Adventures in Restaurant Week: Centro Vinoteca

Miel, Cherry Cupcake and I, along with their friend C who is visiting from L.A. (she chose a perfect snowy weekend to come see NYC!), decided to celebrate the extension of restaurant week by making reservations at David Burke Townhouse.   To our dismay, we found that after we'd make our reservation, the restaurant week menu had been pulled, and the restaurant was no longer participating in restaurant week (it seems many other frugal foodies encountered this problem as well, based on my research on Yelp*).  So, we went out on a limb and made reservations at Centro Vinoteca, though we hadn't heard much about it, and boy were we glad we did!

Centro Vinoteca was lovely - modern and cozy all at once, with very attentive (almost too attentive) service, and impeccable food.  Chef Anne Burrell of Food Network fame really hit it out of the park with every single dish!  After the bread basket (which was filled with some of the best Italian and Ciabatta bread I've had - soft and doughy and just the right amount of salty/sweet).

To start, Cherry Cupcake, Miel and I enjoyed the Trio of Piccolini, which included: a truffled deviled egg (my first!) - creamy and full of flavor; a zucchini and parmigiano fritter - a bit spicy, with a very creamy inside and a nice crunchy coating; and bacon wrapped medjool dates with gorgonzola - bacony, datey, cheesy, full of flavor. 

YUM. C got the roasted beet and baby arugula salad, which she raved about.

For the main course, Miel and Cherry Cupcake ordered the house-made pappardelle with red-wine braised lamb sugo, mint and parmesan.  They let me taste bites of their pasta and I must say it was delicious - pasta doesn't usually wow me but, this was cooked perfectly, al dente, and the sauce was meaty and rich.

C got the skillet roasted sea bass with fregola, squid and tomato clam broth - I didn't try this but she had nothing but good things to say!

... and I got the house grilled cured pork chop with slow-cooked savoy cabbage, pine nuts, currants, and mutsu apple butter.  (When there is meat on the menu, you can bet I'm going there.)  Now I have had many a pork chop, but this was by far the best - everything on my plate was perfectly seasoned and delicious.  I didn't reach for the salt and pepper once!

For dessert, Cherry Cupcake, Miel and I got the bombolotti - cinnamon doughnuts with apple cider cream,

and C got the warm chocolate and pine nut fondant.  The doughnuts were delectableeee, and though I did not taste the chocolate cake, I'm told it was "like super-chocolate".  Which can only mean good things.

This was definitely a win - I can't wait to go back to try the rest of the menu!

*Note, when we called DB Townhouse to clarify, they did disclose that they are offering a Sunday night prix fixe meal for those who wish to sample the menu, indepedent of restaurant week.  It seems many high-end restaurants are doing this lately, but keeping it hush-hush, so all you have to do is call the restaurant of your choice and ask.