Moseyed on down to the Ivy in the Ladder District last night. This is significant because I once declared I would never eat there after I saw a rat the size of a pillowcase outside 'Ritas and Fajitas.
The pleasant maitre d greeted me and escorted me upstairs to where my co-diners were gathered.
The 'pitch' is 'think tapas but pay more'. There were 8 of us and we ordered 12 dishes.
On the website they have Chicken alla Puttanesca, which roughly translates to 'Whore's chicken' - apparently streetwalkers in Naples used to create this dish when they needed something quick and cheap to fill them up before a night of paid lovin'. I guess Monday is a quiet night for Italian prostitutes as sadly the dish wasn't available last night.
The usual suspects of fancy bread and quasi expensive cheeses, were joined by surprises such as fig paste, and an undetermined brown drizzle that none the less tasted delicious.
We ordered a good mix of proteins and pastas all of which tasted as good as they looked. We also got cheesy balls. This makes me laugh.
Wine was OK-ish for the price, and the 3 desserts were fruit free to which I say "Bravo!". One of the desserts was 'Classic Tiramisu'. What purpose does the 'Classic' serve?
Would probably go back again with the wife, and their downstairs cocktail bar looked full of drunken promise.
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