NYC: Torrisi Italian Specialties

Yes I know its terrible that I've been back from my whirlwind overseas holiday for almost 5 months now and I'm still blogging about my holiday! I just went to so many amazing cities and experienced so many different things that I could literally post everyday for 3 months and still not be finished.

Anyway, this week Michelin released their 2013 food guides with the all important Michelin stars being given out for restaurants around the world. I was so excited for Torrisi Italian Specialties that they got honoured with one michelin star for the first time this year!

When I went to NYC in 2011 I was dying to get a table but at that point in time it was a no reservations first come first served basis with tables incredibly difficult to score. This year I was really happy to hear they had started taking reservations so it was one of the first tables I tried to nab!

So here are some pics of the food - a few Antipasti courses up first. The course structure was very authentic with a whole lot of small plates, some pasta then the main courses and desserts. These are some breads and warm mozarella which was just so soft and creamy.

Another antipasti - fresh spring greens and first pecorino.

Fresh pepperoni and pea shoots - this was really meaty and flavoursome so though it looks like a small pieces to share between two it was actually a perfect size!

Soft shell crab mix fry - I absolutely adore soft shell crab and this was lightly battered to perfection and not at all greasy.

And now for the pasta - no Italian meal would be complete without some, right? Octopus, shells and potato.

View from our window seat table - it was lovely to be able to see the hustle and bustle outside but be perched at a lovely quiet table like this.

Now onto the main courses - meat and fish were offered so my sister and I opted to try both. This was the BBQ lamb, corona beans and celery slaw. I don't think this was anything extraordinary but of course it was cooked perfectly so was succulent. I don't know what happened to my piccy of the fish course but I had a John Dory which was fried and served with a bit of an olive drizzle. Again it was lightly battered so not too heavy which is just how it should be.

I loved this - a bit of a palate cleanser in the form of a sorbet!

And finally, a tasting plate or 'dessert tray' to share. There was the celery cake, grape jelly and peanuts (which is the rectangular chocolate coated delicacy towards the back), pizzelle cannoli at the front, rainbow cookies (italian flag coloured), apricot and pistachio cuccidati (white to the left) and finally peppermint patty in the middle. I loved this dessert plate because I could try a bit of everything and the bite sized morsels were a perfect way to clean your palate with something sweet but not feel like you need to roll yourself out of the restaurant because you've eaten so much. 

The menu changes daily so I'm definitely going to try and go again the next time I find myself lucky enough to be in NYC again. I loved as well that they gave us this little post card to remember our meal by :)

And here's a random shot - as we were leaving I took a sneaky photo of the underground kitchen. This was taken from the street level outside looking down and in. I don't think they were too happy about me taking a photo!

My experience at Torrisi was fab, but then I absolutely love any food that is Italian. I'm not sure that I would put them up there with other one michelin star restaurants I've been to, but what they're doing there is authentic, hearty and wholesome Italian food which I absolutely adore.