Batali’s Babbo is a Can’t Miss for Vegetarians in New York City

Cuisine: Italian / Dinner Menu

Price Range: $75-$100 per person

Location: 110 Waverly Place at MacDougal Street, New York, New York 10011

Contact: 212-777-0303 / www.babbonyc.com (Reservations highly recommended)

UrbanHerbivores Rating: 9 Carrots out of 10

Review: At celebrity chef Mario Batali’s flagship restaurant, the goal is to “use local ingredients as simply as possible and to serve them with flourish and joy.”  Batali and co-owner Joe Bastianich (son of Lidia Bastianich, who owns UrbanHerbivores picks Felidia and Becco in New York City) have met and exceeded their goal at Babbo.  Though simple, the execution of dishes at the trattoria is near perfection – with house-made pastas that melt in your mouth, antipasta that one could eat as an entree and side dishes that are stars in their own right.  The restaurant also features a number of vegetarian dishes in all three categories and is happy to adapt other dishes where possible.  Wines are well-priced, with bottles ranging from $40 to $7,500.  The sommelier will lead you in the right direction for your price range.  Reservations are necessary in most cases, though if you arrive very early (like 5:30 p.m.), you can wait at the bar for one of just a few tables reserved for walk-ins.

When we go to Babbo, we order an extra pasta dish to share as a second course.  Be sure to sample at least one side dish – and leave room for dessert.

Whether for a special occasion or just because you were able to score a reservation, get yourself to Babbo – and come with a big appetite.

J+L

Starting next week, UrbanHerbivores will shift its focus completely to reviews and recommendations for restaurants in New York City (and occasionally in other places around the world) that are vegetarian-friendly.  We will also simplify our summaries to make it quick and easy for you to determine which restaurants are right for you and your approach to eating out.

This new format will allow us to cover more restaurants in less time.  In addition to ongoing reviews that will appear weekly as new posts, check the Recommendations page for an always up-to-date list of sure bets for vegetarians.

Thanks for reading!

J+L

The redesign work is still ongoing, but we’ll begin posting new blog entries again soon!

J+L

We are currently working on a reonvation of our site’s appearance. More blog posts coming soon. Check back with us in April!

Once a year, I cook dinner for Lauren.  That day for 2011 is today.  On the menu are two amazing Indian dishes prepared pursuant to the recipes of friend and Urban Herbivores fan, Projit.  With Pro’s help and guidance, I was able to create Indian-style chickpeas and paneer, which I paired with rice and store-bought dahl and naan.

Though I didn’t quite achieve Pro’s all-pro levels, I was very happy with the results (as was Lauren).

The keys to the chickpeas are spices and simmering.  From preparation to completion, the dish took almost three hours to prepare, but over two of those hours were spent overseeing simmering spices, sauce and beans.  The dish incorporates garlic, garam masala, turmeric, chili powder and coriander.  This aromatic combination mixes with tomato sauce to create a delicious paste that coats the chickpeas as they simmer away for over thirty minutes.

The paneer is a relatively simple dish.  The cubes of cheese are cooked in tomato puree along with garam masala, ghee (clarified butter), ginger paste, diced serrano peppers, sugar and salt.  Compared with the hours of work I put into the chickpea dish, I was (a) glad that the paneer was much simpler to prepare and (b) happy that the next time I have either dish, they will be prepared by Projit instead of me.

I used a store-bought dahl mix for a lentil side dish and also purchased naan to serve with the meal.

Thanks to Pro for his spiritual and gastronomical guidance, leading to a successful once-a-year “Josh cooks dinner” event.  And thanks to Pro for cooking fantastic Indian meals for me and Lauren many times in the months and years to come (no need to ask – we’ll invite ourselves over).

J

Casa Lever in Manhattan Offers Artistic Italian

Casa Lever ($$$)
390 Park Avenue at 54th Street
New York, New York 10022
212-888-2700 / www.casalever.com

Rating: 8 Carrots out of 10

Cuisine: Italian / Dinner Menu

The Background

Lever House is the shimmering glass box on Park Avenue that Casa Lever calls home.  The building has been considered an architectural gem since its construction in 1952 by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.  Since its renovation in 1998, it has housed the impressive Lever House Art Collection.  Fittingly, Casa Lever combines unique architecture and poignant modern art to create a dining environment unlike any other in New York.  After traversing a white tunnel one emerges in what appears to be the hull of a spaceship that has been permanently docked in Manhattan and outfitted with mid-century modern furniture, red carpeting, honeycomb racks of wine bottles and an amazing collection of Andy Warhol works.

