The MMMguide…

It may have bar in its name but Bar Corvo is most definitely a restaurant. The Prospect/Crown Heights version of its sister restaurant Al di Là, fans of the Park Slope favorite will find a few food items carry over but will find this place to be very very different.

*Fried Spicy Chickpeas*

I was determined to become a regular long before the place officially opened its doors and since its opening have already dined there three times. If my experiences in their first week and a half is any indication, the staff at Bar Corvo will become my new best friends. On my first visit my friend and I sat at the bar, the second I came by myself and again sat at the bar, and the third time I introduced the boyfriend to our new neighborhood joint by sitting in the restaurant. All three visits were spectacular and all three nights were packed!

Most restaurants in their first week or even month have a few kinks to work out but the operation over at Bar Corvo is as smooth as silk. The servers are incredibly friendly (I personally have a soft spot for Jessica) and the cooks in the open kitchen are happy to chat answering any question you may have while they prepare your meal. But it doesn’t matter if you sit at the bar or in the dining area, as the experience is just lovely all around.

The menu is short and has some real outstanding dishes on its menu. If you don’t get the fried spicy chickpeas than you are doing yourself a huge disservice as they are just incredible. Bye bye lame bar nuts and snacks; I want Bar Corvo’s spicy chickpeas with my next drink! Other highlights include the grilled calamari salad with toasted almonds and parsley, roast amish chicken, swiss chard gratin, and fave e ciccoria (sautéed dandelion greens over a dried fava bean puree). The minute my whole “gluten-free” experiment flames out (April 1st btw), I am making a bee-line around the corner to devour their chitarra neri pasta with octopus and hot red pepper. I saw that dish come out of the kitchen many times and was salivating at its sight.

*Swiss Chard Gratin*

New York Mag profiled the bustling Washington Avenue in their issue this week and while I love the much deserved attention, I kinda wish this great part of Prospect/Crown Heights was a secret for just a little bit longer!  This neighborhood is on its way to food and drink glory with Bar Corvo leading the pack. If you haven’t been, GO! I’m counting down the days until their back garden opens up so I can plant myself there all summer! And now that I know I can almost throw a stone from my apartment and hit Bar Corvo, well it won’t be that hard to reach my goal of becoming a regular

Bar Corvo

791 Washington Avenue (between Lincoln and St. John)

Earlier this week I attended a food blogger dinner with my friend Christina at Ristorante Aglio. Newly opened (December of 2011), the restaurant is a sister to Tribeca’s celebrated Greenwich Grill and Sushi Azabu (a Michelin Star restaurant btw). Funnily enough I had just dined at GG last week and was eager to compare my experiences.

Tribeca is one of those neighborhoods  that I would do just about anything to live in; what with its beautiful loft style living, chic stores and most of all hidden gem restaurants. Not surprisingly, all three restaurants in the Plan Do See restaurant group  (Greenwich Grill, Aglio and Azabu) fall right into the latter category. Greenwich Grill serves up serves up Tokyo-Italian cuisine (have you ever heard of that before!?), Sushi Azabu traditional edo-mae style sushi with small Japanese dishes and Aglio features a“Pan-Italian” menu with dishes from various regions of Italy.

I can’t say much about Sushi Azabu as I haven’t been yet (although it’s at the top of my list), but the scene at Aglio is just like GG with dark banquettes, crisp white tablecloths, soft candle lighting and enchanting music circling overhead.  The chandelier that hovers over the dining room and a few of the banquette tables look like something straight out of the middle ages with its vast coverage of the room. Aglio is perfect for both group dining and intimate dates, in fact that night we dined the room was packed with both types of groups and yet the space felt calm and quiet.

*image courtesy of Tribeca Citizen*

The dinner was as follows; we got the choice of appetizer, entrée, dessert and signature cocktail and were left to enjoy our meal and each others company. Like GG the service at Aglio is excellent; polite, attentive, on hand for questions or any need we had, and extremely friendly and warm. I wanted to hang out with our server, I wanted to have him sit down with us and enjoy our meal….that never happens! We each scanned the menu and placed our orders….I went with one of their signature cocktails (The Sylvia), an appetizer (Grilled Octopus Salad), entrée (Grilled Lobster and Fennel) and a dessert (Dark Chocolate Cake with Whipped Cream). The Sylvia was a refreshing and almost sugar-free version of the classic mojito with cucumber, ginger, and mint; the Octopus Salad a beautifully presented dish of chunky octopus tentacles swimming around roasted potatoes and topped with crisp arugula; the Grilled Lobster and Fennel was half pre-shucked for easy eating, and a gluten-free dark chocolate cake with creme anglaise and whipped cream that was literally the icing on top of an already great cake to finish my meal.

The restaurant group, Plan Do See Corp can do no wrong in my eyes. Having dined at two of their restaurants within a week I got a great look at their seamless operation and fantastic food. Tribeca can get pretty pricey but a meal at either restaurant really gives you a chance to dine at a beautiful, classy and informal Tribeca restaurant, without breaking the bank! Now I need to figure out a way to move to the ‘hood…..

Ristorante Aglio

277 Church Street (between Franklin and White Street)