would form a film over it on...

One of my favorite places in the world is Italy.  One of my favorite places in New York City is Eataly. Eataly is a sprawling establishment across from Madison Square Park that contains several restaurants, an enormous marketplace, and a cooking school.  It was the brain child of Mario Batali, intended to be like a European food hall . Usually, I'd be a bit cynical about projects that intend to turn American things into European institutions, but two thumbs up to Mario Batali and the Eataly team because it is really just spectacular. One of the best things right up at the front of the store is the gelateria.  Alex and I contend that Eataly's gelato is the best in the city... perhaps even good enough to rival the gelato in Italy .  I've had plenty of gelato in Italy, and while nothing has really disappointed, few were memorable as the gelato in Eataly. Interestingly, at Eataly, one scoop in a cone is cheaper than one scoop in a cup! They have a smal...