THE PLACE
Babbo is one of those places that you'll always remember. A quaint little spot in Greenwich Village that serves amazing Italian food. But also has rock music which blares throughout the restaurant. Interesting to say the least.
Babbo is the creation of Mario Batali, an Iron Chef and one of Food Network's mega-stars. However, this fame comes with a price for potential diners. Getting reservations is TOUGH!
I had read that in order to secure a spot, you had to call 30 days in advance, to the day. No internet reservations and one telephone number. So I calendared 30 days out and called when they opened their reservation line, at 10 a.m., on the dot. Busy. Dang. Hang up. Redial. Busy. Hang up. Redial. After 75 calls (no, this isn't an exaggeration) and 45 minutes, I finally got through. "We can get you in at 5:15 or 9:00." I guess we'll go with the 9:00.
THE FOOD
Everyone that I talked to beforehand that had eaten at Babbo said, "GET THE PASTA TASTING". So we did. 8 courses consisting of pasta, an intermezzo and desserts. Needless to say, it was a LOT of food. I won't go into detail but everything was superb. My favorite was the Agnolotti al Pomodoro, which are these bag shaped pasta which were stuffed with tender meat. I also really enjoyed the Garganelli with "Funghi Trifolati". Trifolati means "prepared like a truffle," that is, cooked with garlic and parsley in olive oil. The "Tipo Romano Frito" was ricotta cheese, rolled in fine bread crumbs and pan seared. It was a nice intermezzo between the heavier pasta dishes and the desserts.
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| Black Tagliatelle with Peas and Castelmagno |
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| "Casunzei" with Poppy Seeds |
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| Garganelli with "Funghi Trifolati" |
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| Agnolotti al Pomodoro |
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| Pappardelle Bolognese |
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| "Tipo Romano Fritto con Uvette" |
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Chocolate "al Diavolo" |
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| Olive Oil Rosemary Cake with Olive Oil Gelato |
THE VERDICT
Don't visit Babbo expecting to dine by candlelight in a dimly lit room. Yes this place is quaint but it's loud. And add in some rock music and it's really loud. I swear the music got louder as the night progressed. While it wasn't off-putting, it was a little odd. Also don't expect to make it a quick meal. Our dinner lasted about 3 hours and 15 minutes.
The meal itself was wonderful and the service was top notch. I could hardly get two drinks of my wine before the server was filling my wine glass again. Overall, Babbo was exactly what I would expect from an Iron Chef. If you're in NYC, give it a try, if you can get reservations.
Food: 9/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
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