Lunching at Del Posto - NYC

Del Posto is Mario Batali's Michelin-starred restaurant with 4-stars by the NYTimes. For dinner, the lowest cost tasting menu option of 5 courses is $115. For lunch, however, they offer a 3-course menu for $29 - one of the best lunch bargains in Manhattan, especially considering the amount of extras that they include in the three courses. They also include 3 different amuse bouches and an array of mignardises served after the meal, so it comes out to 3 courses along with 2 mini courses.

I've read about this lunch bargain a few times and this has always been on my to-do list. I finally got to try it out earlier this year and it definitely did not disappoint!

butter & lard for the bread

While I've read online that some people seem to enjoy the lard that Del Posto offers its guests for the bread basket - I would recommend passing on the lard. I did not enjoy it.

Carne Cruda with truffled salsa, parmigiano-reggiano & wild watercress (supp $10)

I don't usually like red meat at all, but I actually loved this dish - the truffled salsa definitely helped! (Unfortunately, I wasn't the one who ordered it, so I couldn't steal too many bites...)

Insalata Primavera della terra with sheep's milk ricotta dressing

The salad that I ordered was almost too pretty to eat!

Young lamb alla Romana, garlic yogurt with ceci & swiss chard ragu

Whole Wheat Tonarelli with spicy cichercie, rosemary, & shaved bonito flakes

I ordered this after reading about it as one of NYTimes food critic Sam Sifton's "Best Dishes of 2010." I've never ordered anything with bonito flakes before - when the waiter brought out the dish, the bonito flakes were moving! It freaked me out a little, but it tasted good - well as good as whole wheat pasta can taste.

Sfera di caprino celery & fig agrodolce & celery sorbetto

This was another one of Sam Sifton's best dishes of 2010. While I enjoyed the novelty of celery sorbet, I was glad I ordered the chocolate ricotta tortino instead ~ amazing & it comes with olive oil gelato, which Mario Batali is famous for!

Chocolate ricotta tortino toasted sicilian pistachios & extra virgin olive oil gelato

mignardises!

As a parting gift, they also gave me a small box of 2 chocolate truffles - extremely rich and delicious!

The service was definitely one of the things that stood out about Del Posto - this is definitely the fanciest restaurant I've ever been to and that was reflected in the service. As I was settling in after just sitting down, I hung my purse on the back of my chair. Almost immediately, a waiter came over and put a stool down next to my chair for me to put my purse on. It was completely unnecessary and I've never seen anyone do this at a restaurant before! Needless to say, you get a LOT of attention at Del Posto!