Casellula

After a day of dining we chose another cheese and wine bar to have dinner at. We decided we weren't too hungry and we would just get some small plates, unfortunately the menu was so enticing we ended up with too many small plates. Don't get me wrong though, we don't regret any of them.
They don't take reservations so we when we arrived there was a bit of a wait. This is not a place you want to be in line at though because there is absolutely no standing room. Thankfully we were the only ones waiting so it wasn't too bad. While waiting we had some drinks, I chose a wonderful Lambrusco and my boyfriend ordered his faithful standby, Hitachino White Ale. After an unexpectedly short wait of 15 minutes we got some seats at the bar. I was very pleased with our spot because we were able to see the chef prepare all the tapas.

We started with a cheese flight and some olives. They have a few different cheese flights to choose from with clever names like "lady sings the blues" or "me and ewe and everyone we know," we chose the "sharp shooters" flight. All the cheeses in our flight were hard, sharp cheeses served with bread and something to compliment their flavors. The Bronson Red Meck came with a brown sugar fudge, now if someone told me they ate cheese with fudge I might think they were bizarre but it was incredible together. The Osau Iraty was paired with a homemade chili mustard and a cashew brittle accompanied the Mimolette. The only unfortunate part of this flight I thought was that the cashew brittle overpowered the flavor of the mimolette, both were great flavors but didn't seem to match as well as the other cheeses and their pairings.

After the cheeses we ordered a pretty good wine, Donkey and Goat "413." It was a nice blend of syrah, grenache, counoise, and mourvedre. We also moved on to 2 small plates, one being a rabbit and chanterelle mushroom pie and the other, an endive salad with pears, blue cheese, macadamia nuts, and a sherry vinaigrette. I thought the salad was incredible. The way it was presented ensured every bite you took had everything in it and the vinaigrette was so light and sparse it definitely did not overpower the salad. The pie was a great partner to the light salad, besides rabbit and mushrooms it had peas and cranberry beans in it and was then topped with chopped asparagus and a date molasses. The sweet molasses was wonderful on top of the flaky pie dough and warm, savory filling.
Now you know we weren't going to leave without dessert, right? After eating WAY too much we definitely hesitated, but hey, we were on vacation! We did choose the lightest one on the menu though, a tapioca mascarpone pudding with candied fennel and blood orange sorbet. I am not sure who is in charge of their menu but they are definitely innovative. I would never think all these things would jive together so well but they did. The candied fennel made this dish for sure.
So I know I gave a glowing review of Blue Hill earlier in this trip but if you only have one nice meal in New York, this should be the place. This restaurant is a MUST! The interesting part about it is, after talking to our server/bartender, it turns out she used to work at Blue Hill. She definitely agreed with us, that Casellula was a better spot. The food is not necessarily better, but it is a more casual, inviting space with a more interesting menu. So if you can afford 2 nice meals, by all means make sure to check out both restaurants, but I know I will make time for Casellula on my next trip up there.
Happy Dining!



Casellula
401 W. 52nd St.
New York, NY 10019
(212) 247-8137
casellula.com