David Burke's Prime House, Chicago IL

After a lot of walking at the Gold Coast Art Festival, my family and I headed for our reservations at David Burke’s Prime House in the James Hotel for lunch. After the experience the night before at Spiaggia I don’t think anyone was too keen on another overpriced meal served with pretense – thankfully Burke’s offers neither at lunch and actually has a very nice looking “No Bull Feast” 3 course menu with appetizer, main, and dessert included. Having contacted the restaurant ahead of time and made reservations I additionally asked if there was any way dinner items could be prepared for lunch at an additional charge and was told that would be perfectly acceptable provided the ingredients were in stock. To avoid belaboring service issues, every aspect of our experience from my first e-mail to the moment we left was flawless service – they didn’t even bat an eye when my sister stated she was cold at our window table to move us to an another warmer area.

Seated promptly with water, iced tea, and hot tea (sister) filled by our server we were next brought our menus and told what was available on the dinner menu. Excited, we each opted for the No Bull Feast plus I added on something that couldn’t be missed. Orders taken our server ambled away and we sat and chatted in the largely uncrowded but beautiful restaurant – while clearly in the lobby of a hotel, the space was very quiet and I actually enjoyed watching the street, the movement in the kitchen, and the other tables receive foods from the rolling carts. If I did have to utter one complaint it would be the bizarre lyrical techno playing overhead – not my cup o’ tea and didn’t really need to be on quite so loud.

Arriving prior to our appetizers we first received one of Burke’s famous popovers served in a copper sauce pan. Clearly not made in the pan but a very nice effect, the popover was crispy on the outside and largely hollow on the inside aside from the strong vapors of butter and yeast. An excellent dinner roll, my aunt complained there wasn’t enough substance and that she wished she’d have gotten more than one – of course this was stated before she failed to finish her meal – I think Primehouse is aware of their portion sizes and I’m glad (for once) I didn’t fill up on bread.

Having a limited (but great looking) number of selections for lunch we ended up getting only 2 different appetizers. For my mother and sister, they each chose the Lobster Bisque with Green Apple essence and Lobster Spring Roll. Not overwhelmed with cream and butter like most steakhouse bisques I was very impressed by the quality of Burke’s bisque and compare it favorably to the broth-like version we’d had at Crop in May. Rich and complex with quite a bit of lobster, the brine of the dish was well tempered by the underlying tones of apple and garlic.

For my aunt and I we each opted to go with the Pretzel Crusted Crab Cake with Poppyseed Honey, Citrus, Mango-Mayo – in a word, excellent! Featuring pretzel’s lengthwise with a well proportioned crabcake baked and pan-flash finished inside plus notable aromatics provided by spices, the cake itself was both unique and tasty. What set the dish apart, however, was actually the light accents provided by the mild honey and the creaminess added by the sweet yet savory mango-mayo. Certainly a novel take on the steakhouse favorite and it worked well.

My addition from the dinner menu was served along with my crabcake and was worth every cent of the $18 price (note, the app/main/dessert feast was only $20.09) Entitled Foie Gras Terrine with Green City Market Rhubarb, Strawberry Pinot Noir Jam, and Toasted Brioche this item was every bit as good as it sounds – better than the foie at Alinea and probably #3 on my all-time list behind The French Laundry and Alto. While I fully admit to preferring terrine over roast, this version was particularly decadent with the luxurious and creamy liver served beneath a layer of rendered fat/Pinot/Strawberry and topped with chopped, poached, and sweetened rhubarb. Spreading thin in order to savor I requested extra bread which was delivered, grilled, within 2 minutes.

