As I tweeted last night @reGeezer:

 Below is the menu from Del Posto’s site. Our favorites were the ostrich and the 100 Layer lasagne!

                                                                  Menu Tradizionale

Located on a side street (122 East 27th Street between Lex & Park) i Trulli’s hands-on Chef Patti Jackson creates homecooked meals with virtually everything produced on site. The owner’s mother, Dara Maravilla, makes nearly all the pasta and can be seen doing so daily from 11am through about 4pm.

Unfortunately, Dara was not feeling well on Saturday, so it was up to Patti to cook and entertain the 15 or so “students” that attended the hands-on pasta class and lunch.

Each dish was prepared by Chef Patti with the assistance of apron wearing students. Interestingly, lessons learned were much less about exact measurements of the ingredients as it was about the look and feel of the various doughs and the color and consistency of the sauces. After each dish was prepared by Patti/group, we had it as lunch course served from the “real” kitchen. 

The first course was a Cavatelli (little shells) with broccoli rabe and almonds. We all had the chance to feel the consistency of this ultra simple dough ( ratio of 2 cups all purpose flour + 1 cup very hot water) as well as try our hands at making the shape.

Next we worked with whole wheat flour to create whole wheat tonnarelli (pasta similar to spaghetti) with fonduta (rich creamy cheese sauce) and walnuts.

Then we created butternut squash ravioli with a brown butter and sage sauce. Amazing!

Finally, we ended this lunch feast with strudel di mele for desert. Throughout the demonstration Patti would return to the strudel dough and continue to stretch it. Over time it was transformed to a paper thin dough,  four feet by 2 feet, encasing the apple and cinnamon and sugar filling.

Enjoy the photos and beautiful presentation of our Chef’s Tasting Menu – you can almost taste the food with your eyes!

So when I was invited to a Malbec tasting at Morton’s Steakhouse on East 45th Street I was excited to taste these Trapiche Malbecs.  In addition to the wine we were treated to samplings of food as well.

On the wine list:
Trapiche, Torrontes, 2008
Trapiche, “Oak Cask,” Malbec 2007
Michel Torino, “Don David,” Malbec 2006
Broquel, Malbec 2006
Trapiche, “Adriana Venturin,” Malbec 2006

Paired with samplings of:
Sliced Tenderloin with Chimichurri Sauce
Broiled Sea Scallops, Apricot Chutney
Selection of Cheeses
Miniature Morton’s Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake

I dutifully sampled the five selections, but kept coming back to my favorite the Trapiche Single Vineyard “Adriana Venturin.” It was spicy yet soft, and after breathing for about a half hour was wonderful with the sliced tenderloin on crostini.

Not really a fan of deserts-and for some reason I didn’t think the chocolate cake would compliment the wine,  took a glass of the Adriana Venturin to the bar and ordered lamb chops.

It was really was excellent.

We expected a taco, perhaps this short rib taco, but we got a kimchi quesadilla instead

They were serving a Korean/Mexican mashup..kimchi quesadilla out of a  truck… the Dessert Truck on loan to Kogi! And it was on 56th street and Lexington Avenue, only a couple of blocks away from my office.

It seemed like a good idea when I read about it in Eater.com and even better when I read the buzz on MidtownLunch.com where, after the fact, I got the photo below.  (I was without a camera since I returned my Apple iPhone yesterday. Good thing too with the new models and software update announced today.)

At $4 bucks and going to benifit CityMeals-on-wheels I couldn’t miss it!

...but the chocolate mousse from the Desert Truck was excellent!