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The Lunch Tasting Menu at Babbo

Our first trip to Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich’s Babbo was way, way back in 2010, before we had visited NYC’s Italian heavy-hitters like Torrisi Italian Specialties and Del Posto. At the time, I said that Babbo was doing Italian food better than anyone in its category in my usual superlative-laden way, and three years later, my boyfriend and I wanted to see how it’s holding up.

This is the four-course lunch tasting menu at $49 with an extra pasta course each for $20 and $35 for wine pairings:

Babbo NYC
marinated eggplant with pickled chilies, Pecorino and black garlic vinaigrette

Very appetizing thanks to the bright vinegar notes. Just a touch of sweetness, with chilies that were just spicy enough. Contrast between the tender eggplant slices and the crunch croutons. Relatively simple yet very complete.

Babbo NYC
orecchiette with broccoli rabe pesto

Very green and spring-like. I loved the heartiness of the thick pasta and thought the cheese added a necessary depth but wished they hadn’t left off the salami that comes with the full-price version of this dish to give it even more of a bright/robust contrast.

Babbo NYC
agnolotti with brown butter and sage

So buttery with that hint of browned-butter sweetness. Little packets of tender, buttery lamb topped with sweet and sagey butter sauce. Did I mention butter?

Babbo NYC
beef cheek ravioli with black truffles and Castelmagno

Buttery pockets of tender beef that tasted as if it’d been slowly cooking for hours, with a fresh hit of parsley and the crunch of the truffle shavings.

Babbo NYC
grilled heritage pork loin with braised fennel and cranberry agrodolce

Despite the sweet and sour preparation that made these cranberries even more flavorful than usual, it was the pork that really shone. This was JUST how a pork loin should taste, with that smoky edge and so much natural sweetness. The fennel gave the dish a little crunch and added to the sourness.

Babbo NYC
olive oil and rosemary cake with olive oil gelato

I’m an olive oil cake fiend, and this one was perfection. The crunchy exterior was soaked with butter, and the interior was asking to sop up the oil on the plate. The sorbet was pretty funk-laden, but Batali’s creme fraiche gelato is one of the best frozen things I’ve ever eaten, so I don’t shy away from funk. The candied lemon mimicked the candied texture of the cake and gave the whole dish a brightness.

This was served with Moscato d’Asti, Brandini 2010, which is the only wine pairing that matched what was printed on the menu. The other pairings were from the Bastianich wineries, and I kind of liked the idea of both of the owners being so well represented in the food and wine.

Babbo NYC
“torta caprese” with “fior di latte” and vincotto

A dense, dark, moist flourless cake with the texture of a brownie. We were both convinced there were chocolate chips inside until we were picking nuts out of our teeth afterward. (Sorry.) The thick whipped cream on top had just the slightest hint of chocolate and was complemented by the sweet, barely-there fruitiness of the sticky vincotto.

Rating One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarOne-Half Star

Babbo NYC

With the way our lunch started, I was pretty skeptical that my feelings toward Babbo were going to remain consistent with my first review. We asked ourselves at one point if the place was actively trying to make sure we had a bad time. The service was polite but not anywhere close to polished, we had been seated at a table shoved up against a wall next to the door, and we saw all of the tables around us get the chickpea bruschetta amuse bouche we ate on our first visit but never got one ourselves.

But the food at Babbo more than made up for the otherwise so-so experience. From the very first course, we kept stopping mid-chew and saying, “Hey, this is really good.” It kept surprising us again and again, even after having been to the Torrisis and Del Postos of NYC. We wanted to be mad at the place for not having Michelin-quality service and decor like they do, but we couldn’t help ourselves. And I can’t wait to go back.

Babbo
110 Waverly Place
New York, NY 10011 (map)

7 Comments

  • Andrew

    You’ve been on an absolute tear lately! Thanks for sharing these great photos and reviews with us mortals.

  • facie

    It is a good thing I neither live in NY nor have a lot of money. That meal looks amazing (with the possible exception of the pork, but the way you described made me think differently).

    What is this olive oil cake you speak of? I really need to get out more, although I could probably do without “funk” ;-).

    It is a shame that the service was not that stellar. When you say not polished, what exactly do you mean? I worked in fine dining for a couple of years, and when I go to really nice places, I expect my food to be served from the left and my drinks from the right. I like my crumbs removed and my napkin picked up and refolded when I leave the table, etc. And nobody had better call me and my party “guys.” I have not been to a really nice place in years, so I forget some of the “proper” things. Regardless, the food is ultimately what keeps me going back to a place.

  • Serial

    Let’s add this one to the to-visit list next time I come to NYC, so we can have one affordable meal on the list.

    Because, butter.

    OK, also that pasta looks way good. And the beef. And the pork.

    And all the brown butter.

    I really like butter.