Aurora Soho

Every once in awhile the Mr. and I take a day trip down to Manhattan.  Sometimes we have a particular destination in mind (that's what he prefers) and on occasion we just wander around a general area.  We always drive in and that can be its own adventure, especially when it comes time to park, but on this day we definitely had Lady Luck on our side.

I drove.

I never drive into NYC with the Mr. as my passenger, and yes, we got slightly turned around because I think my GPS doesn't always understand what I tell it, but we found the Stevie Nick's selfie exhibit and wait for the best part, I found on street FREE parking. No parking garage.  No ticket for being illegally parked (ok - that's another story from another time and it's the Mr.'s to tell).  Already this was a win.

I had the Mr. take a photo of me standing in front of one of Stevie's, but I could never share it with you.  Just know and trust that it happened.

Back on the street - we saw this:

The cobble streets, this particular area, the store fronts, the whole atmosphere...

We walk.  A few turns, a few blocks and we stumble on Aurora Soho.  Ok, it was a little more work than that, we read a few menus outside a number of restaurants that just didn't fit us before we cam across the winner.

We were hours early from the busy dinner crowd, but fairly close to our work day dinner schedule.

The look, the decor, the wood, the brick

I hate it when I fall in love with the look first.  What if it turns out to be a vapid blonde - all looks and no soul?

A peek at a little snippet of the menu

Foreshadowing of food to follow.

Bread and dipping oil

The golden candlelight, I am falling head over heels here

My cocktail was strong and for sipping while working my way through the dense bread.

Although you cannot appreciate the contents of the soup from a photo in the bowl, it was by far the best minestrone we have ever had and the surprise? Stretchy and delicious mozzarella.  A gentle and soothing soup with an edible prize at the center.

What's next?  An appetizer from foodie heaven.

Prosciutto e Burrata

The paper thin and aged, salty ham...I close my eyes and honor the memory of this dish.

The Burrata - mozzarella with a creamy center - it is lush and decadent.

We make our own crostinis and for a moment, nothing else exists.  This food, this restaurant and us eating is the whole world.  

Main Courses:

The Mr. went out of this comfort zone and ordered one of the specials which included a slowly cooked and fork tender beef over polenta. Deep flavors, hauntingly familiar notes that have been modernized, the beef tops the pillowy and creamy polenta perfectly.

le Papparedelle al Vitello

Spinach Pappardelle with veal ragu & gremolata

As soon as I see pappardelle on a menu, I am smiling and happy.  Ribbons of pasta.  Homemade? Bonus.  Spinach - indeed, bring it to me immediately.

Guess what?  I ATE IT ALL!  I had to waddle all the way back to the car and the Mr. drove home because I had also had one of the strongest cocktails of my life.  It was an amazing meal and one we will use to benchmark other dinners against I'm sure.

We were Fed Well, content and had a memorable day and dinner out in the Big City.