An evening at Del Posto is an evening well spent

I fell into a little bit of cash from a Super Bowl Square deal in the last minutes of the Super Bowl and it was burning a hole in my pocket, so last night Hoover, Becca and I decided to live like ballers for an evening — we got dinner at Del Posto, owned by Mario Baltali, Lidia Bastianich and Joe Bastianich.

From beginning to end, it really was a magical dining experience. Our table was in the mezzanine section, so the first thing we did was ascend the beautiful staircase, illuminated by small romantic candles on each step. After we sat down at our table, since we chose not to check our bags, the servers brought us each a small pedestal to put our purses on (insert Joe Young joke here). This was quite a classy touch, making us feel a bit like royalty. The live music coming from the grand piano also added quite a bit to the overall ambience of our meal.

After we were settled, the wine expert came over and spoke to us about what kind of wine we would like for the evening, and we chose a “spicy red” that fell within our price range (aka not expensive). Then they brought us out a “first taste” from the chef, which consisted of small portions of three dishes: a very delicious and flavorful soup, small pastry balls filled with a sort of prosciutto crème, and small risotto balls filled with cheese and covered with GOLD SHAVINGS. We literally ate gold. As a garnish.

After that first taste, we decided to go big or go home, so we all ordered the 5 course-tasting menu. Definitely an amazing choice. We each received an antipasti (appetizer), secondo (meat course) and dolce (dessert), as well as two primi (pasta) dishes for the table to share.

They brought us a basket of various breads, including an airy baguatta, rosemary focaccia, and a rustic Italian roll. The breads were served warm, which I love, and were accompanied by two spreads — a traditional sweet butter, and another spread that featured pork fat. Though I tried both, I have to say I preferred the sweet butter. What was also interesting about the bread was the fact that they would come every so often and take away whatever few pieces of bread we had left, giving us a whole new basket of breads. Though this seemed like a bit of a waste, it ensured that we always had warm bread by our sides, and also made us feel very elite (“Get this cold bread out of my sight immediately, I demand a fresh selection that meets my temperature requirements.”) This was another touch of service that added to the whole experience.

With a little help from one of our many waiters (the service was impeccable), we decided on what we wanted to order. I started with Carne Cruda with Truffled Salsa, Parmigiano-Reggiano & Shaved King Oyster Mushroom. In basic terms, it was a really fancy beef tartare. I thought it was quite delicious, with strong flavors but not too overwhelming.

Next were our two Primi courses, which were my personal favorites. We each received a small plate of each dish, which looked a bit small when they arrived, but were actually the perfect portion for such rich flavors. The Caramelle di Gorgonzola Dolce with Black Truffle Butter was the first to arrive, and it did so with a bang. The pasta was so fresh, and the cheese filling gave it an amazing flavor, especially paired with the sauce it was served in. It was incredible to eat this dish, it’s probably one of the best things I’ve ever eaten — it was that good! For our second pasta dish we all had the Risotto with Vacca Rossa Parmigiano-Reggiano & Aceto Traditionale. This was basically a cheese-based risotto that was really delightful. It was a bit heavy, but the creamy texture was balanced well by a balsamic-like topping that was drizzled atop the dish. Very enjoyable.

For our meat course, I chose the Wood-Grilled Lobster with Artichokes, Almonds & Basils. This was served as a Lobster tail two ways — both grilled and smoked. It was very delicious, although I think I actually preferred our pasta courses to my main dish. Becca and Hoover both enjoyed the Cacciucco with Diver Scallop Carpaccio & Garlic Bread Soup, which was essential a seafood bisque filled with pieces of calamari, shrimp, prawns, crab and lobster. I had a taste of their meal (more on this later), and I thought it was very tasty. Hoover seemed to enjoy it as well, I believe her exact words were, “This is my jam.”

After our meat course, the wait staff gave us a warm towel to clean our fingers with, then they cleared our table and then made sure that the presentation was up to par. One of our servers went around to each of us and took our napkin off our lap using tongs (we thought this was particularly funny), but then the funniest part of the meal happened. While I was tasting Hoover’s main course and maneuvering the spoonful of food towards my mouth, I managed to spill a drop of the red sauce onto the impeccably white tablecloth. Apparently at Del Posto they do not want you to dine on anything but the whitest linen, because after the waiters had cleared our table and scraped off the crumbs, they brought over a white napkin and placed it in front of me to cover up my mess. Though this kind of shamed me for being a rude, messy eater, and Becca referred to it as the “table diaper” for the remainder of the evening, I thought this was hilarious and I’m kind of glad I spilled a little in order for it to happen.

After the table diaper was securely in place, they poured us each a complementary glass of dessert wine, and we ordered our desserts. Bec & Hoov both got chocolate dishes, so I opted for the Butterscotch Semifreddo, which was essentially a Butterscotch flavored gelato-type dessert. It was very good, but again, the best part of the dessert course was a nice touch by Del Posto — in addition to the desserts we ordered, the waiter brought out a small box with individual small servings of three additional desserts for each of us to try. These included: chocolate covered olive oil gelato, a bite size pastry filled with a cream, apple and raisin, and doughnuts filled with a orange crème. Then he SLID A TRAP DOOR OPEN on the small box, and three more individual dessert servings were revealed: a small serving of dark cocoa, a sweet candy that was wrapped in an edible wrapper, and a small piece of grapefruit.

All in all, this was a great dining experience — we got more than our fill and everything was delicious. The service was impeccable, there were probably between eight and ten people who helped us throughout the evening, and all were courteous and knowledgeable. The service didn’t even stop until we were out of sight of the restaurant — on our way out, we were given a small box with a chocolate truffle to take home with us, and when we stepped outside a man was waiting to help us find a cab or car service to wherever we needed to go (we opted for a car service since a cab was nowhere in sight.) Thus ended the night of us being ballers. It may have only lasted one night, but that night will live on forever!

As for Del Posto, it is really a great restaurant and if you are looking for a classy way to spend an evening with truly amazing food, I highly recommend it.