Okay, it has been hot. And with our house only partially air conditioned, cooking has not been happening. We have eaten out, we have picked up prepared food at the grocery store, we have made sandwiches, but I have not been cooking.
Last week we went to Broders’ Pasta Bar. It is a small Italian place on the Southside of 50th St with a deli on the Northside. CJ and I had never eaten there before, but we had heard a lot.
We arrived without calling ahead (they don’t take reservations, but allow you to call ahead, which I totally don’t get), so we waited outside and each had a drink. In the outside waiting area you can order beer and wine, as well as a few snacks. We skipped the snacks knowing we would likely get an appetizer.
We were seated within ten minutes in the back of the restaurant. The restaurant is a casual family restaurant with paper as table clothes and crayons available for the kids. The menu is Italian, but as I know very little about Italian, I can’t say which region or comment on authenticity. They do strive to use locally sourced food whenever possible, which is very important to me.
We started with Fresh Mussels in a red sauce. They were tasty, but in my opinion, it is hard to screw up mussels. The sauce was a thin, vinegary tomato sauce. Like I said, tasty.
I ordered the Fettuccine Con Cinghiale e Finocchio, or homeade pasta with wild boar braised in milk and fennel. The price was $12.95 and it was outstanding. The boar and sauce made a little stew that was served over the fettuccine. The overall taste was bright and light. The boar was a tiny bit tough, but it is wild, so I expected that. The noodles themselves were cooked perfectly, fresh and tasty.
CJ ordered Spaghetti con Polpette di Calabrese, or pasta and meatballs. And it was just that, noodles, red sauce and meatballs. The meatballs were beef, the pasta was fresh, and the red sauce was good. It was what would be expected. Nothing special, but good.
We didn’t stay for dessert, so I have no comment on that, but overall it was a very nice dinner and very reasonably priced. We will go back when we get a hankering for some Italian.