390 Park Ave
New York, NY 10022
http://www.casalever.com
I had the pleasure of visting Casa Lever twice in the last few weeks.
The first time I went with my dear friend Marianna, it was my belated birthday dinner. We first had some nice cocktails at the bar. Definitely try them out, their mixology menu is quite impressive.
For the dinner, we started off with beef carpaccio and eggplant parm. The carpaccio was exquisite, as was the eggplant. I’m very particular with eggplant, it needs to be done right, nothing worse when it’s still mushy and doesn’t taste good. This one was really yummy, the single layers were presented stacked on top of each other and the tomato sauce was only added once you are ready to start. After that, we got a little taste off of the regular menu with a bite of sea urchin, which was my first time trying it and it was very tasty. It came on a sweet potato foam if I remember correctly and it worked very well together. After a small plate of risotto, we continued with our main courses. I routed for the veal bolognese, one of my favorite Italian dishes, with homemade tagliatelle, Marianna had the chicken. What can I say, both was mouthwatering. Even though I was quite full already, I couldn’t stop eating as my pasta was so good. And it didn’t end. As it was my birthday dinner and Marianna told them how much I love their gianduia, we had four – that is 4! – dessert. It started with profiteroles with a zabaione (not a big fan of profiteroles though), a tiramisu which is amazing (it’s served in a big glass with a brittle on top that you crack and mix in), a millefoglie and of course the gianduia. They changed it a bit and added some ice cream which in my opinion is a bit too much, but the hazelnut cream is still beyond words.
I didn’t eat until the next evening, honestly.
My second visit was last Friday when we tried the $39 supper that they offer on Fridays and Saturdays at the moment. Unfortunately, I forgot my phone and could not take any photos… We were greeted with a glass of Champagne (thanks again!!!) and an amuse-gueule of crisp bread and prosciutto di parma. And did I mention the bread basket that you get to nibble on? Sooo good. They bake their own bread in one of their sister restaurants, one is an olive bread, the other comes with sunflower seeds and the plain baguette is also very yummy. As starters, we had the eggplant parm again and a crispy egg with five different mushrooms – the egg was breaded and fried, a great take on it. Our main courses were the chicken, which has been adjusted to the colder weather a bit and is now served with a butternut squash, and the salmon that comes with lentils and leek sugo. It was such a nice flavor and texture explosion which I enjoy so much when having a fine dining experience. It’s not just the presentation, but the whole experience when eating your meal. We finished with the tiramisu and the warm cheesecake with bbqed strawberries and some great coffee.
All in all, I had another amazing visit there and I can’t wait to got back. And you should go try it out, too 🙂
eat, cook and more 