Happy already a short while passed while we waited for our mains – during this time a crowd of four persons in tattered T-shirts and ripped jeans came in and were seated towards the front of the restaurant. Given their dress I was surprised they were allowed to be seated – and the volume/tone/language of their conversation certainly didn’t befit a high end steakhouse…clearly the low price point of the lunch menu brings all sorts. Largely unaffected our mains arrived via yet another push cart and everything looked great. Starting with my aunt’s dish, she selected the Lobster Pasta with pea tendrils, morels, and roasted shallot butter. While the pasta itself was largely boring and a little soft for my liking, the shallot butter was superb, the lobster fresh, and the morels…amazing both in quality, quantity, and texture. Quite frankly, in Columbus the Morels and lobster on this plate alone would’ve cost $20.09 at Whole Foods.

The second main, my sisters, was Tempura Shrimp Salad with Cucumber, Carrot, Bell Pepper, Ginger Soy. Vibrant, enormous, flavorful, and featuring very fresh vegetables with an incredible texture I was very impressed by this dish despite not being a “Salad for a main” kinda guy. The Tempura Shrimp were ginger glazed prior to frying which added an unexpected and pleasant degree of complexity.

The third main, ordered by my mother and myself was Pan Roasted Chicken with basil whipped potatoes, asparagus, roasted garlic jus and when it arrived all I could think was “chicken – are you sure it wasn’t a turkey?” Quite honestly, the dish was enormous – and I can eat! A whole half an Amish chicken, easily 3/4 lbs of potatoes, a half bundle of perfectly poached garlic accented asparagus, and an ample helping of chicken/garlic pan jus. Well cooked, great tasting, probably the best chicken I’ve had in half a year or more – superb.

Already quite full we were informed that dessert would be up next – it was around 2pm and I had dinner at Alinea in 6.5 hours, hopefully desserts would be small…nope! Arriving first, my aunt and mother’s option was the Gianduja Creme Brulee with Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Brulee, Coffee Ice Cream, Caramel Hazelnuts. Though not a big fan of crème brulee in general, having experienced Gianduja multiple times in the past I expected this to be good – and excellent it was. The “worst” of the desserts, I still preferred this to anything we’d had at Spiaggia the night before and found the flavor much akin to nutella with a hearty coffee ice cream that featured great top notes of hazelnut.

Second, my dessert – entitled “A Slice of Prime” and described as layers of chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, and fudge s'mores ice cream I found the presentation with a dense chocolate bulls-head lollypop quite attractive. Thick, rich, almost too decadent for one the cake was actually great on its own but enhanced to a new level by the ice cream which helped to not only cut the sweetness but also to add a degree of nuance to the dish with its notably “marshmellowy” tones.

The final dessert, once again what I’d have ordered if I was solo, was “The King” - Banana Cake, Chocolate Cream, Peanut Butter Ice Cream, Peanut Bacon Brittle, Tempura Banana. Just read over those ingredients and tell me how this could possibly be anything less than awesome? Sweet/savory, hot/cold, chocolate/peanut butter, soft/crunchy…with bacon. Dense cake, hefty cream, smooth ice cream, a perfectly prepared tempura banana, and the crunch of whole peanuts with bacon – a designer dessert in a non-designer setting – superb.

When it was all said and done our total bill for 4 was less than my personal bill at either Spiaggia or North Pond and I enjoyed the meal more. While the food may not be as “high end” and the view not as spectacular you simply can’t say enough about great food in a comfortable setting with fantastic and accommodating service. As a non-beef eater I must say my last two steakhouse experiences (CUT in LA and Burke’s) have been wonderful – and at $20.09 for three great courses I’d strongly recommend Burke’s to anyone for lunch – I’ll be back for Dim Sum sometime soon.

Molly's Cupcakes, Fox and Obel, Chicago IL

Fresh and made with high quality ingredients will get you far in my assessment of your cupcakes – but so will flavor and texture. Sprinkles cupcakes may be made of all organic substances by the hand of Thomas Keller himself (they’re not, in case you were wondering) but that doesn’t make them delicious, worth the line, or worth the price. On the other hand, who can argue that those cheap and entirely low quality hostess cupcakes still make you think “wow, those are pretty damned good?” Those things in mind, during our daily snacking in Chicago my family and I opted to stop into two high end cupcake shops and compare Chi-town to others across the US.

