Il Buco - mind blowingly good

The plan after leaving Bond St. was to head four blocks over to 1st St. between 2nd and 1st Ave and choose between Joe Doe and Prune. But it was a wickedly cold night in New York, and J and I didn't make it a full block before we stumbled in Il Buco and begged for a table.

I am so glad that we couldn't handle the weather because the dinner at Il Buco was amazing. I've had drinks there several times but never dinner.


Fried bacalo with radish, shallots, parsley, lemon and a mustard vinagrette. The combination of the radish, parsley, lemon and shallot was wonderful with the hot, tender, flakey bacalao. It was a perfect contrast of flavors and textures.

This polenta with roasted butternut squash was mind-blowing. It was so good. The corn was really rich and creamy, and it tasted like the dish had cooked low and slow. On that cold winter evening, it was the perfect thing to warm our chilled bones. Absolutely lovely, highly recommended.

J got a red beet ravioli that was rich with a brown butter sage sauce. You could taste the sweetness of the beets, and there were these finely chopped nuts in the filling.

This pasta with chanterelles was wondeful. The fresh pasta had a beautiful silky texture and the flavor of the chanterelles was very intense and rich.

By the end of the meal, we were absolutely stuffed and so happy.