I just can't stop talking about this restaurant. It was a friend's birthday, a big one, and I wanted to take her out for a great meal. I did my research, came up with 4 places to go to and one by one I made reservations. After having 4 different reservations for the same night, same time, I had to eliminate. I did further reading and investigating and finally came to my choice, Aurora.. Woo Hoo, I hit the jackpot.
As you enter the restaurant you almost feel like you could be in a Tuscany spot in Italy. There's an outside area as well, really nice atmosphere, albeit you're in a Brooklyn yard. SMILE.
We ordered a bottle of Chianti, $48. Excellent choice. Smooth, soft, nice flavor. The first bottle we ordered was a Nero D'Avola which was very acidy so we sent it back. Not a problem.
We had a very nice waitress who gave us the specials and we were oohing and aahing at them all.
 |
| Crostini |
 |
| Stuffed Zucchini Flowers |
We decided to split 3 appetizers amongst 4 people. Next time we do 4.
 |
| Gorgonzola & Cauliflower croquettes |
We had the special of stuffed zucchini blossoms (above), the crostini with carmelized fig, goat cheese, arugula, a sliver of speck and a light sprinkling of balsamic reduction and the gorgonzola & cauliflower croquettes. Oh my god, each of these appetizers were stupendous.
There were so many tempting choices for entrees that I was in a dilemma.. Well, I had to go with my
favorite, Pasta. Next time I will try another pasta and a fish dish or something else. But we all decided on a pasta dish. Most of the pastas here are all homemade. I had the spinach pappardelle with a veal ragu, asparagus and parmigiano reggiano in a very light sauce. The only problem here was the portion. I could have had 3 more fork fulls and been ecstatic. But the pasta itself had the perfect consistency, the veal melted in my mouth. Fantastic.
The next pasta dish that I tasted, compliments of one of my dining companions, and I tasted everyone's, is the Agnolotti ai Porcini, which is similar to ravioli, but different shaped. It was stracchino cheese and porcini filled pasta with asparagus and preserved lemon. Absolutely delicious. The flavors all melded together in a very soft, smooth yet savory dish. Again, just a drop more on the plate would be perfect.
The next pasta dish was a spaghetti frutta di mare which was just exceptional. It wasn't a traditional thick red sauce smothering fish. This was a light blend of tomatoes, but not a tomato sauce, and there was shrimp, clams, mussels and fresh, real crabmeat. Wonderful flavors, loved this twist on an old favorite.
The final pasta is a familiar dish, again with a different twist. Homemade large rigatoni wheat pasta with roasted eggplant, tomato, buffalo mozzarella and pesto. The best pasta a la Norma ever.
The desserts, each of them that we shared, were just magnificent.
AFFOGATO. Gelato rolled in chopped hazelnuts and chocolate, then drowned in espresso.. What a surprisingly delicious experience.
Vanilla pannacotta served with Amarena cherries and aceto balsamico, and a short bread cookie
CHEESCAKE with grain, ricotta and a caramel sauce.
The desserts were of a really nice size portion. Wish I could say the same for the apps and entrees. But still, all in all, I'd go back in a second.
No comments:
Post a Comment