Our first stop admittedly wasn’t just for cupcakes – having been there once before we went into Fox and Obel because A) The parking is free, B) They have a great stock of vinegars (something I can never have enough of,) C) They sell Intelligentsia by the 12oz bag, and D) okay, yeah, the cupcakes. Shopping around and first grabbing coffee, some cheese samples, and a bottle of fig balsamic we next proceeded to the bakery where we bought two cupcakes – one chocolate with chocolate ganache and one red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

Starting with the Red Velvet – and ending with the red velvet. Dry and dense – nearly a biscuit as much as a cupcake – this was bought at 10:00am on a Saturday, I can’t even fathom as the day went on. Mild airs of cocoa and an admittedly mild (Albeit not very ‘cream cheesy’ in texture) frosting were just about the only thing notable in this stale cake. As disappointed as I was I actually only had 1 bite before handing it off to my aunt, another red velvet fan, who also noted it was pretty bad – odd since she enjoyed the F&O Red Velvet Fatboy last time. With the Red Velvet that bad I can honestly say I didn’t even try the Chocolate cupcake, but my mother and sister said it was pretty dry and boring. The intelligentsia coffee was excellent though – so was the free cheese.

Following F&O we made our way North to Molly’s Cupcakes – a small shop on a college campus that reminded me of Dessert Club: Chickalicious in NYC. Utilizing fine ingredients, supporting a good cause, featuring a “sprinkles station,” and allowing you to design your own cupcake in addition to their daily selections seemed like a can’t-miss combo – largely it was. While cupcakes were pricey and the lack of parking was a tad annoying, the customer service was great, the store was kitschy, and the selections were unique – blending the same Intelligentsia I experienced at Alinea that evening (at $3 instead of $8) I regret not getting a cup.

Selecting our cupcakes, 6 in total, only one was consumed right away while the others were eaten throughout the next 24 hours. An overarching theme of all the cakes is the fact that the quality of the ingredients DEFINITLEY shined through – much like Kara’s in SF. Each cupcake had great frosting to cake ratio, the cakes held up well to bite and knife, and the cake itself was moist without drying out despite the delay in eating. The first cupcake tasted was the Cookee Monster – a wonderful vanilla cake filled with raw cookie dough and topped with a mild buttercream frosting and small cookie. I ate it solo and was glad to do so.

The subsequent cupcakes were eaten as a “tasting” of sorts after a post-lunch nap…sort of a pre-Alinea snack, if you will. With each divided into quarters we sampled first the Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting –Easily a top-5 Red Velvet option with a significantly sour cream cheese frosting that really set off the cocoa in the cupcake. While not quite as good as the version at Bouchon, I’d place it on par with the choices at Two Little Red Hens or Grandma Freida’s as second best – the frosting REALLY worked.

Following the Red Velvet was Boston Cream – good texture and flavor but really not all that memorable, lemon-meringue – I demolished this attempting to cut it but found the extremely intense lemon cake very well balanced against the creamy and airy meringue, and Peanut Butter Nutella – excellent but so Peanut Buttery that the Nutella was largely overwhelmed – had I gone into it with different expectations I’d have thought “Damn, that is an AWESOME peanut butter cupcake.” The final cupcake, the Ron Bennington, I actually did not taste as my family finished it while I was at Alinea – but I am told it was good too.

All told I quite liked Molly’s, but found the price to be just a tad excessive. While the cupcakes at Bouchon are similarly priced, they are larger and for about 1/2 the price of Molly’s a place like Grandma Freida’s or Two Little Red Hens serves an equally good if not better cake. If I lived in the area I’d definitely return to try more, though – they are a darned good cupcake.

