Babbo -

Babbo - Recommended
110 Waverly Place
New York, NY 10011
(212) 777-0303

Right after a long day at the office, a few of us decided to head out and eat something worth writing about (literally).
My coworker had a craving for Babbo. I made a face and she reassured me that what ever bad experience I remembered from the past would soon be erased.
I took her word for it and put my game face on. We rendevous'd 20 minutes later, in front of the restaurant... The hostess told us there was a 2 hour wait. Eeks right?
But I knew better. From my dining experiences in Manhattan, whenever I'm with extremely attractive ladies, the initial 2 hour wait is always miraculously trimmed down to about 30 to 40 minutes.
Such was the case last night and we were seated rather promptly.

The rest is a play by play account of the parade of pastas (or is it pasti?).

9:45pm (Friday) Sitting here at Babbo, about to start the Pasta Tasting Course.

"Bring it Mario!"

10:45pm Pretty happy so far. 3 Pasta dishes down and already rethinking why I hated this place from the beginning.... Was now waiting for the Paparadelle Bolognese. "OOOO WEEE"

11:05pm Just had the Paparadelle Bolognese and wanted to high five everyone at my table.
Onto the meat dishes.

11:30pm Braised Beef Tongue with Savoy Cabbage and Slow Cooked Guanciale with Mushrooms and Stewed Mustard Greens. Absolutely delicious! I owe this place an apology... I've been a hater for a while, but Mario's guys in the kitchen can cook. Pretty Darn Good folks.

11:55pm About to finish our desserts and whatever euphoric sensation I had for the place prior to the sweets is all gone. The desserts at Babbo are TERRIBLE! All 3 of my dinner guests hated their desserts as well.
What a shame.

12:15am Got the bill and busted out of there like prison break. At $145 a head, it's on the "really" pricey side of things. But the primi (pasta) and secondi (meats) dishes were truly inspiring, and for that, I will give them some credit. I am convinced I learned something that night and will be tinkering in my own kitchen in hopes to replicate at least some of the dishes that night.

Nothing's worse than to end on a low point with dessert. If it weren't for the desserts... I think I would be going right back again next week. And to pay that much for starch and a few ounces of protein is a little hard to digest.

In restaurant speak... desserts have always had the highest profit margins from the kitchen and act as the coup de grâce of the meal.

It was kinda like nailing all 3 triple-axles in your long program and then tripping on your toe pick and wiping out on the ice right before your finishing pose.