I’m taking a writing class and my first assignment…a restaurant review.

PERFECT!!!  FOOD!!!  And an opportunity to satisfy some reader requests for longer posts and more New York food coverage.

So here you are my first restaurant review, can’t wait to here your comments!

Leslie

CAFFÈ FALAI

There is no shortage of restaurants in Soho, but just a few blocks east of Soho lays Caffè Falai, a small, modern Italian gem.  Located on Lafayette Street between Prince and Spring, Caffè Falai is an Italian lovers’ escape for fresh regional pastas, salads, paninis, and pastries.

Serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, Caffè Falai is a café-bar with a welcoming atmosphere of white tiled floors and walls decorated with flea-market-find mirrors and crystal chandeliers.  An open kitchen and bar offers solo clients space to enjoy a meal alone or stand alla Italien to enjoy an illy coffee.  The restaurant seats 35 inside and in warm weather a small front terrace offers additional seating.

The restaurant attracts a mixed clientele of locals, professionals and passing tourists seeking quality food in a casual environment.  Client favorites of Chef Iacopo Falai include the Prosciutto Panini, with mozzarella and tomato, and the Gnudi, spinach and ricotta dumplings in a sage-infused brown butter sauce.  I love the fresh Rughetta E Pere salad, baby rucola and sliced pear topped with candied walnuts, hard ricotta cheese and a lemon dressing, but ask them to top it with a little prosciutto for a hardier salad.  And for pasta the Tortelli di Patate con Ragu’ Alla Bolognese is perfection, a potato puree stuffed tortelli in a delicious Bolognese meat sauce.

The dinner menu offers a selection of second course classics as Saltimbocca alla Romana, thinly sliced veal with prosciutto served with broccoli rabe, finger potatoes and a Marsala sauce and Branzino, a pan seared sea bass filet with porcini mushrooms.  Portions are not large but satisfying.

A selection of Italian wines and prosecco are available, but even more tempting are Falai’s own bread and pastry selection produced across town at their Panetteria on the Lower East Side.  The Bombolone (Italian donuts) filled with chantilly, custard, chocolate or jam, dusted with a coating of sugar, are a must for breakfast or dessert.

Other sweets and bakery items include fresh focaccia plain or tomato, sweet cornetti (sweet Italian croissants) in plain, almond and chocolate, and mini ricotta tartes.  And luckily these sweets and baked goods are all available for take-out at the bakery counter.

Caffe Falai – 265 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012  Tel: 212 274 8615   www.falainyc.com

Hours: Breakfast 8 – 12pm  Lunch 12 – 4pm  Afternoon Tea 4 – 5pm  Dinner 5 – 11pm

$$ Moderately Priced.

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In case you forgot, this week I picked one lucky RSS Email Feed Subscriber to win a Butter Lane cupcake or two.

Well the winner actually winners, because during this unscientific selection someone’s finger moved, are in!

Fara, Hazel you won!!! Let’s plan a date to enjoy some delicious cupcakes at Butter Lane!!!

For everyone else who didn’t win sorry but please share The L-List RSS Email Feed with friends and family because maybe the next promotion will be a trip to Paris.

But until then a trip to Butter Lane will take the chill out of Fall and make anyone happy!

Enjoy!

Leslie

La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life) in New York can be hard to find.  And I’m not refering to Fellini’s critically acclaimed film.

Finding, savoring and enjoying the sweet side of New York is not an easy task.  This isn’t Rome…

But I have found it!  Tucked away, almost hidden from sight on the Lower East Side of Manhattan is The Sweet Life.

An emporium to all things chocolatie and sweet.  From gummy bears and gumballs to hand made chocolates and hard to find worldly delights The Sweet Life is a veritable mood sweetener.

Their Softy Pops alone (chocolate covered marshmallows on a stick, milk or dark chocolate) can transform New York into a truly sweet place to be.

So the next time you are in need of a little dolce vita…head to The Sweet Life, a sure cure to sweeten anyone’s day.

The Sweet Life
63 Hester St. (At Ludlow St.)
New York, New York 10002
Telephone: 212.598.0092

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Enjoy!

Leslie

Most Italians I know cook, even if they say they don’t they can always whip up something tasty, it’s in the genes.

My friend Stefy is no exception, she says she never learned to cook but meals at her table are not only delicious they are beautiful.

In Italy eating well could be qualified as a sport.  It is a constant topic of conversation and everything from pasta to gelato is consistently rated and compared.  Era buono (it was good), era buonissimo (it was really good), era troppo buono (it was too good – I often use this when speaking about gelato), quello era meglio (that one was better).

When times are tough in Italy, a negative economy, a corrupt government, a labyrinth of bureaucracy , the one certainty for Italians is mangiare (to eat) and of course mangiare bene (to eat well).  When you can slow down and enjoy a freshly prepared meal of simple ingredients it is medication for the soul.

Stefy is an expert, her shopping list is simple and always includes fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese, bread and meat.  Her time in the kitchen seems effortless. Steaming spinaci (spinach) in the morning before starting her day or soaking ceci (chick peas) in the evening to be sautéed the next day.

Whether serving one or a group she is always ready to pull something together… fiselle topped with diced tomato and herbs, sautéed bell peppers, slightly bitter arugula seasoned with olive oil, salt and balsamic vinegar, a plate of buttery prosciutto and bread fresh from the bakery (not a plastic bag).  Whether breakfast, lunch or dinner food is always enjoyed on a table setting of colorful placemats and napkins with a change of plates between every course to not mix flavors.

I think she needs to open her kitchen to share her secrets of her buona cucina (good cooking).  I will let you know when the courses start.

But until then take a few minutes to enjoy a few images of Stefy’s cooking and think about how you can slow down your next meal, bringing a few fresh Italian staples to the table or colorful placemats and maybe enjoying it just a little bit more.

Enjoy!

Leslie

When I arrive in Italy (apart from seeing friends) the first thing I want to do is enjoy a caffè (coffee or espresso) and if it is breakfast I want un cappuccino e un cornetto con la marmellata (a cappuccino and sweet croissant like pastry filled with jam)…yum!

In Italy having a caffè is a piacere (pleasure) and a ritual, whether with friends or by yourself.

It is less about the caffeine recharge and more about human contact with the world, as most caffè in Italy is enjoyed outside the home at a bar (an everything destination for coffee, breakfast, lunch, snacks, drinks, an aperitivo, even phone cards and last minute gifts).

Whether standing at the bar, sitting down, reading the paper or having an argument over the Prime Minister’s personal life, bars are an epicenter of Italian life.

I love watching the action, listening to the spirited ordering and animated conversations while enjoying un bel caffè (a good coffee) and yummy snack.

You may not be able to get to a bar in Italy anytime soon but finding your local stop for a coffee or drink, alone or with friends, can create an enjoyable ritual to help slow life’s crazy pace just a little.

Or maybe these photos will transport you there for a few minutes…

Enjoy!

Leslie