Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Molto bene!

Il Mulino: Upon being greeted by a buoyant "Buon Giorno!," I felt transported immediately to Rome, my Spring Break destination. The setting of this tiny little restaurant was cozy and intimate, but nothing incredibly spectacular. That didn't matter, though, because the incredible creations coming out of the kitchen, along with the warm, accommodating, gracious service, make you forget your own name, let alone that you're in a little West Village restaurant. Even before reading our menus, dish after dish of fabulous breads, sauces, and toppings just appeared magically on our table. We had a tomato and mozzarella appetizer that was delicious. I saved myself a bit for the entree. I ordered a baked fish that was amazingly light and flaky. The dessert we ordered to share (a whopping $30 for this single dessert!) was absolutely divine in its simplicity. A dish of long-stemmed strawberries (absolutely perfect in every way -- they weren't that deep lipstick red color that means the berry's overripe; they were firm and a rosy red but with the same sweet, succulent taste of a deep lipstick red berry...mmmmmmm....) with a creamy sweet thick sauce shot with a hint of some sort of liqueur ("zabaglione" according to those who know better than I), dessert just was heavenly. We nearly doubled our budget (we had to invent another associate who "came to lunch with us" in order to stay close to the budget). Even so, we were still over. Yikes! It was well worth it, though, for the experience of such delectable food. Grazie, Il Mulino!

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