It's a winter wonderland in NYC...

...coupled with blizzard warnings, lighting, 37MPH winds, and a bazillion flight cancellations. A peek out the window shows cars stuck along Waverly Street, with groups of people attempting to give the cars a push. The police stopped to help, but then their cars got stuck! Now we're leaning out the window to see what happens next. Luckily my flight landed in NYC on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, two days before this storm. But brrrrr, what a change! I can still feel Honolulu's sunny 80F and tradewinds on my shoulders.

Torta Sbrisolona - Almond and Apple Crumb Cake and Caramel Gelato

More Hawai'i posts to come soon, but in the meantime, I hope everyone is having a great Christmas weekend. Monsieur P and I had a cozy Christmas Eve dinner at Maialino. We didn't call in time for reservations, but thankfully the bar/casual dining room was walk-in only. We showed up around 8pm and there was a brief 10-minute wait, quickly whittled away with cocktails. Bread and olive oil to start, including their excellent rosemary pizza bianca. We shared the Spaghetti Alle Vongole ($18) with clams, white wine, and garlic. And then an order of the Costolette Allo Scottadito ($35), lamb chops and cavolo agrodolce. Both dishes were reliable favorites we've had before at Maialino. I've been on a lamp chop kick since Mom and I prepared lamb chops for grandpa's birthday dinner last week - it was our first time cooking lamb chops and we did them for a party of 12 people! 4 chops a person, it was quite the production (including a burnt finger! forgot to use the oven mitts :/) but the dish came out very well. We seasoned simply with salt and pepper, but next time will give rosemary or thyme a spin.

Bruschetta di Cannella and Mandorla Stracciatella Gelato, Quince Sorbet

Our appetizer orders were forgotten and by the time we finished the entrees we were to full to have the appetizers afterward. To make up for it, the desserts were taken off the bill. Monsieur P went for the Almond and Apple Crumb Cake ($9), called Torta Sbrisolona. The cake was served warm and topped with a silky round of Caramel Gelato. I did the Trio ($7) of gelato and sorbet. In the back is the Bruschetta di Cannella Gelato...essentially, cinnamon toast gelato! That's Mandorla Stracciatella Gelato on the right and Quince Sorbet on the left. Almond Biscotti to top. Otto makes my favorite restaurant gelato, but these were still wonderful.

Wild Striped Bass with Chilies and Herbs, Baby Market Potatoes and Spinach

For Christmas Day, we caught an afternoon showing of The Black Swan...one disturbing, but beautiful movie. I enjoyed the acting as much as the costumes. We didn't expect the theaters to be so crowded... arrived an hour early for the 4:45pm showing but tickets were sold out! So we bought tickets for the 5:45pm showing, went out for coffee, and came back over an hour early. And already there was a long line to get in for seats! Crazy, right? Post-movie, we walked to ABC Kitchen. Two seats at the bar please. Cocktails, and House Cut Fries and Fried Parsley ($6) to nibble on. We shared a few plates, including the Wild Striped Bass ($27) pictured above. It was served with baby market potatoes and spinach in a clear, spicy broth. Monsieur P was especially fond of the Spinach, Goat Cheese, and Herbs Pizza ($14) made with whole wheat dough. Instead of being sauteed and piled on, the spinach is scattered over the top, and gets super crisp in the oven. No dessert this time...went home to dig into a pint of peppermint ice cream ^_^

Hope everyone stays warm tonight!

Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10010
(212) 777-2410

ABC Kitchen
35 E 18th Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 475-5829