482248 Wed Jan 23 10:46:03 -0800 2008 2 18 Manhattan 0 3324472 I had a crostini with foie gras/chicken liver and moscato d'asti gelee to start, which was excellent. It was rich, creamy, and sweet on toasted bread. My boyfriend enjoyed his winter soup of artichoke and lamb ravioli. Fragrant, absolutely delicious and perfect for cold weather -- I'm tempted now to see if I can replicate it at home (at least the soup part). My main was light, chewy priest's collars (circular pasta) with tender circles of squid in a warm, comforting pesto sauce. He enjoyed Maine diver scallops (4 nicely sized pieces) with mushrooms, roasted zucca, celery, gala apple. We both swooned over our mains. (Also noticed a nice pork tenderloin on the menu, as well as My Grandmother's Meat Ravioli -- alas, another time). For dessert, a very nice tiramisu with toasted hazelnuts and what I believe was a amaretto jelly; he liked his bigne filled with pistachio cream (3 tiny, perfect cream puffs -- take that, Beard Papa) and cherries. The room was almost full by the end of our meal, and it does get a bit loud, but it was tolerable, at least for lunch. A great deal for a 3 course lunch, in an elegant setting, and with excellent service. I will definitely be back. Wed Jan 23 10:46:03 -0800 2008 10936 kathryn 1 3324478 That all sounds absolutely wonderful - thanks for the review. Wed Jan 23 10:46:45 -0800 2008 3324472 10985 MMRuth 1 3325589 Went for Rest Week Lunch on Monday. Just walked in and got a table for 2. I had the artichoke soup, I wasn't paying enough attention but it was very good. I had the pork tenderloin, myself, which was excellent if you removed the cippoline agrodolce, which was easy enough.The chard was great and had some heat, a huge surprise on the upside, as I am not a fan. The beans went well also. Also, a couple bits of ,probably, pancetta were used in the prep. Might have been the magic factor. My guest had the scallops, was very pleased. He is trustworthy to a large extent but not as much as myself. I did try one of the funghi he was raving about. Not impressed, so obviously a divergence there. Desserts, poor, period. Tiramisu is rubbish so I do not order it but my fellow non cafe loving partner did as the choices were poor('misu, bigne and mango panna cota which normally I would flock to but want to do something else, also had pineapple sauce which I dislike). Seemed fine for tiramisu but that is not good enough. Personally, I had the bigne. Not impressed, to say the least, and certainly less so after that entree. Too much booze in the cherries and creme. My favorite restaurant is Italian but in general, they are not master of the sweets, especially, beyond very simple creations. Booze and coffee, I guess that appeals to the masses of the country addicted to them but they must be used more carefully. I would still recommend this place, to my surprise, and I only eat at a handful of restaurants in town. If it matters, room is open, decor is very pleasant, crowd was not my cup of tea but I don't like crowds of most sorts. A bit noisy, you could say, as the 2 person tables are in a row, often, but I am low maintenance and that noise does not bother me.It is Manhattan, if you need perfect silence, move. Another note, they were offering some $20 bottles, which I think was a nice gesture, though we were not consuming. Wed Jan 23 15:03:22 -0800 2008 3324472 140497 gambit50