Yolk, Chicago IL

At home breakfast is the same nearly every day – after a good workout it is a filling salad with chicken, fried eggs, and a parfait of yogurt, fruit, salt, and protein powder. When on vacation breakfast is the same nearly every day as well – after a good workout it is pastries, pancakes, donuts, or whatever childish combination of flavors I can find – vacation is a time for fun and breakfast is fun! Having already done both Bongo Rooms and Over Easy in Chicago the decision for the morning meal before Alinea was Yolk on Michigan Avenue before heading over to the Gold Coast Art Show. Opening at 7am with our group arriving at 8:45 the place was jammed – but thankfully parking was close-by and cheap – with a line so long I expected good things and surprisingly we were seated in less than 15 minutes.

Having already browsed the pastry case and seated in the middle of the large room I must say I was impressed by the food but taken back by the noise level – between the close packed tables, loud voices, and clatter of utensils I simply found the music unnecessary – even if it was Neko Case who is superb. Greeted by our friendly server our water was filled and drink orders were taken along with an order for three pastry appetizers. Arriving in short order my sister’s tea selection, my coffee, and mom/aunt’s orange juices were all good and my coffee was kept refilled quite adequately – thankfully I brought my own nutrasweet, though as Yolk had only Splenda and Equal (does Steve Wynn own this place?? :-))

Following the beverages were our pastries – dessert before dessert-esque breakfast? Sure! Ever since I was offered dessert at breakfast in LA this has been my mantra. Starting first with the blueberry muffin – lets just say it was still warm, super buttery with hints of vanilla, and loaded with very fresh blueberries – all told I liked it ($2) better than my Blueberry Baba at Spiaggia the night before.

The second pastry was their “famous” cinnamon roll. While I can’t say I’ve heard of their cinnamon roll before (as compared to Ann Sather’s) I will state now that it has replaced Omega as my favorite cinnamon roll to date. Creamy and luscious with heavy hints of cinnamon, vanilla, and butter the frosting was an additionally wonderful addition with its sour cream cheese essence lingering throughout the palate – I need to taste Sather’s on my next trip to see if it even compares.

The third pastry – homage to the previously mentioned LA meal – was a griddle grilled Pecan Roll. While good and perfectly prepared with a crispy/buttery exterior I simply must state that after the cinnamon roll it didn’t have a chance. Good, but not “amazing” – just get the cinnamon roll, it costs less too.

Sharing our appetizers around we were all primed for the main event and once again Yolk produced quite quickly – we had our mains within 20 minutes of seating and lingered over them for some time without feeling rushed at all. Starting with my option – mostly because I always wait to see what everyone else orders before making my decision (in order to maximize tasting options) - Semi-sweet Chocolate and Strawberry Cakes. While tasty, I personally found the cakes to be a bit doughy and (like Bongo Room the day before) more like McDonald’s Hotcakes than I’d prefer. Draped with a small dollop of whipped cream and even less chocolate I was fortunate that the strawberries were of good quality – but regardless the dish required a lot of extra syrup to be as tasty as hoped.

The next dish, one of the two I’d wanted to order but was glad others had chosen so that I could sample, was my sister’s Cinnamon Roll French Toast – essentially one of Yolks previously mentioned awesome cinnamon rolls cut lengthwise and griddled. Without adding any additional cream cheese frosting aside from that which topped the original I’m not really sure why there was a $4 increase to simply pan fry this item and my sister noted that the top layer was way too sweet while the rest was way too bland. The taste I had was quite tasty and well complimented by the maple syrup, but I’d stick to the plain cinnamon roll sans grilling.

Ordered by my mother, Cheese Blintzes with Raspberry and Sourcream was a dish I’d not have ordered, but she didn’t want something “too sweet.” Very well formed and appropriately airy crepes were served filled with creamy cheese and along with fresh sour (and I mean SOUR) cream and a wonderful raspberry compote. Not a fan of sour cream in general I took one taste of the dish with sour cream and reconfirmed my belief. Thankfully my mother opted to top each Blintz individually I did re-taste the dish sans sour cream when she couldn’t finish and did appreciate the quality of the presentation and how the creamy cheese mellowed the sweet compote.

