OTTO.

I feel like I'm always apologizing for not updating my blog. It's not that I haven't been eating because I definitely have been eating a lot of great food in New York. I've just been so busy and tired. Not that anyone really reads this?? Hello is anyone out there?? I have a couple of great posts coming up. I've eaten at some great places and food trucks and I'm excited to share the food mecca that is NYC. Living here gives me the pleasure of trying so many different foods and eating at places that are famous for their craft. I am now a lover of falafel and cous cous and even sweets (I never thought I would see the day!). Weirdly I've been craving cookies, cakes, ice cream, pie, cupcakes, brownies, etc. and I have never had a sweet tooth. I have no idea why... this is not good for my body conscious self or my wallet! But I am enjoying every minute of it and every morsel I put in my mouth.

I met up with a family friend who took me to OTTO. It seems I have a slight obsession with the Batali family with all of my recent visits OTTO and Salumi. OTTO is opened by Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. I read that OTTO is modeled to look like an Italian train station. They are known for their pizza and gelato-which is what my friend was craving when she picked out the restaurant. We went on a Tuesday night and wow was it crowded. We waited around 45 minutes for a table and the way they tell people their tables are ready is really clever and cute (and now I understand the train station theme). They give you a little slip (probably to resemble a train ticket) with a city in Italy and when your table was ready, the city would show up on a little board thingy that flipped the letters just like at a train station. Sorry that was a horrible description, but you'll see in the pictures below. (*forgot my camera so pictures taken with my iPhone=not great quality).

Once we were seated, we both devoured the bread and packaged breadsticks they gave us. Since OTTO is known for their pizza, we decided to just order two different kinds. My friend mentioned something about the Otto Lardo pizza. I was immediately intrigued because I know lardo is pretty much Italian cured back fat. I mean how can that not be good? The other pizza we decided on was the Fennel & Bottarga. I think we both were trying to feel better about balancing out the lardo with some fennel (kinda vegetable-y?).

I was confused when the Otto Lardo pizza came out. It was very plain looking but when you looked carefully, you could see a thin square of lardo. It doesn't need other toppings because the lardo has such a unique flavor that shouldn't be masked. Definitely something to try once, but not sure I would order it again. The Fennel & Bottarga pizza on the other hand was very good. It was full of flavor and the fennel gave it a nice texture, plus the freshness of the tomato, cheese and fennel were an excellent combonation. I kept wanting to eat that pizza.

Even though we were stuffed, we just HAD to order some gelato. You can pick up to three flavors and it was a tough choice. One of them had to be olive oil because it's one of their specialities, then we picked milk chocolate and hazelnut. The gelato was amazing, especially the olive oil. It sounds weird, but olive oil gelato is incredible a the sprinkle of sea salt. The gelato is creamy and rich and I wanted to lick the bowl and spoon. That's always a good sign.


Hey Mario!


So clever and fun to pray your city comes up next when the letters switch.


Lots and lots of wine.


A much needed glass + more.


Otto Lardo-yup those are lardo squares.


Fennel & Bottarga-this picture doesn't do it justice.


After this pizza, I want to try more dishes with fennel!

Last but not least...


The gelato, had already dug into the milk chocolate. The olive oil to the right, drizzled with olive oil and the hazelnut in the back. If you go to OTTO, the gelato is highly recommended!

So which Batali restaurant should I go to next...