Po ØØØØ $$$
31 Cornelia St (b/w Bleecker and W4th St)
Let me say upfront that this is the best Italian restaurant I have ever been to.
Starving, tired, and trying to get away from the holiday-shopping crowd, Yilin and I were wandering around the West Village area looking for food. Every restaurant was packed (at 2 in the afternoon!) and had 30+ minute waits, even for only two people. Yilin remembered that Po was nearby (we were in a pasta mood), so we turned the corner onto Cornelia Street and walked in. There were 7 people seated in the restaurant. It was quiet. Perfect.
This old man waddles over to us to take our order. He certainly didn't look like a waiter, and by his talkative and humorous behavior (as well as his lack of actual work even though the restaurant was near empty) we soon deduced that he was either the owner, head chef, or both. Frank (the old guy), even helped me out with my wine selection, as my diminutive knowledge of wines doesn't touch on anything outside of France (there are only Italian wines here).
To start, we were brought water, half a loaf of Italian bread and a small dish of olive oil, and a white bean bruschetta. This non-traditional (as far as I know) bruschetta was killer: perfectly thick (and not overly crisp) toast with white beans, garlic, olive oil, herbs and spices. We split the soup of the day: a vegetable based soup with a piece of toast and a fried egg in the middle. Fantastic. Next came our entrees: Yilin had a pasta dish (the shapes were like ears or hemispheres; I have never heard of that shape) with a tomato-based sauce containing sausage. Really good (although the slightest bit too salty for us). I had gnocchi, which are made daily, with a marinara sauce and small chunks of fresh mozarella. It is difficult to find gnocchi in New York City, never mind perfect gnocchi, in my experience. We ordered a dark chocolate tartine for dessert: a dark chocolate fudge-like square with pistachio and a caramel sauce. Really good. I mean amazingly good. We both probably would've preferred it without the caramel sauce: if you got too much sauce on your bite of tartine then the caramel overpowered the chocolate/pistachio marriage. I say 'marriage' because no other word can describe that brilliant combo.
I have no doubts that I will head back to Po many many times while I reside in New York City. How can I not, at about $35 per person for a full meal of this caliber?
Let me say upfront that this is the best Italian restaurant I have ever been to.
Starving, tired, and trying to get away from the holiday-shopping crowd, Yilin and I were wandering around the West Village area looking for food. Every restaurant was packed (at 2 in the afternoon!) and had 30+ minute waits, even for only two people. Yilin remembered that Po was nearby (we were in a pasta mood), so we turned the corner onto Cornelia Street and walked in. There were 7 people seated in the restaurant. It was quiet. Perfect.
This old man waddles over to us to take our order. He certainly didn't look like a waiter, and by his talkative and humorous behavior (as well as his lack of actual work even though the restaurant was near empty) we soon deduced that he was either the owner, head chef, or both. Frank (the old guy), even helped me out with my wine selection, as my diminutive knowledge of wines doesn't touch on anything outside of France (there are only Italian wines here).
To start, we were brought water, half a loaf of Italian bread and a small dish of olive oil, and a white bean bruschetta. This non-traditional (as far as I know) bruschetta was killer: perfectly thick (and not overly crisp) toast with white beans, garlic, olive oil, herbs and spices. We split the soup of the day: a vegetable based soup with a piece of toast and a fried egg in the middle. Fantastic. Next came our entrees: Yilin had a pasta dish (the shapes were like ears or hemispheres; I have never heard of that shape) with a tomato-based sauce containing sausage. Really good (although the slightest bit too salty for us). I had gnocchi, which are made daily, with a marinara sauce and small chunks of fresh mozarella. It is difficult to find gnocchi in New York City, never mind perfect gnocchi, in my experience. We ordered a dark chocolate tartine for dessert: a dark chocolate fudge-like square with pistachio and a caramel sauce. Really good. I mean amazingly good. We both probably would've preferred it without the caramel sauce: if you got too much sauce on your bite of tartine then the caramel overpowered the chocolate/pistachio marriage. I say 'marriage' because no other word can describe that brilliant combo.
I have no doubts that I will head back to Po many many times while I reside in New York City. How can I not, at about $35 per person for a full meal of this caliber?
posted by josh at 10:37 AM
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