The NYC FOODIE had quite the culinary weekend. I celebrated my 29th birthday on Sunday, March 1st, and had some fantastic culinary adventures!
Saturday night I went with my family to 10 Downing in the West Village. We were also celebrating my older sister's 30th birthday which was on Friday, February 27th (you do the math).
10 Downing comes to us from part of the team behind the restaurant 5 Ninth, and from consulting chef Katy Sparks, and Executive chef Jason Neroni. The space is really nice, there is ample room between tables allowing for a pleasurable dining experience.
For starters we had the Oceant Trout Tartar, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Baked Sheep's Cheese, and Roasted Baby Beets.
The Ocean Trout Tartar ($13) came with pine nuts, pickled mustard seeds, chorizo oil and a quail egg. There was a light sweetness to the flavor that I really loved. It was a great starter.
Brussels Sprouts have made a huge comeback in recent times and are popping up on many NYC menus. The ones at 10 Downing ($9) do not disappoint. Here they are roasted and served with anchovy vinaigrette, soft boiled egg and parmesan. They were some good Sprouts!
The Baked Sheep's Cheese ($10) came on a piquillo pepper jam and was absolutely delicious!
The Roasted Baby Beets ($12) came with ruby red grapefruit, picon blue cheese and beet green vinaigrette and was also very good.
For our entrees we got a special of Suckling Pig, Squid Ink Agnolotti, and the Striped Bass.
The Suckling Pig ($28) was a standout dish. I rarely order pig, so when I saw it as a special I knew I had to have it. It came with a blood orange and apple mustarda, wild baby arugula, and pork jus. It was so perfectly cooked and so tender, the meat practically melted in my mouth. I loved this pig!
The Squid Ink Agnolotti ($27) was a really nice dish too. It came with peekytoe crab, dill, tomato confit and lemon butter. The pasta was well cooked and a had a great texture. I loved the abundant amount of crab in the dish which was a great complement to the cauliflower cream-filled pasta.
The Striped Bass ($25) came with seckel pears, sauteed trumpet mushrooms, and celery root puree. It was perfectly cooked and just fine, but I was bored with it.
Being it was a birthday celebration we decided to order all four desserts on the menu, and I'm glad we did, for they were all amazing!
10 Downing combines all the aspects of what a great restaurant should be. Great food, great wine, and great service in a great space! So what I'm basically trying to say is that 10 Downing is pretty much great.
10 Downing
10 Downing St. (at 6th Ave.)
New York, NY 10014
212-255-0300
www.10downingnyc.com