nyc food tour, part three: brooklyn italian food pornography, with soundtrack

FOOD PORN. that’s pretty much all this post is. feast your eyes on this centerfold-worthy photo of lemon honey yogurt panna cotta with sweet rhubarb and homemade oatmeal cookies.

mmmmmmmm.  giving some love to that other borough where everyone i know now lives, i went to al di la trattoria in brooklyn over the weekend with my lovely friend olivia and her wonderful mother, lois.  this fantastic restaurant in park slope serves incredibly delicious and relatively uncomplicated northern italian food that is local and organic whenever possible. in case you’d like to add another sensory dimension to your food porn viewing experience, i’ve included a brooklyn-based soundtrack inspired by the saturday night shenanigans at the best dance party in the country, the rub.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx5aVI2zsFE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1]

we started with a farro salad appetizer with spinach, goat cheese, and three colors of roasted beets.  ignore the fact that the beets look like raw fish; the dish was warm, nutty, and full of fresh flavors.

above, a fantastic dish of creamy, cheesy polenta topped with sauteed mushrooms,  wilted greens, and a shining beacon of a poached egg in an earthenware pot.

next up, eggs ‘drowning’ in tomato and cheese. doesn’t sound like a bad way to go.

we also had the swiss chard and ricotta malfatti, an italian dish of irregularly shaped dumpling-esque pods, which amusingly translates to ‘poorly made.’

although they may resemble goblin turds in appearance, these flavorful little compressed swiss chard lumps are incredible with a light sheen of brown butter sage sauce. you can find out how to make them in this new york times article.

so green. tastes like springtime. we ended with a superbly fragrant dish of brussels sprouts that filled the air with lemon zest. olivia blissfully inhales their perfume here.

hope you enjoyed the eye candy and the blackstar. brooklyn, way to go.