The final selection, the dish I’d planned to order on browsing the online menu, was ordered by my aunt - Peanut Butter Banana Nut Bread French Toast. Having had Banana Bread Pudding French Toast at Brenda’s in San Francisco and Norma’s famous Banana Bread in NYC I only hoped this dish could live up to my expectations – and mostly it did. Thick cut and crisply fried banana bread, a small degree of egginess, strong hints of cinnamon, and all the better when topped with Peanut Butter. My only complaint would actually be the quality of the Peanut Butter – clearly a canned/jarred non-natural I would’ve much preferred something with less added sweetness – I’m picky about my Peanut Butter.

When it was all said and done I do believe Yolk was our cheapest meal of the weekend and I enjoyed the experience moreso than our meal at Spiaggia the night before – despite the packed seating I didn’t get elbowed once! With that noted, I can’t say I’d return to Yolk on future trips simply because better options exist – specifically Bongo Room and m.henry.

Spiaggia, Chicago IL

I’d almost given up on “haute Italian” before my May trip to New York. After less-than-amazing experience for excessive prices at Valentino, La Botte, and Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles/Santa Monica and vastly better quantity/quality experiences at “mid-range” Italian places in multiple cities I’d begun to think that perhaps “fine dining” should be reserved to French, American, and Mediterranean cuisine – thankfully my trip to New York brought me back to my love of Italian with sublime meals at Scarpetta and Alto. Having had a great experience at Café Spiaggia on my previous trip to Chicago and traveling with my family who loves Italian I decided that our one group splurge meal for the trip would be at the main house overlooking North Michigan Avenue.

Speaking with dining room manager Chad Bertelsman before our arrival I was provided a copy of the updated menu and although I’d heard comment from others that Spiaggia’s price vastly outstripped the quantity and quality of its food the dishes on the menu and the reputation of sublime service sold me that it would be worth the expense…unfortunately I was wrong…while the food was wonderful and the view sublime, the service was bad and actually offensive.

First off, while Chad himself suggested he would be looking forward to greeting us the experience and service I received was anything but "welcoming." Chad never presented as he was called to manage the café that evening – and clearly his guidance was missed as the entire staff seemed to have their nose in the air from the moment we arrived - the hostess actually "greeted" us with her back to us before sauntering off to see if our table was ready. Seated eventually at a beautiful window seat our server Erin literally stood there almost GLARING at my family after stopping by the fourth time (in less than 10 minutes) to see if we were ready to place orders. After orders were placed she never once returned other than when casually walking by once and saying "is everything good?"

Additional service issues marring the evening seemed to occur from the moment we stated we weren't wine drinkers – from there on it was as thought our $400 bill didn't matter. Most notably, while we're on the subject of price, my aunt ordered the crab salad as an appetizer and the lobster spaghetti. Without explanation Erin simply stated "I'll make that your main" and increased the price by $15 without indicating that would be the case. Next up on the hit list, the incessant reaching across people to fill water (once, lifting the glass and actually managing to spill ~1/8 to 1/4oz of water onto my uovo ravioli.) Finally, the largest offense was when the waiter behind me elbowed me hard in the back of the head while assisting the other table. I saw stars, literally, and received and ancillary "oh, sorry about that" as condolences. While "mistakes" do happen, it certainly is not like the tables were jammed together.

Service issues aside and the fact that communicating this to the restaurant and Chad himself has led to not even an apology – but rather denial, I will state that the food was impressive, albeit pricey. Beginning first with a presentation of breads including Ricotta Rosemary, Ciabatta, Cheese Sticks, and Whole Wheat served with a wonderfully creamy butter and an amuse of Tuna Crudo with summer Radish, Mani Olive Oil, and fresh Microgreens each subsequent dish displayed a degree of expert craft, great presentation, and top quality ingredients.

