Centro Vinoteca: A Review
After eating thousands of restaurant meals I've come to the following conclusion: Really good chefs just know what delicious is. That is, they know what tastes good. Anne Burrell, the chef at Centro Vinoteca (good restaurant, bad generic name), is one of those chefs. After sampling a dozen or so items on her menu, I've concluded that Anne, like every one of my favorite cooks high (Daniel Boulud) and low (Chris Bianco), has excellent, near-perfect food pitch. Why do I say that? Listen to what we ate last week:
Fried cauliflower wedges, parmigano crust & agliata: Cauliflower haters, beware. These will change your mind.
Corn and scallion fritters with chili garlic aioli: Any fritter is by definition good, these fritters are perfect.
Cherry tomatoes with corn and bacon on a crostino: A perfect trio of foods served on an open-faced sandwich
Mortadella pate: Think of this as creamed Italian bologna
Truffled deviled eggs: Deviled eggs as they would be served at a state fair in Alba
Rock shrimp sauteed with white wine and garlic--good, but not terribly memorable or distinctive
Braised oxtail cakes with celery salad & Parmigiano frico--Sheer crispy, meaty deliciousness
Pici pasta with sweet & saucy ragu--hearty housemade pasta:
Raviolo al-uovo with sage butter sauce and guanciale--one of the more refined dishes here
Brined heritage pork chop crusted with fennel pollen, pancetta, swiss chard, baby turnips & crispy bacon skin-Heritage pork chop, pancetta, crispy bacon skin--Need I say more?
Lamb Bolognese with crispy gnocchi & fried onions: Again, crispy gnocchi and fried onions speak for themselves.
Go to Centro Vinoteca and let me know if you too think that Anne Burrell just knows what delicious is. We ate in the downstairs dining room, which got really loud as the evening wore on (we started eating at 7). If you want to talk easily to your dining companions, ask for a table upstairs.
Centro Vinoteca
74 Seventh Avenue South (at Barrow St.)
Ph: 212-367-7470
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