August

No, not summer yet, unfortunately. It's nice to go to places like August in the middle of January. Emilia, Sebastian and I went there for Emilia's farewell dinner (sniff...) and were verrry happy and full by the end. Not only is the restaurant super-cozy and had a super-cute waiter milling about (who unfortunately was not ours) but the food is deliciously "regional European," according to the menu.

We ordered the least expensive bottle of Italian red wine (still very satisfying) and shared an appetizer of raclette (Swiss and French), a cheesy, potato, ham, and asparagus mini-casserole. Mmm. Apparently, Raclette, the cheese, has been around and loved since medieval times [Wikipedia]. For good reason.

I recently became pseudo-vegetarian, meaning ... I only eat meat when something tempting comes along. I don't know why I was tempted by the menu description Pork Belly and Braised Pork Cheeks...It was beyond tender and over some delicious lentils and golden-orange kumquat halves. Pork + kumquat in the same bite = out of this world. We all shared a dish of steamed and charred brussel sprouts that were lightly salted, crisp and perfect.

Tummies said "no dessert"; eyes on menu read "profiteroles." We then wisely shared fluffy, flaky Italian cookie-puffs with vanilla gelato in the middle and warm chocolate syrup drizzled on top.

Cringed slightly at the bill ($50 each), but boy was it worth it. Plus Emilia's last great food experience in New York (before, um, going to ITALY) had to be something special. I miss you already, E ... I will eat something delicious for you.

August
359 Bleecker St. between Charles and W 10th
New York, NY
www.augustny.com