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Opting for lunch at Sala One Nine<\/strong>, instead of dinner the previous evening, was a good choice because lunch at Tarallucci is a more casual affair (it\u2019s a great stop for a breakfast coffee and croissant, too; see previous blog). Sala at lunch was full and buzzy but not bursting at the seams like the night before. There\u2019s a fading grandeur about the place – crumbling walls, old gold baroquish ceiling, ornate glittering lights and scrubbed wooden floor – which is hip and modern, and even if it is manufactured, it somehow feels authentic. Bread was delivered \u2013 a generous chunk partially sliced which brought into play the ritual of breaking bread. Nice. The dark crust was thick and leathery, chewy and wholesome, yeasty, malty, almost like beer. Then came four superb dishes. First, croquettas, golden orbs, crisp-crusted, filled with potato, ham and a melting cheese centre – hot, salty, creamy and crunchy. <\/p>\n A generous dish of alcachofas con jamon (artichokes from Navarra with ham) were gloriously tender, rich and oily (and don\u2019t you love it when someone has got rid of all the prickly bits for you), with the ham providing a nice salty kick, but oilier still, were gambas al ajillo\u2013 shelled plump pink shrimps with heaps of chopped garlic and a few dried pointy chillies. <\/p>\n The remaining bread found it\u2019s home in the bath of richly flavoured oil. We were dunking and slurping and purring like kittens when the final dish lomo adobado arrived, a sandwich of crusty bread stuffed with pork sirloin marinated in adobo sauce, gruyere and roasted piquillo peppers. The peppers lent a smoky slightly piquant briny taste to the dish which balanced the sweetness of the pork. <\/p>\n Everything we ate was simply delicious \u2013 an overworked word I know, but sometimes it is the only one to sum up the depth of gorgeous flavours, the perfect execution of the dish, the visual enticement and tantalizing smells. Although I am sure we would have enjoyed any number of dishes on the menu and that\u2019s without even going near the ubiquitous tortilla Espanola or patatas bravas (I\u2019m going back for the white anchovies), we could go no further as we had to dash to catch a flight. It was a bit of a speed-feed but all up, one of the best tapas feasts I have had out of Spain. If you\u2019re in New York, don\u2019t miss it. And for a nice little touch, order the same wine as us, a bottle of Cable Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.<\/p>\n Sala One Nine<\/strong> With groaning stomachs, we sped to the airport and me on to my brother\u2019s place in Boston, to finish the day with a dish of larb (a Thai salad of minced meat, chicken in this case, mint, chilli, and salad greens) followed by a slice of my German sister-in-law Dolores\u2019 famous cheesecake (I\u2019ll post the recipe soon). How\u2019s that for a global 24 hour\u2019s eating? Italian, Spanish, Thai, German. Next day? Diet.<\/p>\n I wish! Actually, got on the Air New Zealand flight from San Fran to Auckland, a 13-hour longhaul, and usual story, I wasn\u2019t going to eat until the menu came around. I couldn\u2019t resist the starter of a little square of baked parmesan ricotta cake with a salad of yellow beets, mache (lamb\u2019s tongues), smoked almonds and pomegranate seeds, with a pomegranate molasses and avocado oil dressing. It was so fresh and citrusy with zingy little bits of pomegranate exploding on the tongue, the earthy taste of beets and bite of salty smoky nuts\u2026. And it was all gobbled up too soon. I got on a roll, as is my want, and ordered a Spy Valley sauvignon blanc (I\u2019d just flown Boston to San Francisco on United where I was offered \u2018white\u2019 wine, a dubious chardonnay, or \u2018red\u2019 which was a malbec, which was, let\u2019s say, drinkable, \u2013 Air NZ had a choice of at least 6 wines and the sauvignon was bright, crisp and fruity, a perfect match for the appetizer). I switched to pinot noir for the lamb, and what a great match that made with a slightly peppery lamb loin served pink, with shredded braised lamb shank alongside, sweet potatoes and a spinach custard. You\u2019ll hear me say this often: you can\u2019t expect food in the sky to taste as good as food in a restaurant, because of the practicalities (it\u2019s food in numbers which must be prepared in advance, sometimes partially cooked then blast chilled, which then has to pass rigorous bacterial checks, it\u2019s then transported and kept chilled until just prior to reheating or serving, among many other considerations), but Air NZ gets as close as you can to serving up tasty well made food across their menus, with occasional stunning results. Highly recommended as an airline. <\/p>\n Now for me, it\u2019s a brisk walk around the neighborhood to drink in some lovely spring air\u2026and to stop that padding on the thighs taking hold!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Opting for lunch at Sala One Nine, instead of dinner the previous evening, was a good choice because lunch at Tarallucci is a more casual affair (it\u2019s a great stop[…..]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[175,174,176,177,173],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-alcachofas-con-jamon","tag-croquettas","tag-gambas-al-ajillo","tag-lomo-adobado","tag-sala-one-nine"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.juliebiuso.com\/images\/blog\/101209_1.jpg\")
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\nNew York Tel 212 229-2300<\/p>\n