Esca- One Year!

For 12 months, our footsteps have moved closely in sync with flavorful bites as our lives dance together. Always together, and always hungry..... of course.

It was fitting that exactly a year after we met at a food tasting, after a year of amazing food adventures (and other adventures too), after a year of romantic, sense-seizing moments... we celebrated the anniversary of our first meeting at my favorite restaurant in NYC... Esca.

I've been filling Sara's ears with tales of this place for a year... the restaurant's quaint airy feeling brings you deep into Southern Italy. Not only does it have the best wine selection in the city, this place has some of the best seafood & pasta dishes imaginable.

The meal started with an outstanding crudo tasting. Two flights of three tastes each. The crudo is basically sashimi, Italian style. Wonderful cuts of fish, marinated in lemon juice, a touch of olive oil... seasoned with sea salt... in other words, absolute perfection. The pasta dish we shared was linguine with clams and pancetta, and it may have been the best pasta dish either of has ever tried. The waiter warned us that it may be "too briny" or salty due to the ocean elements involved in the dish, which made us even more excited. The mixture of dried chili with al dente linguine left us feeling like we were overlooking the Mediterranean ocean. We complimented the meal with a beautiful bottle of Elena Walsh and finished it off with run raisin fritters filled with orange zabaglione, cappuccinos and a strong vintage grappa.

While Sara was in the restroom before leaving, I quickly snagged the chef's cookbook and had him sign it for her - a little impromptu surprise waiting for her to top off our evening. Our three hour trip to Southern Italy during this special evening filled our eyes with wonder, our hearts with delight, our stomachs with satisfaction and our dreams of many many more exciting food adventures to follow in the future.