Babbo - yes, no, regular menu, tasting menu?
Jun 20th, 2003, 05:37 AM
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Babbo - yes, no, regular menu, tasting menu?
Have a very late reservation on a Thursday at 10pm - nothing else available that weekend - going to try for Sunday evening today - a month out. After all this, what is the opinion on this restaurant. Is it overrated or a great experience?
Does anyone have any other suggestions for outstanding, exciting, different Italian dining experience in NYC? Celebrity chef ownership not a deciding factor!
Does anyone have any other suggestions for outstanding, exciting, different Italian dining experience in NYC? Celebrity chef ownership not a deciding factor!
Jun 20th, 2003, 05:46 AM
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Babbo is indeed worth the trip. I would stick to the regular menu though at 10pm. Otherwise it is just too much food and too long of a meal at that hour. Other favorite restaurants you could look into are Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe, Fiamma, Craft, and Esca (same owner as Babbo, but this is the seafood restaurant).
Jun 20th, 2003, 05:49 AM
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Yes, Babbo is very good. As far as which menu, why decide now? See what they have and then decide.
Il Mulino is generally thought to be the best Italian in NY and it definately lives up to the reputatio. However, reservations are tough.
Felidia is also very, very good. I also like Da Silvano in the Village for Northern Italian. I could eat their Osso Buco with Risotto Milanese once a week.
The Holy Grail of NY Italian is Rao's in Harlem. However, as once stated in Zagats, "unless you're the Godfather or the Governor, forget about getting a table."
Il Mulino is generally thought to be the best Italian in NY and it definately lives up to the reputatio. However, reservations are tough.
Felidia is also very, very good. I also like Da Silvano in the Village for Northern Italian. I could eat their Osso Buco with Risotto Milanese once a week.
The Holy Grail of NY Italian is Rao's in Harlem. However, as once stated in Zagats, "unless you're the Godfather or the Governor, forget about getting a table."
Jun 20th, 2003, 07:51 AM
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I'm also going to try for a reservation there in a few days. One suggestion on deciding which menu to try is to pick up The Babbo Cookbook; it retails for $40 but I won it off of eBay for $14, or you may find it in your local library. It contains recipes and pictures from most of the dishes served there. In the back are sample pasta and chef's tasting menus, so you can scan that, look up the dish and its accompanying picture and recipe in the book, and see if you think that would appeal to you, as well as items from their regular menu (which you can find on their website at www.babbonyc.com).
So after all that, which meal with my wife and I go for? Still undecided!
I think we might get out of there a little cheaper ordering an antipasti, pasta entree (secondi?), maybe dessert, and some wine.
So after all that, which meal with my wife and I go for? Still undecided!
I think we might get out of there a little cheaper ordering an antipasti, pasta entree (secondi?), maybe dessert, and some wine.
Jun 20th, 2003, 01:30 PM
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Lupa does take reservations (reserved parties are seated in the back room), but they're hard to get. Or you can show up early, say 6 p.m., and not have much wait. Both restaurants are informal in atmosphere, but Babbo is more formal, foodwise. I've not had the pasta tasting menu, but friends who have found it to be too much - after five or six courses of pasta, they weren't enjoying it that much, even though the individual dishes were all good.
L'Impero in Tudor City has been getting rave reviews from friends. Very inventive Italian menu there, and the four-course prix fixe for $50 or so is considered a steal.
L'Impero in Tudor City has been getting rave reviews from friends. Very inventive Italian menu there, and the four-course prix fixe for $50 or so is considered a steal.
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Jun 20th, 2003, 06:19 PM
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I think phone lines for reservations open at 10 a.m., so try calling at that time one month to the day and keep hitting re-dial.. That's what I did to get a weekend reservation at Babbo for 8 p.m... Very well worth it....But I also love Lupa; a bit more casual but equally delicious!
Jun 20th, 2003, 06:49 PM
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Thanks everyone, for your advice. I got through this morning at 9:58, and was able to get a reservation for 7:15 on Sunday, which is perfect given that we're seeing Hairspray at 3pm, and much better, I think, than 10:00 on Thursday.
