From Spain to France in New York – Txikito & Artisinal Bistro

Restaurant Name & Location: Txikito (pronounced chee-kee-toe) 240 Ninth Ave. between 24th & 25th Sts.

Chef Name: Eder Montero & Alexandra Raij

Type of Meal: Spanish Tapas

What we Ordered: Here’s the Menu

Láminas de Setas - Oyster Mushroom Carpaccio (from the daily specials)

Solomo - house cured pork loin, roasted green pepper

Txipirones en su Tinta - Squid, served in its own ink, with white rice (from the daily specials)

Lengua - crispy beef tongue with mustard española, cornichons

What we Drank: Txakolina Rose & a Spanish Beer that we can’t remember the name of – sorry!

Favorite Dish: The Squid was outstanding, but watch out – the squid ink splatters!  The ink was a little more “liquidy” than it first appeared and the slightest flick of the fork sent black squid ink all over my white coat.  I surprisingly wasn’t very upset – I think I subconsciously felt that I deserved it for daring to challenge New York to keep my white coat clean – but fortunately the bartender was prepared with a “Tide-To-Go” pen and all was resolved.   But back to the dish…the squid were well cooked – not too chewy – and the flavors were kept simple.  If you are one of many people out there who are slightly frightened to try squid ink, I assure you that it is nothing to be scared of, with the exception of potentially staining your teeth (or white coat!).  That being said, I would advise against trying squid ink on a first date to prevent a blackened smile, but otherwise, you should give it a shot! The flavor is quite mild with a hint of seafood and saltiness. The squid were “bite-sized” (for lack of a better term), making it easy to eat without a knife.  The beef tongue was pretty awesome as well – crispy and salty – a great ending to the meal!

Least Favorite Dish: The Solomo was nothing special.  The green pepper was pretty dominating, which may be great for some, but it was a little much for me.  I ultimately picked around the pepper and ate only the pork, which was good, but nothing to rave about.

Other Comments: Would I go back to Txikito? Yes.  Would I recommend it to a friend? Yes.  This is a very small and casual dining space.  It is great if you’re in the area, wanting to stop for a quick bite of some respectable cuisine (by the way, they don’t take reservations).  The food is unique, culturally authentic to the Basque region, and is made for sharing. The menu is thorough, but the specials board is what I found to be the most intriguing.

Restaurant Name & Location: Artisinal Bistro, 2 Park Avenue, New York, New York, 10016  (Entrance is on 32nd Street between Park & Madison Avenue)

Chef Name: Terrance Brennan

Type of Meal: Dessert Cheese & Wine

What we Ate & Drank: Here’s the Menu

Sinful Experience Cheese & Wine Flight

CHEESE:

Délice de Bourgogne (Cow, France)

Robiola a Due Latti (Cow/Sheep, Italy)

Langres (Cow, France)

WINE:

Bourgogne Aligoté Olivier Leflaive 07

Riesling ‘Vom Schloss’ Graf Hardegg Austria 08

Fréderic Lornet Crémant du Jura Arbois France NV

Holy Cheese & Wine Flights

CHEESE:

Sainte-Maure (Goat, France)

Pont l’Évêque (Cow, France)

Tête de Moine (Cow, Switzerland)

WINE:

Sancerre Domaine St. Laurent ‘La Croix’ Loire 08

Riesling ‘Ingle Vineyard’ Heron Hill NY 07

Pinot Noir Wyatt California 08

Favorite Dish: Sinful Experience was a flight of rich and creamy cheeses.  Ya know, the kind that you typically have to force yourself to “put down the knife, and step away from the cheese before your waistline gets hurt”.  The wine varietal pairings were appropriate, but the specific wines were not great as they were a bit flat.  Washed rind cheeses are typically a little too pungent for me, but this Langres was quite nice! It was dense, rich, and a little more complex than the others.

 Least Favorite Dish: The Holy Cheese flight was just not my style and simply poor ordering on my part.  They were much firmer cheeses that carried a much stronger bite than the Sinful Experience flight.  Of the 3 cheeses, I enjoyed the Tête de Moine best.   It was sharp and nutty and served in its most authentic form, sliced with a Girolle creating thinly shaved cones of cheese.   The Sainte-Maure was my least favorite.  It was very intense, with the exception of the very center which remained soft and rich.  As this cheese matures, it becomes more dry, hard, and dense.

Other Comments: Artisinal will not stand out as a highlight of our “restaurant crawl” in New York.  Though Artisinal is a full service restaurant, since we were simply there for some post dinner fromage, we sat at the bar.  The ambiance seems outdated and the service was poor.  We were served by a bartender who gave us bottom of the bottle, flat wines and seemed as though he had never tasted or seen a cheese in his life.  He had to ask to borrow our menu in order to tell us what he was serving and even then it took him 3 tries to get it right.   Phew – hurts to relive that!  Needless to say that I do not highly recommend this to you and I will not be returning – have checked it off my list.

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