The Fro Fro Blog

Sfoglia's Spaghetti with Strawberries

Strawberries are in season!  I came across this recipe in New York magazine and thought: "Hmmm....interesting.  This dish could either be really good, or really weird."  I made it myself tonight and decided it was both.

Sfoglia's Spaghetti with Strawberries
1 pound good-quality dried spaghetti (like Setaro)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
1 pound ripe strawberries, cleaned and halved
2 tablespoons good aged (eight-year-old) balsamic vinegar
1 cup San Marzano tomato purée
4 ounces reserved pasta water
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in rapidly boiling water until al dente.  In a large sauté pan, warm the olive oil and half of the strawberries over medium heat.  Cook until the strawberries start to release juice.  Add balsamic and reduce by half.  Add tomato purée, the rest of the strawberries, and the reserved pasta water, and reduce by half again until the sauce thickens.  Season to taste.  Toss with spaghetti.  Finish with olive oil and black pepper.

Here's how mine turned out, before and after tossing:

If you'd prefer to have the Sfoglia folks make their signature dish for you themselves, head over to:

Sfoglia
1402 Lexington Avenue, at 92nd Street
New York, NY 10128
(212) 831-1402

Blue Ribbon Restaurant (New York)

For those not familiar with BR lore, Blue Ribbon was started by two brothers from New Jersey, Bruce and Eric Bromberg.  They trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and named their restaurant (and its sisters, Blue Ribbon Sushi and Blue Ribbon Bakery) in honor of the culinary institution.

Over the years, I'd occasionally heard about Blue Ribbon, but never experienced it.  My friend and co-worker Russell Valle decided to change that last night.  As a Blue Ribbon regular and someone who loves great food as much as I do, he was the perfect man for the job.

Luckily, I'd done my homework and read up on Blue Ribbon before we arrived and therefore wasn't surprised to hear that the wait for a table might be 90 minutes (they don't take reservations).  Not to worry -- a window seat, a glass of wine and great conversation made the time pass quickly.  The restaurant has a wonderfully warm atmosphere.  One of the reviews I read said that the place makes even first-timers feel like regulars, and that's so true.

Once we were seated, we started off with a sublime Foie Gras Terrine, followed by Beef Marrow with Oxtail Marmalade.  Eating beef marrow is an experience unto itself and worth the entire trip, in my opinion.  You scoop the marrow out of the bone onto thin slices of baguette toast, spread marmalade on top, and then sprinkle it with rock salt.  As my loyal readers know, sweet, salty, smooth and crunchy all in one bite can't be beat.

Then on to the main courses.  I'd contemplated ordering the pigeon, since I'd never had it anywhere and usually I like to try new things.  But I just couldn't get past the vision of city pigeons, which I consider to be the dirtiest, most disgusting animals on God's Earth.  Even though Russell assured me that the pigeons in Blue Ribbon's kitchen were not what I was envisioning but rather something more akin to quail, I just couldn't do it. So instead we had Paella Basquez (chock full of clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari, chicken and a spicy chicken sausage) and the evening's entree special, a Lamb Shank with butternut squash and sauteed greens.  One of the things I look for in a paella is how the rice is done, and BR's was perfect -- not too mushy.  The lamb shank was also quite good; the tender meat fell off the bone. 

But wait, there's more....dessert, of course!  We shared a banana split, even though I sensed our stomachs might split any minute from all the amazing food.

There are so many other terrific-looking dishes on the menu that I'd like to try someday, like Beef Tartare, Cheese Fondue, Matzoh Ball Soup, Duck Breast, Fried Chicken, BBQ Ribs and something called Chocolate Bruno.  They'll just have to wait for another visit -- after I get a chance to check out Blue Ribbon Sushi, of course!

Blue Ribbon Manhattan
97 Sullivan Street
New York, NY 10012
212-274-0404
www.blueribbonrestaurants.com

The Tasting Room (New York)

The first thing you notice about The Tasting Room is the decor -- sparsely placed artwork on walls lined with a string of white lights give the place a MoMA-meets-St. Nick kind of feel.  At 6:30 the restaurant was empty, which made me a bit wary, but by the time we left it was full (and so was I), with good reason! 

The Tasting Room's schtick is that you can order almost anything on their menu as a "taste" or a "share."  Tastes are appetizer-size and shares are entree-size, so if you're not good at sharing and your fellow diners don't mind, you can go it alone.  But with food this good, you'll all want to share. 

Last night our group of four had the following:

Bread -- crusty rolls.  Great bread in a restaurant is usually a good sign of things to come.

To Start:

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup Brown Butter, Popcorn

Confit Duck Leg Salad Mache, Barley, Newtown Pippin Apple

Selection of American Farmhouse Cheese Walnut Raisin Bread

To Continue:

Roasted Beets & Black Truffle Buckwheat, Burdock, Horseradish

Hen-of-the Woods Mushrooms Jerusalem Artichoke Cake, Mache

Vermont Kid Goat Porcini Mushrooms, Collard Greens, Lemon Confit

Violet Hill Farm Guinea Hen Breast & Thigh Sausage Wheatberries, Shallots, Sausage "en Crepinette," Sage

To Finish:

Pears & Dates in Phyllo Red Wine Sauce, Walnut Baklava

Hazelnut Semifreddo Cinnamon Caramel Sauce, Hazelnut Cookie

Everything was delicious -- perfectly seasoned and incredible depth of flavor.  Several dishes combined sweet and savory, which I love.  Though I enjoyed everything we ordered immensely, the stand-outs were the Duck Leg Salad and the Guniea Hen.  The mushrooms were also a big hit at the table.  If anything could use improvement, it would be the hazelnut cookie on the semifreddo...even after a while of sitting under melting ice cream, it was too tough to cut, so I ended up eating just the ice cream, the sauce, and the additional pieces of the cookie that were crumbled on top.

The wine list is extensive -- it must have been over 20 pages -- with offerings from all over the globe accompanied by interesting descriptions. (What is a "sexy, feminine grape," by the way?)

Also worth noting: Chef/Owner Colin Alevras gets his ingredients daily from local farmers, and whenever possible uses meats that are raised on Certified Humane Farms. 

All in all, a delicious meal. I highly recommend you have a taste!

The Tasting Room Restaurant
264 Elizabeth Street
New York, NY 10012
212-358-7831
thetastingroomnyc.com