If you are lucky, you will nab one of the private dining pods along the restaurant’s west side, providing the perfect hideout for admiring the glittering cast of New York’s upper crust as they dine in one of the City’s newest places to be seen.  And the restaurant serves food too!

The Food

The fare at Casa Lever is Milanese-inspired Italian created by Milan native Chef Mario Danieli, who is also the chef of Casa Lever’s sister restaurant, Sant Ambroeus Restaurant (three locations).  We were extremely impressed to see that the restaurant offered six vegetarian pasta dishes (all of which looked great).  We were able to try three of them, thanks to the sommelier who sent over a third entree for us.  We sampled the pear ravioli, the asparagus risotto and the spinach nudi.

All were very good, but the highlights were the sauces: the red sauce on the nudi was sumptuous and the smoked butter sauce on the pear ravioli was delicate but decadent.  In addition to the great selection of pastas, there were a number of very good vegetarian options for the appetizer course, including the soup of the day, which was an extremely savory bean soup.

The dessert menu was great and included a fantastic hazelnut sponge cake that was topped with chocolate and layered with gianduia mousse and hazelnut cream.  As if that weren’t enough indulgence, we paired it with simply fabulous, dark, rich Cioccolata Calda (liquid semi-sweet chocolate).

The Drinks

The cocktail and wine menu is reasonably priced and included some interesting options.  We had a bottle of the house red, Quinis Rosso (2007), a blend of Merlot and Sangiovese ($47).  The full drink list is here.

If you like being seen in the City, make Casa Lever your home for a night.  Enjoy!

J+L

After completing our four-week vegan cleanse, Lauren and I have a new appreciation for the benefits and limitations of a vegan lifestyle.  The main challenge was getting the right combination of foods and flavors to both live healthily and keep our meals interesting.  Without cheese, many of our staple dishes went from satisfying to dull and many of our favorites were just undoable.  However, we learned a great deal about how to prepare unique vegan dishes that make the vegetable the star.  At the end of the month, we were glad to have done the cleanse but we were also glad the cleanse was done.  While the majority of our daily meals are vegan, we were glad to see the return of cheese to some of our evening meals and eggs to our weekend breakfasts.  And, of course, we were very glad to have pizza back in our lives!

Will our future ever include a full transition to vegan living?  Lauren says no, but I think it is a possibility – but only after there have been some significant advances in the quality of vegan cheese alternatives!

One area of vegan living that needs no improvement in New York City is the vegan restaurant scene.  From all-stars like Candle 79, Pure Food and Wine, and Blossom to new entrants like V-Note and vegan-friendly vegetarian restaurants such as Dirt Candy, eating out vegan in New York is not just easy – it is superb.

For our review of Candle 79, click here.

For our review of of Dirt Candy, click here.

For everyone, where to draw the line on the spectrum from omnivore to herbivore is a personal choice.  For us, the line continues to shift right – but just a little cheese, please.

Happy vegetarian and/or vegan eating!

J+L

I found this on a blog, made it the other day, and really liked it! This was super easy, but took quite some time while in the microwave. It also involves some constant stirring.  Instead of using peppermint sticks, I used peppermint extract.  I also plan to add a few chocolate chips in the end next time I make it.

Chocolate-Peppermint Pudding

1 soft peppermint stick (or 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract, added after cooking)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons cocoa
1/4 cup sugar (or use half sugar and the sweetening equivalent of 2 tbsp. stevia or other sweetener)
1 1/2 cups fat-free soymilk or other non-dairy milk
soft peppermint sticks for garnish

Grind the peppermint sticks with a mortar and pestle. Put the peppermint powder into a 4-cup microwavable dish and add the cornstarch, cocoa, and sugar. Slowly add the milk, stirring well. (Some cocoa may not seem to blend in, but it will once you start cooking.)

Microwave on high power for 1 minute. Stir well. Return to the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until mixture comes to a boil. Watch it carefully to make sure it does not boil over the sides. Once it reaches a boil, give it 30 more seconds, stopping microwave if it threatens to boil over. Keep microwaving until it gets that pudding-like quality.  And keep stirring.  When done, stir well, and pour into 2 serving dishes. Garnish with peppermint sticks.

Click HERE to access the recipe.

Super easy, tasty, and fluffy! Click here for a link to the recipe.  I didn’t add chocolate chips, but easily could have.  Yumm!  So good!   The vegan month continues.