Tarallucci e Vino

It was a blaring hot July day when I met up with my friend for lunch at Tarallucci e Vino, so we opted to split two salads. I can't wait until I get my smart phone though because this past summer has felt as if my forearms have been effectively cut off: I can't do anything, and I certainly can't remember anything -- like this salad. What's the point of having arms and opposable thumbs if you can't use them to write emails, schedule appointments, look up contacts, locate restaurants, find directions, determine movie times and write notes to yourself?

I mean I guess you can use your hands to hold a knife and fork. To eat dinner. And breakfast and lunch. And maybe a dinner number two. They aren't bad for holding cocktails and glasses of wine either. That can be pretty nice I admit. And I have been doing that. All summer long.

Back to the mystery seafood salad. It looks like crab doesn't it? But there's a grilled mackerel with orange zest and artichokes on the menu. That's a possibility, aside from the obvious lack of artichokes and the fact that grilled mackerel doesn't generally flake this way.

And what does it matter that I can't remember what this dish is? I certainly can't remember what it tasted like either. This is lame. I feel sorry for you. But I feel rather privileged that you've decided to keep on reading.


This I remember though: a Polpo Salad with grilled octopus, celery, potatoes and plum tomatoes. The octopus was tender and meaty, and it was a small revelation to have it paired in a decidedly informal and rustic manner. I'm used to grilled calamari and octopus salads being rather beautiful and high falutin' (aka pretentious) affairs with drizzled herbed oils and the presence of microgreens. If one can stand the work of cleaning octopus tentacles and dealing with the little suckers, this probably isn't a half bad thing to make at home.

Tarallucci e Vino, 15 E. 18th St. (b/n 5th & B'way), New York, NY 10003