Arriving first, our selection of antipasti and pastas –

#1) GAMBE DI GRANCHIO CON FINOCCHIO, CIPOLLA DOLCE E FAGIOLINI Warm Dungeness crab with baby fennel, sweet onions, green beans and 2008 Manni Per Mio Figlio extra virgin olive oil. Ordered by my aunt this dish was well prepared with delicate and flaky crab perched atop a buttery toast, crisp green beans, and an amalgam of fennel and onions – adding a wonderful degree of texture and nuance was a dab of Per Mio Figlio Olive Oil from Manni – incredible.

#2) RISOTTO NERO CON POLIPO E PESTO GENOVESE Organic Acquerello risotto with octopus terrine and bone marrow finished with squid ink and Genovese pesto. Ordered by my sister this dish was certainly not plentiful, but the flavors and presentation were certainly attractive. Flawlessly prepared risotto, but no better than that at Alana’s in Columbus and served with less than 1/2 ounce of octopus, 1/2 ounce of creamy marrow, and accented by the salty ink and tangy pesto I can’t say there was much to share, but what I did taste was pleasant.

#3) RAVIOLETTO DI CRESCENZA E TARTUFI NERI CON FAVE Crescenza cheese and Umbrian black truffle filled pasta with fava beans. Ordered by my mother this single long noodle was well prepared al dente and stuffed with an admixture of truffle and creamy cheese. Adding a degree of texture were the fava beans which were very well prepared and added a meatiness to the dish without overwhelming the delicate flavors inside the pasta shell.

#4) UOVO IN RAVIOLO CON GUANCIALE E PISELLI Organic Yuppie Hill Farm egg filled pasta with guanciale, Pecorino Romano and fresh peas. Having tasted a similar dish at Osteria Mozza I expected a lot from this dish but was unfortunately underwhelmed. While certainly good I simply found the flavors to be lacking compared to Batali’s version and the Farm Egg was nowhere near as creamy (or plentiful) as the duck egg at Mozza. Additionally, clearly annoyed by the water splash, this version was more expensive than that at Mozza.

#5) Ostensibly the reason for my visit, GNOCCHI DI PATATE IN SALSA DI RICOTTA E TARTUFI NERI Hand rolled potato gnocchi with ricotta sauce with Umbrian black truffles was actually worth the price of admission. Having tasted and been wowed by Café Spiaggia’s gnocchi in the past these pillows of potato were of a similar texture – literally melting in the mouth. The gravy, additionally, was absolutely transcendent with the creamy and smooth ricotta accenting the sexy essence of the truffles – a truly beautiful dish that is rivaled only by Keller’s gnocchi preps at TFL and Bouchon for best all time.

#6) Moving onto our main courses, three of us opted for secondi while my aunt got the previously mentioned up-charged pasta. Entitled SPAGHETTI NERI ALLA CHITARRA CON ARAGOSTA, AGLIO NUOVO, PEPERONCINI DI CALABRIA E MENTA Hand crafted squid ink spaghetti with lobster, spring garlic, dried Calabrian chilis and mint the dish reminded me somewhat of the incredible lobster spaghetti at Scarpetta and somewhat of the lobster risotto at Valentino – but smaller in portion and less tasty than either. Salty and savory with just a hint of heat tempered by the mint – but certainly not $42.

#7) My sister’s main for the evening, SALMONE IN CROSTA DI ZUCCHINE CON POMODORI GIALLI Olive oil poached Neah Bay king salmon with baby zucchini, Italian yellow tomato and basil was a relatively standard fish preparation utilizing clearly fresh and invariably unfrozen salmon lightly poached on the outside and nearly raw on the inside – paired with sweet zucchini and sweeter tomatoes heavily accented with fresh chopped olive oil both my sister and I thought this amongst the best Salmon we’d ever tasted.

