Deep Fried & Frosted

Funnily enough, I just mentioned Davanti in my last post! We really did wait 2.5 hours. Not joking. We’ve gone back numerous times, for brunch and dinner since then because we love it so much. 

The food is simple and delicious. We typically order a handful of the same things whenever we go because they’re just so yummy. 

Eggplant Spread:

Ligurian focaccia. This is one of two dishes they are best known for. I wouldn’t even categorize this as a focaccia; it’s absolutely wonderful. Even better with local honeycomb!

This is the other dish they are known for: their soft polenta served on a board with various braised meats (this one is braised pork cheeks; the pork/veal meatballs are also killer):

It’s so good that we’ll get it to eat while we’re at the restaurant and then get another (usually for me) to-go, so I can have it again when I get back down to school. 

Finally, we got a pizza with arugula and prosciutto:

I could probably eat Italian food every single day for the rest of my existence. I had to have been Italian in my past life. 

My mom and I do this thing where we go on trips, solely for food. Some people think it’s ludicrous, while others think that it’s awesome. I would have to side with both, actually. 

The extent that my mom and I will travel and go to for food is sometimes ridiculous. Many times, like this time I’m about to describe, has me with my hands over my face, asking myself, “Oh my God, why are we doing this?” It’s not that it’s dangerous or reckless, it’s just a constant reminder that it’s something that will only happen when I’m with my mom on a trip for food. 

Day .5 — Most people would say Day 1, I said Day .5. Why? Because most people like to get off the plane, go to their hotel room, unpack a little bit, relax, etc. You know, do all the things “normal” people would do. 

My mom and I head to a restaurant — bags and all. 

We (more like me) Google’d the location/phone number/hours of this restaurant as we were walking out of the airport. Normally that would be okay, until it turns out that heading to our hotel from La Guardia is kind of a hassle.

Which then prompts the question from my mom: “Why don’t we just go there now?”

Me: “What?”

Mom: “We could just head straight there instead of going back to the hotel first. Call the restaurant and see if they have space for our bags.”

Me: “No. What? I am not calling the restaurant to ask if they can hold our bags. This is ridiculous. I do not want to walk into a restaurant with all of our stuff.”

Long story short - Mom:1; Me: 0.

I did end up calling the restaurant and they did indeed have space for our luggage. 

So off we were to Tertulia, for tapas, near the West Village:

And obviously, the first thing I needed after our delayed flight and mild altercation outside of LGA, was a drink. I’m normally not a huge fan of sangria, mainly because I haven’t acquired a taste yet for wine, but their’s was awesome:

Then came food. We started with the surtido de embutidos (selection of three cured meats:

Then the Coles de Bruselas (Crispy Brussels sprouts, pork belly, mojo picon):

Tosta de Mejillones (I forgot to write this one down! But it’s toast topped with mussels, golden raisins, dill and a few other things):

Brandada de Bacalao (Cod brandade with poached eggs and toast):

(Mmm! Runny yolks!)

Bocata Cordero (Smoked lamb breast sandwich, sheep’s milk cheese, pickled cauliflower):

And, two lovely flutes of Rose’ Prosecco courtesy of Ryan, the cute (but gay, sadly) bartender hailing from Chicago:

All-in-all, it wasn’t a disaster that we came straight from the airport. We met some lovely people at the table next to us, had a nice chat and had a great lunch. To New York!

It’s kind of like Benihana’s, except you do all the work. But sometimes, if you show yourselves to be slightly incompetent, or you just have a nice waitress, they’ll help you out a little bit. 

Our waitress cut our meat for us (thanks, Mom!):

And also did a bit of cooking:

The best part of not sitting in front of the grill is, you’re just “too far” to help cook, so I ended up waiting around and snacking on the fun little things in the small white dishes (see above) that come to every table. 

Then, once food IS done, you can make sweet lettuce rolls with your food:

Then you just roll them up and shove it in your mouth. It’s really difficult to be dainty with this sort of thing:

(Fun side note: I’m a righty, so I actually took this photo upside down because the button is on the right side of the camera. I got a few “what on Earth are you doings” at the table)