Tag Archives: Al Di La Trattoria

Happy New Year 2012

I hope everyone is off to a fantastic New Year! How did everyone spend their New Years Eve? Hopefully with a glass of champagne in one hand!? (I love this photograph from Red Haute and Bothered on Tumblr. I just had to share it with you).

Instead of going into all of the stereotypical New Year’s resolutions… I want to share with you a few of my favorite posts from 2011. I’ve discovered so many fantastic restaurants here in New York — and I hope everyone is able to try some new and interesting cuisine in this upcoming year!

For the overall tastiest dish in New York City — Al Di La Trattoria in Brooklyn, New York — fits the bill! I never go to Brooklyn, but I would happily go any time if it meant I would be eating at Al Di La.

My favorite meal while out of New York City was from — Antico Noe — a sandwich shop in Florence, Italy. I never imagined that a sandwich could be this delicious! I plan to go back to Florence one day, just so I can eat here!

The best burger award goes to — Minetta Tavern — their Black Label Burger is the reason why you need to make reservations one month in advance! And do not offer to share this burger with anyone. Trust me, you’ll want it all to yourself. (*and eat it the way the chef prepares it, do NOT add ketchup.)

For an affordable, yet trendy and sophisticated menu, the award award goes to — L’Artusi — I love that the menu changes seasonally, and the portion sizes are fantastic!

The most exotic restaurant surly is — Ventanas — this Spanish-Moroccan fusion restaurant has mastered the tastiest dishes and has an incredibly entertaining ambiance.

The fastest and tastiest restaurant award goes to — La Esquina’s Taqueria in Soho — it’s hard not to stop here for some tacos and grilled corn whenever I am shopping downtown! Plus, it’s a great place to take friends to when they visit, no one dislikes their food!

The best comfort food award goes to — The Meatball Shop — the unfortunately long wait keeps me from going back, but the food is delicious and insanely cheap! Who wouldn’t want a bowl of spicy pork meatballs?

Pizza may have been around for centuries, but Co. in Chelsea knew what to do to have people re-discovering it again. Even though it’s a bit pricey for pizza, you’ll love every bite!

The best South American food goes to the 24/7 joint in Hell’s Kitchen — Empanada Mama. The avocado salad is to-die-for but all of the empanadas are fantastic! This is obviously what they are known for, so you must order a bunch when you go (plus, they are wicked cheap!).

Al Di La Trattoria in Brooklyn, NY

It’s a very rare happening, me going to Brooklyn, but every time I make my way out to the borough I love every minute I spend there. I’m also lucky enough to have friends that know their way around, so the visit is a pleasant experience. My friend Tim lives in Park Slope and he has been raving about an Italian restaurant ever since I met him. The restaurant is only a few blocks away from his apartment and he willingly admits that he orders from the restaurant all the time. So one Saturday evening I make the quick trek outside of Manhattan and met up with Tim, who then led me along a busy/”happening” street. It seemed as if I misjudged Park Slope. I had always assumed that people lived in the neighborhood but always came into Manhattan for everything else, including restaurants. But no, that’s not the case at all. Those who live in Park Slope manage to have their cake and eat it too. They live in an idyllic neighborhood, they get a “smaller” town vibe, they have Manhattan only a quick subway ride away, and they also eat very very well.

We arrived at Al Di La Trattoria, the Italian restaurant Tim has been raving about. It’s 8:30 p.m. and the place is packed! Tim had put our name on a list about 20 minutes earlier and we still had an hour and forty five minutes of a wait left. So we went out the front door and around the corner to go downstairs to the wine bar that is also connected to the restaurant. We ordered a bottle of red wine and spent some time catching up. Not even 20 minutes later a table in the wine bar opened up and we were offered the table if we wanted to eat downstairs. Of course we said yes… we were about to finish the bottle of wine and there was no food in our stomachs.

The wine bar tables are much more intimate and quiet than the tables upstairs in the main restaurant. If we were to sit upstairs the atmosphere would be completely different — just imagine a loud Italian family, a traditional Italian kitchen, yup that’s what upstairs would have been like. We were just so hungry we would have sat any where!

Even though it was my first time at the restaurant I quickly knew what I wanted to order: the Tortelli, a ravioli stuffed with corn and a sweet cream sauce with a side of potatoes. It’s the first time I have ever had corn as a filling in my ravioli and I’ll admit that I was very hesitant. (Tim assured me it was going to be delicious!) When the food arrived the two of us completely stopped talking, we were too busy stuffing our faces in the nicest way possible. I couldn’t believe it, I managed to eat my entire ravioli dish in under 6 minutes. The corn was subtle but sweet and delicious and the cream sauce was so light and refreshing I hardly knew it was a cream sauce, even my stomach didn’t ache. There was actually sauce left over on my plate so I dumped my potatoes onto the dish and scooped up some sauce for each forkfull of potatoes.

Over all I am not a Brooklyner at heart — I truly enjoy living and dining in Manhattan. But Al Di La was so extraordinarily delicious I will gladly and willingly take another trip back to the borough for another meal. (I’ll also eat at any restaurant my friend Tim recommends because clearly he knows what good food tastes like!)