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Had an awesome meal at Gonzo last night. Probably one of the best of the whole trip.

• Appetizer: Rice Balls
• Entree: Duck Ravioli and Margherita/Spicy Sausage & Broccoli Rabe pizza
• Dessert: Pecan Praline Ice Cream Sandwich

The Rice Balls were a smaller, more flavorful, arancini. The filling was prosciutto, peas, and mozzerella. There was also a very strong (meyer?) lemon flavor that was tasty but a bit overpowering at times. But on the whole, they were really good.

The ravioli was filled with duck, carmelized butternut squash and ricotta in a sage, brown butter sauce. I’ve had a lot of squash ravioli in brown butter sauce and in almost every case, the squash is completely overpowering. In this case, however, there was a perfect balance.

The pizza is a house specialty. The crust is a grilled, perfectly crunchy, flatbread with topings including savory pumpkin puree, oyster mushrooms and bel paese cheese. The house gladly did a half and half pizza so that we could sample the different offerings. The spicy sausage and broccoli complimented each other well. And the margherita, while nothing special, was solid and didn’t disappoint.

If it weren’t for the ravioli, I’d say that the dessert was the highlight. The homemade Tahitian vanilla gelato was a perfect match for the almost meringue-like pecan praline cookies. The entire thing was drizzled with a dark chocolate and dusted with powdered sugar. I know, I know… If it sounds good, imagine how it tasted.

Overall, it was an amazing meal and I’d definitely go back. I’ve certainly been to lots of restaurants but what sets a place a part is the completeness of the menu. I’ve gone to many places where only a few of the items on the menu are stars while the rest are…”eh”. Not only was every thing I tasted at Gonzo delicious, but there were many other things that I would have like to have tried. I’d highly recommend it if you’re ever in the neighborhood.

Rating: 4 out of 5 plates

On Sunday night I had a pretty decent meal at Craftbar. It’s the more casual sister-restaurant of Craft both of which are owned by Chef Tom Colicchio (most notably of Bravo’s Top Chef). What I liked most was the atmosphere. Sure, the brown butcher paper on the tables was trying a bit too hard but the excellently eclectic music made up for it. Everything from Sia to Beastie Boys to late-80’s Michael Jackson pumped through the dining room’s speakers.

• Appetizer: Warm Pecorino Fondue w/ Acadia Honey, Hazelnuts and Pepperoncini
• Entree: Veal Ricotta Meatballs (atop Orechiette)
• Dessert: Brown sugar cake

While a bit of a misnomer, the “fondue” was pretty delicious. Since pecorino isn’t what I’d call a melty cheese, instead a traditional fondue consistency it was more of a hot cheesy mound beneath an oozy layer of warm honey and whole hazelnuts. It was served with one lone slice of crusty bread. They should really consider upping the bread to “fondue” ratio.

The meatballs were close to perfection. In general, the best meatballs consist of the classic: pork, beef, and veal. So I was worried about whether pure veal meatballs would have enough fat to be flavorful. However, they were moist and flavorful and the tomato sauce was just the right mix of zesty and tangy.

Dessert was truly amazing. The brown sugar cake was a moist, spongy mound of heaven. The entire thing was dusted with a brown sugar coating-like-crust that wasn’t too sweet and was a perfect match for the fluffiness of the cake.

Overall, I’d say it was a good meal. I will say I was expecting a LOT from the way Colicchio beats up on the contestants on Top Chef. I wasn’t disappointed but I wasn’t completely blown away either.

Rating: 4 out of 5 forks

Following the success of SNL Live the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre put on 30 rock Live. I went to try and get tickets but to no avail. Within the first 5 minutes a seemingly nice guy comes out and goes: Sorry, none of you are going to get tickets, there are no standbys. A few people leave…maybe 4 or 5 but the rest of us (for whatever reason) stay in line. 10 minutes or so later a different guy comes out and yells:

YOU ARE STANDING IN A LINE TO NOTHING! THERE ARE NO MORE TICKETS! PLEASE LEAVE!!

Ha! Well, that was all the motivation I needed to head over to Momofuku for some delicious noodles. However, during the time between the Guy #1 and Guy #2 a lady comes over and is interviewing people for CNN. She’s trying to get folks to talk to her and the girl standing next to me volunteers. It went something like this:

CNN Lady: Didn’t you hear the announcement? Why are you still in line? What are you waiting for?
Girl: Well…it’s one of our favorite shows and blah…

Too funny! But hey, I was still waiting in line too so who am I to talk? The only cool thing is that about 2 minutes after I got there Toofer, Josh, and Kenneth walked by me as I was standing in line. Looked like they were heading off to get some pre-show grub. For some reason I imagined Toofer would be taller IRL.