Black Truffles

I had the honor and pleasure of being my friend's guest to the $50 3-course Locanda Verde Black Truffle Tasting event by chef Andrew Carmellini. Also, 25% of the proceeds went to the Doctors Without Borders aid for Haiti.

It was an extremely last minute invite (I was literally in bed at 10pm ready to watch Lost or some other show on Hulu) when my friend, Mark, who I see 2-3 times a year at the most, asked what I was doing (nothing) and he said he was going to take me out to dinner to a place with hard-to-get-reservations. Immediately I thought Waverly Inn or The Little Owl. This was so much better.

I probably wouldn't have gone out but lately, I've been feeling like I haven't been spontaneous enough, and I definitely do not go out during the week nearly as often as I used to. Second, I love surprises. Third, I love food.

So we met up and at this point I still had no idea where we were going, I just knew that it was off the 1 line. But we finally got off at Franklin St. and he explained how they had a white truffle tasting and it was a huge success, so this was their sequel, so to speak.

It was amazing. I wish I wrote down the menu/took pictures, but my memory will be the best thing for now. I know I am going to butcher it but here it goes...

First they brought out Foccacia brushed with black truffle oil.

For an appetizer, I got the Truffle Salad. It had a fried breaded cutlet of veal with an egg on top, along side a salad with a thin slice of an Italian ham.

He ordered the Crotinis which I would have preferred. There was one with a butternut squash truffle puree, another with ricotta and truffle honey (our fav), and a wild mushroom with black truffle.

For an entree, he got the squab and I ordered the scallops and lentils and shaved truffles. I thought the scallops were slightly overcooked, but the squab was cooked perfectly and it was so juicy and tender. There was also a grilled slice of squash and a duck meatball. I wasn't a fan of the meatball and thought it was too heavy to be a side of the squab, but it did remind me of a childhood memory that I can't quite put my finger on.

For dessert, there was a truffle vanilla ice cream with shaved truffles over a bed of chocolate cookie crumbs (not a fan of the crumbs, but the ice cream grew on me). At first the taste was so pungent and complex, but in reality the cream just enhances the truffle taste even more. Still, I preferred the walnut tart with what I think was truffled whipped cream. The sweet and nuttiness complemented the truffles really well and neither was overpowering.

I felt like a judge on Iron Chef (one of my dreams!) and I would give it high marks all around. I'm sad I missed the white trufflepalooza but I am so happy to have been a part of "Back in Black".

Also, the ladies room was beautiful. You know you're in a classy place when the restrooms are tolerable and nicer than your own bathroom.