#8) A selection off the tasting menu, LONZA E PIEDINI DI MAIALE CON LENTICCHIE DI CASTELLUCCIO E MOSTARDA DI CIPOLLE Wood grilled Becker Lane Berkshire pork loin and crispy trotters with Castelluccian lentils and onion mostarda was my mother’s selection – and a good selection at that. While not as delectable as the pork options at either Batali’s East or West coast flagships this perfectly prepared loin was well complimented by the creamy onion compote and al dente lentils. As my mother does not enjoy trotters I was able to eat this item in whole and can only say that it was by far and away the best pork I’ve had outside the pig’s head dish at The French Laundry. Creamy, smokey, fatty – glorious.

#9) The final savory and the most expensive item on the menu was selected by myself - GAMBERI ROSSI E POLENTA AL FORNO CON ERBE CIPOLLINA RICCIO DI MARE E CAVAILE Wood-roasted Santa Barbara spot prawns with yellow polenta, sea urchin, Italian Osetra caviar and chives. While not exactly what I expected from the description this dish was absolutely fantastic – albeit quite petite. Six medium prawns and three cubes of polenta – polenta blended with creamed uni and fan fried crispy then topped with approximately 30-40 eggs of caviar – once again, flawless execution from a clearly intelligent and ambitious chef.

Having been elbowed in the head mid-mains I have to say I was rather surly when our waitress finally returned to offer dessert. Clearly oblivious and myself not wanting to make a scene I accepted the dessert menu and left it up to my family to decide whether to stay or go. Browsing the menu they each found an item that sounded appealing and thus we stayed. Dish #10, therefore, was TORTA AL MASCARPONE IN SALSA DI CAFFE ILLY with Chilled Mascarpone cheese torte with espresso sauce and it was ordered by my sister – a tiramisu addict. Attractive and well presented this dish was nearly a panna cotta in texture and was topped with a glorious chocolate gelato and lying atop a puddle of espresso cream sauce. Good, not great, but my sister liked it.

#11) PANNA COTTA DI LIMONE CON BISCOTTO DI POLENTA with Lemon panna cotta with polenta cookie and Meyer lemon vodka. Ordered by my mother this dish was the most intriguing of the desserts and the combination of tart/bitter alcohol flavors worked beautifully with the superbly sweet panna cotta. While the polenta cookie didn’t add much, its lemon tones were quite well paired with the rest of the dish.

#12) SEMIFREDDO DI CIOCCOLATO CON CREMA D’ARANCIA E ZAFFERANO Semi-frozen Valhrona chocolate mousse with orange and saffron was ordered by my aunt and while good was largely unmemorable. Like a haute-chocolate-orange with an element of savory, I much preferred the chocolate-orange dessert at Scarpetta.

#13) BABA AFFOGATO CON PANNA Rum syrup soaked brioche with Mick Klug Farms blueberries and apricots topped with whipped cream. My selection for the evening – after stellar Baba au Rum presentations at both MiX and The Modern perhaps I expected too much, but this dish was relatively underwhelming with the Brioche over-baked and rum largely understated. The highlight of the dish for me was actually the delicate interplay between the sweet and fresh berries and the incredibly fresh and velvety cream.

Served along with the desserts was a plate of largely forgettable cookies – the only which was truly notable being the ball of pistachio cream.

All the above combined with a generalized "stuck up" staff who acted as though it was a privilege to eat at Spiaggia left a very poor taste in my mouth - especially when compared to the genuine and truly gracious, friendly, and refined yet (dare I say) casual service at places like Charlie Trotter's and TRU in the past. This isn't even to mention the following night when I dined at Alinea - a place where it truly is a "privilege" to eat and received refined and attentive, yet down to earth service for 4+ hours.

All told, Spiaggia has great food and a great view - for some that may be enough. For myself, I like the service to match the chef's vision and I certainly don't appreciate nickel and dime up charges, snooty pretense, or a stiff elbow. I also don’t like excuses – whether it be from the dining room manager or from customers who act as though somehow Spiaggia’s location justifies their prices – I’ve had better Italian in finer setting for less.