I got to thinking the other day about my bucket list. You know, the list of things you want to accomplish in this life. There's already a number of things on my list that I have checked off. Things like following the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon, attending a cooking school in a thousand year old Tuscan monastery, and bicycling through the Alps (mostly downhill).
But there was one item on my bucket list that was still incomplete. That is to enjoy a meal at one of the finest Italian restaurants in New York City, Del Posto . Just this past Father's Day I was the grateful recipient of a very generous gift card to that very establishment and I was thrilled by the thought of going there for "the ambiance of European luxury, palette-enlightening cuisine, polished service... (that) culminate in an Italian dining experience unlike any other." That's the way their web page describes it.
In the shadow of the High Line Park between Chelsea and the Meatpacking District Del Posto premiered in 2005 on a windswept corner of lower 10th Avenue under the watchful eye of Iron Chef Mario Batali in concert with Joseph and Lidia Bastianich. They envisioned a temple to Italian cooking in the unoccupied 24,000 square foot former National Biscuit Company (NABISCO) building. That empty space was upgraded with mahogany and marble and is now, to use the words of the New York Times, "one of the very best restaurants in New York City...a place to sit in luxury...while eating food that bewilders and thrills." And it did just that for me yesterday.
In Italian Del Posto means simply "of the place." All the food is locally sourced and prepared on site, a cucina New Yorkese, if you please. The menu reflects a polished, contemporary take on classic Italian cuisine. I was there with my fellow gourmand for lunch, arriving just after noon on a very brisk and breezy but sunny day. So what was the menu like? More on that tomorrow!
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