It was another night where outdoor dining was essential and luckily we didn't have to wait long to score an outdoor table for 2 here on a Saturday night. The waiter swayed me in my decision to order the signature dish- cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper). It is served to you from a giant Parmesan bowl, hello photo op. The pasta mostly tastes of the warm cheesiness that blankets it. The other main element of the sauce was large pieces of cracked pepper, this was a bit different for me. Biting into a piece of peppercorn is usually something one tries to avoid, but here it used to add a spiciness to cut the cheese (teehee). I see what they were trying to do here and I knew what I was getting myself into when I ordered it, but it was just not something I could get myself to completely enjoy. But I really did like the texture and taste of the homemade pasta and cheese sauce, how could I not. I wondered about that huge cheese bowl, what do they clean it out at night? You can't exactly throw that in the dishwasher. We were informed that each order of cacio e pepe is served from one cheese bowl that they replace every 3-4 days. The sausage and pork over polenta was quite good. I do love polenta and theirs took on the porky flavor and made it extra tasty. I plan on coming back here to enjoy more flavorful Italian pasta in a relaxed setting and next time I need to try out some appetizers.
182 Second Ave.
whose gross hands are in the first picture?
ReplyDeletecheese bowl man. they are a tad gross
ReplyDeleteHmm... I'm not usually very squeamish. I have eaten from carts whose signage are raw goat heads, eaten free food on Indian railway cars, and even eaten chili fries I drunkenly dropped on a garage floor (new meaning to greasy). But something about this grosses me out. It's like you you're not just sharing an eating surface with your dining partners, but everyone that cheese bowl has served in the past? And your parmesan smega is getting all mixed up in theirs? And does that guy have a bandaid on his finger?
ReplyDeleteDon't worry porkchop, I didn't get sick. Its not as bad as you think. They serve it from a big bowl onto your plate. You do not actually eat from the bowl directly. So no smegma is mixed- Ew. (Yes I am quite familiar with that term)
ReplyDeleteP.S. My family and I are very proud of being spoon fed ceviche from a fruit vender's own lunch in Chile.
Glad you enjoy the blog!!!!
I simply mistyped the nonsensical and innocuous word "smega." To be fair, you're the one who put in the "m" and took it there.
ReplyDeleteAs for ceviche, I trace one of my worst food illnesses to a raw shrimp ceviche in Mexico (which I do not think was served out of a large cheese bowl, but can't be sure). I've grown to be a big fan of the Peruvian-style ceviche myself.