Babbo

What can you say about Batali's flagship except make a res and go immediately. Babbo, in a smallish two-level townhouse in the Village, is always packed, and typically has a several-hour wait for seats at the postage-stamp bar in front. The reservation line is open a month to the date beforehand, so typically you get to spend that time dreaming of calf's brains francobolli and the like while anticipation steadily grows.

There are three ways to go through Babbo - all will leave you very full, and potentially much lighter in the wallet. The first two are the standard paths - one of the two tasting menus (a pasta menu for $69 and a traditional tasting for $79) offer a generous feel of Batali's style and excessiveness (the pasta tasting menu portions aren't that much smaller than the a la carte versions). Budget 2+ hours, and don't plan on doing anything afterwards but rolling home. The second option is to have one each of the Antipasti, Primi, and Secondi. Again, a lot of food, but you will leave very happy. The third avenue, my favorite, is to stick to what made Batali famous - the pastas. We went with a group of 4 and managed to try six different pastas...a sort of do-it-yourself pasta menu that was much easier on the stomach, the wallet, and the schedule.

The only non-pasta dishes we tried were the famous warm lamb's tongue vinaigrette, fabulously tender tongue and mushrooms so flavorful it was a little hard to tell which was which, and a braised fennel salad to whet the appetite. Then came the pastas. Garganelli with mixed mushrooms was wonderfully thin and light, the cigar-shaped rolls delicately holding their form and paired with a simple light cream and wild mushroom sauce. Mint love letters, a Batali signature, didn't disappoint - envelope-shaped pastas with a minty and slightly spicy lamb puree. Sphagettini with lobster was also slightly spicy if a bit ordinary. One slightly down note was the bucatini with guanciale - the guanciale was perfectly cooked but was so delicate it couldn't quite stand up to the amount of fresh parsley in the dish. The highlight of the evening was the beef cheek ravioli, always a crowd pleaser, it gets the full treatment with a braised beef and red wine sauce and black truffles - so every bite explodes in a depth of flavor that just makes you feel decadent. After the last bite we sat quietly for a minute, digesting the food, imprinting the flavor and decadence into our minds, and trying to figure out how old Ryan Seacrest's companion was sitting a few tables away.

The wine list at Babbo is quite daunting, but the sommeliers are very helpful and pointed us to a 2004 Barberesco for under $100 that was wonderfully drinkable but still able to stand up nicely to the richer pastas. That said, there are about 10 of 500 wines on the list that are under $100, so the choices are limited.

Babbo is simply fantastic. I'm quite shocked that it didn't get a Michelin star in the latest iteration, but I've always been suspicious of those Michelin folks. It remains very near the top of my list of favorite restaurants in the city and one of the best for a special occaision. Go.

The Sage Questions
Date Spot? Yes
Good for Groups? Not really
When Parents Visit? Yes
Cost? $10-$20 Apps, $20-$25 Pastas, $23-$30 mains
Wines under $100? Precious few, but very helpful sommeliers
Rating: 4