A Mano

[jshushan]

Group: I've had three good meals there. This place is on the list. My parents and friends went Saturday night. Since I'm too lazy at the moment to write up my own experiences. Here's the e-mail report I got from the parents. They liked it as well.



Thanks! We had a great dinner too.

There was a Tripe dish with a red sauce that Dad and Suzanne had and everyone [but me who wouldn’t taste it!] said it was wonderful.

Two people had a special consisting of a home-made pasta, large moist shrimp and a smoked red sauce that was, again, wonderful for those who like the smoke flavor and too much smoke for those who only liked a little smoke flavor but everybody thought the shrimp were perfect.

The flat iron steak was seared to perfection, a generous portion and served with delicious greens.

There was a squid dish with Mussels with one of the home-made pastas that used squid ink, garlic, misc. seasonings [I forget!] in a clear broth. Dad loved it all and I thought the Mussels were delicious.

There was a broccoli special with garlic and hot peppers that everybody loved but me because they all said it had a real bite to it and I don’t like pepper.

I had the pasta with the lamb ragout which was wonderful.

Someone else had the Gnocchi which was wonderful.

I also had a salad first that didn’t quite come off. It was one of the designer lettuces with tangerine slices, goat cheese, walnuts and a balsamic vinaigrette that should have been wonderful but was flat and uninteresting. There wasn’t much lettuce and only a touch of dressing and three small chunks of cheese so maybe it was the proportions as well as the skimpy portion. I get this all of the time at other restaurants and always like it. Too bad.

For dessert we had a pistachio semi-freddo with fresh chopped nuts on top and chocolate chips within that I would get again in a flash. There was also another dessert which everyone liked but I have forgotten what it was.

We would all go there again in a flash!

The decaf coffee was wonderful but they don’t stock any fizzy water other than club soda which is a shame.

Overall I would go back and look forward to it. There were more things on the menu than I could order for one meal so there are plenty of choices too. T. Mom

[edible complex]

started w/ rabbit soup w/barley, marinated olives, assorted house cured meats (duck proscuitto to die), burrata cheese and beet salad, tripe w/tomatoes (surprise winner of the night).
went on to gnocchi w/oxtail ragu (will do this again), rabbit w/olives, seared duck breast, and mahi w/lemon pesto (oh my).
ended the feast w/flourless choc cake and the cheese flight.
the chianti, prosecco and sherry were flowing.

okay, we really ended the night w/frozen brandy alexanders at clancy's then white russians at rivershack....but a Mano was stellar and will be in the rotation!

[Gourmondo]

We went this week. I was in a good mood since I got a parking space right out the front door. First we ordered some Chianti to drink and then started with the prosciutto plate, which was nice, but there was only one variety of the three we really, really liked. The "domestic" offering was the weakest of the three - the big flavor you expect with this just wasn't there. The next stop was the bruschetta plate. There were again three offerings, none of which really appealed to us. I had a mixed salad of local greens in a vinaigrette with strawberries, feta and pistachios which was very good. For entrees, Ms. G had the afore-mentioned rabbit, which was the best dish of the night, good smoky taste. I had the grilled swordfish that came out well-seared and with a tasty pesto atop it. It was good, but I regretted my choice since it was probably not the item to get to see what the chef can do. Topped things off with a completely unnecessary but wonderful cup of chocolate gelato/ strawberry sorbet. Service was friendly and attentive, place was about 1/2 full early in the evening. All in all, there was nothing we were really blown away with. I will definitely try it again, but can't say I feel like I have to hurry back.

[bam bam]

JAG and I hit this place hard last night. They revised the menu a little bit since the last time we were there. I wouldn't say it was better or worse, just different. Prices have gone up but the final bill wasn't any more expensive than our usual forays to this place, maybe because we skipped dessert?

JAG and myself usually work our way through the menu sharing several courses. We did the same last night. The Alfredi Misti is simply a must order. House cured meats that are made with care and taste wonderful. They jacked the price on this platter but they give you more, including a chicken liver pate that I thought was amazing.

We followed up with the ricotta and chili oil crostini. This used to come in a huge mason jar, they size has shrunk but this is so filling that I think it works.

Our primi was the homemade gnocchi with oxtail ragu. God was this good. The gnocchi were huge, not like the little potato dumplings that Besh puts out, more like a pierogi or a big spaetzle. This real food, the art is in how it tastes not how it is presented. The oxtail ragu was tomatoey and braised down to just strings of beef that had a deep complex flavor. Really good.

Our secondi was the flat iron steak. JAG immediately noted how much better grass fed beef tastes. Simply delicious. It was sliced taglilata style and Josh cooked it perfectly. It came aside a simple arugula salad with an aged parmesean. We were torn between this and ordering the shrimp and white beans special. I am pretty sure we wouldn't have gone wrong either way.
JAG waved the white flag, saving one last piece of steak for her dogs who I am sure are now addcited to A Mano as well.

[powderedsugar]

Another add to the short list. Sounds incredible!

[Jeeves]

Thanks for the input Jonathan, Edible, Gourmondo, Bam & JAG. We haven't had dinner at A Mano yet, but we have done lunch there a few times. Here's a link to a recent example: http://cid-aef6ccfee74b84f5.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/A%20Mano%20Lunchety

[Schuarta]

Good looking food. Nice photos. Insalada most yummy looking!

[buzd]

Good looking food. Nice photos. Insalada most yummy looking!

I had it a few nights ago. It's unbelievably good.