Alto

Ambrosia on a plate

God how I love food. And my, don't I live in the perfect place to indulge such my passion in edible treats. The latest foray was with Gwen and her mother. We went to Alto, the sister restaurant to L'Impero. I walked right by it at first, given that it has a Madison Ave. address but is actually tucked in an alcove entrance next to a business building on East 53rd Street. Gwen's friend Mark was kind enough to call ahead to make sure we had a good reservation time and were seated in the main, lofty dining room. I started with the ravioli which was divine and delicate. It was the size of a coffee saucer and contained within a whole egg yolk surrounded by ricotta herbed cheese. It was garnished with a lovely olive oil sauce and a few flavorful wild mushrooms. Gwen had an aromatic mushroom crostini soup with creme fraiche. Gwen's mother had a white radicchio, castlefranco, salad. Gwen and I shared the duck which was a bit too rare for Gwen but I loved mine, although I couldn't finish it. Desserts included a selection of sorbets - grape, tangerine and pear, the last the best - and a hazelnut semifreddo on a chocolate cookie base topped with a dollop of chocolate gelato and candied hazelnuts. Delicious! A cup of pu-erh tea and I was fat and happy.