Cello Wine Bar - NYC

Taking a little break from my "Road Trip" Entries. I'm completely behind on my udpates! Will try to make up now!!

I walked into Cello Wine Bar on 53rd between 2nd and 3rd ave, and was greeted with a narrow 'hole in the wall' space that was beautifully decorated. The walls were brick and the tables were cozy and it was mixed with soft light and candles that lit down the row. It was a beautiful little space and I instantaneously loved it. I spoke with the wine director (and as some of you may know, I freelance for New York Magazine, and sometimes I get to go these great places to photograph the interiors, in which why I was sent here...) gave me a lot of great wines and even had the chef cook me a whole 3-course meal to try!!

First we started with a salad:


Then, his special, Mac 'n Cheese,


then finally his delicious panini/banana/nutella bread toast- thing magiggy. Everything was magical!



I highly recommend this place. The Mac and Cheese was really good- but seriously, his panini-banana-nutella thing was amazing. It's his personal creation (as a chef) and it was seriously one of the best tasting things I've had in awhile. I didnt actually check out the prices of the dishes, but it doesnt look too expensive. Doors open at 5pm, it's a great place to take a date, or just to hang out at the bar to eat some finger foods. The dishes aren't huge, so it isnt in any way overwhelming. The wine's delicious too!

Bocca De Bacco - NYC

Last night, one of my good friends, Justis Hao, had his 22nd birthday celebration at "Bocca de Bacco". It was pretty awesome. I didn't read up a lot on the place beforehand, all I really knew was that it was some kind of Italian place with a huge selection of wines. As most of you may already know, from my past blogs, I was in Italy this past December and I had a really hard time with the food there. It's not that Italian food isn't that good, don't get me wrong, it's just I assumed there would be more variety....

Well enough about that, I walked into the restaurant, and I had a lot of trouble trying to open the doors. The doorway has this plastic-saran-wrapping around it. (which I still don't know why so many restaurants have that..) Once again, the sign on this place is not bold, so you really have to be LOOKING for this place in order to find it. Once you walk in, you see walls lined with wine. There's even an area behind the bar where they have concocted an interesting way of preparing draft wine...

For appetizers: They gave us some dry bread (of course! with olive oil). One of my friends ordered a bruschetta with mushrooms and truffle oil, and here are some more images:



Entree:
Well anyway, I was really full from my lunch already, so I had already planned on something light. SO, I ordered the "Capesante Sedano E Pomodoro baked scallops, light tomato-celery - herb sauce". And it was AMAZING. They gave me precisely four plump little scallops, grazed with tomatoes on top of this herb sauce (that tasted a lot like liquid avocado to me..) It was slightly grilled and crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside. It was actually really good. I don't normally order seafood, I'm more of a chicken-type person, but I did this time, and I was super impressed.



To be honest, I didn't really like the idea of paying $20 (this is not including cash for wine, tip and tax....) for 4 little pieces of scallops, but they were tasty. This place is definitely a bit too pricey for my liking, but it's delicious and has a nice atmosphere for dates, parties, or just a bunch of friends hanging out. It's dark, with littering of tungsten light here and there. Once in a blue moon coming here would be all right- probably not going to be a habit...


*** I've decided to be a little more harsh in my grading. A lot of my friends have been critiquing me, saying that I'm too "nice" to every restaurant. PSH! So, fine. Anyway, I'm really enjoying writing this blog! I feel like I'm learning so much more about places and people, and also getting in a lot more usage with my photography! Thanks everyone who invites me out! You guys truly add a lot to me and this blog! so COMMENT anywhere you can! facebook/buzz/blogspot ***

Taste: 3/5
Atmosphere: 3/5
Cost (w/o tax+tip): Range about $18-25 ($$)