It was time to head into the city and do all that touristy holiday stuff again. In addition to seeing the tree and walking around, I looked for a nice restaurant for dinner. We decided on Italian and our first couple of choices were fully booked for the Saturday night. After a bit more research, I came upon Masseria Dei Vini and managed to get a table. It’s fairly new to the restaurant scene opening just a year ago. The food and wine menus sounded great.
Masseria of Wines
We showed up for our 7:30pm reservation and were promptly seated. The restaurant is softly lit with white table clothed tables. There was a decent amount of room between each table and it did not feel crowded even with all of them occupied. We were seated at a table between the bar and the lovely wine display.
Dining Area
Place Setting
The bread basket had a small variety of bread. The assortment included classic Italian bread, a whole wheat bread, grissini (breadsticks), and focaccia.
Bread Basket
They were accompanied by a lentil infused olive oil. Yum!
Lentil Infused Olive Oil
Our waiter, Leonardo, was fantastic. He was friendly and very lively. He recommended a couple different wines that would pair well with our food.
White Wine
We started off with a few appetizers.
Appetizers
The fried zucchini was awesome! They were sliced like fries and were not greasy at all. Nice and crispy. It was recommenced as a shared side dish to our other appetizers.
Fried Zucchini
The Polpettine Alla Fontelina were eggplant cakes served over tomato sauce and basil. Solid.
Eggplant Cakes
I ordered the Tartara Di Salmone – salmon tartare on a bed of capers and pickles with a mustard sauce. It was really good, but some may find the capers to be a bit too salty.
Salmon Tartare
Mustard Sauce
Red Wine
One of the specials of the night was Osso Buco – a veal shank served over parmesan and saffron risotto. I had to try a piece. It was so tender and flavorful. Delicious!
Osso Buco
All their pastas are homemade and I had to try it. I ordered the Spaghetti Al Nero Con Vongole – homemade squid ink spaghetti with fresh baby clams, garlic, and a white wine sauce.
Squid Ink Spaghetti
I opted for some freshly grated parmesan and dug right in. Wow, this dish was amazing! The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente. The simple sauce of wine and garlic was very tasty. I’d come back just for this dish!
Grated Parmesan
Delicious
Our fantastic waiter would check on us from time to time. We had no problem polishing off our plates. No leftovers tonight.
Perfect Bite
We were asked if we were interested in dessert. Well if the food was that good, the dessert had to be too. Of course we’ll have dessert! We were given a couple complimentary glasses of Limoncello. The lemon liquor had quite the kick and prepped our palettes for dessert.
Limoncello
We ordered the Tartufo Al Cioccolato – chocolate and vanilla ice cream with a frozen cherry in the center served with fresh strawberries and a chocolate drizzle. You really can’t go wrong with this classic dessert originating from Calabria.
Tartufo
I had the Torta Di Ricotta Alla Vaniglia – vanilla flavored Ricotta cheesecake. It was rich and slightly creamier than your typical cheesecake due to the Ricotta. Excellent!
Ricotta Cheesecake
It was a wonderful dinner at Masseria Dei Vini. The wine was great, the food was delicious, and the service was incredible. Thanks, Leonardo! I look forward to returning!
Masseria Dei Vini
887 9th Ave
New York, NY 10019
(212) 315-2888
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