Toast Enoteca & Cucina

FEATURED RESTAURANT

BY MIKE PUCKETT

TOAST Enoteca & Cucina in East Village is simply missed by most. Last week was embarrassingly my first time to eat at this beautiful Italian wine bar. Chef Martin Gonzales has simply outdone himself again, first by opening Acqua Al 2 in 2000 and now with this authentic Italian with a nice twist in 2010.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Chef Gonzales as he was leaving. It was pretty awesome because it gave me the chance to get his input on what we should have to eat. Straight from the chef’s heart to our plate. It was an enjoyable evening at Toast Enoteca & Cucina.

We started with a glass of wine. TOAST has an innovative system that allows you to sample different wines by the ounce. What a wonderful idea! This allows you to pick different wines to pair with your meal.

Chef Gonzales suggested the Focaccia Ripiena for our antipasti, a stuffed focaccia with stracchino cheese and grilled endives. The result was a very enjoyable flaky pastry filled with cheese that went very well with the Cabernet we were drinking. Next was Cavolfiore al Forno. I must admit that I was timid about a cauliflower dish, as cauliflower is not my favorite vegetable, but to my surprise it was outstanding! Nick, our culinary guide for the evening, guaranteed I would like it and he was right! You must try this dish! It’s made with roasted cauliflower, tomato, garlic sauce, topped with Grana Padano cheese. Every couple of bites you get the roasted, crispy cheese deliciousness that had me grabbing more than my fair share of this enjoyable appetizer. My favorite was definitely the Fagioli Verdi all’Uccelletto: a sautéed, homemade Italian sausage, green beans, garlic and zesty Pomodoro sauce. A delectable dish which you must try. I could easily make a meal out of the Fagioli Verdi all’Uccelletto. If all that wasn’t enough, we added the Cozze del Marinaio so we could sample the seafood. It was a good call. The steamed mussels were beautifully presented with broccolini and served with garlic, white wine and butter sauce. I don’t eat mussels very often, but these were the best I’ve had in years.

Then, we moved on to the entrees. We chose the Tagliatelle alla Bolognese, a homemade Tagliatelle pasta with rustic-style Bolognese sauce. We also ordered the Lasagna al Ragu Bianco d’Antra: a Duck ragu, chard, kale and Parmesan lasagna; a unique dish with the Chef Gonzales touch I now love. The presentation was a work of art, as you can see in the picture.

No Italian dinner is complete without an extravagant dessert. We were guided in the right direction by our now good buddy Nick, who suggested we try the Italian Bread Pudding. I’m now recommending that you do the same. A homemade amaretto bread pudding that needs no explanation. The picture speaks a thousand words!

PHOTOGRAPHY: MIKE PUCKETT

 

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