In Vino – Plate 81

Cheese Plate

A Gorgonzola, a Tallegio, and an Adele. The gorg was a very creamy one – almost like a brie. Stephanie was trying to tell me that it was more of a bleu cheese. Stephanie knew that I didn’t know shit about wine, but cheese – I’ve got a decent grasp on this medium. The Taleggio was similar to a soft cheddar. The Adele – OK, maybe I spoke too soon – I can’t find any mention online of any cheese called Adele. Maybe I misspelled it … Give me the benefit of the doubt here. The third cheese (whatever it was) was a double cream cheese and was quite rich and smooth.

Rico Suave.

This is completely unrelated to the cheese, but I was taking care of my nether regions a long time ago and I told my ex in broken Spanish it was because “yo querio mi cojones liso y sedoso.” Even though her last name was Gomez, she didn’t know much Spanish, but she knew what I was going for when I said “yo querio mi cojones” (as you might be able to guess), only she didn’t know what liso y sedoso meant. She wondered where I got it from, because I knew less Spanish than her.

Two years later, she found the phrase on the Pantene bottle.

Smooth and Silky = Liso y Sedoso

Caprese Salad

I figured Keith wouldn’t mind a penis joke thrown into the write-up.

Roasted Plum tomatoes, fresh Basil, Bufala Mozzarella, toasted pine nuts, and a drizzle of olive oil (maybe some sea salt and cracked pepper on there, I forget exactly) and a light pesto hidden in the center. The salad was awesome, but I was more pumped for the next vegetable.

Fried Artichokes

So earlier in the day, Joe DiStefano (link) asked me if I had ever tried fried artichokes after I told him about the fried brussel sprouts we had at Vesta (link). I would have eaten the whole bowl if I didn’t have two other people to share with. The girls both saw my excitement about these guys and let me have the last one (thanks, you guys – I appreciate it).

Porcini Ravioli

Truffle cream sauce . . . You know this is going to be good. My theory behind truffle: If anyone is using this on a consistent basis, the chef must know how to cook, because if he didn’t, they couldn’t afford to use the truffles so often. I’m usually right, and this case was no exception. The earthy porcini in the fragrant sauce was excellent.

Lamb Lasagna

Lamb is probably my favorite meat. I need to try more goat, but lamb … something about lamb does it for me. I say this, and then pose the question in my mind; “If you had to give up lamb or pork, which would you choose?” I would probably give up lamb. Does that mean it’s not my favorite?

Regardless, I think I’d like to have some more lamb lasagna in the future. It had such an exquisite, unctuous, lamby taste that you just don’t find anywhere else. Never had lamb lasagna before, but If I see ground lamb, I am going to seriously consider attempting to recreate this dish.

Meatballs and Marinara

Can you believe that this is only my second plate of meatballs this entire tour? Someone asked me if I ever craved something like a cheeseburger, but I have to say that I didn’t crave any meat but meatballs for the whole trip, and I only craved them when I was about to go to an Italian restaurant (that didn’t serve meatballs).

I mist say that these all-beef bad boys were overshadowed by the rest of the spectacular meal. The crunchy parmesan on top was a nice touch.

Riccotta Bruschetta

OMG R1C0774 8RU5CH3774!!!1!ONE

Buy this immediately when you walk in. Do not, I repeat, do not wait for dessert to order this one. I suspect that you may order another one at dessert if you do.

The ricotta is made in Brooklyn by two girls (link) and they know their shit when it comes to cheese. The cherry tomatoes had this incredible sweetness to balance everything out – simply divine. I thought nothing was going to beat the Fried Artichokes, then I thought nothing was going to beat the Lamb Lasagna, and now this. Jeezus, this was an exceptional meal.

Frozen Lemon Mousse

These guys were all raving about a red wine that went with this guy and I didn’t understand the pairing. Instead of being all emperor’s-new-clothesy about it. I just said “I don’t get it.” They all tried to esplain it to me, but Lucy wasn’t home.

By itself, it was fantastic. The crème fraiche whipped cream was the bomb. This was good, but the Ricotta Bruschetta was mesmerising. If you walk into In Vino and leave without having that dish, you might as well just buy an apple pie at Mickey D’s on your way home because you are a dunce.