Located in Noho on Thompson Street is Carbone, another venue by Major Food group. Carbone has that old school American-Italian theme, black-and-white tile floor, leather booth, dark blueish-teal walls, overly large menu, tuxedos wearing servers, all made me felt that I’m in a restaurant the “Godfather” dines in. Music was a little loud and so was the crowd. On this Wednesday night, I noticed that majority clientele were white mid-age males. And oddly, over half of the tables were occupied by male only parties. Strange… I think… Then the bread basket came along, and I forgot everything else. 3 kinds of bread to pick on, soft sesame roll, pizza crust like thick bread stick, and butterly garlic toast, all of them were just spectacular! More beard please!!
We ordered the Scampi alla scampi. It turned out to be the most expensive 4 halved and butterflied shrimp I have ever ordered, but it truly were the best shrimp scampi ever. The garlic and butter smell and tasted so good, we wanted to lick the plate. More bread please! From the “Macaroni” menu, we had the Spicy Rigatoni Volka, it was rich and a bit spicy on the first bite, but then you got hook on it and keep wanting more. Our waiter suggested for us to have the meatballs (off the menu). It turns out to be absolutely extraordinary, one of the best meatballs I’ve had, Meaty, soft, melt-in-your-mouth, and full of favor. If you come here, other than the fantastic veal parm, you gotta have the meatballs. Now, the terrific $50 veal parm. It is as big as an eight inches pizza. Was is worth it? Oh, HELL YES!
(Oct, 2014)
Category: <span>NY Eats</span>
While Sushi Ko‘s Chef John Daley call Chef Masato “Master”; Dojo’s Chef David Bouhadana and Chef Hiromi Suzuki met while working at 15 East. Conindiently, Daley and Bouhadana had also spent time at Sushi Uo (now closed).
The 14 seater Dojo specializes in classic edomae sushi, each piece is served on a Ti leaf. We went for the $80 sushi omakase: 16 pieces, and a hand roll. Included in the 16 pieces, there were 2 kinds of uni, and one lean toro (no chu toro, nor otoro). While price was reasonable, fishes were top grade, nothing really stands out. It was orindary, in a good way. Everything was overall good, but nothing screams “I have to come back for it.” (Dec, 2013)
At Yakitori Totto, they took the Japanese street fare to the next level. Using premium grade chicken, made to order, grilling it skewer by skewer, crisped and charred outside, succulent within. Although Yakitori means grilled chicken, but at Totto, the menu go beyond chicken. Pork loin, smelt, shrimp, shishito peppers, and lamb chop are a few of the popular items. If you are heading to Totto, go early, some of the specials like Hiza Nankotsu and Ton Toro are in limited quantity, often sold out before 8pm. (Aug, 2014)
Over the past months, me and my co-conspirators had completed a tour to the restaurants of Major Food Group, Torrisi, Carbone, ZZ’s Clam Bar, Dirty French, and Parm. Pictures will be posted shorty.