NYC Day 1 - Boom and fizzle

Day 1 in NYC involved waiting in an hour-long line for a taxi at LaGuardia, walking 7 long blocks in the rain (have you ever tried to get a taxi in NYC when it's raining) carrying a 50 lb bag full of notebooks and other assorted stationary products, and then 3 and half hours unloading boxes of product and setting up J's booth for the show. I was ready for some good food as the fried chicken cutlet sandwich I picked up from a food stand in the Javits Convention Center just didn't cut it.

I've been to Boom in Soho a couple of times and enjoyed it's relaxed approach to modern Italian. We were joined by J's parentals (also known as the legal counsel and the evil investors in his company). After I enjoyed a deliciously sweet and fruity white sangria, they were more than eager to join me in sharing a bottle of Libernio (I may have mucked the spelling) which was a blend of Malbec, Cab and Sangiovese. Deliciously lush with a touch of smoke and a smooth palate.

I also had the bruschetta with grilled shrimp and avocado which are perfect little morsels - do not miss these. The rest of my meal was unfortunately disappointing compared to my prior visits. I had some of the mussels done in a tasty tomato broth. The shellfish was just a bit off and a couple of the mussels were a bit over-ripe for my taste. For my entree, I tried their "Filete" which was a fillet of beef in a madeira style sauce with potatoes and greens. The sides were good enough, but the beef itself was way too fatty and grisly. J the BF and his Step-dad both had the lobster ravioli which was just as good as I remembered. I guess I can afford to be boring and order my old favorites when coming back to a desired restaurant in a distant city again.

NYC (2of5) When Italian goes BOOM!

When J the BF suggested we have dinner at a place called Boom in SOHO - Manhattan, I wasn't expecting Italian. A name like "Boom" suggests a nightclub or some over-wrought fusion cuisine hotspot full of beautiful people sipping cocktails and eating cuisine of indeterminate origin. While some of the above was true about Boom, the cuisine was nothing to sneeze at.

Yes, Boom was full of beautiful people including the servers who all seemed to be cut from the same mold of tall, dark, lean and just-off-the-runway young dudes. They were a terribly friendly attentive bunch dressed in their black "Make Food, not War" t-shirts (or something like that). A fabulously worldly looking woman in impossibly flat-soled sandals (and was clearly the restaurateur) continuously zipped between the tables and the folks languishing in front enjoying a smoke to ensure all was well.

They brought us several delicious updated Italian standards including items from a variable bruschetta menu that you just have to experience to do it justice. We experimented with a special that they had for the night with shrimp and avocados - yum! My entree of petite scallops over pasta was very well prepared in a richly decadent (but well proportioned) sauce. Boom is definitely on my list for a return visit.