Wednesday, February 15, 2012

review: ciano - 8/7/2011

i really wanted to like ciano and its warm rustic feel. i loved our table right under the skylight. our server was very friendly (but not the most helpful/knowledgeable... maybe because it was a summer sat night?)

the bread basket is delicious (two kinds of bread, both tasty), but i was more excited when it was served with (pause for effect) WHIPPED TRUFFLE BUTTER! *gasp* i adore butter, and i imagine truffles are the only thing that can make butter more delicious... but then you taste it, and it doesn't taste like butter, it almost tastes oily, and the truffle flavor is so muted... such a waste of a good idea.

we were on a double date with one of my favorite eating couples - they eat family style (i'm korean, family style is normal), so we ordered a number of things to share.

first out:
-veal meatballs with polenta, which was as good as they say...and paired with the polenta, yum!
-rock shrimp polpette... in theory, a good idea with great flavor, but an unfortunate rubbery texture.

next up, the crostini:
-one with whipped chicken liver, which weren't as good as ABC kitchen's, but ok, very smooth
-one with spicy burrata & pesto... this was just a bad dish where the pesto got lost under the spicy burrata which doesnt taste like burrata (more like polly-o mozzarella)

we also ordered the arancini bc i love rice balls, and i appreciated the creamy interior while the rice kept a bite, but it was the lack of crispy outside that made this dish mediocre.

then the pastas... i love pasta!
-spaghetti alla chitarra... this was good, and the texture of this spaghetti was amazing, but i had higher expectations since frank bruni tweeted that this pasta was on par with scarpetta's famous spaghetti... my table mates who went to scarpetta recently (and even made the scarpetta spaghetti at home) disagreed.
-pappardelle with duck bolognese... this was my husband's favorite dish, with its chunky sauce... it was good, but it didn't blow me away.
-cortecce pasta with baby octopus and bread crumbs... on their summer menu, mmm baby octopus... i liked the spicy kick, but the seafood flavor was very mellow, and the pasta just didn't have enough texture... and i wish there had been more octopus!

we went with just one entree... winner - crisp duck breast (also on their summer menu). this was perfectly cooked, served with wonderful jus and wild mushrooms... i think this was the best dish of the night. it was the perfect size to share with four ppl (after all the dishes we'd already shared) and a great way to end the savory portion of the meal.

desserts... the girls went cheese, the boys went sweets. the most exciting cheese was the tete de moine (a strong swiss cheese) and of course, our fave, epoisses. lots of fruity accompaniments as well. we also had two dessert specials: a farmer cheese cheesecake with blueberry compote and a sweet cookie dough crust served with peach gelato - i liked the lightness and seasonality of this cheesecake - well done! and the apple strudel (we were debating btwn the peach napoleon and the strudel, but when our server told us the pastry chef is german, obviously the strudel won)... i only had a bite, so i can tell you the crust was flaky, and it tasted fine... not special.

wines... the sommelier was pretty helpful... since we were celebrating the other couple's recent engagement, we started with a bottle of the gaston chiquet brut 2002... YUM (note: we had a multi-vintage version of the chiquet at eleven madison in the spring which was even better). we moved onto a very light red (i don't know which since my S.O. ordered it) and finished with a wonderful fruity/spicy red - the valpolicella d'ora 2008 - i asked our sommelier to surprise us... not expensive and a really nice finish to our meal.

here's the thing about ciano... despite some "hits", there are some phenomenal italian restaurants in nyc right now (marea, ai fiori, locanda verde)... i feel like you have to be extraordinary in order to standout, and unfortunately, ciano wasn't extraordinary by any means.

ciano
45 e 22nd st btwn park ave south/bway
new york, ny 10010
212/982.8422

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